A Plus Size Military Jacket

militaryYCDid you see John Varvatos, one of the Mentors on Fashion Star wearing a jacket similar to this last week, and I see he is also wearing it on his bio?  Can you ask for more than androgyny, a jacket that you can dress up or down, and can you get any more on trend than John Varvatos?

military jacket2Yours Clothing, a plus size store in the U.K. was generous enough to send me this Military Jacket and the best thing about it, for me, is that their UK Size 30-32 fits my US size 26-28 body and I love a tailored look. The arms are a good fit for me as are the shoulders, so it is very comfortable and you know that is important to me.  And it is 100% cotton, which means that in the cool San Francisco Bay area I will be able to wear it most evenings since the temperatures stay in the 60°s here.  I have always been a pacifist so I think more of it as a “band jacket” but regardless, it is everywhere this season, and now it comes in our size.

watches affI thought you might also like to see my necklaces.  The top and bottom ones are my husband’s grandfather’s watches (which I like to soften the military look and it keeps it in the right fashion era).  And the middle pendant is a brass logo of an art piece that is being made for Burning Man this year, Truth is Beauty.

originals of military jacketsHere are the original photos of the jacket, just so you can see a little more detail.  There are epaulets on the shoulders, with buttons and similar details in the back although it is dfficult to see in the photo.

Lots more to come from Yours Clothing, and maybe even a DIY glam version of the jacket from me, and some flirty little dresses (or tunics as they like to call them in the U.K.)

Peace…affinity

 

eShakti Clothing – A Plus Size Review

Cat Oake

Cat Oake

Cat Oake

Cat Oake

Cat Oake

Cat Oake

I have been watching eShakti for awhile.  It is everywhere in my Facebook Groups. I am thrilled, these buyers had posted their candid photos (I love that they take their own photos with their phones)  and they are willing to let me share them.  Because of that you will be able to see the range of clothing that eShakti sells, and they look fabulous.  And then, fellow blogger XXELLE put up a coupon code up for eShakti that is good until March 10th, (those details are at the end of this post) so I knew it was time to review eShakti.

eShakti carries sizes 0 – 36, they offer customization, they do not keep any clothing in stock, they cut to order and their clothing is made in India.  You have two choices, you can order clothing according to their sizing chart, and then have minor customization, or you can order custom sizing specifying all of your measurements. Customization is just $7.50 for both custom sizing and custom styling, and it is free with your first order.

I had never ordered anything from them because my personal experience with custom made clothing has not been very good, I tend to buy online and then have my clothes tailored.  But I ordered a dress last week, completely custom and we will see how it goes when it arrives in several weeks.

Per Cat Oake recently:

I had been buying items from eShakti and adding several inches to the bust and waist as well as saying I was 5’11” tall when I’m actually only 5’5″. Well, things were coming larger and larger. I think they have been finally figuring out that they need to add extra ease to the garments for fat people.

Anyway, I recently changed my ordered measurements to be just an inch larger in bust and waist and VOILA! Perfect fits in the last two garments that arrived. No need fix ’em with the sewing machine or just live with the extra volume.

In addition, I loooove the fabric in the dress shown. It’s a eyelet using silver threads. (That is the dress at the top). You can only customize using the options on the customize tab with eShakti and fabric is everything, when you buy their more expensive pieces the fabric is better and they look better.

Madelyn McWilliams

Madelyn McWilliams

Madelyn McWilliams said:

I pretty much ordered a size larger than I usually wear.  I usually wear a size 26 (22/24 top and 26 bottom) but I got a 28. The way it’s cut at the top i could use a little more room but it’s not bad.

Here are some more photos of other fabulous women wearing eShakti:

Aimie Thomas

Aimie Thomas

Katie Bot

Katie Bot

Cardigan: Annex Woman
Dress: eShakti
Tights: We Love Colors
Shoes:: Payless
Necklace: My grandmother’s

AnnMarie Elle

AnnMarie Elle

Cardi: Old Navy
Top: eShakti
Jeans: One Stop Plus
Headband: Sephora

Good luck to all of you if you make any purchases.  Consistently I saw the suggestion to buy a larger size than you usually wear and to add some inches to your height, the clothing tends to run short.  Thanks to everyone on FatToo Anonymous that was willing to share their photos with you and me. They look fabulous don’t they!
Peace…affinity

Matchie Matchie in my Domino Dollhouse, asos Curve and We Love Colors Outfit

Domino Dollhouse, asos curve, we love color I showed up at a staff meeting yesterday (although I am a volunteer) at the Burning Man Project and there was my friend Jennifer Raiser (who is an amazing blogger and writer) and we each had on our matchie matchie outfits including a black bubble skirt, flats, and a patterned red blazer.  It was so fun I just had to tell you about it.

Sweater: Domino Dollhouse – Size 4X – (out of stock)
Dress: ASOS Curve – Size 22 U.S.
Tights: We Love Color – One Size
Shoes: Facebook FatToo Accessora

We Love Colors striped tights in both the black striped tights and the white striped tight are one plus size tights.  I am a size 26-28, weigh 275 lbs., height 5’5″ and these tights just fit me and I love them.  I have included the weight and height chart below.

we love color plus sized one size tights chart

On the other hand We Love Colors has a solid color tight that runs up to 375 lbs., (and maybe even a little higher if you extrapolate from my weight in the prior chart).

Screen Shot 2013-02-08 at 1.09.04 PM

we love color plus size tights chart

Peace…affinity

photo: Ben Thompson

Chic Star – A Review

On Facebook lately I have read about several women ordering from Chic Star, a Chinese on-line plus size clothing vendor. I did a review of their fun product line in May, and you can find it here. I am getting consistent information from buyers that the clothes run almost a full size smaller than the size chart might indicate. I still love their clothing, and I am not hearing any complaints about the quality, but since I am a size 26-28 myself, I probably will not try to order anything from them since their styles generally do not contain much knit or stretchy material and I am concerned about it fitting.   Just keeping my ear to the ground for us.  I would love it if you could share any information you might have about them.  Ciao Bellas…affinity

J4 Leather Jackets – How do they Fit?


I bought a 5X jacket on Ebay from Treasure Trove Trading Post.  I was going to my 44th Palm Springs High School reunion and of course I wanted something new.  I received an email saying they did not have the jacket in stock but they would order it. I responded with the date that I needed it and my measurements. No problem, they replied, I would have it timely and I was their standard 5X.

I received the jacket a couple of weeks after the reunion and it did not even begin to fit. When I tried to return it the Ebay store told me to contact the maker, and the maker’s email and voicemail were full. FASHION FAILURE