Rouje Gabin Dress Review
It’s no secret that I love everything from the French fashion and beauty brand, Rouje. I’ve been buying their clothes and makeup for several years now and they hit it out of the park with every launch. I’ve never been able to visit France but I feel like I have a little bit of Paris with me when I’m wearing Rouje clothes.
If you didn’t know, Rouje was founded by French It-Girl, Jeanne Damas. She is a gorgeous natural beauty and really epitomizes French fashion. Every season they release a small collection of pieces – a mix of new styles and their signature styles in updated color ways. They’ve also ventured into beauty and I’m happy to say that their beauty line is just as good.
Probably their most iconic style is the Gabin Dress. Every season they release the Gabin dress in new colors and prints. They also have a shorter version called the Gabinette now! I’m going to make a bold statement and say that the Gabin Dress is THE MOST FLATTERING DRESS EVER which is why I’m excited to share my Rouje Gabin Dress Review!
Rouje Gabin Dress Review
I’m actually surprised that I haven’t done a review of this dress yet because I have about 3 in my closet and it’s one of the first things I bought from Rouje. The Gabin is a wrap style dress with buttons down the side and a tie at the waist. It’s midi length with sleeves that hit right above the elbow. It’s not a true wrap dress because the 5 buttons help keep it closed but it is semi-adjustable because of the tie waist.
Rouje Gabin Dress Style
I love this dress because it’s a wrap dress – but also not a wrap dress. I really love the look of wrap dresses but they feel too revealing for me. The top part is always too loose and the bottom always reveals too much leg. That problem is solved with the Gabin dress! The buttons really help to keep the dress from loosening up too much and also help to keep the bottom skirt closed. Don’t get me wrong – the Gabin still does show off your legs but with the buttons I feel like it keeps the skirt from opening up and exposing you. I also love the tie waist because you can tighten it for the perfect fit around your waist. It also creates a nice effect with the strings that you can tie in a bow. And finally, the sleeve length is really nice. It goes down to almost the elbow so it covers up any arm flab you might have.
Rouje Gabin Dress Fabric + Sizing
While I love the feel of the rayon/viscose fabric, I feel like it is a bit finnicky. It does shrink when you wash it so they recommend hand washing and ironing it while it’s still damp to loosen it up. I bought my first two Gabin dresses in a size 34 and my measurements were pretty much exact to the size chart. I hand washed my dresses, line dried, and ironed them after they were fully dry and I found that the dresses did shrink but I was still able to fit in them without having to iron while damp. However, I’m about 10 pounds heavier now and I can’t button the size 34 dresses any longer. So I sized up to the 36 for the Gabin dress you see in the photos. This size 36 is a little big but I think after washing, it will shrink a little too. I just tried ironing my size 34 dress while damp I it did loosen up the fabric a bit to where I can squeeeeze into the dress now.
I would suggest sizing up if you are in between sizes because of the shrinking issues. I also feel like the Gabin dress might not work best on extreme pear shaped bodies. I had to size up because my hips and tummy are a lot bigger now due to just having a baby. However, the top section of my size 36 is a little too big for my bust. Previously, I had more of an slim hourglass shape. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it work if you have a larger bottom half. Like I mentioned above, you can move the buttons around to give you more room in the hip section. It just requires some sewing skills (or a tailor). I have even seen pregnant women wear the Gabin dress – they just keep the bottom buttons un-buttoned!
I’ve also noticed some fit issues with my Gabin dresses. One of my Gabin dresses had wonky button placement for some reason. They weren’t exactly in the right place so it made the neckline uneven. It was fixable though (even though it was a pain). I just had to take off the buttons and sew them into the right spots (based on my other Gabin Dress).
I have another size 38 Gabin dress that’s 55% rayon and 45% viscose and you can see that here. This dress actually shrunk the most after handwashing/line drying. It’s definitely tighter than the size 38 I’m wearing in this post and it shrunk length-wise as well. It still fits and it’s definitely tighter than this one. I’m guessing it’s because of the fabric blend. My other Gabin dresses are 100% viscose and didn’t seem to shrink as much. You can see me model those dresses in my try-on video below!
Rouje Gabin Dress Try-On Video
Ordering from France
I actually love ordering from French brands because I’ve found the shipping to be really fast. Of course, you are paying anywhere from $20-30 for shipping to the US so I guess that’s why. Rouje does offer free shipping over $300 and the Gabin dress is $200 so I would suggest ordering a couple things to get the free shipping. Unfortunately, you are responsible for return shipping if you want to do a return, which I think can be around $30, so I try to avoid that. I’ve never been charged extra fees like customs or duties when ordering from Rouje.
Rouje Gabin Dress Review Final Thoughts
Despite the fabric issues, I think this dress is just so flattering. Of course, it looked great on me pre-kids when I was more of a sample size. But it still looks good on me now – even though I have a postpartum belly and a little extra weight. You may be thinking “What extra weight??” but that’s the beauty of a beautifully designed dress and a pair of spanx! The cut of the dress is really romantic and feminine and highlights all the best parts. There’s a reason I’ve bought this dress 3 times!
I hope you enjoyed my Rouje Gabin Dress Review! If you have any questions just let me know in the comments or send me a DM on Instagram!
