Four Warnings to Accompany This Post:
1. It is completely frivolous.
2. It will be very long
3. It will be very honest
4. It will contain substandard pictures (neither of us are photographers and we snapped these pictures before we left for Church on Easter because I was actually wearing mascara AND lipstick - an Easter miracle!! Also, I am an uncomfortable model) :)
I have very mixed feelings while writing this review, but I'm committed to being honest so fasten your seatbelt for a long post.
When I first heard about eShakti I thought it was a fabulous idea. They say that fashion should be for all sizes and I agree! Their dresses come in sizes 0-36 and for only $7.50, your dress can be made to your exact measurements. Add to this the fact that all the dresses are adorable and comes with pockets?? I was sold before I had even tried them out!
I was elated when I was picking a dress to review - there were so many wonderful options! I narrowed down my original list of nine dresses to the one that I wanted, submitted my sizes and waited. And waited and waited.
The short version of the story is that there was a mix-up with my dress and I didn't get it for seven weeks! And that was after I made multiple attempts to contact them about it! The yellow dress below is the one I picked to review. I warned you about the pictures and the model, remember?
The dress looks pretty cute, but I am not thrilled with it. The neckline is too big which means I have to be careful about bending over. This means it is a terrible option for the mother of a toddler. Additionally, the fabric is too fragile to wear everyday. I'm sure that I'll wear this dress a few more times, but it will not be an everyday option like I had planned on it being. I was very disappointed. :(
But...
I decided to give them another try.
Mostly because I wanted to be able to write a GOOD review and I really do like wearing dresses. Because of my erythromelagia I am limited to shorts or a dress from about April - October so I need a good inventory of dresses on hand. I like wearing dresses all sorts of places - to Target, to the playground. I want dresses that I can be active in and not have to worry about wearing.
The second time I bought two dresses for myself and bought one for my sister as well. She had used eShakti once in the past and had a GREAT experience.
Again, my dresses took longer than projected to arrive. This might not have been their fault - I think it came from the shipping service. But it was still disappointing. I had to call multiple times and they kept assuring me that this was uncommon.
I want to note here that each time I called the customer service people they were very kind. One lady in particular (I wish I could remember her name!) worked quickly to resolve my problem. She was gracious and actually listened to me and followed up the next day.
The dresses arrived and I knew right away that I didn't like one of them. I've since returned it and am waiting for a refund. I have mixed feelings on this navy dress on the left. It is very comfortable and easy to wear, which I love. This dress is cotton which means I can wear it to church, or to meetings, or to take my son to the playground - my favorite type of dress! But even though I gave my measurements, it is a bit too big.
I'm going to have to pay out of pocket to have a seamstress fix a few things. The cross-over part at the top wasn't sewed shut. I'm not sure why they wouldn't sew it (perhaps to accommodate different bust sizes?), but I tried safety pinning mine and decided that I actually need it sewn.
Additionally, the dress hangs to the bottom of my knee - NOT what I was expecting. There was an option to have the dress above the knee, but I read a reviewer who requested that and got a dress that was shorter than the average mini-skirt. So I asked them to leave the skirt length as shown (which I thought was the top of the knee). I will have it altered to be a bit above my knee, which is where I prefer it.
While I still love the idea behind eShakti and have heard of many people who have positive experiences, I can't say the same for mine. The dress I received to review is not my favorite - I would have returned it if I spent my own money on it because I probably wouldn't have gotten enough use of out it. I am disappointed that I spent much more money on the blue dress than I normally would have, but I STILL have to pay to have them altered. For a family who doesn't have a lot of extra cash on hand, this experience has been frustrating. I am not sure that I will be using eShakti in the future.
So there you have it: my honest opinion. Have you had any experience with eShakti? Or do you have any dress recommendations for me?
**In exchange for sharing my (very) honest opinion, I received the yellow dress for free.
