Ok, so I ended up having to order this costume twice because of fit and FYI... there are two versions of this costume. The first one I didn't realize I ordered from China until I received my order confirmation with a shipping estimate. This costume is the one I believe people are describing as the thicker material. It arrived in an unmarked zipper pouch. It is NOT stretchy at all. It's all synthetic, but the fabric reminds me of a thinner twill. I thought the craftsmanship of this costume was MUCH better. I sized mine (5'8", 34C, 145lbs) off other reviews, especially hearing that it was stretchy, and erred on the size of a medium so it wouldn't be too small. I opened the costume & was thrilled. The waist fit well and I liked the look a lot. PROBLEM - the costume wouldn't zip up past my waist because I needed about 4 more inches of fabric around the ribcage. The back was also completely covered, so you can wear a bra with this version. The white bust part is double layered & straight across. There is a white tie on the inside & a white tie on the outside and you tie them together to create the sweetheart neckline. I was fine without a bra because the seam below the white sweetheart part propped up the cleavage and the two layers helped it not be see-through. There is a side zipper with this costume, which did not work well, but it could be managed with some wiggling to keep it free of strings and on-track. The hat was stretchy material and I'm not sure if it would stay on my head for long. The only problem I had was the poor sizing. I still had time to order an overnight shipment with Amazon Prime for the size larger, so that's what I did. The second costume ordered from Amazon (and fulfilled by Amazon) arrived in California Costumes brand packaging. This costume looks almost identical, save a few things. Completely different materials, for one. This costume IS stretchy & pretty thin. The trim around the striped part is not pleated, but more lacy. The back of this costume is open, so you would need to wear a strapless bra, as the back flap part leaves a gap showing your back between the bottom of the flap and the top of elastic back of the torso part. I hope that makes sense. This costume is a little more flimsy in the way it hangs because it's stretchy synthetic fabric. The buttons seemed cheaper and the white bust part was a single layer of fabric, so you could see completely through it. You could even see my nude bra through it. The yellow accent trim on the other is metallic gold rope on this costume. Most of all, the size large is a true 10-12. I could have fit in a small or medium, so I was extremely disappointed that there was such a size and quality difference between the two. Because this is a stretchy costume with elastic holding it up in the back, there is no zipper on this costume. The hat on this costume has stiffer materials around the rim than the other costume. That's where this costume is better. Essentially, the one fulfilled by Amazon is the California Costumes brand version and then there is the thicker from-China counterfeit versions. If the sizing wasn't off on the Chinese version (and zipper trouble), I would MUCH prefer the counterfeit version, as the materials are nicer. That said, because it's counterfeit and the sizing is not the same and the costume is NOT stretchy, it makes it hard to size correctly. I really wish there was one costume that was sold per listing, so this wouldn't happen to someone else. Non-CC costumes on one listing, actual California Costume brand on the other. That way you know what you're getting and you can size correctly. But to pass off the counterfeit version as the CC costume doesn't add any confidence to what I buy in the future from Amazon. Ultimately I had to return both because I had two costumes that didn't fit. One too small and one too big. Returning was easy for the most part. The counterfeit company originally offered a partial refund, but I was able to get a full refund agreement within the next day. Amazon's return was very easy and painless. Just research the sizing reviews based on the descriptions of the type of materials, so you know what you're ordering. I don't want to discourage people from ordering because it is super cute.
