Bolero Beachwear Review

If you’ve ever read a style guide, you’ll know that the wrap dress is supposed to be THE most flattering style for a busty figure. I haven’t found this to be true for me. Most wrap styles don’t have enough fabric in the front to properly wrap around my full bust and I end up fussing with safety pins or wearing a camisole underneath to avoid exposing half my bra. And because my bust takes up so much room in the front, the waistline rides up to my ribcage. So frustrating!

Enter Bolero Beachwear! I’d heard a little about this American-made and based company through reviews from A Sophisticated Pear and Sweet Nothings NYC, and I was impressed by how beautiful the Bolero Erica dress looked in their pictures. I just had to try one for myself!

Bolero’s website is full of bold, summery prints and fun retro styling. While I love a good print and I’m a fan of vintage fashion, my personal look is more “stylish nana” than “playful pinup.” Even though we’re coming out of a heatwave here in Toronto, Canadian winters are long, so I wanted a dress I could easily pair with cool-weather staples like scarves and boots. With all of that in mind, I went for classic black when purchasing my very own Erica dress.

 

 

The Look

This dress is classically styled with three-quarter sleeves and a full circle skirt. On Bolero’s website the skirt hits just above the knee, but I requested that mine be made about 2” longer. This dress is a surplice, or faux-wrap style. This means it gives the look of a wrap without the fuss of actually wrapping. The crossover bust creates a flattering ruching in the front that gives a little camouflage for the tummy-conscious.

The Feel

This dress is made of beautiful, thick, inky black material with a nice amount of stretch. It’s polyester, but fear not! The material is super soft and has good breathability! Most importantly, it’s nigh-IMPOSSIBLE to wrinkle. Next time I travel, I’m bringing this dress. And because it’s so comfy, I plan to wear it on the plane in lieu of my usual giant pants so I can exit the airport feeling like a fashion-plate rather than a schlub.

 

The Fit

According to Bolero’s size chart, I was right between medium and large. Sweet Nothings has similar measurements to mine (I wear a 32G/GG bra and large/XL bottom), and her review mentioned that her medium dress fit a little small, so I ordered large. Alas, the large is a smidge big on me. I have wee little arms, so there’s a fair amount of room in the sleeves. The waistline is a little low on me, likely because I have a shorter torso. This sizing variation proves that all bodies are different, even if you wear similar sizes or have the same measurements as someone! The roomy fit isn’t the end of the world, as I’d rather my clothes fit a little big than a little small, but next time I buy an Erica (which I totally will!) I’ll get the medium.

The Style

Bolero comes with super cute sash-belts in different colours. While they’re not my personal style  (instead, I’ve been wearing the sashes as super cute head scarves), I appreciate the extra versatility. I decided to style my Erica dress a little more casually. Because I’m on my feet all day, I rarely wear heels. So I went with brown ankle boots to match my brown leather belt and a little brooch for extra flair. When outside I wrapped myself in my cosy scarf and slung my vintage purse over my shoulders. But if I didn’t want to carry my purse, I could always store my bobby pins and lipstick and debit card in the pockets…

Yes, POCKETS! The Erica dress has pockets!

 

Bonus: Wrap Top Sweater!

Patricia was kind enough to send along a fantastic sweater as a gift! She chose an amazing leopard print, which gave off a fantastic Bad Girl vibe. Alas, the size large was too big for me and I could not do it justice. So I gave the top to my amazing quadruple threat sister, Ivory. With burlesque, axe throwing and archery under her belt, I knew she would do this Bad Girl sweater justice! She immediately commented on how SOFT the material was. Here’s her review:

“It’s so soft! It’s like a dream! I am incredibly impressed with the fit, stretch, quality of fabric and the sewing – it’s very well-crafted! Thank you!”

Overall…

The Erica is a flattering, comfortable, easy-to-wear dress that I cannot wait to purchase again. Bolero is a smaller company and their dresses are ethically made with attention to detail, like the willingness to do small adjustments (like lengthening the skirt). And I have to say, this dress is perfect for twirling!