eShakti Customized Clothing Review & COUPON CODE!

I had never heard of eShakti before Cate and I were approached by them to do a product review for their company. But after researching them I was pleasantly surprised: 

eShakti is a company which specializes in customized clothing for women,

sizes 0-36W. Whether it is size, shape, or style, customization costs $7.50, but 

it's FREE the first time you customize! You receive your order in 14 business

days or 18 calender days, unless there is some shipping meltdown.

I was especially curious to see how this would turn out. I loved the idea of having something fit just to my size. After all, tailoring is how Stacy London and Clinton Kelly made all their What Not To Wear ladies looks so good!

As someone who does struggle to get the perfect fit (don't we all though?), eShakti is really appealing. They offer a wide range of clothes, from dressy to casual to work professional. Their clothes are competitively priced as most range from $50-$80 dollars. When I think "Oh, that's kind of expensive for one item!" I think about how much tailoring is. Heck, when I went to get my maxi dresses hemmed it cost me $24 and $20 dollars for each dress! That put me into the price range of eShakti clothing, but without all the customization options! 

I chose this little number: a Rose Print Cotton Shift Dress which just looked darling to me. I'm huge fan of shift dresses and I thought this would be lovely for summer.

I was sad to see that even with customization (including putting in my height at 5'1 and size 0), the dress was longer than I expected it to be. Although it's technically above the knee now that I've put it through the wash and dryer, it was at knee level before.  This is common for us short ladies! It also tends to flare out at the bottom in what I think is an unflattering way; I was hoping for it to be only lightly flared, more straight than it is now. But these are easy fixes with a sewing machine in hand. 

The dress is incredibly light, perfect for the hot weather we're expecting in Vancouver. 

I love the interesting shape to the neckline...

 And the pattern that combines stripes and flowers...

All in all, I'm up in the air about eShakti. I really want to get behind the idea of customized clothing because it would help so many people out there who struggle to find the right size and style with pre-made clothing. But this dress just didn't live up to my expectations as I will have to do some customization on my own, defeating the whole point. 

Cate astutely mentioned that it would be really helpful if eShakti, instead of having just pictures of their clothing, showed models wearing their clothing on the website. I agree. We both find that we are better able to tell what would suit our bodies and our style if we can see another person, regardless of their body type, wearing it.

That being said, eShakti's website is definitely something I would revisit in the future now that I know skirt length may be my downfall and I can look to counter that when I make my order. I think it's worth another shot! I have my eye on a few cute pieces, including this Rose Print Voile Shell, this Colorblock Retro Poplin Frock, and this Tie Neck Daisy Print Dress (couldn't you see me teaching grade 1 in this dress?!).

Additionally, I was really impressed with the shipping. Once the product shipped it took only 2 days to travel to me, through 4 countries! Talk about fast!

eShakti kindly gave Cate and I a code for all our lovely readers to get 10% off anything in their online store! Use the coupon code "stripes" – valid until July 28th 2014.

Please note:

• Code has to be entered in the ‘promotional code’ box.   It is not case-sensitive.  
• Code can be used any number of times until the validity period. 
• It can be clubbed with any other promotional offer, gift coupon or gift card in the same order unless explicitly specified otherwise in the offer conditions.
• This discount code is not applicable on clearance / sale, gift cards & overstock categories.
• Not applicable on previous purchases.

Dress: eShakti (here)

Jean Jacket: Aeropostale (similar here)

Cardigan: Jessica (similar here)

Shoes: Aldo (similar here)

Bag: (here)

Sunglasses: (similar here)

Necklace: (here)

* I received no monetary compensation for this review. I was only provided with the product for free and am under no obligation to review the product or service positively. All opinions stated in this review are solely my own.

Model:Meg//Photographer: Cate