Taking Chances! Kiyonna Valentina Illusion Dress Review

It has been a while since I blogged!  I've been busy with family matters, we had a few setbacks regarding medication and getting my husband's mental health stabilized.  It's a journey for us, learning to navigate life with Kevin's diagnosis, Dr. visits and trying to find the right medication.  I am happy to say things are going very well now, we have been enjoying family time, working on our home and being outside in the beautiful Michigan summer.  I have taken a bit of a break to enjoy some well earned peace on the home front but I have missed blogging!!

Today,  I am completely stepping outside my comfort zone.  I have always been self conscious about my weight, my extreme hourglass shape and the size of my butt.  I was teased pretty mercilessly as a kid, called "bubble butt" among other terrible things.  From then on, I always wore baggy clothing trying to disguise the fact that I was larger than other girls of my age group and even if I wasn't larger my body shape was so much different.  I have fought with my body image so much over the years and still struggle, but the main reason that I started this blog was so I could help people face this body shaming society head on and stop the cycle of hurt!  I have gained so much confidence the last couple years as I have begun dressing in pinup styles and finally feel like I have clothing that shows the flair of my personality.  Even though I have been loving my new style and feel glorious, I still feel the need to try and step outside my personal box every now and again.  I rarely take chances with my wardrobe, I am a matchy-matchy, play it safe kinda gal.  I always choose what I believe will be the most flattering shape on my body type and generally shy away from sexier, fitted styles.  However, I kept finding myself drawn to the wiggle dress shape, knowing that it is a classic wardrobe piece that is perfect for elegant occasions, I really wanted to get over my fear!

I have been eyeing the Valentina Illusion Dress for some time but kept making the safe choices afraid, what if I got the dress and hated it on myself?  When the dress arrived and I pulled it out of the package, I looked at it and thought, there is NO WAY I can squeeze myself into that, I was way to scared of ripping or damaging the dress to even try!  I put it back into the package, intending to send Kiyonna an e-mail stating that I could not fit into it but Kevin told me that I had better at least try it on, which I admit I was pretty reluctant to do!  It fit perfectly!  I was still pretty apprehensive about how tightly the dress fit so I had Kevin take a quick cell phone shot for me and I was blown away at how I looked!!

The Kiyonna Valentina Illusion Dress in Black/Blush is THE perfect dress for any occasion when you want to look drop dead gorgeous, turn heads and feel lushly sexy.  This dress glides over your curves and caresses your body perfectly!  The ruching along the front of the dress disguises any trouble areas and adds a glamorous touch. I love how contrasting black lace shapes the body and enhances the curves, I felt dangerously curvy in this dress.  I am wearing Spanx Higher Power Shorts underneath the dress for extra smoothing, but this dress does not require shape wear because there is great stretch in the material.  The black really exaggerates your body's natural shape and makes this dress so very sexy.  Black lace sleeves are the perfect length slimming the arms and adding glamour.  The cross over bust is a great feature that flatters and can easily be adjusted to show more or less skin as desired.  I chose to accessorize very simply, I felt the dress itself is a statement piece and I wanted it to really shine!

Dress: Valentina Illusion Dress in Black/Blush size 2X courtesy of Kiyonna
Earrings: Pearl Drops by Ceci Punch Designs
Photographer: Tedd Gorman
Location: The historic Whitcomb in gorgeous downtown St. Joseph Michigan

I rarely do sexy, I usually feel like a bouncy princess but sexy is not a huge part of my character.  But I am trying to get comfortable with the fact that I deserve to look and feel sexy on the occasions when I desire to!!  I felt self conscious at first, wondering if maybe someone would look at me funny or God forbid say something rude, but I recieved only very appreciative glances and compliments as I was wearing it!  This dress made me feel like a femme fatale, a friend said I looked like Jessica Rabbit and I think that compliment was spot on.  I really felt sultry, like a glamorous beauty straight out of old Hollywood!  It is always surprising to me how rewarding stepping outside my comfort zone can be.  I may not get a ton of chances to wear something so elegant but I am planning to wear this glorious dress any occasion I get because I love everything about it.  Thank you Kiyonna for once again making me look and feel amazing!!