Recent Haul- May 2016

A few months back I asked if people were interested in seeing posts about my recent purchases, especially my auction ones and from sites I no longer review, seeing as I have already reviewed them. So today I am sharing some of my most recent additions to my wardrobe. I am still not sure if this will become a regular thing, but I may as well give it a try.

Recently, I have found my wardrobe space is dwindling and as a result, I have had to really think my purchases through. I need to make sure that the items I add to my wardrobe are items I actually want, rather than impulse purchases. So I have been focusing a lot more on my Facebook wishlist. All of the items in this haul post were a part of that album and I am getting a real kick out of gradually deleting all the photos!

First up is not a lolita item, but it is from Angelic Pretty. As a lover of all thing star and moon themed, I have wanted AP's Shining Star parka for a while. I was unable to get it at the time of release and it doesn't come up second hand that often. But after being unable to obtain a Taobao dress I really wanted, I was furiously scanning the Japanese auctions and ended up finding the parka in the very colour I wanted it in!

It arrived a bit wrinkly, but otherwise in fantastic condition. I really like the colour, which is a very vibrant shade of blue.

I absolutely love the print, although I am a bit worried about it cracking if I don't take care as I wash it. It doesn't feel like the design will fade or crack, but you can never be too careful! I obviously wanted this parka for casual everyday wear, but I was a little disappointed the ties are just bog-standard cords. I have AP's Dream Sky parka as well, which has star charms on the end of a ribbon cord and this style feels a bit boring in comparison.

As for the thickness, I would say it is a little bit thicker than your typical cutsew material, but it is still very light. It is definitely more for Spring and Summer time. The material feels so soft and it feels really nice on.

And unlike my Dream Sky parka, this parka has a decent amount of length to it. This parka goes the whole way down my torso. The arms are also a good length. I am hopeful that I can find more casual tops and parkas to add to my collection. I have a couple of designs in mind, but sadly those are also ones that don't come up for sale that often!

Next up is a new dress! My wardrobe rail is begging me not to add any more dresses and thankfully, my wishlist album now only has 4 dresses left and 2 of them are likely to never be obtained, as they go above the limit of what I consider an okay price to pay for a lolita dress. I am a bit in denial about my wardrobe space and keep putting off the inevitable sales post. But I am the sort of person who tends to like to hang on to stuff until I know I have done everything I can with it. So if there is still a potential new way of co-ordinating a dress, I am unlikely to sell it, in case I then regret it afterwards, even if it isn't as loved as one of my dream dresses.

My new dress is Baby's Princess Honey's Tea Salon rose ribbon JSK in pink. I don't know why I have always liked this print, I just sort of did and I knew I wanted it. I was adamant though, that it absolutely had to be this exact cut and colour. Despite not being a lover of scalloping, I have always loved the scallop shapes at the bottom of this dress. I found this dress on Closet Child for a reasonable price. I also got the matching head bow, but forgot to take pictures! The dress was listed as a '3' quality-wise and as per usual, Closet Child were spot on. I actually couldn't find anything wrong with the dress, apart from a few of the bows getting a bit bent in the post.

Here is a little close up of the detailing I love so much. It definitely lived up to my expectations. I haven't really fallen in love with a lot of the more recent Baby releases and I really wish that they would go back to doing more pieces similar to this one. I was really shocked when I realised this series was released in 2010. It just doesn't seem that long ago, and I can even vaguely remember writing about this release on this blog! I seem to have a thing for pieces from the 2008-2011 era.

Here is a close up of the print. One thing I have noticed about this print in the past is that it doesn't seem to photograph that well. It looks so much prettier in person. 

I love all the pleats and lines of lace on the bodice. I like that it has an interesting appearance with lots of detail, but at the same time it doesn't feel too overdone. With all the nice weather we have been having lately, I am hopeful of wearing this dress very soon.

Finally, I have obtained another fairly old lolita piece (2009- the year I started wearing lolita!). This strawberry cake bag from Baby brings back a lot of nostalgia from my early days in the fashion and it has always been a dream of mine to own it. Who says a dream item has to be a dress? This was an auction purchase and I got it for a really low price. I was especially pleased when it came all nicely sealed in a box and wrapped in a Baby tote bag. I think it may have been the original packaging, so the original owner obviously cared for it well.

I love the pearl chains and the strawberry shaped lace. The subtle pink colour is really lovely as well. It is a such a soft, gentle shade.

The bow on the top needs a bit of reshaping, but the details on top are otherwise perfect! At first I thought that maybe the details would be a bit flimsy and prone to falling off, but from what I can tell they are very well glued down.

There isn't a great deal of room inside, but it is still a lot bigger than some lolita bags! The lining is so neatly done. If I were to make a complaint, it would be that I wish the top was held down by more than one single popper. It doesn't really feel that secure. 

In summary, I love this bag! I appreciate this style of bag is not really popular anymore, but I don't care. The important thing is that I love it. I can't wait to team this with my strawberry prints. It really means a lot to have this little piece of my lolita history finally in my wardrobe. I remember making a berry themed collage when I first got in to lolita and this bag was featured in it. So it is great that it has lived up to my expectations after all this time.

So those are my recent wardrobe additions. I am still getting over the shock that Princess Honey's Tea Salon is actually that old (where has the time gone!?) but it was nice to reminisce about that time when I was initially making lolita collages and Facebook albums of my dream items. I get the feeling that these new items in my wardrobe are going to be sticking around for quite some time and I can't wait to use them!