eShakti recently contacted me to conduct a product review.

I’ve seen a few reviews of eShakti‘s products from some of the other bloggers I follow (see Cher’s from a fashion deliberation here, Kileen’s from cute & little here, and more recently, J’s of J’s Everyday Fashion here), so I’ve heard of eShakti before.

I was intrigued by their customization option, and because I’ve loved getting dresses tailored in Viet Nam, I was wondering if eShakti would be a good alternative to flying over the Pacific to get dresses custom-made.  I was therefore delighted that eShakti reached out to me.

After browsing through eShakti‘s website, I narrowed down my choice to the following:

Ruffle Front Cotton Poplin Dress

Pleated Surplice Neck Dress

Sash Waist Cotton Poplin Dress

Pleat Neck Cotton Poplin Dress

I had been looking to get a dress in the kelly green color like above or a dress in a bright yellow (I’ve needed some perking up lately and yellow is such a happy color).

I like the ladylike fit and flare style of the dresses above, and because I have so few yellow items in my closet, I ended up choosing a dress that had yellow as an option.

My husband helped me make the final choice on the type of dress…and it ended up being the Ruffle Front Cotton Poplin Dress.  It took two days for me to make the final selection!

Outfit: eShakti Ruffle Front Cotton Poplin Dress (c/o eShakti, 2011), F21 Wedges (2011)
Accessories: BaubleBar Mint Swing Teardrop Earrings (via the Vault, 2011) [they're back in the Vault! the sherbet ones can be found here; my referral link here], BaubleBar Rugged Amber Necklace (via the Vault, 2011)
Occasion: Hanging Out with the Girls
Vibe: Ladylike

One of my favorite things about the dress is that it comes with pockets. I was able to give my measurements very easily (the customization profile asks for measurements such as shoulders, waist, and hips and shows illustrations on how to measure), and I was even able to request that the waist-defining ties in the back be removed (so that I could wear the dress easily with or without a belt). I also asked for an above-the-knee length; illustrations are provided to show what the resulting length will be. The customization option is available for an additional $7.50.

My only critique would have been that most of the dresses that I thought were cute had cotton as the material. While I like cotton, cotton tends to lend itself to more of a casual setting. I think that this dress could be dressed up for a wedding, though, and I may style it for a wedding in the future.

I didn’t see many silk options available when I initially browsed through the site a few weeks ago. Now, however, I see many silk options, such as the following:

Tiered Ruffle Ribbon Front Silk Dress

Ruffled Sheer Silk Top in Bottle Green

Ruffled Silk Top in Twilight Mauve

Pintucked Silk Blouse in Mineral Green

Tied Front Silk Blouse in Burnt Orange

Floral Print Silk Blouse

eShakti is also active on facebook and twitter. I don’t have accounts for either, but I was able to check out both, and what’s great about their facebook page is that a lot of bloggers will post up codes to get $20 off of an order. Right now, eShakti‘s also offering $20 off of first orders and after registering. Per their facebook page, the main complaints I’ve read are that the items arrive wrinkled because of the packaging and that shipping can sometimes take a bit long.

Regarding the packaging, yes, my dress did arrive extremely wrinkled; however, I did the “iron by taking a shower trick,” and it worked. The iron by taking a shower trick is really simple: I hung up the dress in the restroom while I showered, and later, my husband showered, so the steam from the two showers got the wrinkles out pretty well.

As for shipping, my package arrived in a timely fashion (eShakti mentions on their site that items get shipped in 3 business days and delivered in 7-10 business days). Based on some of the comments on facebook, though, I would recommend not putting in an order if you need something to arrive in a rush.

On a more positive note, I think eShakti‘s customer service representatives respond very quickly.

I think eShakti would also be a GREAT option for bridesmaid dresses if you’re looking for something affordable and versatile and that can be customized. A lot of the dress styles have fabrics and colors that are the same, so it would be nice to get a dress within the same color, for instance, and have the dresses be of different styles or vice versa if you wanted a more colorful wedding.

Lastly, my husband said he loved the dress on me and that it looks like it was made for me. I told him that it was!

Thank you to Jennifer Meyer from the eShakti team and to eShakti for providing the dress for me to review.

***Disclosure: This dress was provided for my review without charge. I received no monetary compensation to write this review. All opinions expressed within this review are my own.***

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