Thank you to eShakti for providing a garment for review. As you will see, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Affiliate links may be used.
I have very good body image. I know that I’m not perfect, but I eat better than I used to (even as of 3 years ago) and I’m at the most active point in my life. With a little hard work and acceptance of my genetics, I can find a lot of outfits that fit and flatter. But, sometimes even this is a challenge. When I was approached by Eshakti to review a customized garment with specific measurements, I jumped on that bandwagon fast. I became really excited because I have a real person’s body, not a model’s body. I’m short, with huge hips and a super short waist. The idea of customizing a dress to my measurements is really attractive, so naturally I was anticipating my shipment.
I chose sleeveless trapeze dress, which is a dress silhouette made famous in the 60s and 80s, fitting the shoulders and bust, and having a drastic A-line swing at the hem. this dress even had a ruffle at the bottom, adding to the hem width. It’s a free-hanging silhouette, and therefore one of the most forgiving for hippy gals like myself. You’ll notice a series of measurements that I provided the company, along with hem and sleeve requests. But I was surprised that the only vertical measurements they asked for were my arms and my height.
As a costume designer, I was dumbfounded. If you find another person that is the exact same height as you, chances are that your waists are not in the same spot. Neither are your boobs, your knees, or even your rib cage. That’s what makes us different, and vertical measurements matter just as much as horizontal measurements (hips, bust, waist) in garment construction. This is another reason that I chose a free-hanging dress rather than a tailored piece. Because these eShakti dresses really aren’t tailored…
When the box arrived, I ripped it out of the shipping container and slapped it on. My fears were confirmed. This picture of the unaltered upper torso shows you what I meant. See my undergarments in the armseye? You could fit a small dog in there. Also, the bust line is precariously low. Not to mention that even though I provided my bust measurement, I had to take in the side FOUR INCHES and there was still room to move. I even took in the shoulder straps 1″ each to lift the armseye and the bust line. This, in turn, also took up the hem to the ACTUAL knee line that I requested. Again, how can you create the right hemline if you don’t ask for a nape to knee measurement?! I don’t get it…
But if you’re reading this, saying, “But Lindsey.. you chose a free flowing garment – of course it doesn’t fit!” listen to this: The lining underneath the paisley cotton was a closer fit than the shell, and still didn’t fit properly. The hipline may be free flowing, but the top shell of the dress was way too big. Had I taken a chance and ordered something with an actual waistline and skirt, the torso would have still been too big and billowy because of where the waistline was supposed to sit. So, I actually saved myself some larger alterations.
Now, please know that the cottons used to make the dress were very nice. The fabrics were soft and the construction was just fine. No loose threads, lingerie straps for bras (which were rendered useless after my alteration) and even serging all the way around. The tag was majorly itchy, so that sucker got cut out of the lining seconds after this photo…
Now, once I altered the dress to actually fit my body (which gets rid of any customization factor the company offers), I added my jean jacket to help reign in all the fabric and tossed on a pair of my favorite Lucchese western boots. My black leather clutch, bangle and some jewelry rounded out the outfit for a summer to fall transition look, which is perfect for Atlanta this time of year.
My outfit additions are extremely comfortable, old standby items that I know make me feel good and matched the dress very well. Even Hubs made a comment about how the finished the look was, and snapped a few photos for us on our date night. After the disappointment of having to alter an already customized dress, that made me feel pretty awesome.
Eshakti has been campaigning: Real Fashion for Real People, which is a really admirable slogan, but since I’m a real person, and the customization factor isn’t REALLY good, I’m a little disappointed. I don’t think I’ll be ordering from eShakti until they step up their measurement process. Tall folks, as well as short kids, will find that the process is lacking, even though you can choose sleeves, colors and accents. If you’re marketing a customized, measured dress, you’d better be sure that it fits!
photo credit!!! you always look stunning so I’m biased…
Thank you for your honesty Lindsey! I’ve been seeing this company on a lot of blogger’s blogs and they’ve been singing nothing but praises about them.
So glad to see such a sincere review. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thank YOU! I tried to be really honest without griping too hard – and I’ll have to admit, I’m hard to please in this area!
You’re welcome! It’s a little harsh, but all truth. I would LOVE to hear those blogger’s real opinions!
Total photo credit! Thank you for leaving me some love here… I really appreciate it. <3
The dress is super cute. I guess I lucked out with the jacket I got. Then again I haven’t worn it lately.
I had a similar experience with Eshakti. I ordered two tops and a skirt that was meant to fall at a below knee length. Both tops were way too large in the bust and shoulder area, and the skirt made me look like an old school marm, almost falling to mid-calf. I am having to spend big bucks to get everything altered to fit properly which is frustrating after already paying them to “customize” the items in the first place! Thankfully I used one of their many coupons/gifts which offset the cost of having to alter the garments, but overall I am definitely having to spend more than I would have on the garments themselves. If I ever order from them again, I will not do the custom sizing, but will just order the standard sizes and pay someone HERE to alter them to fit.
Yeah I wouldn’t even bother then because my boobs are so big I have to wear tunics as regular sized shirts…lol Good thing you’re a costume designer so that you can take it in where you need to. Adorable outfit though. I love it!
I really love the print on you, anyway!
I love the dress you chose. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you fully!
Such a sweet comment “Hubs!” I love that you claimed photo cred!
I am a loyal eshakti customer and I’d give you one customization tip I always use- add any details you want in the form when you finalize your order for perfect customization. For example, I always tell them how I want my armholes (I give them inches measurements of drop from shoulders to the place where arm hole curves out in inches) and other such measurements. I have found it works PERFECT every time for me. Hope this helps!
They now ask for optional high point shoulder to bust, waist, and knee measurements 🙂
Oh, that is good to hear! It was SO frustrating previously. Thanks.
I recently ordered from them, still waiting for my two dresses to come in. I noticed that they have a few more vertical measurements in addition to the ones you mentioned (shoulder to hip, shoulder to thigh, and possibly one more). I didn’t see the time stamp on this blog entry, but it seems they’ve updated it since. 😊
I’m glad to hear that. A bestie just ordered a dress through the blogger program about 4 months ago…. and she brought it to me to alter! I hope you have success with both your dresses!