Fatale Attraction

A few weeks back, my 'One of Three' post was all about San Francisco's Dollhouse Bettie. I posted three unique pieces of lingerie from the dollhouse, and the Blush Femme Fatale Pinstripe Garter Pantie, was the eventual winner. Knowing what I know about Dollhouse Bettie, I'm positive that I would've been happy reviewing any of the three pieces. As it is, I couldn't be more happy to be reviewing the Garter Pantie.

Where to even begin? I'm pretty sure that this is one of the more comfortable well-fitting panties you could ever find. The pantie is a combination of nylon and elastic, so it has a similar feel to a quality pair of tights. Just like tights they are incredibly soft and smooth, as well as body-conforming.

The pantie is a brief-style but does not rise super high on the waist. It ends up sitting just above the hips. It is a gray color with a soft, small elastic waistband. Red pinstripes descend down the garment all the way around, except for the middle panel, where the stripes are horizontal. On either side of the horizontal panel is a pretty gray ruffle that is done in an ultra soft mesh. Finally, there are four adjustable garter straps that are connected to the pantie.

I wore the pantie with vintage black stockings. Because the stockings were 100% nylon they did not have much stretch, but the garter straps are adjustable and had more than enough extension to connect to the stockings and then adjust back to a comfortable spot. The connectors on the garter straps are hidden by gray ribbons. Looks-wise, it is very nice, but they can get in the way a bit when attempting to connect the stockings, particularly in the back. Other than that very small issue, I have no complaints whatsoever.

The garter straps can also be removed very easily allowing the garment to be worn just as a pantie. If done so, the pantie fits just like a regular brief and still looks quite nice. It's a good option, but stockings go so well with this pantie it almost doesn't seem right to wear it that way.

The fabric content breaks down as 80% nylon and 20% elastane. Again, I can't stress enough how soft smooth and comfortable this is. It's available in small, medium, and large. It costs $29.25. As with anything I ever tried from Dollhouse Bettie, it is of very good quality. If taken care of, it will last a long time. Hand washing and air drying is an absolute must. It's a versatile piece so it's well worth the money, in my opinion. It also has a matching bra so it makes a very nice set when paired with the perfect stockings.

I May Already Be Hooked

The garter panty can always be an interesting piece of lingerie. If done well, it can mean taking an already sexy panty and demanding that the look be taken to the next level with the right pair of stockings. Done poorly, it can mean an over-the-top piece of bedroom wear that may or may not last the necessary 20 minutes before it hits the floor in a heap.

Most of what I have come across fits the second category. Usually its of poor quality, made from cheap materials and flashy colors, and any attempt to wear it over the course of an entire day or night out is met with disastrous results.

The good ones can be easy to spot, though. It is made from higher quality materials. It looks both comfortable to wear and functional in and out of the bedroom. It makes the wearer look classy and feel sexy, instead of looking trashy and feeling uncomfortable. Somewhat surprisingly, given the many gripes I have against Victoria's Secret, they came out with one last winter that I reviewed and really liked.

While I sadly may never get the chance to review the garter panty here, I fear I may already be madly in love with it. It is the Lascivious: Lila Garter Knicker. It combines many, if not all, of the things I lust for in a panty. It is full coverage and done in a vintage panty style so it comes up to the natural waist, above the navel. It is fully done in transparent sheer tulle and mesh, raising the allure and sexiness level of this panty right off the charts. It has banding detail at the hips that raises the tulle up and lets it fall down in a draping effect. Finally, it has four removable garter straps.

Another feature that I'm not sure I like is on the back of the panty. Straight down the middle of the panty is about nine hook and eye closures that begin at the top of the panty, descend down the middle of the back and end at the reinforced crotch. The goal of this is to create a corset-like effect, but I think I would've preferred this to have a completely sheer back. That's always been one of my favorite features of tulle panties, and I feel like this added effect takes away from that. Still, I like this enough to look past that feature.

The panty comes in small, medium, and large sizes. It is only available in black. The fabric content is 89% nylon and 11% elastane (like my favorite pair of stockings). It costs $126, which is why this is a lust post and not a review post. But, should I be hit by a moment of weakness, they may become mine. Could you blame me?

Reader Reveiw #1 -- The Starlet Garter Panty (Cont'd)

After reading a comment by Trish, who had told me to review the Starlet Garter Panty, I thought I should make a quick point of clarification, because I think she raised a really good question.

Any product that I review I wear for pretty much the entire day, either to the office, or out and around if it's a day off. The only exception would be something that completely didn't work, for whatever reason, and I had to take it off. That's only happened once or twice, I believe, and I make sure to note that on my posting.

Specifically, in the case of the garter panty, I definitely gave it a good day's wear. From about 7:30AM when I got dressed in the morning, until about 8PM when I came in from school, I had the garter panty and stockings on. I spent most of the day in the office or in school or traveling to and from. That said, I think I got a pretty good idea about how the panty feels working, walking around, driving around, etc. Again, since I was out of my house for over 12 hours, I'm pretty confident that it's very functional all day long. Everything stayed in place, I never needed to fix or adjust during the course of that time.

My posts get time-stamped pacific time, even though I'm on the east coast. So I really made around 1:40pm. I couldn't do it any later in the day, due to time constraints, but I'm always sure to make any edits should I change the way I feel about something after the post. In my opinion, I'd rather post early about something while I'm still wearing it, than post the next day and maybe forget a detail or two because of it. In this specific case, I still agree 100% with everything I wrote yesterday.

So, okay, maybe this wasn't that quick of a post. But hopefully this helps to clarify was goes into a review that I write. I definitely always try to write it knowing that there are people who may or may not purchase something based on how I express my likes and dislikes about it in my review.

Anyway, thanks Trish, it was probably good that I made this post to give any readers I have insight into how I review something :-).

Reader Reveiw #1 -- The Starlet Garter Panty

When they're not too busy fighting with some of the local universities ,Victoria's Secret can do it right every once in a while. Case in point is the Starlet Garter Panty.

For those readers who might have caught my blog in the early days...way, way, way back in May of this year, this is what I had to say about Victoria's Secret's first invention of the Starlet Panty. Apparently consumers have by and large echoed my sentiment, because in the few months since then, VS has been expanding their Starlet line very aggressively. There have been a few different variations of the panty itself, there has been a garter skirt, and now there is this...the garter panty.

The panty I reviewed in May was VS grown up. Not grown up in a granny sort of way. Grown up in a elegant, refined, classy, pretty (read: all things not PINK) sort of way. This garter panty is grown up in a sexy, seductive, alluring, when-did-you-get-so-attractive sort of way. And I think it really works.

The panty is high waist and a blend of nylon and spandex. It is a see through mesh all the way around except for a panel down the middle of the front, which is reinforced with a pretty lace detail. On the edge of this lacing, and also down the back, is some boning. The panty remains pretty flexible despite this, and not the least bit uncomfortable, even under pants. Also, there is more lace detail around the waist and leg openings of the panty and a bow at the top front. The back is completely sheer and there is some lace-up on the top of the back. The lacework on the legs and waist continues as well around the back of the panty.

The panty has four garters in total. They are detachable, and the straps are pretty thin. That said, the clasps are metal and everything has stayed in place quite well throughout the day today. If I did have a complaint about this panty, it would be the decision to go with four straps instead of six. But it isn't a big complaint. I know many of the garter belts and panties that VS makes are strictly for the bedroom, but this particular one can be functional all day long. And, most importantly, this panty feels great. From my perspective, this a really comfortable, really great-feeling panty.

I'm still a bit surprised when something from Victoria's Secret fits this well. After a few years of being disappointed with anything I bought from there, thinking it would fit well only to get home and find it didn't at all, I can't be more pleased with some of the panties they have come out with lately. There couldn't be a better example than the Starlet Garter panty. If you're a fan of VS, or looking to try them again for the first time, I would recommend this. I'm glad I got a chance to try it, I will certainly be getting some good use out of it.