Curvatude in The Stores: Ashley Stewart

I was downtown running errands the other day and decided to stop into Ashley Stewart to see what was new.

And since faux leather is ev..verry..wherrre this season, I decided to check out a few of their pieces.

First up, the Trapunto Stitch Jacket.

You can’t really tell from my picture but this jacket is actually blue, a very subtle nice blue.

Verdict: I love it. It’s very soft and was very well made, i.e. in this case, the stitching is not frayed, the zipper did not stick and it fit well. I could totally see myself rocking this.

Next, the Ruffle Trim Jacket

Looking at this pic now, I realize that I should have wrapped it around my body more so that you could see how it’s supposed to look.

My bad. But just take a look at the one on their website.

Verdict: Initially when i saw this on the rack, i was in love but it just so happens that the jacket i tried on had some issues.

In particular, the stitching was off and that is high on my list of deal breakers.

Can you see it? Right there along the side edge of the pocket. There is a section where the pocket isn’t sewn on all the way.

And yes, i know its not high end fashion but in my book it doesn’t matter.

I expect a certain level of basic quality control from even the dollar store and unfortunately this does not meet it.

Bummer because i love the girly ruffle detail.

Anyway, i also tried on this shrug, which unfortunately i could not find on their website.

Verdict: Out of all the things i tried on, this is the only one that my honey liked and that i actually really didn’t.

Although it was actually very well made, it was just a bit too shiny faux looking for me.

But I do love the detail around the edges. Very biker girl.

And it’s obviously not faux leather but i tried on the Cascading Ruffle Party Dress because although it somewhat breaks another one of my rules for the way i dress by having a broach built into it, i thought it might be a cute dress for the holidays.

Verdict: Even in my blurred picture you can see that this dress has issues.

And amazingly the issues centered around a problem that i never have.

The breast cups were way too big and shapeless AND they had pads in them!

I totally do not get why they did that.

The pads were small, oddly placed and just unnecessary. It ruined the whole vibe of the dress.

Overall, I love that the jackets provide something that I always need, room in the upper arm area and that Ashley Stewart continues to keep bringing trendy new styles and working to give plus size girls options, i just wish that they would spend a bit more time on quality control.