I really should have reviewed this dress several months ago, considering that it’s a summer frock and we’re nearly into winter in New York State at this point. But oh well, better late than never! This dress is long since sold out, but at least this review will come in handy if it ever comes up on the second-hand market.

This is the Miss Candyfloss (MCF) “Virtue-Reginia” dress in size medium. MCF’s spring/summer 2021 collection had so many gorgeous options. It was really hard to narrow down my favorite, but since I’m on a budget, I could only get one item, and finally Virtue-Reginia was what I settled on.

I was so pleased with this dress that I had Jen take loads of photos of it on me during our summer photo shoot. It was a windy day, and it was catching the voluminous skirt so well that I just couldn’t help myself! So please enjoy this total photo dump:

Can you believe I’m not wearing a crinoline underneath? The stiffness of the fabric and the huge box pleats create all this volume with no assistance!

Virtue-Reginia is a stiff yet lightweight cotton blend fabric. It might be 100% cotton, but I already have it packed away with my summer clothes, so I can’t double-check. But the fabric has a slight sheen to it and absolutely no stretch, so do bear that in mind. I measure 38”-29.5” and can occasionally wear a size small in MCF, but for this dress I went with my usual medium.

This dress features MCF’s signature pleated bust and curved underbust seam. It has loads of room for a full bust, including bigger than mine. I normally state that this construction can work for any bust size because MCF’s typical soft and drapey polyester blend fabric allows the pleats to simply rest closed; but this fabric’s stiffness and slight crinkle texture mean it doesn’t fall back into the folds naturally. As such, without big boobs to fill out the bust, I think it might end up looking sloppy and a little weird.

The waist fits me a little on the large side, but that’s nothing a belt can’t hide. Plus, the dress opens and closes with functional buttons up the front (no zipper), so I prefer to avoid any possible gaping there. A mere inch extra in the waist is a small price to pay to ensure it’s not slightly too small.

Also, it’s not clear in the photos, but the buttons actually go only halfway down the skirt. MCF also sold coordinating light blue shorts (the same color as the belt), for a truly authentic 1950s/60s look, à la Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. But I didn’t purchase the shorts because I didn’t think I’d get much use out of them and the buttons go down far enough that there’s no worry of flashing my underwear.

Note the peek of green shorts beneath the skirt.

Finally, I’d like to note that after much feedback from fans, MCF has started including belt keepers (that little loop that holds the floppy end of your belt in place), and they’ve added pockets to nearly every single garment they produce. Hooray!! They also do an amazing job of either incorporating the pockets into the design (with decorative trim or seaming, for example) or finding some incredibly clever way to hide them.

Here, I’d say they’re hidden, as they seamlessly blend into the side seam and adjacent box pleat. My only remaining complaint is that sometimes the pockets are placed a little too high and close to the waist seam, so that they can interfere with the belt if you have a long torso like me and want to push the belt lower.