Saturday, January 02, 2010
I was contacted recently by the nice folks at eShakti.com, wondering if I knew about their line. Their business model is really interesting - they essentially do mass customization. What I mean by this is that they have their own line of clothes on their site, priced affordably, that look ready to buy. However, when you go to order you specify exactly what your measurements are and they make it to size for just $10 more (standard sizing comes at no additional cost)!
Full disclosure here - eShakti offered to custom make me a piece of clothing of my choice so I could try the line out. As with any offer like this I always make sure the brand knows that I will review it honestly and not just post a glowing review. That being the case, I went ahead and ordered this dress:
This is the Ruffle Front Wrap Dress, which sells for $49.95. plus $10 for the customization. This means that for $59.95 you get a custom made dress - very affordable in my opinion. Below you can read my review.
Shipping time: Even though it comes from India, it shipped really fast - it arrived in about a week, including the time it took them to make it, which is impressive. I will say that the dress arrived in a box the size of a book, and was therefore a bit wrinkled from having been a bit smooshed. However, this small package probably reduced the shipping fee, which for an order of my cost was only $8.95.
The Fit: I was very impressed with the fit of the dress. I have a true hourglass figure, with a waist that on average is about 12 inches or more smaller than my hips. As a result, I have to tailor most of the dresses I get. I chose a wrap dress, which is traditionally flattering to my figure - but when I inspected the cut of the dress I saw all the ways that they made it more flattering for my exact shape - I told them I was high waisted, so the band at the waist was set high, just under the bust - the perfect place for it, making my waist look even smaller. The wrap part of the dress itself was cut at an angle to account for my wide hips, so that the dress wouldn't gap when it was tied. That was one of the most clever parts in my opinion.
Dress Quality & Style: The dress was made of something they called "cotton satin" which I had some aprehension about before ordering, as I had a feeling that this was a type of fabric I generally avoid. It's a very thin, fine polished cotton. It's quite a popular material for summer dresses but for me personally I find it too much like linen in it's wrinkle potential. Indeed, particularly with the dress being shipped in the tiny box, it was wrinked on arrival. The collar of the dress, which is a bit hard to see in pictures, has a fun ruffle to it which was so funky from the shipping that at first I thought I did not like the style of it all. After I was able to smooth it down I saw how cute it was, and I think the dress is going to look really lovely after a good steaming/pressing. It is definitely only a summer fabric however.
Summary: The dress fits beautifully, looks like the picture and was very affordable. If they were to make dresses out of fabrics like jersey, I'd most likely buy about 10 more. I am not certain if I'd order another item in the cotton satin again, but this is truly a personal preference. I am probably going to order a pair of their poly/spandex pants for myself soon to try those. There a lot of really nice clothing designs on their website, and with the customization available in sizes 0-26 I would definitely recommend this brand to others. As soon as I get my dress steamed I will post a pic of me wearing it.
Full disclosure here - eShakti offered to custom make me a piece of clothing of my choice so I could try the line out. As with any offer like this I always make sure the brand knows that I will review it honestly and not just post a glowing review. That being the case, I went ahead and ordered this dress:
This is the Ruffle Front Wrap Dress, which sells for $49.95. plus $10 for the customization. This means that for $59.95 you get a custom made dress - very affordable in my opinion. Below you can read my review.
Shipping time: Even though it comes from India, it shipped really fast - it arrived in about a week, including the time it took them to make it, which is impressive. I will say that the dress arrived in a box the size of a book, and was therefore a bit wrinkled from having been a bit smooshed. However, this small package probably reduced the shipping fee, which for an order of my cost was only $8.95.
The Fit: I was very impressed with the fit of the dress. I have a true hourglass figure, with a waist that on average is about 12 inches or more smaller than my hips. As a result, I have to tailor most of the dresses I get. I chose a wrap dress, which is traditionally flattering to my figure - but when I inspected the cut of the dress I saw all the ways that they made it more flattering for my exact shape - I told them I was high waisted, so the band at the waist was set high, just under the bust - the perfect place for it, making my waist look even smaller. The wrap part of the dress itself was cut at an angle to account for my wide hips, so that the dress wouldn't gap when it was tied. That was one of the most clever parts in my opinion.
Dress Quality & Style: The dress was made of something they called "cotton satin" which I had some aprehension about before ordering, as I had a feeling that this was a type of fabric I generally avoid. It's a very thin, fine polished cotton. It's quite a popular material for summer dresses but for me personally I find it too much like linen in it's wrinkle potential. Indeed, particularly with the dress being shipped in the tiny box, it was wrinked on arrival. The collar of the dress, which is a bit hard to see in pictures, has a fun ruffle to it which was so funky from the shipping that at first I thought I did not like the style of it all. After I was able to smooth it down I saw how cute it was, and I think the dress is going to look really lovely after a good steaming/pressing. It is definitely only a summer fabric however.
Summary: The dress fits beautifully, looks like the picture and was very affordable. If they were to make dresses out of fabrics like jersey, I'd most likely buy about 10 more. I am not certain if I'd order another item in the cotton satin again, but this is truly a personal preference. I am probably going to order a pair of their poly/spandex pants for myself soon to try those. There a lot of really nice clothing designs on their website, and with the customization available in sizes 0-26 I would definitely recommend this brand to others. As soon as I get my dress steamed I will post a pic of me wearing it.
posted by Lisafashionista @ 4:19 PM
I love that dress. it is my color!