The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Ask BB: Fab Evening Attire for a Tall, Plus-Size College Girl on a Budget





eShakti.com carries a wide range of affordable, customizable dresses and separates as well as fabulous accessories for day or night.


Hey Budget Babe! I'm going to my boyfriend's Fraternity's Charter dinner at the end of the month and I'm not sure what to wear! He is supposed to wear a suit which I guess means I should wear a dress. Problem is I'm a tall (5'11"), plus size (14), college student. Can you help me put together an outfit that isn't going to break the bank and is long enough to not expose my behind?

I just discovered the perfect place for you to score a gorgeous dress for just such an occasion! So excited. Ok, are you ready? It's called eShakti, a fabulous online boutique that carries a complete range of sizes from size 0 to size 26W on every style.

Moreover, they offer custom sizes and custom styling as well: you like a style, but want the sleeve, neckline or length to be different? You got it! eShakti enables you to easily custom-style your garment right during the ordering process. eShakti also offers fast, 3 business-day shipping, even for custom garments.

And the prices are stunningly reasonable, meaning you will find evening wear for well under $100. I love love love the styles, too, very unique, on-trend and stylish. I stumbled upon eShakti while browsing Fabulous Fun Finds, so I have not had a chance to order anything from them yet, but judging by the customer reviews on their site, I'd say they have a loyal following of happy shoppers.

Another cool tidbit: Shakti in Sanskrit means power. Hence by eShakti they mean "The Power of the Net." Love that.

Below are just a few options for evening, browse eShakti.com for dozens more. Don't forget to hit the overstock section for deep discounts!



Beaded maxi dress, $79.95


Gold chevron print dress, $59.95


Sequined wide sash wrap top, $59.95


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Comments
wow, great finds! decent plus-size clothing is incredibly hard to find here. I will check that out right now!!
Thank you for sharing the info!
#1 Elisa (Homepage) on 2010-01-17 09:43 (Reply)
I love eShakti but it's not exactly college budget friendly. (Or at least not, my college budget.)

I would check out whatever discount stores are in your area -- particularly if you have a Ross. But Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, etc, all go up to about 16 in the dresses they regularly carry in store.

Make sure your dress doesn't clash with his tie. :-)

Since it's a charter dinner, I would suggest finding something in black, and if you want to be very cute, accessorize with whatever the fraternity colors are.

When I was an undergrad, my boyfriend's fraternity colors were black and red, so for an awards banquet or such thing, I'd wear a black cocktail dress, with red earrings and red pumps. You don't have to overdo it to the pound of ridiculousness, but.
#2 Dallas on 2010-01-17 09:46 (Reply)
I love the maxi dress! It's hard to make a long dress not look like a formal, but that one does the trick.
#3 Kelly C (Homepage) on 2010-01-17 12:10 (Reply)
You know I love this! At 5'11" with curves to boot this is one of my faves! rock on BB!
#4 jessaminute on 2010-01-17 13:15 (Reply)
wow this site is really cool. will you do a review at some point, like try ordering something and let us know how it works out? they even promise 3 day shipping...
#5 NG on 2010-01-17 14:55 (Reply)
Yup, that's my plan!

AND I just got this in my inbox from eShakti, in case you'd like to order something yourself:

"We are presently running a special promotional offer for all our new and first time customers. '$20 OFF $30 - just add items worth $30 to your shop cart and use coupon code MTRDC9X at checkout to avail the discount'. The code is not case-sensitive and is valid through 01/31/2010. Should this interest you, feel free to share the same with your readers. "
#5.1 The Budget Babe on 2010-01-18 00:16 (Reply)
Thank you for this post. I'm plus-size on top (sz. 16) and it's soooo hard to find evening dresses. I just quit doing it since I found nothing. But I'm going to check out this site.

Also, if you don't mind shelling out the bucks, Nordstrom.com also has a great selection of plus-size evening gowns that are really elegant and beautiful, from big-name brands too. They go on sale, but are still a bit $$. Worth a look, though.
#6 Anusha (Homepage) on 2010-01-17 16:13 (Reply)
That site is awesome. Thanks for posting it!
#7 Joann on 2010-01-17 20:30 (Reply)
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