The Perfect Dress

Throughout the years, I’ve had my share of fashion posts on this blog. And it’s allowed me to see that they aren’t really for me most of the time, except for when I’m really comfortable in what I’m wearing. And the dress pictured below is by far one of the most comfortable pieces of clothing that I own so I was actually super excited for this post even though it was raining and even though I had already packed it away to go to Florida before the photos. (Hence the wrinkles that I didn’t notice until I edited photos.)

When the lovely people from eShakti contacted me to do a review, I don’t think I could say yes fast enough. I had heard such good things about them so I was incredibly excited to be able to get something that was the perfect fit for my oddly shaped figure with their customization options.

A little about eShakti from their customization page: At eShakti, you can customize your measurements and style preferences. Do you have a hard to fit shape and know that standard sizes won’t fit? Do you like the design, but the neckline, sleeves or length do not work for you? If all this sounds familiar, you will love eShakti. We give you hundreds of amazing styles to select from, and you are sure to get the look you love with a great fit. You can use the size charts or customize to your size to find the perfect fit.

I opted to go with a dress despite my concerns with it not being long enough or too tight around the waist and I am SO glad I did. I’ve had such bad luck with dresses in the past because I seem to have a half hour glass, half pear shape figure with too long of legs and arms to fit into anything just right, but I was hopeful this dress would be different.

Not only was it different than all of the other dresses I own, it was perfect. It hugged my curves in all of the right places and flared out right at my waist line. It wasn’t too tight or too loose in any location and was the perfect length for my legs. And on top of that, it had pockets. Pockets! That alone could have made the perfect dress because I hate carrying my purse around.

Unfortunately the dress isn’t offered anymore, but there are TONS of other beautiful dresses and other items that are just waiting to be customized to fit you as perfectly as this dress fit me.

And if you’re still in the Christmas shopping spirit and looking for a last minute gift for a loved one (or even yourself because trust me, their clothes are SO worth it!) – now is the time to check them out! They have two awesome deals going on right now: Not only do new members to eShakti earn $25 by registering with them, but they also have 30% off of their gift cards from now until December 22nd!

Check out their Website or follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest

While eShakti did provide me with the item to review, all opinions are 100% my own. I absolutely love their products and would highly recommend them to anyone!

Fashion on a Small Budget

This last year {and probably for the next 10 years} as my husband worked on his Master’s degree and I stayed home with our son, it was really hard to find extra money in our budget to buy new clothes.
I wanted to stay up on the fashion times, but if you have no money it feels kind of impossible.
But I learned that it can actually pay off sometimes to be a total cheapskate!

I refuse to pay full price and/or more than $20 on an item [even before schooling and babies]. I can probably count on one hand the times I paid over $20 for things.And they were only for special circumstances like weddings, reunions or “I just had a baby, aren’t I worth it to get a new pair of shoes?!”
Two arguments I used for real.

But in all seriousness, trying to be cute and in style when you are on a tight poor-college-student-and-have-a-baby-to-feed budget can be difficult. So I thought I’d share my tips on how I {try} to dress cute without breaking the bank.


1. Thrift stores are your friends. 

You would be amazed and what goods people freal [that’s for real] give away. All of my favorite pieces were found at thrift stores. My tip is to take your time, avoid weekend rushes, and don’t expect too much on one trip. Sometimes it takes multiple trips to find lots of good things.

Patience is a virtue!
(one I don’t have but I still preach it)


2. Turn hand-me-downs into hand-me-ups.

I don’t know if that made sense but the point is to not look down on hand-me-downs. I LOVE getting hand-me-downs. I know that sounds crazy and weird but I’m serious. First of all, IT’S FREE! And second of all, usually you are already {coveting} your sister’s/friend’s/neighbor’s look to begin with that I jump at the opportunity for them to pass along some of their gems. In fact, when I visit my sister or friends I make it a point to say, “Hey, do you wear [insert shirt/skirt] anymore? Can I have it? Is that weird to just ask you such a question?”

By the way, it totally is weird but for free clothes I’m willing to go out on a limb.

3. Reuse, Repurpose and Refashion.

Mixing and matching has been my biggest savior when I start getting bored with my clothes. If  I have learned anything from fashion blogs it’s that we shouldn’t be afraid to mix patterns and colors to make a whole new outfit.

You can also make your clothes last by repurposing or refashioning them when you start getting bored with the look (or if you find an awesome thrift store find that needs some extra umph). Accents and accessories do wonders to making your clothes look as good as new.
[Some of my favorite refashions are this, this, and this.]

 

4. You would be surprised what you can get on sale/clearance!

Like I said earlier, I DO NOT like to spend full price on items. Unless they are already insanely cheap then that of course doesn’t even count (Forever 21, anyone?). Whenever I’m in a store, I go straight for the sales and clearance racks. If I can’t find anything on clearance that I like, then I leave empty handed. That sounds depressing maybe but it’s rather rare I leave empty handed. It has become fun for me to see some seriously awesome clothes on sale.

And nothing makes my heart flutter more (besides my husband of course) when I see the price tag of $70 slashed down to $7 (Seriously happened one time. I was in heaven!).Again, you may have to have patience but when you come out with 7 items and only paid $25 for it all, you will be totally addicted!

5. Have fun with it!

In high school, my fashion sense was known around the school as “crazy” and “fun.” Once I dressed up my friend for a dance and this guy said, “Wow you look very ‘Megan-like’ tonight!” I decided to take that as a compliment…

Dress it up, be colorful, and make a statement. You can look just like the people in magazines with just a little work and creativity.

What are some ways you try and save??

Thanks for letting me share some of my ideas!

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Today’s Thought: I’m disappointed with how many bath and body products use totally unnecessary ingredients like carmine and lanolin. I never really paid attention what went into the products until I started making some of my own.