Nobody ever believes me, but one of my favorite places to shop for clothes is Etsy. And that’s because: made-to-measure clothes. As somebody who is petite and who constantly needs to get pieces tailored, ordering custom-made clothing is the easiest way to circumvent this problem and skip the tailor altogether — and Etsy has some of the most affordable options out there. I’ve purchased five tailor-made pieces from Etsy in the past year, all of them costing between $100 and $150, which I would consider fairly affordable for what you’re getting.

I do have two caveats to keep in mind. The first is that it does take quite a bit of sifting through the not-so-good stuff to find the good stuff, but if you go in knowing exactly what you want and are prepared to spend some time searching, I promise it can be a secret gold mine. For example, Etsy has some great on-trend bridal pieces, so it was one of the first places I searched for an outfit for our engagement photoshoot — I searched “silk halter dress” and had major success! The other thing is that I’ve noticed you’ll have more success searching for warmer weather pieces, like dresses, skirts, and matching sets.

As with all tailor-made pieces (and shopping online from independent sellers in general), it can be hit or miss. I’ve had more hits than misses, so to me, taking the gamble is worth it. Just be sure to double check your measurements, order wayyy in advance (some orders can take over a month to arrive, but Etsy gives you a shipping timeframe — don’t ignore it), and tell the seller exactly what you’re expecting if you’re requesting any changes — over-communicating can’t hurt here.

Now if you’ve made it this far, I’ll reward you by letting you in on a few of my favorite Etsy sellers. Happy shopping!

•  OlivaOceana has some really on-trend bridal, silky, and linen pieces (I think she adds more variety during the summer since I’ve purchased some things that I don’t see currently in her storefront). I’ve purchased three things from her: a silky ivory halter midi dress, a matching linen vest and trouser set (seen here), and another silky bronze midi dress.
• For summery, on-trend linen pieces a la Reformation or Posse, I love YsanneCo. I got this halter midi dress (seen here) for our trip to Hawaii and asked her to source an olive linen for it that wasn’t listed as an available color option. Love how it came out, and will probably place another order this summer!
• I’ve been lusting after a repurposed Havre Studio blazer and skirt set, but it’s quite an investment. After some perusing on Etsy, I discovered PRYNN OFFICIAL, which sells similarly repurposed blazers for half the cost. The seller was able to adjust the fit of the skirt for me as well as the sleeve length to fit my measurements (although I did end up removing the shoulder pads myself).