Tera writes,
On the topic of Too Much Fabric. I’m 5’2″, pear shaped, on the smaller side. I ordered a few dresses from eShakti (love!). Two of them have full skirts – and I feel like I’m being swallowed up in all that fabric. Is there anything I can do about that? Can the fabric be taken in somehow?
Dear Tera,
I have been experimenting with various vendors this past year as I transition away from occasionally trying to desperately find something that fits and flatters me in the retail stores to NEVER, EVER shopping in stores.
I have tried Eloqui, eShakti, and Modcloth, all of which have great choices for plus size gals, and the latter two of which allow you to customize your garments. All of them accept returns.
I love Eloqui. Their clothes run a bit snug but they have very sophisticated options and good sales.
I am a fan of ModCloth. Good quality, good customer service.
I am not having good luck with eShakti. They have great customer service but their garments take a long time to arrive since they’re coming from India. The clothing is really lovely and well-made but always seems to have one very ill-fitting feature; say, super tight armholes or an overabundance of fabric in the bust. I, too, have ordered a skirt and a dress which arrived with a far fuller skirt than I could ever make use of (perhaps pillow cases out of the excess fabric?). I have determined that even though the customer can specify her height in the order, the fullness of the garment is the same for a 6′ and a 5’2″ gal. Since many of the cutest eShakti styles are that retro flavor full-skirt look, we short gals are winding up with too much bulk. Yes, by all means get to a tailor and have them take it in.
I wandered into Macy’s yesterday, to get Origin’s lipstick and eye shadow (UUA GA Prep, really!), and looked at their dresses. So depressing! A million choices each over $100.00, hems that are too short. And now I’m spoiled by having pockets in my dresses (eShakti!). So I’ll definitely check out ModCloth & Eloqui, and hope to not do regular old retail shopping for awhile, though I do enjoy forays into second hand clothing stores.
Thanks so much for the suggestion to have someone tailor those big ol’ skirts, and maybe a pillow is in order! You may see me floating through the GA hallways, though – please don’t mistake me for a sailboat in all that fabric!