Eleanor Leftwich Collection Eleanor Shirtdress ($345)
Eleanor Leftwich is one of my favorite anon fashion accounts on Instagram. EL's love of a uniform, second hand luxury, and vintage drew me in immediately. When she started her collection I couldn't wait to make my first purchase! (I hope to add her cashmere to my closet later this year!)
I decided my first purchase would be the Eleanor Shirtdress. It's classic, a silhouette for everyone, and is one of her more affordable pieces that is often in stock. If you're new to ELC, she champions luxury fabrics from the same European mills as Chanel and the like, and USA production. She sells mostly off a pre-order model as it doesn't encourage over production and waste. Because let's face it, we do not need MORE anything!
My dress came lovingly wrapped with a handwritten note and with my first touch I knew this was going to be a winner. The 100% Italian cotton from Thomas Mason is a crisp and cool fabric with the perfect weight for all seasons. The dress has a detachable belt with NO belt loops (THANK YOU!) so the wearer can choose where the belt will hit her best. My fellow short torso'd girls and long torso'd girls, someone finally made something with us in mind! The belt being detachable also allows for this dress to be worn more like a caftan or with your own belt. So many options!
The dress features pockets and as a pear shape, sometimes pockets sit right at my hips and add extra bulk. Thankfully, because of the detachable belt I was able to cinch my waist perfectly while also adjusting the fabric to pull forward keeping the pockets at a better place on my body. Overall, the dress fits oversized. I bought a S and the fit is perfect for me (I'm 5'5"). I was nervous the sleeves would end up being too short by sizing down, but they hit perfectly at the wrist. No detail of fit was overlooked.
The only thing I did encounter was a few long extended threads on one of my sleeves and belt, but nothing a quick snip with fabric scissors couldn't tackle.
Overall, I'm extremely impressed and I can see why so many of you own multiple! Feeling the fabric I know I'd love to add an Eleanor Shirt to my closet soon.