Selection: Carmakoma gives women a fashion array to choose from including: basics, pants, cardigans, dresses, jackets, leggings, party wear, skirts, knits, jersey, tops, vests, and accessories.Sizing: Carmakoma has their own sizing with an XS as a size 12 and a large as a 22. Read their size guide to get accurate centimeter measurements before ordering. They have a "perfect size" feature which allows you to enter your A, B, C measurements (bust, waist, hips) after you have selected an item and they will match your order to those numbers.
Styling: I would call their styling glamorous and edgy without being overtly sexual or over the top. Their selection of pieces are good for a night out with friends or a day at the office. Their palette is fairly neutral with lots of black, taupe, and grey, with hints of colors like powder blue, red, or purple. Their clothing options are not overrun with patterns. I find their styles to be completely unique to what we are used to.
Pricing: Affordable to expensive. These are designer fashion investments and not bargain hut pieces. To give you an idea: dresses range from $80 to $195 (US) but can go on sale for $25 to $50 (US). Because it would be an import you would have to take into account import costs and taxes when items are shipped.
Availability: They offer worldwide shipping. To view shipping costs you must look in the shopping cart after you have placed an item in. When I did this I found an international rate of $27.
Overall Impression: Carmakoma is edgy without being over the top, stylish without being overly flamboyant and classic without being harsh. I just wish there were more color options for the solid pieces -- there are a few color piece but it is surprisingly neutral. That being said the styles make up for it.
The "perfect size" feature sounds like an awesome concept for tailoring women who do not fit into the standard proportions i.e. pear.
Their website is fairly easy to maneuver and is definitely shopper friendly once you get it loaded to your language and currency (see tip below) -- if an item is sold out you do not have to worry about clicking on it to find out (a major peeve of mine). Carmakoma puts a big "Out of Stock" banner right across an item -- a major time saver for online shopping.
Their product is highlighted with both regular and full-figure models and the spokes model for their commercial ads is a stunning plus size.
Important Tip: Because this is a Dutch website it is not in English when you first visit. In the very top right are two tiny flags. If you hold your mouse over them you will see one option is English, click on it and it will change all the text for you. To change the pricing, about an inch or so under the flags is a drop down menu that allows you to change the currency to U.S. dollars. Now you are ready to shop!
Visit Carmacoma for trendy plus size clothing.
