Discover my detailed review of Lady V London’s Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress 16. Is this the perfect plus size vintage style you’ve been looking for?
I recently reviewed the Medusa dress from the ‘Lady Voluptuous’ plus size range from Lady V London. This collection was launched only a few weeks ago but it has already made a great impression on the plus size blogging community, and many ladies have already reviewed the dresses from the range.
Today I am reviewing a second dress from the Lady Voluptuous line: the Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress (£45).
Images courtesy of Lady Voluptuous
The rose floral version of the Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress is the one 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.
I tried the Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix dress in Red (£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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress 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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress is designed with seduction in mind – 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 the Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix 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!
The Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress 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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress (£45, UK sizes 16-32):
The fabric of this Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix 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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress 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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress 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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress 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 Lady Voluptuous 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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress 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 Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress by the wonderful Debz over at The Not So Secret Diary of a Wannabe Princess.
The Lady Voluptuous Bellatrix Dress is a lovely dress that will complement any plus size woman’s curvy body, so I highly recommend you give it a try!
You can find all my Lady Voluptuous reviews here.
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!
Love the red one on you! Your figure is incredible! You make everything look perfect and make me want to buy everything you review. I am definately going to get one of these dresses now you have shown how good they look on a real body. Naomi
Oh wow! That dress looks like it was made for you! The red is a real bombshell red on you. Thank you for sharing such a detailed review, I have bought two of these dresses now! Thank you for introducing me to this brand x
absolutely gorgeous! I love how amazing these dresses look on you! I have such wardrobe envy!! I am going to buy one of these come payday x Sarah
You look amazing in both dresses! Shame about the stretching in the floral one; the print is gorgeous! Luckily I am not quite as curvy as you so it should work on me, we will see!
The red is sexy as hell! <3 I will have to purchase one myself! Talk about bombshell!
I love the rose floral print on you, the length of this one is fabulous in my opinion. So flattering on a plus size figure. I had never heard of this brand till I saw your posts x
Both look phenomenal although i'm madly in love with the floral print, it looks beautiful! You have inspired me to order it and the blue one too xx
You'd really think this dress is made to measure on you! It looks amazing but I have to say the red is my favourite – I'd definitely need to do some flamenco dancing impressions if wearing it! I need to try this one myself! C xx
Wow, I echo all of the above comments, you look utterly magnificent especially the red with the added belt, in fact I would go as far as saying the red dress with the belt and shoes is the best outfit I have ever seen on you. Very Jessica Rabbit! Trying to decide if I dare to try this dress meself. I think I have to!!
I like the dresses most without the belt, I love the way the red dress fits your bust and hips perfectly, drop dead gorgeous lady, love the shoes, you bring a whole new meaning to plus size and you are so beautiful, you have inspired me to try Lady Voluptuous, thank you x
I used to be curvy before I had kids but nowhere near as shapely as you. I love your blog so much, I hadn’t heard of most of the brands you share until I see them on your post’s so thankyou for introducing me to them. You have given me so much confidence, I used to wear tent’s from Evans but now I am going to try this beautiful fitted dress. You are amazing, please never stop posting <3
I love the way the material on the red dress is so stretchy, it makes the dress fit you so well. I tried this one myself after reading this post but I looked like a sausage lol as I am rectangle shape so I had to return it, luckily I had more luck with the other Lady Volup dresses. My favorite is Cosette which I bought after reading your review as well! You will bankrupt me haha!
I was going to say its a shame that there isn't a waist tie at the back so you could go without a belt, but actually I know myself how useless waist ties can be and how annoying they are as they pull the fabric of a dress, and a waist tie is pretty useless on a stretchy form-fitting dress like this anyway. A belt is definitely the best way to cinch a dress in at the waist, like you so often prove. I’m shaped like you and have to buy dresses to fit my bust and hips, which leaves a baggy waist so belts are my best friend! I bought three of these dresses having seen them on you…I hope they bring this out in more prints. I would love houndstooth and a checkered print.