The Oblongbox Shop is a brand I'd heard of for a while through Instagram but had never gotten around to checking out properly. I always thought "well I can't spend this money so I might as well not bother looking" and so I didn't. For a while. Pay day arrived and I then found myself more curious than ever to check out their beautiful skirts I'd been spying online.
Now what sets The Oblong Box Shop apart is that owner, Denialle Von Fitch, handcrafts all of her skirts which includes down to the actual skirt illustrations. I think people tend appreciate little nuggets of information like this because it normally means that a lot of care and attention has gone into creating the item of clothing. Another thing I noticed was just how easy the website is to navigate; okay that may sound supeeer lame but this kind of thing is important to me. It's really fast, organised and visually SO pretty to look at. I suspect a lot of people wouldn't care but a crappy website bothers me and loses me as a customer faster than you can blink.
Browsing through their website was more tempting than I could have imagined. I had a little look through all of the clothing but what really caught my eye in particular was the collection of skirts. By far, my favourites are the novelty print skirts; since I bought my first Pinup Girl Clothing Jenny skirt, I've absolutely fallen in love with kitsch printed clothing, so to me these were heaven to look at.
I went with the flamingo design for a couple of reasons; one, the turquoise colour is vivid, stunning and totally eye catching.....which I really like despite actually loathing attention 99% of the time (I know I'm a weird one) and two, you may know that I have mentioned on the blog a few times now that I just adore flamingo prints. When it comes down to it, go with what you know!
The skirt is made from 100% polyester which is something I've not experienced in a full skirt (or any skirt) before. For me, it's perfect though as I've since carried it around in my suitcase and it just doesn't crease. I'm only used to wearing cotton skirts so it did take a little getting used to but I feel that this will only make the skirt last a lot longer. It really is beautiful to look at; the colours are incredible and so vibrant and worth the $95 for that on it's own; but it also features a hidden side zipper with an adjustable waistline which is also another first for me! However, I could have easily downsized in this. As an inbetweenie, I tend to size up to be safe, especially when ordering from America. I've found it isn't too much of a bother because as you can see here, I've put my trusty ebay belt on to accentuate my waist and break up the colour.
Worn with the skirt, is also a top that is from The Oblong Box Shop. As far as I could tell, these tops aren't made by the brand but are from elsewhere. The selection is fantastic however, and SO CHEAP. When I made my order, I also bought this 'It's A Wrap' crossover top for $20 and the one I'm wearing here which is the 'Criss Cross Sweetheart Pinup Top' in baby blue at $19.50. They are both fantastic quality, especially for their price. I'm so used to pinup style seperates being stupidly expensive most of the time so it is refreshing to see affordable prices.
What I love about this top though, which also comes in many different colours, is the variation.
You can wear the neckline as a criss cross or just as normal straps like shown above. I might at some point try and tuck the straps under and wear it like a boob tube style top and see what that looks like, So it is versatile as well as being stretchy and very flattering on the body and bust. I suspect the built in cups are a bit useless for the bustier lady but are perfect for me. The colour also goes perfect with the skirt, they're like a match made in heaven!
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this review. As you can tell, I fully recommend making an order from The Oblong Box Company, especially as you'd be helping out a smaller business. The selection is really to die for so you won't regret it.
