Disclosure: I received a gorgeous dress from eShakti to aid in the writing of this post. As per usual, all words and opinions expressed are my own.

I went to an evening networking event a while back that focused on the topic of networking. An appropriate subject for such an event, I suppose. The event was for local businesswomen and was held at a nice hotel in my town. It was a great program, as many of the women’s networking events are, but the reason I remember it is because of one red dress.
Why a red dress? Because a very tall, confident woman was wearing the dress. The dress was a conversation starter, and the reason for her wearing the dress was even better. Because she was a mom who doesn’t get out too much and didn’t have a whole lot of business casual attire to wear that evening. Why the heck shouldn’t she pull out a stunning dress to an evening event with all adults? She was the hit of the party.
I have to admit, I’m not much of a dress wearer. I typically only break them out during the summer when it’s nice and warm and shorts aren’t cutting it. I like a good, comfortable dress that fits me. The fitting isn’t always easy, which is why I get annoyed when I go dress shopping. I’m short, but my legs are long. I’m thin, but I have hips. Finding the right dress silhouette for my torso can be difficult.
I know many women that have a hard time finding the right fit for a dress (and clothing in general). We’re all shaped so differently. We all have our challenges with clothes.
When eShakti asked me to check out their website, pick out a piece of clothing and review the whole process, I jumped at the chance. They not only have a beautiful selection of clothing, it is all made to your specifications. I chose the Ella dress in navy and cream. When I ordered, I not only chose my size (they had a helpful sizing chart), I also plugged in my height, noted how long I wanted the dress (I chose knee length) and chose to include pockets and embroidery. I’ve never seen so many options for a dress when ordering online.
As my contact noted in an email, eShakti is the only online women’s fashion apparel company offering size 0-36W and custom clothing. When I received my dress in the mail, I couldn’t help but throw it on and have a little fashion shoot in my yard.

My good friend, neighbor and personal photographer for the day also happens to be a tailor and seamstress. She looked closely at the dress and noted that it was very well made. She’s the type of person who looks at every seam and observes the attention to detail in clothing. While I thought the dress looked and felt great, she saw the small things like a hook under the straps to make sure your bra doesn’t show or the way the zipper was attached so as not to rub against any skin. I also thought the pockets were a nice touch. And photos don’t do the embroidery on the dress justice.
I have to admit, it felt good to play dress up for a little while. Going through a divorce, dealing with selling my house and settling into my new role as a single mom doesn’t exactly leave a whole lot of time for dressing up. Heck, I didn’t have time to do hair and makeup or find shoes that matched. But Biz, who rocked his kindergarten screening earlier that day, told me I looked pretty. And that’s really all I need to hear.
Like my friend in the red dress, sometimes it just makes sense to dress up. Just because.
Take a look at the selections that eShakti has to offer. You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. I love this Pinterest board, which features bloggers and real customers in all shapes and sizes in their clothing.

When’s the last time you dressed up, just because?