Recent Haul- Late June/ Early July 2016

So as I sort of promised, I am doing another haul post of things I have purchased outside of my usual Taobao and other shopping reviews, mainly my auction buys and anything I have brought from shops I have purchased from loads and no longer feel the need to dedicate a blog review to. 

Lately I have been pushing myself to fill in the necessary gaps in my wardrobe. Although I have lots of off-white and ivory blouses, this Innocent World blouse is my first long sleeved off-white blouse that isn't chiffon. As much as I love my chiffon blouses, it is very awkward wearing them with skirts, as you then have to wear a camisole underneath to stop your underwear from showing. Although I have been okay with doing this in the past, I just wanted to own a good, cotton blouse that I could just wear by itself. Also, I find I don't always want to wear a super floaty chiffon blouse, as it doesn't always fit the overall feel of an outfit. This Innocent World blouse had been hanging around on the Japanese auctions for ages and I finally decided to go ahead and get it. I initially put a bid on, despite the buy it now being reasonable, as I see no harm in trying to get something for a little bit cheaper. Unfortunately, the second I put a bid on, it seemed to spur other Japanese bidders to have a go for it as well (typical!). So I ended up doing the buy it now anyway. There was a bit of confusion, as the seller accidentally got 2 auctions mixed up and sent Japonica the wrong blouse. Luckily, Japonica were able to handle the mix up brilliantly, and I got the blouse I won eventually.

My initial thought was that the cotton felt super soft. I have so many crispy paper-like Bodyline blouses, that I had sort of forgotten how lovely brand cotton blouses can be. The lace is lovely too. I got one of the trump button blouses (I don't know the exact release, as IW have done a few of these trump button ones). The buttons are so pretty, but I have to admit that I found them really annoying to actually button up! They can be a bit fiddly.

Once I had conquered doing up the buttons, I was relieved to find that the blouse fitted me okay. This blouse was missing the ties that help make the blouse smaller, but I seemed to have gotten the ideal size for me anyway. As you can see, the arms are a good length on me as well. I think the blouse is ever so slightly see-through, but not so much that a camisole is needed. I will be testing this out with a nude bra and the camera flash before I wear this out though!

I love the rose lace on the collar. The collar is perhaps a bit bigger than I was expecting, but I quite like it.

I had a bit of an accident with my long-sleeved black Bodyline blouse which saw the colour run, so I got this Angelic Pretty blouse as a sort-of replacement. It was only when I put this AP blouse next to my Bodyline one that I realised how faded my Bodyline one had become. The cotton was again very soft, as was all of the lace.

A picture with the flash, just to show up all the details. The ribbon has buttons to detach it. As this blouse is a little bit sweeter than my Bodyline blouse, I like that one of the cutest details is at detachable. Perhaps I will be able to use this blouse in a more varied way. 

There is even lace running up the arms! 

The collar is again maybe a bit bigger than I was hoping, but I think it looks pretty good worn. Please excuse the hastily tied bow.

I have to admit though, that I am disappointed with the fit. The blouse is maybe a bit smaller on me than I would have hoped, but my main issue is the torso length is quite short. I decided to add this photo to demonstrate this point. I have a feeling I will mainly be wearing this blouse under JSKs, rather than with skirts... Although weirdly, the arm length was absolutely fine on me. I guess I will just have to be careful.

Who doesn't love a bit of AP logo lace?

I also managed to get hold of AP's Cosmic necklace in navy x gold, which came shortly after my last haul post. Well, it is meant to be navy, but in person it actually almost looks black. If you hold it up to the light you can see a slight tinge of blue. I am not going to lie- I intend to wear this as if it were black! The cluster of stars on the chain is a nice touch too, and the star charm at the top is stamped with the AP initials as usual. I absolutely love this necklace and I want to get it in clear x gold as well. I am also still on the lookout for the matching ring. If you see it then please let me know.

Finally, I got a pair of Bodyline shoes in beige. The style number is S519. A part of me was secretly hoping they would be less beige, as they look almost off-white in the stock photos. I suppose it serves me right for trusting Bodyline stock photos. I was very annoyed to discover that my shoes had arrived with marks on them, and one patch was even a bit sticky. The marks came off okay with no damage, but this is not acceptable. This is why I very rarely order from Bodyline now, because the quality control is appalling. 

The bows are quite well shaped, and I like the heart scalloping. The stitching is generally quite neat. There was a slight glue mark on the inside of one shoe, but it was quite small.

I like that there is a slight heel. The heel has generally been done to satisfactory level. It feels quite sturdy.

The straps are a good length with plenty of holes to adjust them. These shoes have poppers like pretty much all of the major brand and Bodyline shoes. Size-wise, I found this style ran true to size. I got my usual 25cm size and they fitted me fine. I have only worn these for a few hours around the house so far, so I can't really judge how comfortable they are yet. So far, they seem quite comfortable and on the same level as other Bodyline shoes. 

So I have managed to successfully fill a few wardrobe holes and tick yet another item off my wishlist. The shoes were a little disappointing though, with the colour being quite a dark beige and them coming with those stains. I am also pleased to say that I went and brought a bottle of YSL's Black Opium Nuit Blanche, after featuring it in my recent post about perfume. I have done pretty well shopping-wise lately, and I am eager to go out and find some bargains soon.