Hi guys and here's a review of this Marseille linen skirt from a new-to-me slow fashion brand called notPerfectLinen. If you're not yet familiar with them, notPerfectLinen is a small family run Lithuanian business that sews ethically-made garments out of Oeko-tex certified linen. Each garment is made to order like other slow fashion brands (and so like other slow fashion brands, they have crazy long lead times but more on that later). You can find their items on Etsy.
I heard of notPerfectLinen (nPL) through the slow fashion grapevine lol. Since I've been purchasing and blogging about Elizabeth Suzann for a bit, other readers have asked me what I thought about them. But I waited a bit to purchased because even though I'm a huge fan of Etsy (mostly for fine vintage/antique jewelry), I've never purchased clothing from the platform before so I was a bit cautious because of potential sizing issues. But when I wanted to add a linen skirt to my wardrobe, I knew I had to try their version. Also since skirts are more forgiving when it comes to sizing, this was the perfect chance.
{Wearing: Everlane Notch Collar Popover Shirt (reviewed here), notPerfectLinen MARSEILLE linen skirt, Everlane Day Heels (reviewed here), Smaaks Amsterdam bag}
So what do I think about the linen quality of notPerfectLinen? It's really great. It’s slightly less in weight than Elizabeth Suzann linen, but nPL has the added benefit of being Oeko-tex certified. {June 2019 Update: And for those who are wondering about how the linen quality from NotPerfectLinen compares to other brands like Linenfox, Elizabeth Suzann, and Everlane check out my ethical linen comparison post here.}
I'm wearing a size S/M here and I'm 5'4" with a 28" waist and 37" hips. I usually wear a size 4-6 on the bottom. And I think I got the perfect size. It's not loose at all nor is it too tight, so make sure you double check your measurements with their sizing guide that's listed. The color that I ordered is called "light elephant gray" and it's a bit more gray than the color on their site (but I love it).
The waist is just an easy elastic waist and the skirt goes down to past my knees. If I were to order it again I would probably ask for a custom length that's a tad shorter (currently it measures 28.5" from top to bottom). The nice thing about it being made to order is that they allow for customizations (I think you can just add it to the comment section of your order).
This skirt comes with pockets and I really love the brass snap buttons. I could unsnap the bottom ones if I want more leg showing. Also the brass buttons help weigh down the skirt so it doesn't fly up with a gust of wind (of course if it's super windy, good luck and you probably shouldn't be wearing a skirt lol). I was, however concerned that the pleats at the waist would add bulk to my hips but it doesn't really. I think the linen material keeps it from getting too bulky. Also wearing your top tucked into the skirt helps to define the waist more and keeps it slimming I think. In the outfit pics below I'm wearing the skirt with some cropped tops and I think it looks pretty good there too. I also wear heels with this most of the time to prevent a cankle-y look (which happens a lot for these midi lengths on me).
So right now their lead time is 4-6 weeks and when that happens they tend to shut down shop until they're caught up again. I think that's a great way to keep people's expectations in check. They open up shop again when they've caught up, and right now it looks like that's going to be July 2nd. Shipping is about $8 from Lithuania and that's beyond reasonable. It does take about another week or so for shipping to the US, but if you've already been waiting 4-6 weeks, what's another week? Yes that may seem like a long time to wait, but guys it's worth it! Quality items that you've mindfully chosen for your closet should take time, and when it comes you'll love it even more because you waited!