Whooooo boy, this has taken me forever to get up. My apologies!

I'm here today with another review of eShakti. I am so happy to have eShakti's support, and honestly love their vintage-inspired styles. For those who don't know, eShakti is a online company that offers customized clothing, as well as "off the rack" (so to speak) styles, many of them vintage inspired. The clothing is made in India.

They've asked me to review their new fall line. It took me a very long time to even figure out what to select to review, as there was so much I loved! A few of my favourites:


But, in the end, I went with the Ruched puff sleeve crepe dress. My biggest concern when ordering this dress was that it would be a little low cut. I have v-neck top from eShakti and it cuts pretty low. My worst fears were confirmed when I put the dress on for the first time, without a camisole underneath.



Even after I put a white camisole underneath (oh, how I wish I had a matching olive or navy one) it looked a little strange. I honestly don't know why eShakti cuts these so low! I guess I will only be going with boat neck styles from now on. I think I will sewing a little built-in cami in this one. I can't even install a snap, because then it pulls all funny in the bust.

Now for some real outfit photos:

Dress: c/o eShakti Earrings: vintage Locket: gift from Miss Bee shoes: thrifted bag: vintage (bought from Miss Bee) hat: vintage (gift from Miss Bee)

For this dress, I understated my height and asked for a below the knee style when ordering, so it actually hit a few inches below my knee instead of just skimming the bottom of my kneecaps.

The crepe is lovely and flowy, and was actually quite warm. I added in my custom measurements, and the fit was very good! The material washes nicely, and irons up quickly.


I just love the sleeves! It's certainly my favourite feature. Many of eShakti's previous styles have been very geared towards the fifties and sixties, so it's nice to find some that work for us forties loving gals as well.


This is also my first chance to show off this beautiful locket! Miss Bee gave it too me as (totally unnecessary!) gift for helping out with some wedding stuff. I just love it!


I was very excited to solve two style conundrums that day: how to wear this hat (it's slightly too big for my head) and how to jazz up my lazy hair style of victory rolls and a back roll. problem solved!


So, onto the part you've all been waiting for - the giveaway!

eShakti is offering THREE gift cards, worth $30 each, to the winners of my giveaway. Sadly, this giveaway is only open to customers in the US and Canada. Also, I apologize for the awkward "Leave a comment linking to Pinterest" option. Rafflecopter only offers Pinterest entries if you upgrade.

For the mandatory entry, you MUST link to an item in eShakti's fall collection, or you won't be qualified. If you forget, simply leave another comment (however, only one comment will count).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Miss Bee!


Congrats B! I've already sent you an email, so please give me a shout and I can send you the CD.
You may notice that I did the draw out of 3 instead of 5, but that was because I only had three valid comments (they other two did not leave contact info). I was really hoping for more entries, but c'est la vie!

I have a few blog posts coming up once it's December all revolving around Christmas, which is my FAVOURITE time of year. They'll only be once a week so as not to totally make you sick of the season.
I've already started listening to Christmas music (I tried to hold out, I swear) but G and I won't decorate the house until Dec. 1.

I hope you are all keeping warm out there as it starts to get colder. We had a big snow dump here but then it warmed up - meaning that the streets the city didn't plow (basically every residential street) is now mush. Good thing I got my snow tires on when I did!

xo Laurie

Last night I went to the Sugar Swing Remembrance Day dance, featuring the lovely Alex Pangman!
I actually got an email last week from the artiste herself inviting me out, so I couldn't not go. G had to work, so I recruited my friend Nicole as my date as we got all dolled up 40s style.

This is what I wore to work, but changed after I got to Nicole's - there was a small rip in the underarm seaming and I didn't want to make matters worse by dancing in it, but it was so cute and really comfy! I wish I could have worn it *sigh*


Nicole bought the Beverly dress from Heartbreaker - I love love love this dress. I am so jealous. It looks amazing on her, no?



So we went to Sugar Swing. They hold dances every Saturday where you can pay $2 extra and get an hour long lesson. G and I went on my birthday and they taught the Lindy Hop, which I could not get for the life of me. This time they taught the Charleston, which I caught on to a little quicker. I didn't really dance the rest of the nice (no one asked me, sadface) but I did mull around and take photos (can't take the girl out of the newspaper biz).





And I met another local (well, Edmonton-local) vintage blogger! I spotted Miss Bailey in her snood (from Arthelia's Attic) and couldn't help but chat with her and snap a photo of her for my blog. It's always really nice to talk with someone who wears vintage/vintage inspired on a more regular basis than just events.

And when the band went on break I went over and introduced myself to Alex to thank her for inviting me. We ended up chatting back stage about hair woes and dresses for a few minutes - she was so sweet!

I loooooooove her dress.

Alex was so sweet in fact that she signed a copy of her newest album to give away on the blog!






Alex Pangman '33' giveaway, open to readers world-wide!
To enter:
1. Comment on this blog post, simple as that.
2. Mention this blog post on Facebook, tell me in a comment and link to the post/screenshot.
3. Mention this blog post (and me @laurie_callsen) on Twitter, tell me in a comment and link to the post/screenshot.

You can enter once, twice or thrice! Just make sure if you do more than one you comment for each entry so I can count you. Please include some way to get a hold of you quickly.

This contest is open to anyone, family and G excluded because I just don't think that would be fair.

Contest will close Monday, November 21 at 11:59 pm, and I will make the draw and announce the winner the next day. Good luck to all!