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Friday, April 25, 2014

Pastel Wrinkles

pink lavender // pastel fuchsia dress from eshakti.com

Bear with me, because the next paragraph is going to read like advertising copy. There is probably a better way to write it, but I am too tired and steeped in marketing to devise an angle. Here we go...

I knew about eShakti before they offered to send me a dress, because they've garnered a lot of love in the #fatshion community on Tumblr, and probably elsewhere as well. For example: "After playing dress up, I've decided that my eShakti dresses truly are my favorites. They make me feel so posh. My new goal in life is to achieve a salary that provides for a wardrobe full of them." One of the reasons why people love eShakti is that they offer a full range of sizes, far beyond what's available from most retailers. Hooray for plus-size empowerment! In addition, eShakti provides customization, which is free the first time you order and costs $7.50 going forward.

So, I made two bad decisions regarding this dress. The first one was ordering a standard size instead of customizing because I was too lazy/impatient to take measurements. The second was not ironing the skirt also out of laziness and impatience. I can't decide whether to leave the dress as is, with an overly loose bust, or to tailor it myself. I will probably opt for the latter... eventually.

Anyway, I feel comfortable collaborating with eShakti because of this section from their "about the brand" page:

"There have been concerns from some of our customers after the disaster that occurred in Bangladesh recently in an apparel-making unit. [...] No one who is not eligible to be employed under the Indian Government's minimum age policy is ever employed by our manufacturing units. The Indian government has been progressive, and with India's increasing affluence, they have been raising the minimum wage stipulation over time. And wages paid by eShakti are typically 50% to 100% over the Indian government's minimum stipulation. [...] The people who work to make eShakti's clothes are typically the main wage-earners of their families, and provide for them, including education for their children."

This is by no means perfect. After all, one must consider India's position on child labor, according to USDOL:

"Legislation to prohibit work for children under the age of 14 and to proscribe hazardous work for children under 18 has been introduced in Parliament but has yet to be passed. The worst forms of child labor continue to exist in many sectors, particularly in dangerous activities in agriculture and the manufacturing of goods in the informal economy."

I'm not about to become an expert on Indian labor statutes, but I feel confident guessing that there are other shortcomings. On the bright side, I also feel confident stating that 1) eShakti knows that at least some of their customers care about ethical manufacturing and 2) they are moving in the right direction.

hot pink velour sweater, pastel fuchsia dress from eshakti.com, black leather shoes

I am in love with the absurdly bright pinkitude of this jacket. (But can someone tell me how to mitigate that in Photoshop?) I feel like a hyper-saturated version of Amy Poehler in Mean Girls:

Amy Poehler as Regina George's mom in Mean Girls

Velour sweatsuits are the height of style. Duh.

pink lavender // pastel fuchsia dress from eshakti.com lilac purple eyeshadow, pastel fuchsia dress from eshakti.com

17 comments :

  1. This orchid colour is absolutely stunning on you! :-D I really love it!

    I never iron my clothes :-P I figure my body heat will get rid of most wrinkles, but I should admit that I also avoid buying clothes that are likely to *need* ironing...

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! & I think that's a solid purchasing decision ;) I only iron in the event of egregious wrinkling. Although sometimes not even then, obviously, hahab

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  2. I have been meaning to try eShakti. I've written about them for Bustle, but never actually gotten anything for myself. I know the fit isn't exactly what you would've wanted, but the color is lovely and the silhouette very pretty. I love that you take the time to research a company's background as well; not a lot of people care enough to do so.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I hope you get to try them out and enjoy it :)

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  3. Looking at the way the bust is shaped, what you need, my dear friend, is a point vintage 1950s lace cone bra.

    Put someone's eye out.

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  4. Replies
    1. I tried using my cheap petticoat but it wasn't quite the right length!

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    2. If it hung down with pretty!trim that could be nice, but yeah.

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    3. That I would be fine with, but it was actually too short =( Just looked awkward.

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  5. That dress is too cute! I mean, sure, ironing wouldn't hurt it, but who cares :) I get the same crazy color effect in my photos sometimes with reds and oranges - drives me nuts. Try desaturating your photos just a hair, or go into Curves and bring down the red a little bit in the midrange. (If that made no sense to you, I can explain further!)

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    Replies
    1. I need to learn more about curves. Thank you!

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  6. You always look so fantastic in pink!
    In other news, I finally sat down and watched Mean Girls for the first time ever a few weeks ago. Late on the game I was. Yoda speak is relevant?

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    Replies
    1. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's so good! I hope you liked it! & thank you :)

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  7. Hello

    Can you write me please I have a question

    Greeting

    ReplyDelete

It's lovely to hear from you!

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