Warning!! There is no food in this post.

So if you know me strictly by reading this blog, then you would have a good idea about who I am with regards to food, cooking, and maybe my opinions on parenting…  But that’s probably about it.  You may know what I look like by the small photo on my home page…

or the occasional picture I may share, paired with some sort of embarrassing moment captured for your enjoyment, like the time I went jogging while my hair color was setting…

or the unfortunate picture of me taken after a particularly bad day…

But if you know me outside of this blog then you also know that I love make-up and fashion.  I could honestly start a new blog just focusing on applying make-up and putting together outfits.  But I don’t always write about that part of me because, well, this is my food blog.

So it was particularly startling when I got an email from the clothing company, eShakti, asking me to review their clothes.   The email said I was to pick out anything from their website, give them my measurements for them to custom fit the item, and then review it.  Um…free clothes?  OK!  So I scrolled through their clothes and decided a dress would be the best idea.  The company specializes in making clothes for women of all sizes (0-36) so they don’t sell pants, but make dresses, skirts, tops and cardigans.  I picked out the dress I wanted and measured myself, (Which is really hard to do, by the way.  My husband walked in, quite confused, right as I was trying to measure my upper arm circumference and decided it best to help.), then made my order.  I’ve never had anything custom made for me before.  Nothing.  And I’m married.  I bought my wedding dress, off the rack, at White House Black Market for $70.  I paid in cash using my tips from the night before.  So the idea of having someone do this for me made me gitty with excitement.

I can be hard to fit because #1.  I’m short.  #2.  My legs, specifically, are short.  #3.  My lower half is larger than my top.  And #4.  My bottom, specifically, is larger than my boobies.  This means, with a full body item, like a dress, I’m usually left with a bunchy top or tight body, and often both.  So a custom dress, (especially one that I’m getting for FREEEEE!!!!) sounded like a much needed addition to my closet.  Maybe this would be the dress that I pulled out for really special occasions.  Like the ones where no kids are involved and I get to use both my arms for something.

This email, from eShakti, was sent on Valentine’s Day at 10:45 a.m.  And hours later, at 1:07 p.m., my
order was confirmed.  Happy Valentine’s Day to me!!  Then on February 26 (1 1/2 weeks later) I received a package that looked like this from India:

A tiny, flat package that looked like it contained some sort of notebook, not a customized dress.  Then I opened it and saw that my brand new dress was, in fact, inside and it was folded tightly and neatly in tissue paper.  (Woah.  This is fancy.)  I unwrapped it, now very scared to wrinkle the thing, and began to recognize what was inside.

It’s my dress!  I couldn’t wait to try it on.  I had just gotten back from the gym and taken a shower, and I don’t even think I dried off completely before I slipped it over my head and zipped it up the side.  It fit!  It really did fit like a glove.  I tied the sash around the waist and stepped in front of the mirror to have a look.  (The only way for me to see what I look like from head to toe is if I stand on my bath tub.)

So, once I got a better look at the dress, (and you can clearly see for yourself), I found that it did fit me around the waist perfectly…like a glove, in fact.  But around the bust, my sad, pitiful bust, it still bunched.  Now, how does that happen?  It’s not like I lied about my measurements.  I feel like these people who were making my dress looked at my numbers and thought, ‘Oh no, this must be a mistake.  No one is built this way.  Surely she meant this.’  But I, like many small chested women, know a thing or two about getting around having extra space in the top of a dress so I’m not too worried about it.  The dress is very nice, 100% cotton and I’m very excited to come up with an excuse to wear it.  Maybe it will be my Easter dress this year…

So, in short, I am very pleased with my eShakti experience.  They were very quick with their delivery and responses to any questions I had during the process.  The site is well organized and they have some gorgeous dresses, a lot being very retro in style.  My dress is very well made and overall is correct with the customization.  So I do recommend checking out the site and seeing what they can do for you.  They even sent me a promo code, just for my readers, for 20% off your order.  (Promo code:  EVERYDYCHM until 3/10/13) But if you do, may I recommend that if you happen to be shaped like me, invest in a very large bra first.

More recipes to come soon, I promise!