This November will be the 10th anniversary of my move to Burlington. It will also mark the 10th anniversary of when I discovered the beautiful clothes available from IGIGI and designer Yuliya Raquel.
Prior to living in Burlington I lived in the Niagara region and I was fortunate enough to find a local seamstress who made all of my dresses for formal occasions. My profession requires me to attend several formal events a year and I also love to go on cruises where I take full advantage of the opportunity to dress up for formal night. I resorted to using a seamstress to bring my vision and creations to life because I could never find any options in stores that were stylish and not black! I love colour! I was 25 years old, I didn’t want to look frumpy, I wanted to feel youthful and beautiful.
So when I moved, I realized that it wasn’t going to be practical to rely on my seamstress anymore as driving an hour and a half each way for fittings didn’t work with my busy schedule. I once again scoured the stores in search of something for my Christmas party that December and let’s just say I was left with the same disappointment from years before that. So what was I to do?
Being the very determined person that I am, I took to searching the internet. There had to be something, I told myself. Now you have to remember this was 2005 and the options were very limited for plus size fashion either in store or online. We have certainly come a long way in the last 10 years. Add to this to the fact that at the time I was a size 30/32 and formal wear is already made smaller than normal clothing. Needless to say, this was going to be no small feat!
One night my persistence paid off and I came across IGIGI’s site. It was like the skies had opened up and I was in heaven! Here I was looking at gorgeous gowns in amazing colours and patterns and they carried sizes 14 to 32!!!! And for all my fellow Canadians – yes, they shipped to Canada! I sat there in disbelief for a few minutes and then proceeded to look through my options and chose this beautiful teal Grecian goddess dress as pictured below. I absolutely love this dress and I have worn it several times over the years.
Now I know what some of you might be thinking…do I really want to order a formal gown online without trying it on? I will admit I was nervous when I placed my first order but given the lack of alternatives I took the risk. First of all, IGIGI’s clothes are clearly designed for us curvy gals. Their sizing is very generous and the fabrics they use are top notch.
But they also have some amazing tools on their website that help you get the best fit possible. Their size chart is very detailed and provides measurements for those of us who have defined waists and those who don’t. I have found this to be very helpful. They also tell you the height of the models, what size they are wearing and what shape they are.
However, what is probably their greatest feature is the “ShapeStylist”. This amazing tool on their website allows you to answer a few simple questions and it determines what your shape is, provides tips on what to wear and suggests styles that will flatter you. I personally love this tool because when I look at the details of an item on the site I can click on the “Fit and Available Shapes” section and it will tell me if the item will look good on my shape. It will also tell you if you should order based on a particular measurement. For example, a dress may have a very full skirt so you would be best to select the size based on your bust and waist measurements and not worry so much about your hip. And finally if you prefer, you can always call customer service and ask them for their opinion. I can’t say enough about how wonderful and helpful the customer service team is at IGIGI.
And what is the worst that could happen? You may have to return or exchange something? Thankfully IGIGI provides very reasonable shipping rates and has a flexible return and exchange policy. And, they ship to over 70 countries worldwide!
I have purchased many IGIGI pieces over the last 10 years and every time I get an IGIGI package in the mail I still get the same feeling of excitement that I got when I ordered that very first dress and it fit me like a glove. When I wore that dress I truly felt like a goddess.
To mark the occasion of this, my first blog post, I knew that IGIGI would be the brand I chose to highlight because it truly opened the doors to so many amazing fashionable options for me and the world of online shopping. I knew that I no longer had to settle. Of course you know that this meant I had to find the perfect new piece to showcase in this post.
Well the Esther dress in Heliotrope does certainly not disappoint! This dress is absolutely amazing and a total reflection of me – feminine, colourful, flirty and sexy.
It is a great summer choice as it is made of cotton so it is totally breathable for the hot weather and it’s perfect for day or night. has a beautiful belt to accentuate my waist and the print is floral and my two favourite colours.
And for those of you who don’t like to show your arms, the short sleeves provide great coverage without having to wear a sweater or shrug.
I am generally a true size 26/28 in IGIGI but I had to size down in this dress so the fit is very generous.
Here I have paired it with a great statement necklace, clutch and a dressy flat sandal.
I also added something that is very special to me and that is my great grandmother’s pin and earrings. Great Grandma Gale was a very proper British woman who was always dressed impeccably and shared my love of the colour purple. Adding her pieces brought a sentimental touch to my outfit and reminded me of her.
So ladies if you need a dress for that upcoming wedding, anniversary, vacation etc., I encourage you to take the risk and try IGIGI and online shopping. If you are new to IGIGI and sign up for emails you can receive 15% off your first order.
When you find that piece that makes you feel like a million bucks it will be so worth it, I can assure you of that.
A very special thank you to @peterchiemto for the amazing photos!
Dress by IGIGI | Shoes by AVENUE | Wristlet by COACH | Necklace by Style&co. @ Macy’s
Click this link to try out IGIGI’s “ShapeStylist”
