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Sleek and stylish that goes from day to night

Busy working mum of two Emer Roche has no time for fraught morning style rituals and with two pairs of Shapemoda pants in her wardrobe, her sartorial choices are made easy

Emer loves to grab a quick coffee in Groundstate on Thomas Street, Dublin, before work. Photograph: Philip Lauterbach

Fri Oct 6 2023 - 05:00

In recent years I’ve found shopping the high street more and more difficult. Finding the right cut, shape and price is hard. There’s the holy trinity of Massimo Dutti, & Other Stories and Cos. Marks & Spencer has elevated its cool status by bringing Sienna Miller on-board to promote its new range but stumbling upon that elusive, perfect-fitting pair of trousers is still a rare event.

Enter Shapemoda, a visionary fashion company that tailors trousers to suit five distinct female silhouettes. Founded by the dynamic Italian sisters Annaoliva and Vanessa Durigon, Shapemoda emerged in 2019, drawing upon their extensive backgrounds in fashion and communications.

Working from home for much of the week, Emer needs an outfit that is comfortable but chic. Photographs: Philip Lauterbach

Frustrated by set sizing in retail, the women wanted to produce trousers that fit and flatter different shapes not just volume. As Vanessa puts it, “Body shape is what you are and size is what you have; what you are will never change whereas what you have may change over your lifetime”. This makes perfect sense to me. While my best friend and I are the same dress size, we can never swap clothing, as we are completely different shapes.

The Shapemoda website allows clients to figure out their shape very quickly through a quick online test. Mine was no surprise to me, but some women may find they believe themselves to be one shape but are a different one altogether. After this you can order the trousers in your shape and size online and they are delivered in beautiful and personalised packaging.

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Emer and her trusty golden Labrador George

It’s hard to believe these trousers are not haute couture. They are made in Milan with the same company associated with Maxmara, and the quality is immediately apparent. They are thick and rich to touch. I was quite sure my purchase wasn’t going to fit but there is stretch in the material, it clings where it should and gives room where it shouldn’t. An immediate boost to the ego. All women are familiar with feeling bad about themselves when a piece of clothing in a size that “should” fit simply doesn’t. No such risk here.

Emer loves her new Shapemoda pants with flats and an elegant blouse

I gave both trousers – the straight leg, which has pockets and can be worn with trainers, boots or heels; and the slim leg, which equally can be worn with boots or heels – a run for their money during a busy week. I have two kids, an onerous school run and a job that requires me to be in the office or meet clients on site several times a week. Paired with a shirt and flats, I drove the kids to school and back into town for a full day of work. Hopping out of the car, I noticed no bunching or wrinkles in the trousers despite driving for more than an hour. I spent a day on my feet and in front of the computer, had lunch in Groundstate Coffee on Thomas Street and the trousers held up to scrutiny. I threw them in the wash that evening to test the claim that they would not shrink, lose shape or need an iron. True to promise they came out, air-dried quickly and were ready to wear again.

I paired the slim trousers with a pair of heels and a blazer for drinks with my friend in Below 9 on St Stephen’s Green. Slim trousers are a notoriously tricky wear for me. They often cling around the waist but are baggy at the knee. Not in this case: they held their shape while also looking like proper trousers, not leggings. In a slightly less glamorous set-up at home, I changed into trainers to walk our dog around the block. He is a golden Labrador and is prone to shedding his fair hair on everything, including my clothes. I was able to easily wipe the dog hair off the knees of the trousers he had brushed up against.

Shapemoda's slim leg pants are perfect paired with a black waistcoat

My days of trying on several pairs of trousers to find the right pair are over, and it’s not just me: Shapemoda has a low rate of return at only 7 per cent; when you consider that retail companies globally come in at 30-40 per cent, it seems the women’s vision of producing clothing to shape, not size, has potential to be a runaway success.

Get the trousers for your body shape at www.shapemoda.com. A quick body shape test will help you to discover which body shape you are.

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