Evans Scarlett & Jo Embellished Velvet Dress 16

I don't often get invited to very posh ceremonies or parties, but if I ever was I am not sure I'd have a dress in my wardrobe to fit the occasion. Yes, I have a ton of gorgeous dresses, but I can't think of one that would be glamorous enough for a really fancy event. Well, that recently changed when I acquired the Scarlett & Jo Embellished Velvet Dress in navy and in black.

Image courtesy of Evans

Image courtesy of Evans

Image courtesy of Evans

I adored the dress when I first saw it on social media, but at £68 I felt it was a little pricey for me to buy as a dress that would remain in my wardrobe until I was eventually required to attend a fancy do. However, when the dress was in the sale at Evans shortly before Christmas, I knew I had to order it to see if the cut worked for me, and as I couldn't choose between the two colours, I ordered them both in a size 16.

In these photos of me in the navy blue dress I am wearing my Ewa Michalak PL Jagodzianki Bra 34KK/75KK and Briefs 16/44, some plain black tights from The Big Tights Company, and black stiletto heels from Primark. I am not wearing a corset with the navy blue dress.

I absolutely LOVE this dress. The navy blue is in fact more of a deep and rich royal blue, but I'm not complaining as it is utterly stunning. As you can see from the stock photo at the beginning of the post, the shoulders are embellished with a selection of beads and jewels, which is a very pretty touch that brightens up the dress and adds interest.

The material of the dress is 91% polyester and 9% elastane, making it super soft and easy to wear. It's machine washable and comes out looking just as good as when it went into the machine (I just turned the dress inside out before washing to protect the embellished shoulders). The fabric is so lovely and stretchy, and it's stroke-ably soft. When my niece saw this dress hanging on my wardrobe recently, she couldn't stop running her hands up and down the fabric, so it's definitely got the touchy-feely factor.

The cut of this dress is simply terrific. It is certainly made for an hourglass figure and my photos make that crystal clear. The crossover bust is good for larger boobs as the top can adjust to accommodate them (although this does mean more cleavage is on display!). The waist is not cinched in but the dress is cut to go in at this point. There is some gathering of the material across the lower tummy area, which would help disguise any lumps and bumps if needs be.

The skirt of the dress is more or less straight, so it fits over my hips and upper thighs, and then hangs straight down. There is a long slit in the skirt and on me (I am around 5'5) it hits me roughly mid-thigh. That's not to say this dress is indecent, but that slit is quite high for me personally so I would always wear tights with this dress for modesty. The dress does not ride up when walking, and the slit it cleverly designed so that it doesn't show too much leg despite being fairly long.

The elbow-length sleeves are perfect for this dress, as they are a decent length that won't make you overheat as they only cover the top half of your arms. There are small shoulder pads in place to help give extra shape and definition to the upper section of the dress.

In the photos below of me in the black dress, I am wearing my Ewa Michalak PL Jagodzianki Bra 34KK/75KK and Briefs 16/44, some plain black tights from The Big Tights Company, and blue stiletto heels from eBay (to tie with the blue jewels on the shoulders). Additionally, I am wearing a corset in the photos of the black dress, as I wanted to see how it changed my shape and how the dress fitted me.

I was really interested to see that the look of the dress in the pictures here is quite different to what I saw when I looked in the mirror. Not in a bad way, but my reflection showed a more accentuated waist so it's a shame these photos don't show this quite so much.

The corset pushes my boobs up, which is why you might think my bra is too small in the cup for me in some photos as my boobs look a bit squished. I think the dress works well with a corset but because of the way it is designed and cut it looks just as lovely without.

I recently attended a posh do for work and at first I wondered what I could wear...but it suddenly dawned on me that I had these two gorgeous frocks to choose from. I ended up going with the black one as the dress code was black with a hint of red. I wore red nail varnish to tie in with the 'hint of red' theme, as well as some red lipstick. I received so many compliments on my dress at the do and I was told by a colleague that quite a few men were noticing me. Sounds like a very successful dress to me!

The dress was very comfortable all evening, but I did notice a couple of things. First of all, the crossover neckline didn't stay put so I inadvertently flashed my bra on quite a few occasions. I think I'll have to partially stitch up the neckline to stop this happening in the future. The other thing I noticed was that the dress rides up a bit when I sit down, and therefore the split moves a bit higher up my thigh. Thankfully I was wearing just regular tights and not shapewear or lacy hold-ups, as it could have been rather embarrassing.

Other bloggers have also written about their love for the Scarlett & Jo Embellished Velvet Dress; perhaps most notably the lovely Georgina from She Might Be Loved.

I am so glad I snapped these dresses up whilst they were still available. I am sure I will get a decent amount of wear out of them and it's good to know I have at least two options to choose from if I am ever invited to a fancy event in the future. Do you have a posh frock in your wardrobe that would be good for such an invitation?