On Clothes and Confidence Feat. Eshakti

I could probably write a book about all the things that have changed since I first started transitioning to a smaller, slower, more cohesive wardrobe (and who knows, maybe I will...), but I have to say that the biggest change I've seen BY FAR has been in my confidence.

There have definitely been times in my life where I've been thinner, more interesting, more tan, had better hair, or not had such horrible skin, but none of those comes close to how I've felt since ditching all the unflattering, ill-fitting, mismatched clothes that were clogging up my closet in favor of only owning clothes that make me feel awesome. I know its supposed to be what's inside that counts, and maybe I'm just a deeply superficial person, but it's pretty hard not to feel awesome when you look awesome, or look awesome when you feel awesome. I don't know, something like that.

But in this process, the getting-rid-of-old-ugly-clothes is the easy part. I'm not saying its easy because it's not. I'm just saying its much easier than the other part, the only-having-clothes-you-love part. Because, like how do you even do that? I'm in a very fortunate position when it comes to building a wardrobe that I love: while I don't have a large clothing budget, I do live in a major city where it's fairly easy to shop clearance racks of higher-end brands, live adjacent-enough to some wealthy neighborhoods where the thrifting is A+, and have a degree in fashion design and construction, so I can always like, make the stuff I want. But it's still a struggle. I'm a couple years deep in this journey and I'd still say I'm only between 60-75% "there".

My big downfall would have to be dresses. I love dresses for all of the obvious reasons: you get to look pretty while only having to wear one garment that also means you don't have to wear pants. BUT dresses are often complicated and not cost-effective to make. Also, I've got a really awkward body type for finding dresses that don't make me super self-conscious. See, I'm 5'7", which, despite making me the shortest person (by a lot) in my family, is apparently pretty tall for a lady, so most "short" dresses are indecently short on me. But most of my height is in my torso rather than my legs, so most "long" dresses are actually way too long. Add in my broad shoulders, flat chest, and not a lot of waist-to-hip ratio, its... surprisingly difficult to find a dress that isn't too tight or too baggy somewhere. Basically if I want a dress to fit just right I'd pretty much have to design it from scratch and make it myself.

Or not, because Eshakti will custom-size any of their garments and they're not even unreasonable expensive. I'm going to be 100% honest and tell you that I while ignore/decline almost all of the "sponsored post" emails that I get (not that I get a ton), I was so stoked that Eshakti reached out to me to review their customization options. I actually already own a few of their pieces and they're some of my favorites because the construction and fabric quality are impeccable for the price (think Anthropologie type quality for a Gap type price, plus they have awesome sales, seriously you get $25 off and free shipping on your first order) but I'd never ordered a custom-fit dress before.

And this new dress, well, it's a keeper. Between the zodiac-themed print giving it some serious Ms. Frizzle vibes, the so 90's-but-in-a-good-way shell buttons down the front, the subtly pleated skirt, the pockets, and the fact that it actually fits... I feel freaking fantastic when I wear it. Honestly, I don't think I'll need to buy any dresses for a long time...

(Full disclosure: I received this dress as a sample in exchange for writing this post, however, all opinions are 100% my own)