Belated Valentine Thank You

I got a valentine on Lolita Valentines last week but I only just spotted it! I don't check it as frequently as I used to. I'm guessing the smaller amount of Valentines being posted means that the community is not as active any more, which is a shame.

http://loli-valentines.livejournal.com/149253.html

I am number 1 this time.

Thank you very much to my Valentine maker. It means a lot to me.

Boddywood and Day Dream Carnival Review

I recently placed an order with AP Paris via boddywood.com and I shall be reviewing it today. For those who don't know, Boddywood is the store that AP Paris is based in and you can now buy AP on their website.

Ordering Process

The website is fairly easy to use and set out quite well. You are able to change the language on the website, although I found in some areas the French did not translate. But despite this, I was able to navigate my way around the website with ease. When it came to going to the checkout I couldn't find the United Kingdom on their drop-down list of countries they ship to, but I then clicked on the Pay With Paypal button and it turned out fine. I was emailed a confirmation quickly and I was confident my order had gone through correctly.

Shipping

I placed the order on a Thursday and it arrived the following Tuesday. It would have come on the Monday, but it was a bank holiday weekend. I think this is very fast and i was impressed. The last time I ordered from AP Paris I had trouble with the La Poste tracking, but this time I was able to track it. It showed up fine on the Parcelforce website anyway, if it hadn't been working.

My order was shipped in a cardboard box. It was sealed well but the cardboard was a bit flimsy. Luckily my order wasn't fragile anyway. Although it is good to see Boddywood recycle.

Inside my order was neatly packed inside AP shopping bags and I had a lovely note to greet me when I opened up the box!

And here is my wonderful new dress. I love it! The size the AP listed the dress at seems fairly accurate. The material feels very light and when I tried the dress on it didn't feel heavy at all. 

My pictures do not do the print justice. It is beautiful in person. The print is crisp with clear lines. The colours are exactly how I expected them to be.

Cute pony lace!

The straps are a bit fiddly at first but you soon get used to them. I admit I did want the other style of JSK, but that had long sold out... I did worry the tulle straps would be a bit flimsy and I would not recommend attempting to stretch this dress beyond the maximum measurements.

The tulle belt is easily adjustable. I love the star buttons too.

Although I preferred the other style of JSK, I admit that I do like the patch on this one. I love the dangling star chain.

And here is a back view. The bow on the back is not linked to the belt at all and it sits very beautifully on the dress when worn.

The dress is lined by both a soft layer and then a stiffer layer, which helps to give the dress shape. In fact, I have discovered that you don't need much petticoat with this dress because it already has a bit of shape to it. The soft layer feels really lovely against my skin.

I also got the matching head bow. It is bigger than I was expecting it to be. The shape is also a bit different, but it is growing on me. I love how it is lined with gold and has the 2 lines of pearls. It compliments the dress perfectly.

So overall, this was a very positive experience. The one thing I would say is that ordering from AP Paris may not always work out the cheapest, but if you live in Europe you wont get hit by customs, which is something to consider. Also, whilst the other AP sites sold out of DDC stupidly quickly, I was able to order DDC from Boddywood without feeling rushed. Boddywood's service lived up to my expectations and I would recommend them highly.

June 2013 Ox Loli Meet!

On the Saturday just gone, the Oxfordshire Lolitas had their meet for June. Typically the UK weather had to spoil our original plans but that didn't stop us having a good time. We were meant to be having a picnic and then doing some crafting but in the end we went to the pub! I do love that pub though. I always end up ordering the same food because I love it so much! It was lovely catching up with the group and I think everybody enjoyed themselves.

I wore my new AP Day Dream Carnival JSK. I wanted the JSK with the tulle parts over the skirt but I was out of luck. Which reminds me, I need to post my AP Paris/Boddywood shopping review... Anyway, back to the outfit! I mainly wore AP with the matching DDC head bow, Dolce Ribbon bolero, Sugar Hearts bag and gold chess knight necklace. The wig, socks and shoes were Bodyline. The jewellery was all off-brand apart from the AP necklace. I love how pink and lavender look together so I decided to make this the focus of my outfit. Next time I intend to introduce more gold elements. I attached those Claire's rose clips that I have in about a million colours to my shoes because I thought my shoes looked too boring!

A quick picture without the bolero. I felt my pink DreamV chiffon blouse went well with the outfit. We had a lot of tourists photographing us and asking questions. I thought this one woman would never let go of my arm!

Shalisa looked lovely in Meta's Vintage Poodle. The poor girl kept getting gusts of wind blowing up her skirt so we spent ages getting photos of her! Sammi wore Whipped Magic with cute, retro styling. Nicola wore a handmade skirt with a pretty floral crown. Sweet was definitely the theme of the day!

Nicola made this amazing cake. It had white chocolate icing. It tasted really lovely, although we didn't have any cakes so we pretty much dived right in with our hands! It was worth it though. Nicola is very good at cake making.

And here is a random shot of my feet for no apparent reason. The sun decided to shine a bit at this point so the photo looks very washed out.

And because it was meant to be a crafting meet, Sammi started to crochet while were sat by the river. She made a cute ice cream! I am hoping that in the future we can reschedule the crafting meet because it seems like a really fun idea. I am rubbish at crochet though!

It was great seeing everybody again and I had a great time. I had been feeling a bit down lately and this is exactly what I needed to lift my spirits up again. I am now all geared up for hosting my Alice Day meet soon!

I Now Have a Tumblr!

So yesterday I finally gave in and got a Tumblr. I figured it would be a good way to share the stuff that maybe doesn't make it on to my blog and also it is a great place for me to reblog things which I think are pretty.

If you fancy having a look, my Tumblr is here- http://luna-rain.tumblr.com/

There is also a button on the right hand side of this blog.

If you have a Tumblr, let me know and I will follow you!

Some Day of Ranunculus by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Today I am looking at a recent offering from Baby the Stars Shine Bright called Some Day of Ranunculus. This series includes 2 dresses, a skirt, a blouse, wrist cuffs, 3 different hair accessories and socks.

This is the Lycia JSK. The bodice looks reasonably well fitted and an okay shape, albeit a bit simple. The straps are a bit thin but I think the width suits the style of dress. The outer edge of the straps is lined with pretty lace, which gives a softer feel to them. The waist bow is a nice size and looks like it sits well on the dress. However, the shape is a bit basic. Maybe some thin lace around the edges would have brightened it up a bit. Thankfully it is detachable if you don't like it.

When you look at this dress from a distance the neckline detail looks weird and bulky. However, in the close-up picture we can see the detail a lot better and it looks a lot nicer. But the fact that the details blend in together and don't look as attractive from a bit further away bothers me slightly. When looking close up I think the lace is very pretty and I love the detail on it. It is possibly a bit too wide for my liking though. The ribbon used is also pretty and despite being a bit shiny, I think it works nicely. The ribbon bow in the centre is very cute and a lovely shape. It's the right soft of size too. 

The back is fully shirred and so, it is left open and exposed. But due to the style of print, it doesn't look too bad and blends in a bit. I thought the length of the back of the bodice was a bit short. The skirt flares out enough but I don't think the shape is quite right. It looks very straight and a bit dull. I also think that it was pointless dividing the skirt up in to two tiers because the tiers look flat and lifeless. It doesn't really add anything to the design. Overall, I think the skirt is a real let-down. The lace used on the bottom hem is cute though.

This is the Buzet JSK. The bodice looks well fitted and is an interesting shape. The straps are a good width. I like the way that the straps are layered with a gathered frill of the dress fabric on top and the way the lace has been used here as well. It makes the straps look more interesting and it goes well with details on other areas of the dress.

The waist bow is made of ribbon which is a bit shiny, but is a good size and shape. It looks like it sits well on the dress too without drooping too much. The front has a ribbon corset. The ribbon is spaced out well, without looking too bunched up and the edges are cleverly concealed by the rose lace. I absolutely love the use of lace on this bodice. It has been laid out well and looks very neat and tidy. The neckline lace is very pretty and all the lace used looks to be of a good quality. Overall, I am impressed.

The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed very neatly by a ribbon corset. The skirt shape is thankfully better than the other dress. In some of the stock photos it looks like it could do with being a bit more rounded but I think I may have chosen the worst photo! In some of the other photos it does look slightly more rounded. The shape is subtle but will look great with the right petticoat. You don't want an overpowering OTT shape with a delicate floral print anyway.

The skirt has this layered detail to it, with the top layer having a scalloped edge. The scalloped edge has been done neatly and it is well spaced. I wouldn't have bothered with the straight line of rose lace just above the scallops though, as I think it looks a bit strange and isn't necessary. What I do love though, is the detail used where the scallops meet. It has been topped with the small ribbon bow and then lace has been cleverly used underneath. I think it is a very interesting and innovative idea. It adds detail and gives it a more luxurious feel, without being too bulky and overpowering. The bottom tier is a simple gathered ruffled layer. The layers are spaced out well. The bottom hem is kept plain, but I think the skirt has enough detail anyway.

And here we have the print close up. This print comes in pink, mint and lavender. I think all 3 colours look very pretty with the print. But for me the stand-out colour is the lavender, as the lavender/pink combination works beautifully. As for the print, it is like most standard floral prints we are used to seeing. However, the roses are drawn very beautifully and have a lot of detail to them. They have a lot of depth and are coloured well. The lace between the flowers is also pretty with lots of detail. I like how Baby have included their 'B' heart shape logo in as well, as it has been done subtly. The stripy background adds a bit of interest and gives the print a sweeter feel. The colour choices are sweet as well and I think this series could be a good choice for those who like both sweet and classic lolita.

So in a fashion where we are used to seeing lots of floral prints, I would say this series is a good offering. I can't really fault the print. I feel that design-wise, the Buzet JSK is the obvious winner out of the 2 JSKs. The Lycia JSK is disappointing in my opinion and doesn't have the same attention to detail that the Buzet JSK has. Would I buy from this series? Possibly, but I think I prefer AP's recent Eternal Rose Bouquet. But this series does have a lovely, demure sweet look to it. If I was to buy it I would go for the Buzet JSK in lavender. Overall, I would say this series has a lot of potential to it and I could see it doing well.

Clockwork Aristo Kitty by Alice and the Pirates

Today I am taking a look at Clockwork Aristo Kitty by AatP. This series includes 2 dresses, a skirt, a blouse, a bag, socks, wrist cuffs, a head bow and a cat ear beret.

This is JSK I. The bodice looks like it fits well and is an interesting shape. The straps are a good width for the dress too. The inside of the straps are lined with lace, but the outside edge is kept plain. But I do think having the hard edge on the outside works with the military theme and perhaps lace would have looked too soft. The waist bow is a pretty shape and sits nicely on the dress. The bow is too big, although the print helps to blend it in a little bit, so it doesn't stand out as much. I think the dress could easily work without the bow there, and it is thankfully detachable. I really love the military detailing on the bodice. The braiding is pretty and spaced out well. The braid is topped with buttons. The buttons have a crown picture on them, which works really nicely. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed very neatly by a ribbon corset. The skirt flares out well and is very full looking. It has a lot of volume to it but without being too sweet looking. The skirt has no real cluttering details to it and so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with thin lace, which has beautiful detail to it but without betraying the military styling.

This is JSK II. The bodice looks well fitted and is a fairly nice shape. The straps are a good width and suit the style of dress. The waist area has been kept plain and it looks very shapely. Whilst I don't dislike the pleated line running across the bodice, I think the placement is a bit off. It cuts right across the chest area and may sit awkwardly on some wearers. Also, it seems odd to have that tiny bit of the checked fabric above it. Maybe if it was placed where the polka dot material ends or along the neckline it would possibly look better? The use of the polka dot part of the print at the top of the bodice makes more of a feature out of it and so, it matches the bottom of the dress well. However, I am unsure I like it as the polka dots look a bit too cute compared to the rest of the dress. The neckline is finished with a simple ribbon bow, which is a good size and has a nice shape. I think the bow may also be a bit too cute though. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed by a ribbon corset, so looks neat and tidy. The skirt flares out well. in some of the stock photos the skirt part appears very rounded which again, makes this JSK very sweet in comparison to the other JSK. Whilst this dress will hold a decent amount of petticoat and the wearer will get a good shape out of it, I think I prefer the more classical, less sweet styling of the other dress. The skirt is kept free of cluttering details and the print is displayed reasonably well. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of pleats, which at least matches up with the pleats on the bodice.

And here is part of the print close-up. The print is available in green, dark red, navy and black. The green and dark red versions are very bold and I think they look amazing with the print. The black version as well looks quite striking. I am not entirely convinced by the navy though, and I think it is the weakest colour option. My absolute favourite has to be the dark red, as I love how it has been teamed with the tea colour. As for the print, I am liking the use of the clock's gears in the print. It gives a very subtle steampunk feel. I also like the clocks with the decorated faces. The border of the clock gives it a rusty, old appearance. The bold check background works brilliantly with the print. The cats add a slight hint of cute and I like the way are positioned, playing among the gears. The only thing I dislike is the way the AatP name has been included as it is very blocky looking and doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the print. Overall though, I think it is a really interesting print.

So overall, I think this series does have potential. For me, JSK I is by far my favourite out of the 2 dresses. I think the bold military styling works nicely with the print. JSK II is a bit too cute in my opinion. If I had to buy from this series I would definitely go for JSK I in dark red. Would I buy it? Possibly. It is not my normal sort of style but sometimes different is good. It wont be going on my wishlist but that's not to say I wouldn't enjoy owning it. 

Take a Theme- Birds

Today's post will be the first in a new series of posts I am going to be writing under the label Take a Theme. Sometimes whenever I see a print I like I will try and find items that match the main theme of the print. I don't always get the chance to share my finds on this blog and so the Take a Theme posts will be me posting my findings based on whichever theme I have chosen. Do feel free to leave suggestions for future Take a Theme posts and I will try my best!

For my first Take a Theme post I have chosen birds. So here are some bird themed items that I have found on the net.

Potential sub themes for birds- nests, eggs, feathers, cages.

1. Mixed Bird Nail Transfers 2. Roxie Sweetheart Pastel Birdie Rings 3. Blackbird Pendant 4. Now Voyager Cute Lil Birdie Hair Clip in yellow 5. Ballerina Swan Feather Hairband 6. Biba Feather Cape 7. Mizzi Curly Feather Hair Comb (original location unknown) 8. Blue Rose Bird Cage Necklace 9. Bird Nest Necklace 10. Whimsical Birdcage Necklace

I chose birds for my first theme and picked a mixture of different styles for my final picks. The mixed bird nail transfers would make an interesting addition to a natural, nature themed outfit. Items 5-7 would add a more dressy feel to an outfit. Items such as the Roxie Sweetheart have a touch of cute to them and would be perfect for sweet lovers.

Hopefully as I write more Take a Theme posts they will improve over time. I hope to uncover some interesting finds that could help finish future outfits. Plus it gives me a brilliant excuse to go window shopping! So if you have any ideas for future theme to look at then feel free to tell me them.

Dreamy Baby Room by Angelic Pretty

Today I am looking at Dreamy Baby Room by Angelic Pretty. This series includes 2 dresses, a salopette, a skirt, a cutsew, a head bow, a bunny bag, socks and tights.

This is the OP. The bodice looks fairly well fitted and the shape is cute. I do think the bodice is a bit on the short side and the waist is slightly too high though. The sleeves are suitably puffy. I would have preferred slightly shorter sleeves but they look okay. I am not too keen on the lace on the edge of the sleeves but at least it matches with the lace on the yoke. The small bows are a nice finishing touch to the sleeves though, without looking too bulky. The waist has a cute detachable star brooch, which I really like. The waist area is a bit plain looking, but a bow here would look too OTT teamed with the large yoke. A skinny belt could work here. The yoke is very rounded and definitely does remind me slightly of a baby bib. I personally think that it is a bit on the big side. However, I do love the way the buttons used on the yoke are different pastel colours. I reckon star shaped buttons here would have gone well with the star brooch. There is also a detachable satin ribbon bow. The bow is a nice shape and size. Whilst I like the collar, I don't think it works teamed with the yoke. The two paired together is a bit OTT and I think it looks a bit cluttered. The back does not have any shirring and just has a zip. The print along the zip does not line up that well but due to the style of print it is not too noticeable. The back of the neck has a cute polka dot bow, which matches nicely with the polka dot part of the print. The skirt has quite an exaggerated full shape to it. It is very rounded too. It has a lot of potential but maybe is too OTT for some. The skirt is kept clutter free and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished with some very sweet teddy bear lace.

This is the JSK. The bodice looks reasonably well fitted. The shape is a bit dull though and looks very straight and square. The straps are a good width though. The straps are lined well with thin lace which softens the edges without adding too much bulk. The bodice is set out in a similar way to the OP but the waist is lower and the yoke is smaller. The bodice has 2 lines of thin lace that run vertically up it which helps to break up the plain areas. Whilst I prefer the smaller yoke, I still think it is a bit too wide. The yoke has the same lace and buttons as the OP, but the JSK has a small polka dot bow on the neckline instead. The bow is a cute shape and an okay size. The bow is quite sturdy too without drooping at all. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed by a ribbon corset. The skirt is very rounded and full. It will hold a decent amount of petticoat too. I would maybe prefer it if the skirt was a bit longer but AP is known for being a bit on the short side. The skirt is kept clutter free again and so the print is displayed brilliantly. The bottom hem is finished off with the same teddy bear lace.

And here is the print close up. As we can see, the print comes in pink, yellow, sax blue and black. Whilst I do think the pastel colours all work very well with the print, I think on this occasion I prefer the black version. The print seems to fade and look a bit washed out on the pastel colours and the details only really stand out well on the black. A lot of fuss has been made about this print looking a bit 'age-play'. I personally do not find this print too age-play, but at the same time it is a bit too young looking for me personally. The rocking horse is probably my favourite part of the print and I think the teddy and bunny balloons are very cute. I think the baby pram is not too bad but I really dislike the rattles. Something about the way the items are spaced in the print seems a bit 'off' to me. Overall this print does not appeal to me.

Whilst I am not keen on the print I do like the star brooch that features throughout the series. It is quite versatile and could be paired with so many different sweet prints. I am not normally a fan of ric-rac, but I don't think it looks bad here. It is very cute. I just wish that AP would sell the star brooch separately. Fingers crossed they will do this later.

So overall, this is not really my kind of series. The dresses are not that bad but the print is just not my style. If I had to buy from this series I would choose the skirt over either of the dresses and go for the black one. At least the skirt is a bit easier to tone down than the dresses. I don't think this is that great a series but maybe the accessories will be popular.

Prioritising What You Buy

I remember when I first got in to lolita- I wanted to buy everything, and I really DO mean everything. All I wanted was to rush out and spend all the money I had. Obviously that is not what I actually ended up doing. In fact, there have been times where my lolita purchasing has actually been quite slow. When I was starting out, I was confronted by this huge list of wishes and dream dresses. I learnt very early on how important it is to actually think out what to buy next. I had to ask myself if there any point me buying certain items when they don't match anything in my current wardrobe or whether that cheap item was really worth it if I couldn't see myself loving it that much. In the end, I resorted to my usual tactic of making lists.

I briefly mentioned a while ago about my "Want Vs. Need List" and this list was a huge help for me as I built my wardrobe up. Basically any essential wardrobe builders (for example, a black blouse) went on the 'Need' part of the list and items such as dream dresses and other items I liked, but were not important, went on the 'Want' side. If I ever wanted to buy something from the Want side, I had to buy at least one item from the Need side. This meant that although I was getting items I really wanted, I was at the same time building up the staples. So this worked very well.

As I write this post, I feel I may be at the stage where I no longer need the Want Vs. Need List. I am confident that if I were to buy a new dress I would be able to make at least one outfit with the wardrobe items I currently have (even if that outfit is very basic). So now I have a bit more freedom whenever I want to buy something. Now a new problem has arisen- I am very quickly running out of wardrobe space!

So my next task was to take a hard look at all of the dresses on my wishlist. Although it took me a very long time, I have managed to put all of the dresses on my list in order of how much I want them. I currently have about 30-something dresses on my wishlist, with about 10 of them being what I would consider "dream dresses". I have to admit it was a difficult task but I kept imagining circumstances where 2 of the dresses came up and which one would I be more devastated to lose out on.

This all sounds like a very difficult process but actually, it makes it very easy to work out what to buy next. If something from my list pops up I will have a look at its position on the list and if it is high up then I will be more likely to buy it.

Of course, there are other factors to consider.

The Price- If something comes up at a low price then it can be tempting to go ahead and buy it. But how much do you really like that item? Is there any point buying something that you will maybe wear once before selling it on?

Will it suit you- As much as I may love an item, there have been occasions where I have let stuff go simply because it wouldn't suit me. It could be that it didn't suit my body shape or I was too close to the maximum measurements for me to feel comfortable wearing it. I think it can be very disheartening when you buy a dream item and then you don't feel it looks right on you. I believe a dream dress should make you feel amazing when you wear it.

Availability- Obviously some dresses are more popular than others. Whilst some items are likely to pop up very frequently there may be some which only go on sale about once a year. Sometimes it is worth going for the rarer dress because you could regret it if you lose it.

But despite all these points, there are times where you need to follow your heart. This actually happened to me recently. I had been saving up really hard for a few months to buy a dream dress and I was close to reaching my final target. However, just as I was nearing my goal, another of my dream dresses popped up. The dress that suddenly popped up was ranked higher on my dress priority list and I ended up being torn between 2 dresses. When I asked friends they suggested that I got the dress that had just popped up. But I realised when I saw their answers that it made me feel sad. My reaction to their answers showed me which dress I truly wanted more. In the end, I purchased the dress I had been saving for and I don't regret it one bit. So it just goes to show that sometimes even lists don't work. At the end of the day, you need to choose the path that you feel is best for you.