Sweet Streak Velvet Overbust Corset-Style Bustier

Recently I received a Velvet Corset Style Bustier by SweetStreak from Lovehoney to review. I enjoy wearing corsets as part of everyday clothing as well as lingerie; the bustier makes a nice change from wearing a corset, as it doesn’t constrict your body by reducing the waist. A bustier is generally made up of plastic boning rather than steel boning and is meant to accentuate your natural curves. When ordering a bustier you should order one that’s the same size as your body, rather than ordering a size down. If you order a smaller bustier in the hope it’ll shrink your waist, you’re likely to experience damage to the garment in the form of warped bones due to over tightening. Sometimes warped plastic bones can be straightened out by placing heavy items, such as hardback books, on top of the garment over night, but they will never be completely fixed.

The bustier is made from a soft black velvet fabric; there is black satin edging the bottom and top of the corset, making the garment look tidy, as well as acting as a nice contrast to the velvet fabric. There are 16 plastic bones found in the bustier, which are lined with a soft fabric so they won’t irritate your skin. Each bone is sewn into the fabric securely, and doesn’t move about. I’m rather impressed by the quality of the bustier; it seems built to last. At the back there is a 4.5 inch velvet modesty panel, which can be flattened out behind the lacing, or tucked away if you want to be more daring and show a bit of skin. I found the panel to be rather creased, and the creases haven’t come out yet, but when the item is being laced it does smooth out nicely. At the back there are two rows of holes with metal eyelets. These are pretty strong and don’t seem like they’ll pop out. Threaded through the rows are two pieces of black satin ribbon; one to tighten the bust area, the other to tighten the hips, with both meeting at the centre of the back. In corsets and bustiers I tend to find only one ribbon lacing the back, rather than two. The front is joined by hook and eye, similar to what you’d find on a bra. There are two rows of eye loops which are ½ inch apart. I personally would recommend hooking together the tightest row of loops, as they will join both halves of the velvet leaving no gaps at the front. Otherwise you’ll have a gap between the velvet showing one of the rows of loops, which for me would ruin the beauty of the bustier.

To put the bustier on, you may need to loosen the ribbon lacing first. Hooking together the hook and eye front was a little frustrating and fiddly, as sometimes a few would pop undone while doing it up. Tightening the back was very easy. I thought that having to pay attention to two ribbons rather than one would make it harder, but it made it a lot easier. The satin ribbons do slip a bit, especially when knotting them together, so you will probably want someone to help you. The modesty panel was easy to position, and thanks to the thickness of the velvet it stayed in place better than some.

Trying to show how it fits

Unfortunately, for the garment to fit me, I had to lace it completely up, meaning I wasn’t able to show off the criss-cross of the laced ribbon on my back. I received the bustier in the small size. The garment’s online stats when completely tightened are ‘Small: Bust 31" / Waist 24" / Hips 30"’. My stats are: Bust 32”/ Waist 23” / Hips 33”. So it really should’ve fitted me, leaving a little gap. As the bustier did up completely, and would’ve been able to be made tighter if it was possible, I decided to check its measurements. I found that my bustier measured the following: Bust 32.5” / Waist 26” / Hips 33.5”. After measuring the bustier and finding that it was bigger than the online measurements I contacted Lovehoney. They re-measured the ones they had in stock, and found that they were indeed bigger than the size I was expecting. Their new measurements for small were: Bust 32" / Waist 25" / Hips 32".

I was still able to get away with wearing the bustier, though it’s a little too loose for me to wear casually, unless worn over a top. The bustier did slip around a bit, and didn’t really fit my bust as it was too big. It still looked nice once on, but didn’t feel very practical. 

The thong provided isn’t great. It’s just a piece of the velvet cut into a triangle, and edged with black satin. There are two pieces of elastic, one for around the hips, and the other to join the front panel to the centre back. Again I found this to be rather too big, but even if it had fit, I doubt I’d use it.

The bustier is hand wash only and takes a bit longer to dry than some garments.

Overall, even though the sizing seems to be different to the measurements found online, it is still a very nice bustier. The velvet is good quality, and it seems to be well made, and should last. It is also very beautiful, and I feel that if you get the right fit, it’ll work well at emphasizing your natural body shape.  Unlike some velvet garments, the bustier does make you appear slender, by softly flattering your natural curves.

You can purchase this bustier from Lovehoney here.