This garment was purchased by The Lingerie Addict for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.
Ever since I first became interested in the lingerie world, Fleur of England has been on my radar as one of those brands that consistently creates beautiful lingerie. It’s not a brand that I associate with particularly boundary pushing design work, but one that has always created sophisticated and elegant undergarments that I would happily welcome into my own wardrobe.
I have a lot of personal experience with its lingerie but I’ve always stuck to pieces like individual bras and knickers. With a limited budget for underwear, the ‘showpieces’ such as the camisoles and robes have always remained firmly out of reach. Consequently, when the opportunity to review a Fleur of England bodysuit arrived, it wasn’t one that I was going to turn down!
The ‘Seduction’ bodysuit is definitely a show stopper, with its profuse use of lace and couture-inspired details. Originally retailing at £330, now £231 (approx. $413/$289), it’s available in sizes S-L, covering UK sizes 8-14 (US sizes 4-10). My usual Fleur of England knicker size of M was purchased.
The bodysuit is made with a mix of a champagne-pink stretch silk and sheer rigid tulle, embellished with French Chantilly lace in a mix of black threads and beige tulle. The majority of the garment is made of the tulle, with the silk only used in a single panel on the front of the garment. The tulle is profusely appliquéd with lace, with intricate-pattern matched placement tracing much of the garment. Soft, triangle style cups are trimmed with narrow black, silk binding. Shoulder straps are a matching black silk rouleaux with silver toned rings and sliders.
Plush, colour-matched pink elastic trims the underband and leg-edges of the garment. The gusset is lined in cotton jersey and has a very secure popper-style opening. The centre back seam of the garment is bound in champagne pink silk with silk-covered plastic buttons and matching silk loops.
The garment is very well made, with secure and accurate stitching throughout. Most seams are overlocked, as best suits any fabric with elastane in to prevent stitch-breakage. Elastic is applied with a neat three point zigzag and binding is stitched with a short-length lockstitch. All of the lace is applied with a small and delicate zigzag stitch following the scallop edge.
There are only a few minor areas where the stitching doesn’t quite reach this high standard, which I can’t help but feel lets the garment down. The shoulder straps at the centre back are attached with a long and slightly messy lockstitch, leaving the raw edge of the silk visible: something that could have easily been encased under the plush elastic. The buttons at the centre back have not been attached particularly securely. Already, having only worn the bodysuit twice, I have lost one button and had to re-attach another. Fortunately, this is an easy fix but it’s still a little disappointing on such a luxurious garment. The garment is made in Portugal, part of the European Union.
I have relatively pale skin so the sheer mesh allows for the lace to have the ‘tattoo’ look that has been so on-trend recently. It’s a lovely effect, to have those black Chantilly lace threads winding around the body so enticingly. However, anyone with darker skin will likely find that this mesh will appear very differently on their body. Whilst I’m not against the sheer/tattoo-effect design technique, I do feel that designers have to take better care with how they approach it. On Fleur of England’s website, this bodysuit is described as using ‘invisible’ tulle, a ‘nearly naked appearance’ and ‘nude silk satin’. It’s exclusionary language at best, especially since this is the only shade that the garment is offered in. I’d much prefer to see designers either taking an active effort to cater to different skin tones, or to take greater care with their language.
Bodysuits are difficult garments to fit at the best of times. Top and bottom dress sizes can vary greatly for people and there’s the added complication of torso length. My body isn’t exactly the most ‘standard’ for fashion: there’s two dress sizes difference between my top and bottom, and my torso length is longer than average. It was therefore near-inevitable that this bodysuit wasn’t going to be the perfect fit for me. However, it’s still a good-enough fit: it fits my bottom well without cutting in, and although the underbust could be a little tighter in an ideal world, the cups still provide a good and comfortable coverage. The centre silk panel has some horizontal stretch which does provide some fit flexibility. Surprisingly, the bodysuit is a near perfect length for my torso: this is one of the few bodysuits that I’ve tried where this wasn’t an issue which was rather a pleasant surprise.
Overall, I’d say that the ‘Seduction’ bodysuit is a gorgeous piece of lingerie, with exquisite design and solid stitching. The fit works pretty well for my body, but this is such a complex issue that I’d have to recommend trying this piece in person where possible. After all of my experiences with the brand, I feel as though the Fleur of Englandcan be consistently relied upon for quality, luxury lingerie; the prices are justified by the labour and exquisite fabrics that go into such beautiful lingerie. I know that I’ll be buying from them again in future (the Supernova and Burgundy ranges are just screaming my name!). I just hope that in the long term thewill take some more care with their approach to inclusion: be that through offering more colour options, or through modifying the language that they use.
Readers: How do you feel about the ‘tattoo’ effect trend? Are you put off purchasing from a brand that defines 'nude' as a single shade? Have you ever tried the Fleur of England brand?