Closet Child shopping review

Those of you who have been following my blog will know that I recently purchased my very first bit of brand wear. Well, it has arrived! *cue excited dancing from Luna*

As I am currently unable to afford brand at full price (and also I love a good bargain) I decided to go down the second hand route. One of the websites I had heard other lolitas talking about was Closet Child. I know a few lolitas have had negative experiences with this site but my experience was very positive.

Shop browsing

With the help of Google Translate I was able to browse the website very easily. There are also options to list the items starting with the lowest price to highest which is good if you are on a budget. I would recommend entering your budget amount into a currency converter like xe.com to see how much yen you can afford. You must allow for shipping on top. The details about the clothes were clear. Closet Child gives the individual items a rating out of 5 because with second hand clothes you may get a bit of wear and tear. Thankfully the skirt I ordered was exactly as described.

The Ordering Process

The actual ordering process is probably the one area which could have been improved (although I don't think this should put other lolitas off). English shopping instructions are available. I say English, but in some places it is very broken English so it does not actually make very much sense. When you place the item in your cart, you have to wait for 2 e-mails. On the second one (which should include a shipping total on it) you need to send a reply saying you want to go ahead with your order. This was a little confusing but I eventually got the hang of it. Once Closet Child know you are going ahead with the order they will eventually send you an invoice. You pay the invoice and then they will send you the tracking for your parcel. Closet Child can be a little slow to respond. This is mainly due to there being only a small number of English speaking staff. So you may need to wait for them to be available.

The Shipping

I think I was charged about 2000 yen to ship one skirt from Japan to England. I was kind of expecting it to be this much anyway. You can't really complain when you are getting brand skirts starting from £40 compared to their original retail price. Here is the really cool bit though- Closet Child mark the parcel as second hand so in theory, you wont end up with a customs charge! Closet Child did this for me without even asking. I was very pleased. Also, the skirt arrived before the estimated arrival period which took me by surprise. I think Closet Child were quite fast. I was impressed. The skirt was packaged in a sturdy box. It was wrapped so well I spent about 5 minutes just trying to get into it.

And now on to the skirt itself!

Ta-da! It is Old Emblem by Metamorphose! A very classic print compared to my other sweet items. The skirt was clean and the sizing given by Closet Child was accurate. Sorry for not showing a picture of it worn. I don't have my full co-ordinate for this skirt yet. I am currently hunting down a headpiece from the same set and a deep red cardigan.

And here is a close-up of some of the print. I love it! I am hoping I will have finished my co-ordinate in time to wear it to Hyper Japan at the start of October. I can't wait!