Dress Review: Visions of Venice

At long last the return of Trashy Diva's Circle Day dress is here!!!

There are many Trashy Diva dresses that are regulars and semi-regulars on Trashy Diva's dress cut rotation (with good cause)-- the 40's, l'amour, Lena Sarong, Annette (including the variations of Annette-- Annette mini and Anne), the Honey (including the Honey Sun variation), for example. However, there are also dress cuts that seemed to have only popped up for a handful of prints back in the day which haven't seen the light of day for years (I'm looking at you Dixie, just recently re-released Hopscotch, and Circle Day dress)! The Circle Day dress is perhaps my most #1 wished for comeback dress. Looking at pictures of this fabled cut I imagined it to the most perfect, most wonderful cut ever known to 50's style reproduction. Seriously! The Trashy Diva Circle Day dress features a full circle skirt and a bust friendly modest friendly bodice. The bodice features a large collar and charming decorative black front buttons with rhinestone centers. Because the buttons are only decorative you get the visual appeal without having to deal with button gaping! This dress also has the appearance of cap sleeves from its long shoulder seam providing not only a cute look but also fuller coverage at the shoulders. The bodice is darted to keep things fitted while a hidden side zip allows one to get in and out of this dress without breaking up the single panel of fabric and thus an uninterrupted view of the print in the back. Well ladies, it's finally happened! Trashy Diva's Circle Day dress is finally back! As is the previously re-released Hopscotch (you can see my review of the Hopscotch in Hourglass here).

While I would have really liked the Circle Day dress to come out in a cotton voile or stretch cotton (as it mostly did in the past), I am so super ecstatic that this cut has made a long awaited return in any fabric. The last time this dress cut was released by Trashy Diva was, I believe, in 2008 with the Butterflies and Cool and Warm Watercolors prints. That's almost 10 years ago! When I saw that this dress was back I had it added to my cart and paid for that morning! And when I finally got my hands on it, it did not disappoint!

To be completely honest, this dress could have come out in almost any print or solid, and in any fabric choice and I would have been one of the first in line to get it. It's just an added bonus to me then that this dress came out in a wonderful new print, Venice Nights.

Venice Nights is the first print in Trashy Diva's new annual Tourist Print Collection. It's a 1940's inspired novelty print depicting scenes of gondolas going down the canals of Venice with bridges, buildings, and lights all playing off in the background. The dominate color of this dress is true blue while the Venice scenes display an abundance of red, mustard yellow, black and white. The fabric on this dress is a super soft stretch rayon. It has the feeling of wearing the most luxurious comfortable pajama yet has a very polished look with great drape to the skirt. This dress, while has all the features expected of the Circle Day dress listed above, also features one pocket to store items.

I got this dress in my usual size 10. It is probably possible that I could have sized down but I was worried that sizing down would cause pull at the bust. Also, I don't really like my dresses to be super tight. Because this dress came out in the stretch rayon fabric, the skirt has got great drape but it does lose a little of the 50's fullness that other Trashy Diva Circle Day dresses had. I will probably opt to wear this with a petticoat to help emphasize the fullness of the skirt in future wears but to show how the dress is as is, here it is without a petticoat.

Trashy Diva Circle Day Dress in Venice Nights- Front View

Trashy Diva Circle Day Dress in Venice Nights- Front View

Trashy Diva Circle Day Dress in Venice Nights- Side View

Trashy Diva Circle Day Dress in Venice Nights- Back View

Trashy Diva Circle Day Dress in Venice Nights- Close Up

Trashy Diva Circle Day Dress in Venice Nights- Button Close Up

Trashy Diva Venice Nights- Close Up