September 2014 Taobao Haul- Picture Heavy!

I placed another Taobao order last month and today I shall be reviewing my order! It was quite a big order, although I wont be able to show some of the items to you all because I am hoping to do a give-away if I reach 300 followers. When I last checked I think I had about 12 followers left to go. I don't want to push people to follow me but if you know anybody who might be interested in following me, then maybe we can get this give-away started a bit sooner!

I wont be reviewing Taobao Spree as by now, I am sure you all know that I really like their service. I did have a different agent this time though. His name is Ray and I think he is a new employee. He was very friendly and his English was very good. He seems to know what he is doing as well so I was quite comfortable to have him assigned to me instead of Cici (Cici is still my favourite agent though!). We even talked about how much to declare the value of the order to customs. Taobao Spree usually mark down the value on their packages to avoid customs but as my order was a bit big, Ray gave me advice on how much I could realistically get away with. In the end, my order made it through customs without a charge, despite the higher declaration.

My order was packaged so well that I really struggled to get the box open! In the end I really had to tear the box apart. But at least I know that my package was very secure. The items inside were quite tightly packed so there was no danger of the items getting damaged by moving about.

And just to pre-warn people, this order does include a few replica items. I usually try to avoid replicas as much as possible but I sometimes make the odd exception. I don't wish to get in an argument about replicas. 

I caved in and got the replica gold Milk heart bag. It arrived wrapped in thin protective fabric and then wrapped again in plastic to help protect it.

The gold colour is lovely and the finish is quite smooth. I love how big the bag is too. There is plenty of room inside. I think the 2 hearts may be slightly mis-aligned though. It looks fine when the bag has stuff in it but when you lay it flat you can see it is a bit wonky.

The fake logo is painted on neatly, although since getting the bag I have attempted to remove the logo. You can see how I got on in an upcoming post. I was amazed at how well the original bag has been replicated. You wouldn't be able to spot the difference without some close inspection.

The inside of the bag is lined neatly. It also has 2 pockets inside, which is very useful. I did find the lining smelt quite bad though. I suppose that is because of the cheap materials used. 

The stitching is quite neat. I like the little heart charms used for the zip tag as well.

I think this picture shows just how big the bag is. It is a lot of depth to it.

Overall I am impressed that the bag turned out as well as it did. It could definitely pass for the original bag, although that wasn't really my aim. I just wanted a generic gold heart shaped bag. The bag feels quite sturdy and the price was good. I can tell I am going to get a lot of uses out of it.

And the rest of my order is all from Mu Fish- http://mu-fish.taobao.com/

First up are these sheer ankle socks I got in lavender and white. The lavender ones are quite a warm shade and I found they match quite a few of the lavenders I have in my wardrobe. The white colour is quite bright and stark but it still matches quite well with some items in my wardrobe. The bow design is very cute.

I did spot one loose thread but apart from that I found no other flaws.

And here is a worn photo of the lavender socks. The socks have a soft, silky feel to them and feel very pleasant to wear. I do worry they are going to slip down when worn though. They also feel as if they could be easy to snag. As you can see the sheer parts do have a slight shine to them but it isn't too noticeable unless you are taking photos with the flash on. The socks fit my feet fine. For reference, I usually wear a 25cm shoe (I go up a size for my wide feet). My only complaint with the size is that I wish they were a bit longer. I wish they ended higher up my leg instead of right above my ankle.

Next up is 3 pairs of ankle socks. I noticed the purple ones have a Tutu Anna label on them and I didn't realise they were replicas when I brought them. Weirdly, it is only the purple ones that have this Tutu Anna label on them. The white and purple ones are exactly the colours I was expecting. The pink are maybe a bit more peach coloured than I was expecting. They looked a bit pinker in the listing. They are still a pretty shade though.

Unlike the other socks in my order, these ones came with washing instructions, which is quite handy.

The lace is lovely and soft. It doesn't feel itchy and the ankles are nicely elasticated for a nice fit. The lace is a good quality for the cheap price and quite pretty looking.

The sock material feels soft and they sit nicely just above my ankle. At first I thought the socks had a good thickness to them, although I have noticed I can see my ankle through the sock in this photo. Overall though, I think the quality is fairly good and acceptable.

Next up are these lace patterned socks. I believe they might be a replica of the ones Baby did. I don't know how these socks compare, but it would be good to try and find out.

The socks felt quite smooth. The sheer parts are again a bit shiny. I think the pattern is quite pretty.

The thing that I dislike about these socks is that they have very little stretch to them. I wouldn't recommend these for people who have large legs as I found these clung to my legs quite a bit. The socks end quite awkwardly at my knee. If they had been just a little bit longer I would have been able to wear them as over-the-knee socks but instead I have to roll them down a bit and wear them as under-the-knee. I hear that a lot of people have had issues with the tights being too small but the socks being okay, but I found the opposite to be true. I really think the socks could do with having a bit more stretch to them.

And this is what the pattern looks like when worn. I think some of the lines could have been done a bit neater but they still look pretty good.

Next up are these trainer socks. These were a bit of an impulse buy because I thought the macaron design was so cute! These are a bit tight fitting on my feet (the packaging recommends 24cm feet maximum) but I was able to get them on okay. This is definitely the absolute maximum size though. When worn, you can still see the cute design really nicely. I love the colours. However, there was an issue I had with the product listing. When translated, the listing gives odd colour descriptions for each sock. You can see little pictures of the socks on the listing but the socks I ordered were described as "chocolate" for the colour. As you can see from my photo, there is nothing remotely chocolate coloured or themed on these socks! When I placed my order I put that I wanted the "chocolate" colour on my form, and thankfully I got the correct socks. It is just very confusing.

Finally, I got a pair of tights. I am really happy with how crisp the feather print is. And even when worn the pattern is still very clear. Even the feathers near the top of my legs were still clear.

I found the tights fitted me very well. I wouldn't recommend these for anybody taller than about 5'5''. I am around 5'4'' and am bottom heavy with fairly chunky thighs. I found the tights fitted me just right but I wouldn't want them to be any smaller. The material felt nice. The tights have a slight sheen to them.

I did spot that the tights were not entirely opaque where they stretched over the knees though.

Overall I was impressed with the quality of the bag and all of my Mu Fish items. I was a bit surprised that I had the opposite issue to some other Mu Fish customers. I found the socks needed more stretch and the tights fitted really well. I was half expecting to have to cut up the tights and turn them in to socks, so I am glad this is not the case. I would definitely order from Mu Fish again. I am really excited about the give-away items as well and hope I will be able to host this soon.