Dear Frannie Friday--Zaful Review

 The folks at Zaful were kind enough to send me three pieces to review from their website.  I have been really stoked about this review because these pieces are all so on trend!  I knew I would want more professional photo help with these than my trusty tripod, so I enlisted the help of one of my dearest friends, Allison.  We could only carve out one Monday night to take these--and that happened to be the Monday before we got the Arctic Blast.  Let me tell you--taking these photos was tortuously cold but also extremely fun!  For locations, we got to use Larimer Street (my favorite street in Denver) and Union Station (where I have always wanted to shoot, but now know why I haven't . . . #sociallyawkwardintrovert).

As for working with Zaful, it was extremely generous and easy.  They allotted me $50, which was plentiful for their site.  I could not believe how low the prices were!  The only difficulty is that because the clothes are coming from another country, the shipping time is much longer.  I think from request to receipt of the items was about 2-3 weeks.

Mesh Panelled Maxi Dress

As soon as I saw a nearly identical dress on Happily Grey some time ago, I was immediately in love with it.  But I knew I would never be able to afford or pull it off.  Well, thanks to Zaful, I did.  This look is clearly too edgy for work, but will be great in the spring and summer months for casual parties.  I would even venture to say that you could do this dress up for a NYE dress as long as you are not outside.  #freezing  I added some other trendy pieces to this look including a choker and velvet booties that I am equally in love with.

Price--This dress is amazingly affordable at $31.99.  As I said, it is a near replica of a dress I saw on the blog Happily Grey which likely retailed for hundreds of dollars.  

Quality--For the most part, I was extremely impressed with the quality of this dress.  It is long enough to not be awkward, the actual cotton part of the dress was thick and sturdy.  The only flaw I could see, which may likely and reasonably continue is that there was a small rip in the left sleeve where the sheer fabric met the cotton.  It was a major bummer and the reason why my left arm is always placed where you can't see the small hole.  But it is easily fixed; I just don't know if this will likely continue with other pieces of the dress where these two fabrics meet.  The neckline of this dress was a lot lower than I anticipated.  This is kind of unfortunate in that you don't get that whole "naked" look from the top on down, but it worked out well for me to add this cami underneath since I was not such a fan of showing off my tummy anyhow.

Dress-Zaful, c/o

Choker-Sol Theory

Earrings-gifted

Velvet Booties-Shein

Olive Green Loose Velvet Midi Dress

This dress is a perfect, on trend holiday dress.  The rich olive color, the modest length and the soft velvet make it perfect to mix and mingle with relatives or at the office.  I chose a more edgy kind of look for this dress by adding the casual striped tee underneath and the fishnet socks and black booties.  However, this dress could easily be dressed up with a faux fur stole and heels.  My review of this dress is as follows:

 Price--Reasonable.  This dress is $16.49 on the site, which is much less or comprable than you would find in most stores or online at a common retail store such as H&M or Forever 21.

Quality--This dress is really perfect.  It seems quality in its production, the fabric is nice and heavy, the length is modest, as noted above, and the color is outstanding.  I have no qualms about this dress whatsoever.

Velvet Dress-Zaful, c/o

Shirt-Target

Fishnet Socks-c/o

Booties-Ralph Lauren, thrifted

Necklace-Charming Charlies

The Bell Sleeves Off Shoulder Top

Well if this look doesn't encompass all things en vogue and boho right now, I don't know what does.  Choker, flares, off the shoulder top with bell sleeves.  It's got it all.  The blouse is the item that I received from Zaful and am reviewing here.  The following are my critiques of this blouse.

Price--Reasonable.  This blouse is priced at $14, which is far less than anything that you would see in a department store.  

Quality--I loved the concept of this blouse.  The sleeves are extremely exaggerated, which I actually appreciate greatly.  I loved the boho vibe of this blouse for sure.  The back of this blouse is super sexy and I love that there is detail in the back of the blouse.  Two areas that this blouse lost me at were 1) it was a bit more cropped than I would have liked.  On its face, it was just long enough, but I did have to keep tugging it down, which is problematic in an off-shoulder blouse.  2) The biggest conflict I had with the blouse was that rather than it being white, it was actually sheer, which means that I constantly need to wear something underneath it.  This is also a bit problematic for me and my consistent mom-tummy (I'm learning to accept it slowly). 

 

Top-Zaful, c/o

Jeans-Target

Booties-thrifted

Choker-Inspyre Boutique

Earrings-gifted

All in all, my experience with Zaful was extremely positive.  My interactions have been very pleasant and even prompt--even with the time difference!  I would highly recommend checking them out on their website, Facebook or follow them on Pinterest!  For extra Christmas holiday savings, be sure to checkout their specials here.