Sloan – Conscious Clothing for Every Body

I first saw a Sloan dress on my friend Shonnei. When I clicked through to check out their instagram, I fell head over heels for the whimsical designs. Immediately, I knew I wanted a Sloan piece of my own – the designs are very different to anything else I own! Each piece is custom made so no matter what size you are, you can shop there. Woohoo! As someone who’s sized out of many so-called inclusive labels (hello, humans above a size 24 do exist!), that’s music to my ears. I’ve never ordered anything custom made before, so thought I’d share the journey with you.

Ordering a custom made dress from Sloan

Here’s how it works. First you choose the style of garment you’d like. This is a tough one because there are some stunning styles! I chose the Noelle dress because I like the volume of the skirt and the puff sleeves. Then you pick the fabric that you’d like – there are some vintage designs (stock of these is limited), plain colours and prints. Again, choosing is definitely something you’ll want to take your time over. I think there may be a good chance that I’ll get the same dress in a bunch of different colours and prints! For my first dress, I went for the double cotton in bark. Yes, that is a very different colour to what I usually wear, but one of the benefits of being able to buy custom is getting things you can’t find elsewhere!

Next, you pop in some measurements. For my dress, I needed to provide a chest measurement (140cm) and the length I wanted the dress to be (110cm). I’ve already got dresses with the hemline that I want, so I measured the length of those. I also mentioned that I’ve got bigger arms due to lipoedema, and would need to make sure the sleeves fit. After I’d paid, Ange (aka the clever human behind the Sloan label) got in touch and asked me to provide my arm measurements. Pricing was around the same as what I’d pay for a ready made dress – the Noelle dress is priced from $179 and tracked shipping was $5.50.

Something new, just for you

It took three weeks to make my dress. When it arrived – oh my gosh! It came packaged inside a cloth bag (which I repurposed to wrap a gift for my friend Kate’s birthday so no pics, sorry!). Plus there was a matching scrunchie made from the same fabric as my dress. I love a coordinated fashion moment! I’ve recently cut my hair and it’s a bit short for scrunchies right now, but when it’s a bit longer I’ll absolutely be wearing them together,

It also came with a handwritten note from Ange, telling me what album she was listening to while she made my dress. How special is that? It’s these lovely personalised touches that remind me my clothing was made especially for me. By the way, I’m listening to Little Hell by City and Colour while writing this – I think it’s fitting.

Made in your size

As you can see above, there’s no size on the label of my dress. I wanted to share what Ange has said on the Sloan website about this because, well. As someone who has spent a lot of her life battling eating disorders and feeling controlled by numbers, it hits me pretty close to home.

“When you get your Sloan piece there will be no size on the tag, instead, there will be ‘made in your size’.

As soon as I decided to make adult clothing I was adamant about holding onto this idea. Over the years, I remember looking down at the number on the back of a piece of clothing and either being heartbroken or delighted by what my body fit into. And that’s rubbish. No number should be able to have that much control over how you feel about yourself.

Clothes are meant to serve us, to make us feel beautiful, confident and comfortable. I never want anyone to feel less than worthy of wearing a piece I have made for them. So replacing the number with ‘made in your size’ makes more sense to me. There will be general sizing when ordering, or you will need to supply a bust and length measurement but as far as it being stitched on your clothes, it’s not happening. Everything is a loose fit and free fitting which will give your body room to change through its different seasons.

Here at Sloan, we believe in inclusivity so whatever size you may be we are here for you.”

Having a piece of clothing made just for you is pretty magical. But even more so when it’s by someone who clearly gets it. The body insecurities, the struggles, bodies that are everchanging, the desire for beautiful clothing that makes you feel incredible.

In case you couldn’t tell by this point – I’m thrilled with my dress. The fit is perfect, the generous draping and volume of the fabric, the colour… I love it all. I will most definitely be ordering many more garments! At the moment I’m tossing up between a Noelle that is slightly longer, a Luna or a Solstice Dress – or maybe a Midsommar Skirt. And then what colour? Snapdragon, dahlia or marmalade? Lemon print or Zinnia gingham? It’s honestly so hard to choose! I’m trying to be more conscious with my purchasing so don’t want to rush into a decision.

Have you ever had clothing custom made?
Let me know what colour and style I should go for next!

Meagan wears:
Noelle Dress in Bark Double Cotton from Sloan (custom)
Toffee Apple 80 Denier Opaque Stockings from Snag Tights (G)
Abby Mary-Janes from Ziera (38)