Fever Reversible Bumble Bee / Lady Bug C

It seems to be a regular occurrence between my group of friends, that birthday nights out equals fancy dress. Because at 25 years old and going out as a group of 10 we have had a fair few birthdays over the years to think up a theme so were pretty stumped and came up with a ladybug or bumble bee theme..... At first I was a little apprehensive but then in my usual indecisive fashion unable to decide if I should go for ladybug but I found the perfect solution a reversible ladybug / bee outfit from Fever fancy dress.

***The Outfit***
The Reversible Bee/ Ladybug costume from fever is a complete outfit with matching accessories. The main part of the costume is the dress. This is a strapless tube dress made from very stretchy material which is attached to a 10cm tutu made from black netting. On one side of the dress the stretchy body section of the dress is black and yellow horizontal stripes on the front of the dress with a black back section to dress yourself up as a bee. If you turn the dress inside out that side on the front of the dress is red with black polka dots and a black back to dress up as a ladybug. The tube dress comes with black straps which are detachable and thin.

The dress comes with black wings. These are made from a thin netting with sparkly silver glittery detail. The wings are attached by two elastic loops which you put yours arms through so you can put the wings on your back.

You also get headwear. This is a black hairband with two black heart shaped "bopper" (hearts attached to the headband by springs so they wobble around).

The dress is available in four sizes XS (UK size 6-8), S (UK size 8-10), M (UK size 10-12) and L (UK size 12-14).

***Availability***
The outfit is available from stockists that sell Fever fancy dress costumes. www.fancydress.com , www.fancydressoutfitter.com and www.123fancydress.com are amongst the online retailers that sell this outfit. I purchased this outfit from www.fancydress.com for £19.99 plus £3.99 delivery. I think for a complete fancy dress costume which doubles up as two different fancy dress outfits is excellent value for money.

***Wearing It***
The first time I wore this I eventually made the decision that I was going to opt for the ladybug option. The dress when taken out of the box looks tiny because it is made from such a stretchy material.

I bought and XS which is a UK size 6-8. I'm a size 6 but did feel the dress was wearable but a little too tight on the chest. My friend who is a size 8 bought the same size as me and had to return for a larger size (size 8-10) therefore it is probably best to go for a larger size if you are going to wear this. A big disadvantage of this outfit is that it is only available up to a UK size 14 therefore sizes are limited.

Getting the dress on because it is stretchy does require some tugging as the tube part of the dress hugs/ squeezes your figure. This is not uncomfortable but you do feel quite warm wearing this outfit for long periods of time. Once it is on it does look very good and very girly and pretty. The dress is very short and the tutu section just covered my bottom therefore it is essential to wear this outfit with hotpants (or leggings) as otherwise you WILL expose yourself! The tutu netting sticks out but not excessively.

There is also the option to attach the black straps to the tube dress using loops stitched into the dress. This can be as two straps over the shoulders or as one long strap in a halter neck style. I decided against this and wore the dress strapless as the straps are very thin and because you cannot adjust these very much they dug into my skin which was painful.

When I wore this outfit as a ladybug I was very impressed that this is a deep red colour but was concerned that if I reversed the outfit you would be able to see the red colour through the yellow sections of the dress. When reversed and wearing this outfit as a bee you can't see the colour on the other side which is very impressive as the stretchy material does not seem very thick.

The wings and headband are very simple to put on and one on they stay on as intended. Although I feel my outfit washed very well (hand wash only) and I had no problems with the accessories I was very careful when I was walking past people in case I caught the netting on the wings which could rip easily. One of my friends who had bought the same outfit managed to rip her wings within 10 minutes of wear as the netting is so flimsy. Obviously the outfit doesn't have the same attraction with no wings. The wings cannot be washed therefore if you are wearing regularly they may need a spray of a Febreeze type product to ensure they do not have a "night out" type scent!

***Overall***
This is a great fancy dress costume for those who are indecisive or are regular fancy dress wearers as you get two different outfits in one. The fancy dress costume is well made and comes with matching accessories which for £20 is excellent value for money.

In addition to being good value for money it looks good. It is short therefore wearing hotpants or leggings underneath would be advisable but it is not as skimpy or outrageous as some bee or ladybug fancy dress costumes.

My only reservation and the reason this outfit lost stars is because of the wings that come as part of the set. You do need to take care as they are made from very thin netting, therefore if you are pushing through busy bars they can rip very easily.

~~~~Also posted on Dooyoo 2011~~~~