Waistbands, sizing and EVERYTHING in between!

Let's talk waistbands, sizing and everything in between! Dainty Button originally started off as an accessories line. Earlier this year my best friend and I sat down and designed a maxi skirt not knowing just how much our customers would like it and where this would take us. We strive to meet our customers needs, so when we say please let us hear your feedback we want to hear it. Even negative. Negative feedback (done in the right way) drives us to be better. We want to produce quality clothing and in order to do that, there will be tweaks, nips and tucks, here and there to do that. So, let's break this down for you and fill you in on one of our most recent improvements in production. Last week I posted a picture on our FB fan page of a new waistband. Let me explain...

All of our skirts, with the exception of a couple are designed and made with jersey knit. We use a variation of jersey knits. There's jersey cotton knit, jersey knit, lycra jersey knit, silk jersey knit, ribbed jersey knit, etc. All of these textures differ. Most of the maxi skirts that you will find at your local retail store offer the traditional waistband, which is what's pictured below and the traditional wide band that rolls down (not pictured). 

This is a great band. We use this on many of our skirts but due to the way some jersey knits fall, this can result in a problem. That problem being the skirt will fall off if it doesn't have enough support, because of the stretch and elasticity of the material. We're just being very honest. That's what customers want, yes? One skirt in particular is our very popular The Juliet. This skirt is a fabulous skirt and also made with an extremely soft and stretchy jersey knit. I emphasize on the "stretchy" part. This is one skirt that by the end of the day, it will have stretched quite a bit but rest assure, after a good wash, it's back to its original size. Because of the elasticity and stretch of this skirt and a traditional maxi waistband, we want to prevent the skirt from falling off, which is why we are improving the waistband. We strive for comfort clothing but there's a fine line between comfortable and well, falling off. We'd like to err on the side of comfortable. Jersey knits are naturally stretchy and the waist needs support, which is why we designed and created this new waistband...

This waistband is amazing. When Deana (the other half of DB) experimented with this band on The Juliet, I fell in love. It's extremely flattering, comfy and the best part...it stays on! We have already switched our Juliet maxi's to this waistband due to the issue we were having with the original band stretching. Please note, if you have already purchased the Juliet, there is nothing wrong with the original, we are simply improving for future purchases. 

This waistband does not change the look, appearance or design of the skirt. In fact, it's better, in my opinion. We've already started shipping out orders with the new waistband per customers request and we've heard great feedback. With any new business comes things that need to be improved, tweaked and fixed. We're not perfect but we're striving to be the best we can and to meet our customers needs. We hope you enjoy our new waistband as much as we do!

Because not all customers will want the skinny elastic band, we're going to offer the choice of traditional or elastic upon checkout. Please note that if a waistband preference is not chosen upon

checkout, we will send the order through production with an elastic band. The Juliet Maxi will not have the option of an elastic or traditional. It will come standardly with the elastic band.                              

Sizing...

Where do I start with this part of the blog? This is something that I'm not sure we can stress enough and truthfully speaking, not everybody is going to read this but it's worth a shot. Over the last 4 months that we've started our clothing line, we can count a small handful of customers with exchanges for the wrong size. So why this post? Well, it's better to cover all ground and emphasize our size chart and the design of our skirts and too much information never hurt, right?

Last week we posted a blog about handmade items Handmade vs. Mass Produced. Handmade items ARE NOT mass produced therefore will not be identical. When you purchase more than one skirt from us, receive the package and compare the two you WILL more than likely see a difference in size and length. 

Is that normal?

Yes, it is. Especially, with handmade items. When we say you'll see a difference, it's not going to be a drastic difference but a small one. Each item varies a little different from the other. This does not mean that we use different patterns or size charts. It's simply because the item is handmade and done individually and not through a machine in a factory. We use an American size chart that is true to size. You will find this size chart in each listing on etsy and a tab on each listing on our website that will direct you to the SIZE CHART. This is a general size chart simply to assist you in choosing the right size. Chances are when you receive your package it could be too small or too big, which is why we offer exchanges. You're ordering online, have not tried it on, so therefore that is why we offer exchanges. To review our exchange policy click here. 

I bought three skirts and they all fit but one, which is too small. I ordered all the same size. What's wrong?

As mentioned in the beginning of this blog we use a variation of jersey knits. Each jersey knit falls, hugs and fits differently. When you're purchasing more than one skirt, PLEASE do not compare the skirts because they will not be identical. Chances are they're made from different jersey knits so they're going to fit differently. Our skirts are not identical to each other, not cookie cutter, therefore they WILL  be different. This is not a bad thing. You don't walk into your local retail store and except every single skirt to fit the same. This is the same with our products. We produce every skirt from the pattern we have created for that skirt and some skirts have different patterns BUT PRODUCED FROM THE SAME SIZE CHART. Because we are always looking to make improvements, we will be posting what will be called a BUYERS HINT. This will give the buyer a helpful hint in selecting a size by us stating what type of jersey knit and how it falls.

5 Helpful Hints About Our Maxi Skirts...

1. Our Chevron Maxi's are designed more straight.

2. Our traditional maxi's are more flared.

3. Our REGULAR LENGTH maxi's range from 38"-40" in length, which means that they will hit somewhere between those measurements. Another reason to not compare skirts with each other.

4. Our TALL LENGTH maxi's range froom 41"-43", which means that they will hit somewhere between those measurements. Another reason to not compare skirts with each other.

5. Our Juliet Maxi does stretch. It will appear to be bigger than the rest of your maxi skirts (if ordering more than one) and more flared. Yes, another reason to not compare it to other skirts.

The above helpful hints are something to keep in mind when you receive more than one skirt. Again, these are handmade and we go off of the above size chart and measurements. If you choose a REGULAR LENGTH maxi it could be 38" OR it could be 40". We cannot determine the exact length, as there are dozens upon dozens of orders that come through, four individuals in our production team and all of them working on different orders. Getting an exact length with an item being handmade is very difficult, hence the reason we say between 38"-40". This applies to our TALL LENGTH maxi's, as well. Our suggestion is if you're a short person, go with the REGULAR LENGTH because it's either going to be just right or a little long and let's be honest, it's much easier to take up an inch with your local seamstress. If you are a tall person, we suggest the TALL LENGTH and the above mentioned suggestion, as well. Our SHORT SKIRTS standardly come 23"-24" BUT we do offer two other length options in our etsy shop and website. This is designed for tall ladies to purchase a short skirt and still fit in length. 

Last but DEFINITELY not least...

Checkout on etsy, fine print and reading the entire listing...

The one thing I don't like about etsy is they don't offer drop down boxes for customers to choose sizes. Blah! This truthfully makes our job even more difficult. In our etsy shop you will find two different listings for the same skirt. This is our REGULAR SIZE listing (XS-L) and a PLUS SIZE listing (XL-3X). When you checkout you MUST state what size you need. Believe it or not, there are some customers that don't put a size and we have no idea what size you need as the listing is for 3-4 different sizes. This really creates more work for the production team as they then have to email customers and sometimes we don't get a response, which stalls your order until there is communication. This applies to  LENGTH, as well. We have more customers not choose a length than size and again this makes it more difficult for our production team. 

Where do I put my size on etsy?

Upon checkout in our etsy shop Dainty Button Etsy there is a section "notes to seller". This is where you state your size. Simply state what size and REGULAR or TALL. Below is an example...

I didn't see that I needed to put a size or length, so that's why I didn't put anything.

This leads up to reading the ENTIRE LISTING. You would not purchase a car without reading all the fine print or sign legal documents without reading the fine print, so why would you purchase something online without reading the fine print? This is not just for our good but yours too. We want our customers to be very well informed when they purchase our products. When you read the entire listing, a lot of questions are answered. We're often emailed about shipping times, which is clearly stated in each listing and our polices section on our website. It's very important to read the entire listing before purchasing and the end result is everybody is happy. 

And now I can quite using all caps. I feel as if I've been yelling this entire blog post and I hate that. This post is simply our way of providing our customers and future customers with information regarding our product. Again, we are a handmade business and we strive to meet our customers needs. If you have suggestions or feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us at daintybutton@yahoo.com. We'll be more than happy to hear from you and it really helps us in future decisions. Thanks for your time and have a wonderful Monday!

Charity and DB Team!