Sorry for my one male reader, if you show up. This one’s geared primarily to us fee-mayels. (Read that with a backwoods hillbilly accent. Yeah, that’s the way.) There’s some work-related bitching and some cooking stuff at the end, if you choose to skip to the bottom.
My FB crossover readers already know I started buying custom-made clothes a while back. No, I don’t phone my bestie at Chanel or House of Whatever. I order from eShakti.com. (Not an affiliate link.) By watching sales and discounts, I get comfy clothes I like, for less than off-the-rack at a mid-range department store. Higher than Wally World, lower than Dillard’s. My Wally World days are over, because of fabric issues.
Yes, my friends. I’m allergic to polyester. It’s always irritated my skin, but lately it went past irritated into “turning it into something gross and oozing.” I guess it wasn’t enough being allergic to virtually all cosmetics and shampoos, most detergents, etc.
I cleared my closet a few months ago. Other than a couple of oversized tees and one pair of pants destined for donation, everything I have left is custom from eShakti.
Latest order, placed last night:
This is a custom version, vs. the original – which was sleeveless and hung to just above the ankle. The fabric is 65% cotton, 35% linen. The lining is 100% cotton.
Yeah.
Lining.
Not all their pieces are lined, but I’m learning to watch for the ones that are. The fit is smoother and no slip required. (No slip needed for anything I’ve bought unlined, though, to be fair.) The quality tends to be nicer on lined pieces.
Today’s price for this dress before alterations or discounts was $59.99. I’ve seen it high as $85, so sixty is a killer deal. Their prices literally change from one day to the next. If shopping their site, take your time and watch for the best deals, and check for coupons. It’s usually one flat fee for all customizations combined, including sizing, neckline, hem length, sleeves, etc. The customization fee for dresses is currently just under $15. Shipping adds another $12-ish, so if you can order more than one item at a time it saves you a bit. (There was a second dress on this order – a print rayon shift, on sale for $27.95 before customization. I was just too lazy to grab and crop an image.)
Average turnaround time has been two weeks, from order to delivery – including customization. Only time it was longer was once at the height of the pandemic, when it stretched to nearly two months.
Each piece arrives wrapped in tissue paper, in a flat box. When we have a delivery my husband announces, “Your pizza’s here!” He’s not entirely wrong – it does look like an XL pizza box.
Listen, those of my readers who are hard to fit. The most fantabulous thing is when you find something you love, you don’t have to wonder if it comes in your size. EVERYTHING is your size, because it’s custom made to exact measurements. My only recommendation is to add a couple of inches to your actual measurements, especially for non-stretch fabrics.
I used to sew my own clothing, so got super spoiled to custom fit, early on. I’ve never fit standard sizes. When I was in high school my measurements were 36-19-36. I had a sweater-girl figure in the era of Twiggy, so knowing how to sew was my saving grace. My mother was a professional seamstress and I learned early.
Nowadays even if I got my sewing machine and serger fixed, and my hands didn’t twerk when I tried to keep them steady, I don’t have time to do more than the occasional repair.
Considering all the ridiculous unboxing crap on YouTube, I’m halfway tempted to do an unboxing video of these dresses. However, that would require me to show my face – and worse yet, the lumpalicious blimp which is my body. That’s a no for me, Simon. I’m game for making a video or twenty, but not if it means putting my ugly mug out there to break computer screens.
I really do plan to do some creative projects, sooner or later. My priority now (other than the daily grind) is to get my husband’s books edited, covered, and online. He writes about a book a month, so I need to hit the ground running, every time.
Unfortunately my colleague, the one who covered for my days off, has exited the building. We’re training someone to take over, but I’m not sure she’ll be ready to solo this weekend – which means I may end up working an extra day. Again. My bank account is doing a happy dance, but holy shit am I tired. The colleague who’s leaving was supposed to be here through Friday. Instead, she’s been a no-show the last couple of days, so we assume training will fall to me. Plus I’m covering for all supervisors while they’re in a meeting Thursday. It’s not only for the meeting – it’s for about an hour’s travel time each way, too. On top of that, one of our admins is on vacation – and I’m picking up a lot of her regular work too, for at least the week or two. It’s the Perfect Storm of workload this week.
I love my job, and they treat me well. However, today I gave my boss (our Ops Manager) notice that after things setttle down a little, I’m taking at least a day or two of vacation time so I don’t keel over. I’ve been hoarding time to go to Iowa later this year. Not gonna hold out that long. Summers are always murder. This one’s starting out a doozey. Since I work OT every week on my regular schedule, throwing in another extra day or even an extra few hours really kicks my ass.
Despite work demands, dinner has been homemade this week, or 90% so. I didn’t make my own pasta from scratch for tonight’s chicken pasta salad, for example. I cooked a box of Suddenly Salad and proceeded to doctor the hell out of it. Added diced pre-cooked chicken, along with a tablespoon of vinegar, and lots of fresh veggies I’d chopped two nights ago because I KNEW this week was going to be a bitch.
Last night was stroganoff. Night before last was a tossed salad with chicken (source of aforementioned pre-cooked chicken). Before that I cooked bean soup, from scratch. And so on.
Okay, done running my fingers tonight. This was a way longer entry than I’d planned, and I’m beat. Going to zone out to YouTube videos and call it a night.
Love the dress and the description of the second one. You just keep on “keepin on”. I hope you do take a few days of vacation before you collapse. Good luck.
Thanks, Terri. I don’t typically buy or wear red dresses, but this one screamed my name. I hope it lives up to its promise. And I hear you on the vacation – definitely know it’s no longer optional for me.
Not sure what kinda male would slum it in a vag-klatch like this, but thanks for the warning anyway. BTW, you look very fetching in that red dress! Good job with the doctored up chicken salad, and mmmmm, boy howdy to I luvs me some Stroganoff! (Funny story: when NewWifey(tm) moved out of her trailer trash compound to be with me, she toted along her cherished family recipe for Beef Stroganoff and asked me to make it. It had, I kid you not, a can of tomato soup in it. Philistines! I made her the real deal, and she cursed her family for foisting their abomination on her for so many years.)
1. Tomato soup, at least the canned variety, is an abomination on its own. Adding it to anything else does not change that fact.
2. The stroganoff was wholly from scratch, other than using packaged noodles. I was out of Worcestershire sauce, though, so it wasn’t perfect. But there wasn’t a drop left over.
3. Sadly, the picture of the red dress is a model. I’m a strawberry blond – natural – even as an old fart, and I haven’t been that tiny since college. Even then I was more busty.