eShakti vs. Anthropologie

Sometimes I surprise myself. Somehow, I've managed to stick to my self-imposed shopping ban in the lead-up to the big move. I haven't ordered the Dorothy Perkins polka dot dress that I mentioned in my last post. I haven't indulged in the nearby sidewalk sales, or taken advantage of all the ridiculous sales going on in department stores. But this -- THIS! -- is seriously tempting

I don't own any pencil dresses because, to be frank, I haven't found any that don't make me look like an overstuffed sausage. I tried on the Anthro dress below, but it was way too tight, and also way out of my price range. The style itself had the potential to be incredibly flattering, but the size and price issues made it a big no go. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a much cheaper alternative in a size that would actually fit. I give you the dupe to end all dupes!

Anthropologie Column Tank Dress

eShakti Angular Stripe Pencil Dress

If I Had a Magic Lamp...

Helloooo! You may have noticed that I've been a bit absent this week. Seattle is currently buried in an uncharacteristically deep layer of snow, and so the city has, for the most part, shut down. As a result, I've been lounging around in my pajamas for the vast majority of this week (read: ALL of this week). Because OOTD posts were out, I was having one of those weeks where I couldn't decide what to post about. Wedding planning? Wish list items? Garden gnomes? I ultimately decided to go with the second idea (as evidenced by the title of this post). Anyway, these are just a few of the items I'm desperately coveting. 

I've already ordered one of these. Can you guess which one?

Botanical Flutter Dress, Dorothy Perkins (here)

Clockworks Shirt Dress, eShakti (here)

Flamingo Print Jumper, Dorothy Perkins (here)

Gray Heart Print Cardigan, Dorothy Perkins (here)

 Bird Print Button Back Top, Dorothy Perkins (here)

eShakti Review: Fair Lady Long Jacket

Coat: c/o eShakti (you can find the jacket here!)

eShakti contacted me recently, and offered to send me an item of my choosing to review. If you're unfamiliar with eShakti, it's an online company dedicated to providing clothes for women sizes 0-26. The company's philosophy is beautiful and simple: "One size does not fit all and all sizes are not created equal. For too long women have been forced to conform to standard sizing that too often doesn't fit properly. At eShakti, a woman can shop for exactly what she wants - no compromise, no premium to pay."

When you order from eShakti, you can either order from their standard sizes, or, for an additional $7.50, have the item customized to your exact measurements. For most items, you can request additional alterations: dresses, skirts and coats can be shortened or lengthened according to your taste, as can sleeves and necklines. Among the measurements they require you to provide when you order a custom item is your bra size. As busty as I am, I was relieved that they asked for this particular measurement. It meant that I wouldn't have to contend with any unsightly gaping, which is the bane of every busty girl's existence. This is what recommends eShakti above all else: the company provides you with the ability to customize almost any item of clothing to suit your size, your shape, and your taste. And for $7.50, it's an absolute bargain.

I chose to order a customized Fair Lady Long Jacket. It arrived promptly and in pristine condition. The seams are neatly finished, and the buttons are sewn on very, very well. It usually comes to pass that as soon as I get a coat home one of the buttons pops off. Not so with this jacket! I also love the added detailing around the wrist cuff: two buttons and some adorable decorative loops. I'm extremely impressed with the workmanship of the ruffle, as well. It's very neatly hemmed, and securely stitched on to the jacket, so it won't be tearing any time soon! The coat itself is made of a very nice quality, lightweight wool. It's also fully lined. The lining is composed of a fairly thin fabric, but it seems sturdy, so despite it's relative thinness I suspect it will hold up quite well over time.

eShakti's customer service was superb. They post the care instructions for items right on the product's main page, but I thought I would email them anyway and see how they responded. I was fully expecting a form letter that said something to the effect of, "You can find that information on the product's main page." I was delightfully surprised when I received an email that not only included care instructions, but did not passive aggressively instruct me to "check the product's page." They answered my question directly and helpfully, which is quite rare where customer service is concerned.

If you're considering buying this jacket, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• It hits slightly above the knee, so if it bothers you to have a skirt or dress showing at the bottom of the coat then you may want to consider altering the length.
• According to the site, this jacket has a medium warmth factor. I'd say it's a light-to-medium warmth factor. It makes for a nice additional layer of wool, but if you're looking for a heavy jacket, this isn't a good choice for you.
• Though the jacket is fully lined, it's still made of wool. If you have skin that reacts poorly to wool, you may want to pick a different item.
• The jacket doesn't have any pockets. Just something to keep in mind.

For my part, I'm thrilled to pieces with the jacket. I ordered it a bit bigger than I needed, because I like to be able to pile on the layers in the winter, and the sizing is perfect. You could easily get it more fitted, though. I may end up belting it this fall and winter; we'll see.

My only complaint is that the jacket smelled a bit musty when it arrived. I hung it up to air out for a few days and the scent has more or less faded. I'm relieved it did, because it's dry clean only.

To recap: eShakti is amazing. You're guaranteed to find something that fits. Check out their site now. Go. Go now. Run! Don't walk! Are you running? You look like you're sauntering. RUN!

eShakti was kind enough to send me this item free of charge. This in no way affected my opinion of the item or the company. I'm an opinionated beast of a woman, so you can be sure that if I hadn't liked the item and/or company I would have said so. For serious.

Fly Away!

 

Please excuse my hair in this photo. It's doing something wonky... and yes, that is definitely a word.

Dress: eShakti

Cardigan: Halogen (via Nordstrom)

Earrings: Random store in Rome

Shoes: Rockport

Bracelet: Trollbeads

Sweater Clip: DIY

Headband: Nordstrom

This story begins, as many do, with a little known fact about myself. I snore. And not dainty, aw-shucks-isn't-she-cute snores, but my-God-in-heaven-how-did-this-trucker-get-in-my-bed snores. I don't do it often (as far as I know...), but when I do, Mr. CP understandably has trouble sleeping. Such was the case night before last, which is how Mr. CP came to be napping yesterday afternoon. I had a couple errands to run, so I quietly exited the house and started skipping my way down the steps (we have about 20 steps that lead up to our house from the street). Imagine my shock when I got to the bottom of the steps only to see a a homeless guy asleep/passed out/dead (I had no idea which at that point) at the base of the stairs. I really didn't want to wake Mr. CP up. It was my fault he was exhausted, after all. So my initial inclination was to try to step over the homeless man, but he was rather a big boned fellow, if you catch my drift. I also didn't want to risk pissing him off, as there are some rather volatile homeless people here in Seattle. I contemplated climbing over the fence into Neighbor #1's yard, but the fence is about six feet tall, and I'm really, really not at all agile. I thought about trying to climb through the ivy into Neighbor #2's yard, but that sounded like an even dumber idea than trying to scale the fence. Spiders?! Nuh-uh! No way! Not gonna happen! So I just sort of stood there... staring down at the homeless guy... willing him to wake up. Which he didn't do. I quietly ascended the stairs back into the house, and woke Mr. CP up from his peaceful slumber. At which point we both descended the front stairs... and stared at the homeless guy... and willed him to wake up. Which he still didn't do. Neither of us wanted to wake him, so we rock-paper-scissored to see who would call the Police Department (I lost... BLAST!). Because I wasn't sure whether the guy was asleep or dead, they put me on the line with the Fire Department... who came out with a giant truck, an entire crew, and three or four EMTs. And that, my friends, is how the Fire Department came to be at our house for the second time in two weeks. It turned out the man wasn't dead, just drunk and passed out, thank goodness. They were kind enough to bundle him up and take him to a local shelter, where I hope he's faring better.

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot to mention that the crew that came out yesterday was the same crew that came out when our pipe burst. I'm pretty sure they think we're raging fools. They were speaking to me veeeeeery slooooooowly like I was about four years old.

Delightful Dresses

I've been on the prowl for cute, patterned dresses lately and figured I'd share with all of you some of the beauties I've come across. Sorry about the small pictures; unfortunately I was unable to pull better photos of the dresses off the different websites. Just click on the links underneath each dress, though, and you can check them out in all their printed glory. Enjoy the eye candy!

New Look: Inspire Dandelion Printed Dress

 

Cutest dress ever. I love the dandelion print. The only thing that's prevented me from ordering it is the simple fact that I don't want to pay for international shipping. 

Torrid: Carousel Horse Print Dress

 So cute. You can't really tell from this teeny tiny picture, but this dress has little horses all over it. Regrettably, I'll probably never own this dress. Quite frankly, I just don't think it's worth the $70 price tag. That's pretty much in keeping with my general opinion of Torrid: some cute things, but rarely worth the price.

Modcloth: By Night Dress

I have a confession to make. Despite promising myself that I wouldn't order this dress, I caved. Um, Mr. CP made me do it?

 

Eshakti: Migratory Birds Dress

  

 Another confession: I actually own this dress. I ordered it a couple weeks ago, and it arrived on my doorstep yesterday morning. I haven't had a chance to wear it yet -- it's waiting to be washed -- but I love it so much that I just had to include it on this list. I'll definitely post an OOTD featuring this dress in the near future, though, so keep checking back!

Modcloth: Graceful Greenery Dress

When I first saw this dress, I promptly clipped it to Polyvore and started putting together imaginary outfits. I think I've made five sets that feature this dress. At $130 this beauty is well out of my price range, but a girl can dream. Maybe the Birthday Fairy will bring it to me in November!