Outfit // Red, White, & Blue

Happy belated 4th of July to my fellow American friends out there! It isn't too late to say that, is it? And it definitely isn't too late for a little patriotic outfit post, right? :) Of course, it was my goal to actually post this on the 4th of July, but you know... Things happen and holidays are busy! We had a great weekend, from start to finish. We went to the movies, I spent the day at the pool with my gal pals, we went out for drinks with friends, went to two different BBQs, watched fireworks, and watched the women's World Cup! It was quite the wonderful, busy weekend and I am sad that it is over. The last few weeks have been pretty great and have been filled with lots of summer fun! Hopefully I'll eventually get around to talking about it a bit more, but for now here's an outfit post featuring my cute pup as a special guest :)
With any holiday or event, I always love to plan out the most perfect outfit to go along with it. When I saw this beautiful blue gingham dress on eShakti, I knew I had to have it for the 4th of July. It is such a great dress to add a little American spirit and will be great for pretty much any occasion outside of that as well! Aside from the print, what I love about this dress is the fact that I got it for only $20, with shipping! I have discovered that there are many eShakti coupon codes out there that will help you get great quality dresses at a steal. I even ordered two more dresses at the same price. Oops! Can't pass up a deal like that though! ;)

I like how this dress ties in the front to create a cute little bow detail. It can also be tied in the back for some variation, but I prefer it tied in the front for myself.
I absolutely love the way this dress fits me and the nice shape that it gives me. I'm not gonna lie, I feel pretty great about myself in this particular dress and that never hurts! Gingham has recently become one of my favorite patterns and blue has always been one of the best colors on me since it brings out my eyes.
I don't know if Marly has ever been featured in an outfit post, but I think he has been enjoying being in the spotlight a bit more on the blog :) He is definitely a cute sidekick! I just wish that I had something patriotic for him to wear as well!
This week is going to be another busy, but good one! I have work, school, and will be heading down to San Diego to spend a week with my family. I am really looking forward to relaxing and hopefully going to the beach! I will also be heading up to LA for a day while I'm there for a fundraiser, so I will have to pick out the perfect outfit for that ;)

How was your holiday weekend? Do you have any fun summer plans?

Dress // eShakti

Sandals // Target

Outfit // An eShakti Story

Hello my dears! It has been a little while since my last outfit post, so I am really happy to be sharing this with you today. I don't really consider myself a fashion blogger, but style posts are probably my favorite ones to put together. I don't know when that happened, but I've learned to just go with it!

Recently, I was contacted by the online store eShakti to select a dress to feature here on the blog! For those of you who have not heard about eShakti until now, they are a women's clothing brand that offers vintage and retro inspired styles. In all honesty, I was super excited and it was a kind of "Hey, I must be doing something right with this whole blogging thing" moment for me. I have loved the dresses on the eShakti site for quite a while now and have seen many sponsored posts about them, so I was honored to finally be offered that opportunity haha it's the little things, you know?

I have always wanted so many dresses from their site, but never took the plunge to order one for myself. I am sorry that I have waited until now! I chose this embellished pinstripe number and customized it by adding short sleeves for a change from all the sleeveless ones I own and by shortening the hem a bit. That is the great thing about eShakti; basically every item they sell is customizable in some way. You can add or take away sleeves, change the neckline, adjust the hem, or even provide your measurements to have a dress made just for you! It is really such a great service to offer, and all at a fairly low fee.


I am really so pleased with the construction and details of this dress. The fabric is such high quality and has a lovely heaviness to it, which is especially nice for colder months. It has very nice lining that gives it a little more fullness in the skirt. All of the stitching is so well done and there is evident attention to detail by the way the pattern of the fabrics line up so impeccably, something I appreciate.
My only hesitation with this dress is the sizing. I was generous with the size that I chose, selecting one that I thought may be a little big on me. Unfortunately, the dress ended up being fairly snug, specifically in the bust area. Luckily it zips up, but it is a bit constricting and I feel that "the girls" are kind of stuffed in there. It definitely flattens everything down and does not look quite as flattering as it could have. This does not taint my opinion of eShakti though, since things are often a bit snug for me in this area and because eShakti has such great customization options for future orders. Next time I will definitely opt to enter my personal measurements so that there are no issues!  
In the end, this dress is such a high quality piece that will be great to wear during the holidays and the colder months to come! Though the fabric is a bit heavy, I think this dress will be great in the spring with flats or sandals too! It also has a full circle skirt, which, as you know is very important to me. Even though I am 20-years-old, a girl has got to be able to twirl!

So, my conclusions about eShakti:
+ Next time I will use my personal measurements to customize the size of my dress.
+ If you have your eye on something from their site, don't hesitate because you will not be disappointed!
+ Why did I wait so long to get my first piece from them?!

As a side note, Dai and I decided to shoot these photos at a new little spot I found near my house. It is actually just a patch of grass on the corner of a street, but you would never know that! I am really happy with how this scenery photographed and think it was the perfect choice for this dress. Plus, it is nice that you can actually see the Golden Gate Bridge from this spot :)

Thank you to eShakti for gifting me this dress and sponsoring this post!

Have you ever shopped with eShakti? How would you customize your dress?

Dress // c/o Eshakti

Tights // Kohl's

Shoes // Crowne Vintage via DSW

Belt // Macy's

Disclaimer: This was a sponsored post. While I may have been compensated in some way, all views and opinions are my own.