March 8, 2013

eShakti Review: Dress Like a Lady

Vintage, ladylike, timeless.
I have written about eShakti on My Fashion Confession before, but I recently got an email from one of the company's representatives asking me to write a review of one of the items from the company's spring line.  I took one look at their new items and said sure!

Custom Styling
If you have never heard of eShakti, here is the scoop: they are a company that makes gorgeous, customizable clothes in sizes 0-36W.  Have you ever loved everything about a dress but the sleeves?  Have you ever wished that the dress was the perfect length, no tailoring needed?  If so, eShakti might be a good fit for you.  

When I saw this dress I immediately fell in love with it, but there were a few things I wanted to change.  Customers ordering this dress are able to remove the embroidery, change the sleeve style, or choose the length of the dress that best suits their needs.  

I wanted to add short sleeves to the originally sleeveless dress so that I could wear it in air conditioned classrooms without a cardigan.  I chose to make this dress knee length, but could have specified that it come in short length, above knee length, or midcalf length. I entered my height in the order form and chose a standard size based on measurements I took of my bust, waist, and hips. The length and size were spot on.  I was really happy with the fit of the dress I received.  While custom styling adds a charge of $7.50, it is cheaper than having an item tailored elsewhere and it is really nice to get a dress in the mail that fits perfectly!


Style
Most of eShakti's offerings are feminine, vintage-inspired dresses, skirts, tops and jackets.  If you like the clothes at Anthropologie or Modcloth, you will probably like eShakti's offerings as well.  

Price
On a scale of Old Navy to Anthropologie, eShakti is somewhere in between in terms of price.  If you are used to buying $30 dresses at Old Navy, eShakti's $80 dresses might seem a bit pricey.  On the other hand if you frequently purchase $150 dresses at Anthropologie, eShakti will seem like a steal.  

Quality
I have never been disappointed with the quality of an eShakti item.  Their custom styling is really well done, they use good quality materials, and by washing them in cold water and air drying them I have found that they hold up well over time.


Overall
Bottom line: eShakti makes great clothes. I paired the dress with kitten heels and pearls here, but I could definitely see myself wearing it with pretty sandals when the weather warms up or pairing it with boots and a leather jacket now.  

Interested in getting your own custom dress from eShakti? Now through March 25, 2013 the company is offering a $25 coupon if you use the code TREFSHNCNF99 at checkout. Happy shopping!

*Full Disclosure: eShakti sent me the dress above free of charge for this review, but the opinions expressed are my honest assessment of my experience.

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February 16, 2013

New Blog!

It has been a minute, y'all!  I just wanted to stop by to tell you that you can now find me at my new blog, Downsizing, which you can check out here.  

The primary focus of Downsizing will be my journey to reach a healthy weight, but you know me.  I love me some clothes so I imagine there will be some style posts too.  I stopped blogging at My Fashion Confession because it did not really fit who I was anymore.  I thought about just changing the name and focus of this blog, but ultimately I decided that I wanted a fresh start so I made a new blog.  I loved writing My Fashion Confession, but it was time to move on.  I hope to see you over at Downsizing!

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

July 21, 2012

Eshakti Coupon Code



I know I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus this summer, but I wanted to pop in for a moment and let you know about the amazing sale going on right now at eShakti. Select items are on sale for 40% off, and on top of that, eShakti has generously offered My Fashion Confession readers a 10% discount when they use the code MY30XNE.  You wanna know the best part?  You can use the discount code on sale items!  Are you still reading this?  Go here and shop!

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

May 20, 2012

Remember Me?

Shirt: Old Navy
Cardigan: Loft
Skirt: J.Crew via Ebay
Scarf: Loft
Shoes: Steve Madden via Amazon

Remember me? I'm Ashley, that girl who's supposed to be blogging here but kind of lost track of things when finals then law review write on ate my life.  The good news is I'm almost done with the law review write on. The better news is I'm studying abroad in Italy this summer! The kinda bad news is I decided to leave my camera at home so for better or worse, there will be lots and lots of iPhone photos for the next few weeks.  We'll see how it goes.     

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April 28, 2012

I'm Still Alive...


I'm still alive and trying to teach myself Criminal Law before Tuesday morning.  No big deal...

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

April 23, 2012

And so it begins


My property exam is in the morning and...I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be.  And so it begins. Two weeks, four exams, and the law review write on competition as soon as its over?  Let's do this (puts on game face and imagines Eye of the Tiger playing in the background.)

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April 20, 2012


Sooooo, this thing has been in the stairwell at my apartment building for the past few days and I cannot figure out what it is.  I am convinced it's a bat.  Seriously hope I'm wrong!

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

April 3, 2012

Crazy Stressful

Dress: Forever 21+
Jacket: Hand me down
Shoes: Steve Madden via Amazon

This has been another one of those crazy stressful weeks that I talk about so often.  My first final is the last week of this month so what I really want to do is focus on outlining, but the law school has other plans.  I had a research test yesterday, a practice exam on Thursday as well as an oral argument, and in between I have had meetings, makeup classes, and regular reading assignments.  Remind me why I signed up for this again...

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

April 2, 2012

Birthday Parties and Swan Dresses

Dress: eShakti
Cardigan: Target via Ebay
Belt: New York & Company
Shoes: Old Navy
Bracelets: Gifted

My grandmother had her 75th birthday not too long ago and this is what I wore to her party.  It was on a weekend when I had a major paper due, so I didn't get to stay for very long, but it was nice to see family from out of town and say hello to a few family friends. 

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 30, 2012

"In another life I would make you stay so I don't have to say you were the one that got away"

Shirt: Target
Cardigan: Target
Skirt: Gifted
Belt: Ebay
Bracelets: Gifted
Shoes: Old Navy
Earrings: Gifted

I wore this the day my Torts class did a mock trial.  Some people dressed up more that day, others less.  I tried to acknowledge the fact that I was speaking for my group by wearing a button down shirt and heels, but I kept a bit of my own personality in the outfit by wearing a printed cardigan and belt.  I think it was the right choice for me.

*Title from "The One That Got Away" by Katy Perry.

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 26, 2012

Don't Judge Me

Dress: Loft via Ebay
Tunic: New York & Company
Belt: Ebay
Earrings: Overstock.com
Bracelets: Gifted
Shoes: Steve Madden via Amazon

Last week was a beast.  I had a mock trial in my torts class and a paper due Sunday night, but somehow I got through it and my reward for all of those late nights, early mornings is that new episodes of Make it or Break It and The Secret Life of the American Teenager begin today. Before you judge me for being a twenty-something who watches ABC Family, look at it from my perspective.  I spend my days poring over legal textbooks and by the time I get home my brain has practically turned to mush.  I can't handle anything too complicated once I get to that point so teenage pregnancy and fictional sports competitions are just about right.

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 23, 2012

"I'm underneath the very moon that you see at night."

Dress: Thrifted
Cardigan: Thrifted
Belt: Ebay
Cami: Forever 21+
Necklace: Primark (London)
Shoes: Payless

This is one of those spontaneous and unexpected outfits. You know the ones. You walk into your closet with no idea what you're going to wear, see two items hanging together and concede that the fates have made your outfit choice for you.  I'm not sure how well you can see it in this picture, but I'm wearing the same pair of color block shoes I wore in this post as part of what is either an inspired color block mix or an all around bad idea. I think I like it, but I suppose I'll let the fashion jury decide :)

*Title from "Bedroom Light" by Laura Shay.

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 22, 2012

A Commitment To Be A Healthier Me


As a general rule I try to worry more about how I look than how much I weigh, but I've put on weight in the last few months so starting next week I am going to make a commitment to be a healthier me.  Here are some things I plan to adjust to help me take off the extra pounds:

1) I am going to stop eating the free food at school.  My section has a baking rotation for Torts class and clubs hold events with free lunch (often pizza) to draw a bigger crowd.  Lately I have been so busy and stressed that I stopped packing my lunches on days when I knew there would be free food, but next week I am going to go back to bringing food from home so I can avoid all of those high fat, high calorie foods.

2) I am going to exercise at least 3 times a week. I always tell myself I am going to do this and then I get stressed out about an assignment and tell myself I don't have time to go to the gym.  Starting next week I am going to make time instead of excuses.

3) I am going to stop buying bags of soft-baked snickerdoodles for my apartment.  I have no willpower. Zero. Zip. Zilch. I should know by now that I can't be trusted when there are cookies in the cabinet and no one to save me from myself when I decide that I'll have just one more.

I'm sure other changes will be necessary if I am going to get my weight back under control, but I think I will start with these three and go from there. I am making a promise to myself that in a couple of months I will be a healthier, happier me.

Dress: Target
Blazer: Forever 21+

Belt: Ebay

Shoes: Payless

Bracelets: Gifted


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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 21, 2012

It Only Looks Like an Obsession

Cardigan: Thrifted
Top: New York & Co
Skirt: Gifted
Belt: Ebay
Bag: Gifted
Shoes: Alloy.com

I know it seems like I've been obsessed with this cardigan lately, but I actually wore this outfit on the same day that I wore the outfit in the last post.  I had an after school event to attend and I decided business casual would be more appropriate than regular casual so I changed into this. It was a meet and greet type deal and even though the invitation said "casual attire" most people were a bit more dressed up than regular casual. I made the right call this time.  

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 20, 2012

I should get a medal.

Dress: Forever 21+
Cardigan: Thrifted
Belt: New York & Company
Bracelets: Gifted
Earrings: Forever 21
Shoes: Steve Madden via Amazon
Cami: Forever 21+

If I make it through the rest of the month I should get a medal.  I have a legal research assignment due tomorrow, a legal writing paper due Monday, a Torts assignment coming up, and a legal research test not long after that.  On top of all that finals start at the end of next month so there are outlines to finish and supplements to pore over before then. You see what I mean? I should get a medal!

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 19, 2012

No Words and No Apologies

Dress: eShakti
Cardigan: Target via Ebay
Belt: New York & Company
Earrings: Forever 21
Shoes: Steve Madden

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 16, 2012

"Let's do this one more time."


If this week is any indication, it will be entirely too hot for scarves soon.  I thought I would get in a few more scarf days while it's only 80 degrees out ;)

Dress: Old Navy
Cardigan: Target via Ebay
Belt: New York & Company
Scarf: Primark (London)
Bracelets: Gifted
Shoes: Steve Madden via Amazon

*Title from "Starships" by Nicki Minaj.

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

March 15, 2012

Business On Top, Practical on the Bottom

Dress: New York & Company
Blazer: Ann Taylor via Ebay
Belt: Ebay
Shoes: Steve Madden via Amazon
Earrings: Gifted

First year students had professional photos taken recently and this is what I wore.  I thought about wearing heels to complete the look, but I had a crazy busy day with an extra class, a study abroad meeting, and a couple of other things I had to get done and I knew my feet would never forgive me for the pain.  I don't know. With the blazer and the sheath I almost look like a future lawyer or something ;)

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My Fashion Confession by Ashley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.