Today I am reviewing a second dress from the Lady Voluptuous line: the Bellatrix (£45).
Images courtesy of Lady Voluptuous
The rose floral version is the dress that appealed to me most from the original four dresses that were released at the Lady Voluptuous launch, but due to people placing orders so quickly I had to wait a while until it was back in stock in the UK size 16 I wanted. I decided to try the red version of the dress as well, in order to compare a solid coloured dress with a patterned one.
For reference, I am wearing my Ewa Michalak PL Słowianki Bra 34KK 75KK in these photos, along with some tights from Matalan and heels from eBay. I am not wearing any shapewear or a corset.
Wow, the Bellatrix is certainly a dress that hugs one's curves! I love how tight-fitting this dress is on me thanks to the soft jersey fabric. There is a lining underneath that comes down to mid thigh on me (I am 5'5) and the skirt comfortably covers my knees and in fact is 'midi' length on me as it reaches mid calf. The dress fastens at the back with a concealed zip but the fabric is so stretchy that I found I could easily get the dress on and off without the need to use the zip.
The neckline on the Bellatrix is designed for seduction - it is a gently rounded v-neck cut that reveals quite a bit of cleavage, but it doesn't look indecent because the neckline is not overly wide. The back neckline is also v-shaped and this design feature adds to the femininity of the dress. The sleeves are somewhere between 3/4 and full length, which is unusual, but they help give the dress a more formal feel.
I adore the red hue of this dress. I would describe it as 'tomato red' as it is slightly more orange than a basic red, and I was delighted to find that it very conveniently matched perfectly with some red heels I already owned!
Bellatrix is machine washable at 30 degrees (delicate wash), so it is easy to care for. My dresses appeared quite creased when they arrived, but I did not iron them before posing for these photos and as you can see the creases fall out very quickly as they are not apparent here.
I also tried the Rose Floral Bellatrix (£45, UK sizes 16-32):
The fabric of this dress was slightly different to that of the red version; this had more of a crepe-y feel to it and when stretched beyond a certain point it went white. I don't think this effect is immediately obvious in my photos but in real life it was fairly apparent.
I really loved the rose floral print and it was a surprise to find the background colour was in fact navy blue, and not black as I had originally thought. It made a pleasant change to wear a dress that has a dark background in a colour other than black, but wearing black tights and black heels (this time from New Look) still looked perfectly acceptable.
The sleeves on the Rose Floral Bellatrix were a little longer than on the red version, making them definitely full length. I am not sure if they were in fact any longer, or if the floral material was simply more stretchy.
I find I prefer prints to solid colours, so the Rose Floral Bellatrix was my favourite of the two; however the stretching issue meant that it wasn't one I was able to keep. To be fair, the size chart says the size 16 will fit a bust of 39.5", a waist of 34", and hips of 45". I currently measure 51-32-51, so I was really pushing my luck with the 16! I may try an 18 in the future to see if that works any better for me.
Both of the Bellatrix dresses I tried were a tight fit on my bust and on my backside and hips, but I felt my waist could have done with a bit more accentuating. So, I added a customary belt and took some pictures to show the difference.
I tried the Red Bellatrix dress (£45, UK sizes 16-32) first of all:
For reference, I am wearing my Ewa Michalak PL Słowianki Bra 34KK 75KK in these photos, along with some tights from Matalan and heels from eBay. I am not wearing any shapewear or a corset.
Wow, the Bellatrix is certainly a dress that hugs one's curves! I love how tight-fitting this dress is on me thanks to the soft jersey fabric. There is a lining underneath that comes down to mid thigh on me (I am 5'5) and the skirt comfortably covers my knees and in fact is 'midi' length on me as it reaches mid calf. The dress fastens at the back with a concealed zip but the fabric is so stretchy that I found I could easily get the dress on and off without the need to use the zip.
The neckline on the Bellatrix is designed for seduction - it is a gently rounded v-neck cut that reveals quite a bit of cleavage, but it doesn't look indecent because the neckline is not overly wide. The back neckline is also v-shaped and this design feature adds to the femininity of the dress. The sleeves are somewhere between 3/4 and full length, which is unusual, but they help give the dress a more formal feel.
I adore the red hue of this dress. I would describe it as 'tomato red' as it is slightly more orange than a basic red, and I was delighted to find that it very conveniently matched perfectly with some red heels I already owned!
Bellatrix is machine washable at 30 degrees (delicate wash), so it is easy to care for. My dresses appeared quite creased when they arrived, but I did not iron them before posing for these photos and as you can see the creases fall out very quickly as they are not apparent here.
I also tried the Rose Floral Bellatrix (£45, UK sizes 16-32):
The fabric of this dress was slightly different to that of the red version; this had more of a crepe-y feel to it and when stretched beyond a certain point it went white. I don't think this effect is immediately obvious in my photos but in real life it was fairly apparent.
I really loved the rose floral print and it was a surprise to find the background colour was in fact navy blue, and not black as I had originally thought. It made a pleasant change to wear a dress that has a dark background in a colour other than black, but wearing black tights and black heels (this time from New Look) still looked perfectly acceptable.
The sleeves on the Rose Floral Bellatrix were a little longer than on the red version, making them definitely full length. I am not sure if they were in fact any longer, or if the floral material was simply more stretchy.
I find I prefer prints to solid colours, so the Rose Floral Bellatrix was my favourite of the two; however the stretching issue meant that it wasn't one I was able to keep. To be fair, the size chart says the size 16 will fit a bust of 39.5", a waist of 34", and hips of 45". I currently measure 51-32-51, so I was really pushing my luck with the 16! I may try an 18 in the future to see if that works any better for me.
Both of the Bellatrix dresses I tried were a tight fit on my bust and on my backside and hips, but I felt my waist could have done with a bit more accentuating. So, I added a customary belt and took some pictures to show the difference.
Interestingly, I prefer the red Bellatrix with a belt, and the rose floral one without! It just goes to show that a belt is not always the way to go, but it's a great option to cinch the waist if needs be.
You can read another review of the Bellatrix by Debz over at The Not So Secret Diary of a Wannabe Princess.
The Bellatrix is a lovely dress that will complement any plus size woman's curvy body, so I highly recommend you give it a try! Let me know in the comments below if you have bought any Lady Volup dresses and what you think of them. I for one am very excited to see what garments they release next!
