{OOTD} Green Plaid

It's been a while since I've mentioned Poshmark, but this outfit consists of mostly items I purchased off of the app. I haven't posted a Poshmark Finds post in a while, but I haven't stopped shopping! That app can really get addicting! Just a fair warning! Haha! Do let me know if you'd like those types of posts to continue :]

Anyways, I just wore this out on a little date with the Boyfriend. Actually, not so little because dates together are always special. Excuse the cheesy-ness, but we're actually in a long distance relationship, so time together in person is extra special. We only get to see each other about once a month. Shout-out to all those in long-distance relationships!

He really liked the outfit that he insisted on taking a picture for the blog. Unfortunately is is just an iPhone photo in a dimly lit apartment complex hallway. Apologies from the both of us! The Beret is my boyfriend's, but I'm really the only now who uses it. It was gifted to him from his sister from her trip to Paris. So it was ultimately a gift to me! 

Outfit Rundown

Beret  |  Stolen from the BF

Coat  |  Love Tree

Turtleneck  |  Talbots via Poshmark (similar)

Scarf  |  via Poshmark

Skirt  |  Forever 21 via Poshmark

Gloves  |  Aldo Accessories

Tights  |  Forever 21

Ankle Boots  |  Target via Poshmark (similar)

{OOTD} Blue Chevron Stripes

So... you may have seen my last post about the eShakti dress review. It was actually a really cold day for me and I couldn't actually go out without a coat, so this was my actual outfit for that day. I just needed to highlight the dress for the review, so I took pictures without the coat. So here you go! My outfit and accessories for a date with my boyfriend that weekend. I'm really happy about how the blue  and green embroidery match my purse without being the same color.






Outfit Rundown

Beret  |  Goorin Bros.

Earring  |  Claire's 

Coat  |  Purchased at Ross 

Dress  | c/o eShakti

Boots  |  Purchased on Zulily

{Review} eShakti Dress

Hello hello! Long time no outfit post! I'm not counting the Dapper Day outfit because of course I would take pictures whilst on vacation! I did get off by butt and took actually outfit photos on a normal day because I got the lovely opportunity to review a dress from eShakti. Many of you have probably heard of eShakti from the many blogger reviews around the community. It is a website that sells customizable clothing. They have tons of dresses and skirts in retro styles, which definitely attracts me. They also have tops and jackets. They do have regular sizes and the base design where you pay $7.50 for customizing, which I find pretty affordable. I chose the Retro embellished poplin shirtdress. I had it customized to my measurements and I also changed the sleeve length to 3/4 sleeve. Other options were to change the skirt length and to remove the pockets or embroidery.

Pockets

The thing I love most about eShakti are the side-seam pockets. They are perfect. I am much less likely to lose my phone when I have pockets. So, I would never choose the remove pockets option. Ever. 

Sleeves

I changed the sleeve length because I prefer 3/4 sleeves the best and most dresses I find don't come in that length. I found that I didn't enjoy the look of the sleeve being so loose fitting didn't seem to fit the style of the dress, so I folded it up and folded it up until it looked good, which ended up being short-length. I regretted not getting a full length sleeve because I could have folded that up to 3/4 sleeve length. It would have been much better if there were actual pictures of each type of sleeve length instead of illustrations. I understand not making completely different sleeves every time they make a new dress, but at least show different sleeve types in different fabrics. It would definitely help the decision making process. 

Embroidery

The design is lovely and I like the colors. The embroidery isn't evenly stitched around the entire skirt. Some parts are stitched closer together than others. The closer stitches are definitely better looking. Overall, further away it looks  good. The chevron stripes also don't match up on the side seams. They kind of match up on the top, but closer to the bottom it gets less matched. It's understandable since the skirt goes outward to make it full. It also isn't so noticeable. These are things I am fine with, but it does speak to the quality. Since I'm taking about the skirt portion.. It is extremely full and fits my petticoat, but it isn't a full circle skirt as advertised. It's not cut as a circle skirt, which automatically makes it not a circle skirt. It's actually 4 panels. It might be 2 panels because I can't tell if the embroidery came before or after the fabric became a skirt. I'm unsure because the stripes match up on 2 of the seams. Anyways, When I hold up a circle skirt it makes a 180 degree line, but this dress doesn't make it that high. It definitely comes close though! Fitting my petticoat is really all that matters.

Fit

It fits really well. It felt tight whist putting it on, but I think it just fit so exactly. That or they didn't add enough breathing space or I measured incorrectly. I found that the shoulders were actually a little too big. I may have measured myself wrong? That was the measurement I was most unsure of when I took it. This is definitely the hard part about ordering customized clothing online. I know a lot of people don't know how to measure themselves properly. That may actually also include me! 

The construction was good.  The darting was the best fit I've ever had there. The sticking connecting all the pieces together was solid. It didn't feel like it was going to fall apart anytime soon. The pockets are awesome. They are big enough to hold what I need. I wouldn't need to use a purse sometimes even. They also aren't obvious when worn. I have other items with pockets including a coat and a different dress (not eShakti) change the draping of the fabric that it's obvious if I have something small in my pocket and ridiculous if it's something big. The way these pockets are sown are awesome. I love the customization choices as I really like over the knees lengths which is so hard to find even for a shortie like me. I absolutely hate sitting down and being able to feel the chair. Some dresses are too difficult to resist though. The dress design is also extremely cute, much like most of the other options on the site. They also seem to go through designs pretty often. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone wearing the same dress as you. I do like eShakti and already own a dress and skirt from them. I also just purchased a dress for my mother. I'm excited. I wouldn't count on the fit being completely perfect all the time even though it's a customization website. It is really difficult to do, even designers have multiple fittings before the finished product. I would definitely continue to shop at eShakti purely for the pockets and over the knee-length skirts/dresses. The pretty designs and full skirts are also a big reason too though. I could definitely look past any imperfections for these reasons. 

Outfit Rundown Beret: Goorin Bros. Earrings: Claire's Dress: c/o eShakti Website - Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest If you want to shop at eShakti, you can get 10% off with the code "calamaristyles". It's only valid until December 3, 2014 though! Just enter it in the promotional code box :]

I received this dress for review, but all opinions are my own!

Your Items, In Store

Although these are old pictures, I still wanted to share. Isn't it crazy when you see stuff you own in stores when you're not expecting to? It's one thing to have made a recent purchase and walk back into the store wearing it, but after months or years is so unexpected.

Actually, I tend to stay away from stores where I am wearing a recent purchase for fear that it'll look as though I have stolen it right off the rack and walked out, but that's just being a bit too paranoid... Right?

Haha, anyways, the pair you see me wearing in the picture I bought back in February of 2012. I bought it while on a trip to New Orleans. I had only brought one pair of shoes and did not realize how uncomfortable they were for walking around a lot. I went into Payless to get a replacement and surprisingly, this pair was extremely comfortable Once I saw this pair again in October of that year, it really surprised me. It was pretty cool to see the difference of constantly wearing it for 9 months to new and unused. I still own these shoes today and they are still going pretty strong. If you ever seen these shoes in store at Payless, I would highly recommend them. They're very good especially for the price!