Peach Couture Womens Renaissance Vintage Smocked Gypsy Tank Dress

Love it! I bought this to go under an overbust corset, and it is definitely better than I expected. The fabric is thick and heavy, appropriate for cooler weather wear, but still breathes so you don't swelter in the dress. However, because it is heavy, it drags down on the neckline, and can pull it a bit out of shape. For me, wearing this dress without a corset is unflattering on my body.The length is perfect. I'm 5'3" so I tend to have problems with maxi dresses, as they tend to drag on the ground. This dress, however, hits just at the top of my bare feet, so I don't need to worry about the hem getting dirty, regardless of what shoes I wear.I find that the fabric is very forgiving. It is both stretchy to accommodate a multitude of body types, and thick enough to hide flaws. The adjustable neckline allows you to customize your look, the smocked waist allows you to stuff your face full of dinner AND dessert without becoming uncomfortable, and the skirt, for me, clings to my body just enough to show off my shape without making me feel self-conscious about my legs.I would definitely recommend this dress. The moment I put it on, I was enamored with the look, and if I never need another, I would not hesitate to buy (pending longevity, since I just received this two days ago). The purple is just as in the picture: a rich, deep color, gorgeous on most skin tones. The only con is that the medium fits a little loose on me. I have a 30" waist and the listed waist measurement for the medium is 24" so I thought I was cutting it close, but the smocking is very, very forgiving. In the future I will probably purchase a small.Other thoughts: I think this would be great for a renaissance costume, but would benefit from a petticoat. It's not necessary, but the dimensions of the dress would easily allow it, and it'd provide the skirt with more body. As it is, the skirt clings a bit, and has no real flare due to the weight of the fabric.

I got the maroon, small size. I'm 5'2", 114 lbs. It fits well.I got this for a Victorian outfit for the Dickens Fair. I bought a corset to go with it ((( the one I bought -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L5910E0 but bought 2 sizes up, as it runs small!! ))), a petticoat to go underneath, and a white lace long sleeve top for underneath (( the one I bought -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IMWRKG0 but 1 size up as it runs small as well )), and then a bonnet from a costume shop. The outfit turned out wonderfully! People kept assuming I worked at the fair because my costume was so good :) and a little girl asked if she could take a photo of me because she loved my dress!The dress will also work well for a Renaissance outfit, of course. All I would have to change from my Victorian outfit is lose the long sleeve underneath, the bonnet, maybe wear a less ornate corset, and either lose the petticoat or wear one less poofy.Very happy with this purchase!

Material was much heavier than expected and the fit was roomy. I am normally a size 10 in dresses and I could have worn a medium. It was also shorter on me than I thought it would be, I am 5'6" and it was well above my ankle, more of a tea length, than a maxi. I am pleased with the pretty teal color and it looked very sweet with the underbust corset I also purchased! I feel I could wear this dress other than the renaissance costume I used it for, but it is much more of a fall weight than for summer. I found it somewhat heavy for summer wear. Pleased with quality. I had also read other reviews before purchasing that said material was itchy so I hand washed it before wearing and dryer on low setting and had no issues. Nice dress! I would buy again!

The smocked waist is very versatile, and should be flattering for several waistlines. Unfortunately, I found the dress to be a bit too short overall, including at the waist; I am 5' 8" and the dress hit me at a strange length on my calf. The top area is pretty flattering, but beware that the string tying the front together is completely essential to keeping the top up. The ruched look around the neckline is achieved by providing tons and tons of length around the shoulder that is pulled into gathers by cinching the string tightly. As soon as I untied the string to adjust the fit around the bust, one half of the string was swallowed into the hole and the whole thing flopped down around my waist. I had to take the string out completely and re-thread it using a safety pin to get it back through. That brings me to the main complaint I have about this dress. The fabric is super slippery and from a material that is totally man-made, when I was expecting something that was light-weight cotton. In the customer question section, it states that the material is 97% polyester, which I totally missed, since it's not in the main part of the description. The panels that are sewn horizontally across the skirt exacerbated my disappointment, because the grain of the fabric was not aligned, making the panels look more haphazard than I expected a solid color to look. It's subtly shiny, which accentuates this issue, given that the light does not reflect from the panels uniformly. Overall, the construction of the dress and the quality of the sewing is nice, and the fabric is of a good weight, but the appearance of the fabric is much too casual for my taste. I'd peg this as a beach dress - something to coverup a bikini or to change into to hang out a tiki bar, rather than a dress to wear to go shopping or to visit a Ren Fair (let's face it, some of you thought about it). I was disappointed, but if my detailed description helps you adjust your expectations before buying it, you might found out you like it a lot more than I did.