At the recommendation of a dear internet friend, Francesca recently purchased 2 items from HolyClothing.com, the purveyors of lusciously-designed and crafted plus-size clothing in the spirit of the Renaissance or Bohemian woman.
Indeed the clothing were every bit as gorgeously constructed as the website says. The fabric and detailing were exactly as described and pictured on the site. They also arrived quickly.
Francesca’s lone gripe against HolyClothing is that they do not offer petite sizes. This in addition to the fact that their skirts are incredibly long and designed, it appears, to drag on the floor (which Francesca does not allow!) So, when choosing skirts, Francesca did the math and realized that fully one quarter of each item would have to be chopped off. Not knowing whether the skirts were made such that Francesca’s seamstress could shorten them from the top, Francesca felt limited to this one style which could be chopped from the bottom without losing all the prettiness:
She felt that ordering something like this
would not be a good idea, since cutting off the bottom would remove most of what makes the skirt special.
It turns out, though, that in fact the skirts can be brought up from the top. So, petite women should feel free to order from this site, provided that you have a good seamstress.
However, this gorgeous blouse, which Francesca adores, must be sent back:
Do you see that it is a lace-up blouse? Do you see the heavenly, romantic sleeves and exquisite embroidery? Do you see how perfect this blouse is for the Apple-shaped woman?
And do you see how, on a woman who is 5-foot-1, the neckline would come to, oh, about mid-chest? How the sleeves cannot be shortened without ruining their look? How it is impossible to shorten the blouse because the corset holes are spaced so that there would no longer be room for a pretty hem?
So, Francesca is keeping the skirt and sending back the blouse. Her advice to other petite ladies is to check out the site, but be circumspect in your purchases.
But if you are a woman of height who enjoys the styles of eras past, this vendor is indeed superfantastic.
And, now through December 15, get free shipping if you fulfill the following requirements at holyclothing.com!
USA Customers: Free Shipping when you spend over $49.99. Select Registered Standard Post 10-12 Workdays w/ Insurance and enter coupon code 6969.
UK & German Customers: Free Shipping when you spend over $59.99. Select Registered Standard Airmail 10-12 Workdays w/ Insurance and enter coupon code 6968.
International Customers: Free Shipping when you purchase 5 garments or more. Select Registered Expedited Airmail 8-9 Workdays w/ Insurance and enter coupon code 7776.
Happy shopping!
Xoxo,
Francesca
UPDATE IN RESPONSE TO COMMENTS:
Francesca says: heh heh, indeed the second skirt does look like a piece of furniture. The readers are correct.
However, for the Big Girl who enjoys this style, it is not hard to carry off at all. The trick is first to make sure it is altered so that lengthwise it is the perfect fit. And second to pair it with an exceedingly simple blouse (NOT such a one as pictured), so that the top does not compete with the skirt. Add some pretty, dangly earrings to balance the vertical line. And third, one must have the slightly laissez-faire attitude. This is not the skirt to wear to a job interview at Goldman Sachs. It is the skirt to wear on a Sunday while shopping at Quincy Market in Boston.
I had issues with that top, too! Although I have only 2″ on the Francesca, the neckline was all right (daring, but all right) and the sleeves of a good length – but they seemed attached to the bodice in a strange way. As if the armhole were too large? Too low?
I suppose I misread their return policy – I thought I could not send it back, and it was “okay” for a weekend shirt. And I loved, loved, loved the two Enya dresses that I got from them. A friend of mine has even given me the go-ahead to use one as my bridesmaid’s dress in her wedding!
Comment by TeleriB — December 11, 2007 @ 12:00 pm
i don’t get it. first you tell us not to wear ugly shapeless sacks, then you tell us to wear ugly shapeless sacks. huh??
Comment by anonymous — December 11, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
The skirts a long, but most of the items on the website are not shapeless. Most have some version of princess seams.
I wish I could wear this stuff. So pretty. I am very tall (over six feet) but that doesn’t help here necessarily. I think you need a particular personal style to pull off lots of embroidery, and I’m a cougar, shall we say? In anything Boho or peasant-y, I always wind up looking like the St. Paulie girl (e.g. rosy-cheeked German with six beer steins in her hands).
Comment by Chaser — December 11, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
I’m also 5′ 1″ and Holy Clothing breaks my heart. I had one top from them that was good if I wore a camisole under it (but otherwise, far, far too boobtacular), and a tunic I wore as a dress. What would it take to persuade them to carry a petite line?
Comment by Sniper — December 11, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
These things don’t look flattering on any body. Unless your idea of flattering is looking like an antique sofa. Sorry.
Comment by caitlin — December 11, 2007 @ 1:23 pm
Drat. These clothes are very much my style, fit my budget…but many will never work on my concentrated body (Five foot two, eyes of blue, and all like that). I long for that blouse, but if it’s that likely to cause embarrassment at 5’1″, I don’t imagine 5’2″ will do very much better. Pity. Blouses and dresses with that sort of line make me look as though I actually have breasts.
Still, if TeleriB is finding things that work for her, maybe I need to look more closely at the whole website. Perhaps there’s hope for me yet.
Comment by Twistie — December 11, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Antique sofa? Oh, no! The sofa look was out six months ago; it’s all about davenports now. Like the sofa, but with softer lines and more frills.
I’m just so glad we’ve moved past the La-Z-Boy look of the mid-90s. Did that work for anyone?
Comment by TeleriB — December 11, 2007 @ 1:49 pm
I ordered that blouse (in blue), by my measurements, and it’s huge on me. Also that same skirt. I’ve been thinking about re-selling both.
Comment by Kai Jones — December 11, 2007 @ 2:22 pm
I love Holy Clothing, but mostly for their sleeveless dresses–I am not an apple but just kind of straight up and down, and many of their sleeveless dresses have enough structure to give me curves. Their blouses and most of their skirts are a bit too ruffly and froufrou for me.
Comment by Kris — December 11, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
I am a tall Pear and I love love love HolyClothing! Of course, it helps that I have a sort of Renaissance Faire personality (I actually worked at one in my youth) and do not have to maintain a professional image. I also have very unattractive legs (Google “lipedema” for the reason why) and love that the skirts actually cover my ugly ankles, whereas many of the other lovely items I see here do not function to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative in my figure.
Also, if you look at their site, skirt lengths and other clothing dimensions are spelled out, so you can tell whether something will work for you or not. I always buy the longest ones!
Comment by Jane — December 11, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
I had issues with that top, too! Although I have only 2″ on the Francesca, the neckline was all right (daring, but all right) and the sleeves of a good length – but they seemed attached to the bodice in a strange way. As if the armhole were too large? Too low?
I suppose I misread their return policy – I thought I could not send it back, and it was “okay” for a weekend shirt. And I loved, loved, loved the two Enya dresses that I got from them. A friend of mine has even given me the go-ahead to use one as my bridesmaid’s dress in her wedding!
Comment by Find antiques — October 4, 2010 @ 9:55 am