A Few Hints About Taobao

Something I frequently get asked about in emails and on places like Facebook is about how I get my head around Taobao. To a beginner, Taobao can be a very daunting place. There are so many different shops and guides, and then you have to learn how to use shopping services. So I decided today that I would share a bit about how I got in to Taobao ordering and where to go for the right advice.

Firstly, you should really check out 4chan. I appreciate that 4chan and the cgl board are seen as quite 'dirty' words in the lolita community and nobody likes to admit that they go on there, but it is possible to go on there without getting dragged in to any drama. Use the catalog to find the latest Taobao thread and you will find in the OP post an extensive guide. It really is the most reliable Taobao guide that I have come across. It has a load of lists for shops, shopping services, FAQs and even a dictionary so that you can search Taobao using Chinese instead of English by simply copying and pasting from the spreadsheet. If you want, you can also read the rest of the Taobao thread, although the guide is usually pinned to the OP post. A lot of people post their hauls in these threads and sometimes you stumble across some really cute stuff which you may have missed. You may even be able to ask the haul buyer where they got their stuff from. Sometimes people place reviews in these threads as well or offer updated advice on how reliable certain shopping services are.

There are a couple of points that sometimes get missed in the threads if you don't check them regularly. So I decided to include a list of pointers that I have learnt from my own experiences of placing Taobao orders.

Make sure to order items such as wrist cuffs in pairs- In the lolita community it probably seems like a bit of a no-brainer that wrist cuffs always come in pairs. But sometimes you will find that some stores only send out one wrist cuff and you don't find out until they have arrived at your shopping service. Look at the price. Does it seem realistic for a pair? Perhaps try emphasizing to your shopping service that you require 1 pair of cuffs so that there isn't any miscommunication. I have actually had an experience where a store ran out of stock of wrist cuffs, and I ended up with just one cuff even though I ordered 2. If you are able to, stick a note when you place your order to make sure your shopping service knows that you want 2 or you wish to cancel this item if they don't have enough stock.

Some stores use real animal fur- This is obviously a huge issue and something you need to be aware of. If you can't tell from the item description that something is definitely made of fake fur, then don't risk ordering it. Real fur tends to feel softer than fake fur.

Sometimes wigs come in multiple sizes- This is something I only discovered very recently myself, and I had no idea! I am yet to stumble across a wig store that offers more than one size. If you do, then either ask your shopping service a question about the sizing or post in the cgl Taobao thread for further advice. This is very confusing and I will edit this post with further information if I discover anything more.

Sometimes shoe sizing charts are incorrect- I have noticed that I have had to go a size up every single time I have ordered shoes from Taobao. Even then they have sometimes been a bit small. According to a lot of size charts, I should be ordering a 39 but instead I have learnt to ignore the charts and order a 41. The shoes can sometimes be a bit narrow too. Proceed with caution, especially if you are new to Taobao.

Lots of Taobao stores will hold sales throughout the year- The biggest sale of the year is usually the one for 11/11 held on the 11th of November. This is a good time to get Taobao items for even cheaper. However, be aware that more people are realising about these sales and because of this, sometimes shopping services get a bit clogged up with all the orders.

Aliexpress can be good for smaller orders- Shopping service fees can add up, and to make the most of this you should generally try to place bigger orders to make the fees more 'worth it'. But if you only want one or two items, I would suggest trying to locate them on Aliexpress. A lot of Taobao stores also have stores on Aliexpress and generally it is cheaper to place smaller orders here. Using Aliexpress basically means you don't need a shopping service, so you don't need to take their fees in to consideration.

A lot of listings will be full of Chinese slang- Google Translate has thrown up some very weird phrases on Taobao! The most common example I have found is "fried chicken". If you see a listing that mentions "fried chicken", don't panic! You are not going to be sent a bucket of KFC. It is simply slang, which means that an item is very good.

Sometimes the colour listings can be confusing- I have seen that a lot of Taobao stores class navy blue as some shade of purple. Another common example is sax blue and mint. It can be very difficult to tell which colour you are getting sometimes.

Don't place orders around Chinese holidays- Placing orders around the time of a national Chinese holiday can be a very painful experience. Everything is slow because all of the stores close, and you wont be able to contact your shopping service when they take time off either. Be aware of placing orders around times such as Chinese New Year. Even when stores start to re-open, it can take a bit of time for service speed to pick up. Weirdly though, there are some Western holidays where you may find your shopping service is working. I remember on one Christmas morning I was messaging Ray from Taobao Spree, who had shipped out my order on Christmas Day. We wished each other a Merry Christmas!

Be careful when ordering homewares- This especially applies to kitchenware and any non clothing that comes in contact with the body *cough*sextoys*cough*. China does not have the same safety regulations as other countries and as a result, sometimes those cute little homewares can actually be quite dangerous. Besides, cute homeware is becoming more popular and although it will probably be more expensive, there are more choices available elsewhere.

Those are just a few hints that I could think of. If I think of any more I will try to add them to this list before I publish it, or I will edit the post at a later date. But chances are, you will find the answer to any questions you may have in the cgl guide or in the cgl Taobao thread. I appreciate that sometimes anonymous people can get a bit snarky if the same questions get asked over and over again, but if you genuinely can't find an answer after a bit of searching then please don't hesitate to ask.

Taobao Haul June 2017

It's been a while, but today I am showing my latest Taobao Haul. There were some bags which I had to wait for, so it took a little longer to receive this order. But I kept an eye on the order and everything arrived promptly. The bags finally arrived on schedule near the middle of June.

First is this bracelet which I got from here. This is something I actually brought on a whim, as I was ordering earrings from the same store anyway (see the earrings below). Although it is meant to be a bracelet, the ribbon is so long that it could easily be worn as a necklace.

The macarons are made from very lightweight material and are a little bit soft. I think I would have preferred something a bit firmer, but I guess that would have made the bracelet heavier. Given how large the macarons are, weight is important to factor in. The star beads in between are cute, but they are your bog-standard beads. I really like the colours of the whole bracelet. They would fit in really well with a lot of well-known sweet AP prints.

This is how the bracelet looks when worn. I think the macarons could do with being a bit smaller. They look a bit bulky in comparison to my wrist. A thinner ribbon could have been nice too, although I am pleased that the ribbon chosen is not shiny.

There is no fastening, you simply tie the ribbon. This looks a bit messy, although I suppose it does mean that there is a lot of size flexibility. I tied the bracelet as small as possible and found it fitted me okay, but it also meant that there were long dangling bits of ribbon. I think I am going to have to experiment with different ways to tie the ribbon so it looks a bit tidier. But the bracelet was quite cheap anyway, and it meant I had more stuff coming from the same Taobao store, which meant the shipping cost from that store was more worth it.

This necklace came from the same store. It wasn't until after I placed the order that I realised that this might be an Angelic Pretty replica. It looks a lot like the necklace for Cinema Doll. The main difference is that this necklace doesn't have the metal bow charms and the bows on this necklace are bigger. The quality of the pearl chain is very basic. You can tell it is cheap. The necklace is a good length, but there is no metal chain to make the length adjustable. The clasp is simple, but easy to use.

I personally think the bows look a bit too big. They are made of lovely velveteen material though. With a cheap necklace like this, I expected to find flaws (maybe some strands of glue on the back of the bows) but there was none to be found. Overall, this necklace was cheap, but you get what you pay for.

Also from the same store are these cherry earrings which sadly, don't seem to be available anymore. These were my main reason for using this particular Taobao store! I love the design, which reminds me of designs from popular Larme stores.

The cherries are made from clear red beads and also feature a leaf charm. I could see no flaws with the earrings at all. 

They only have cheap plastic backings, which I suppose is to be expected from the price. But they do their job of holding the earrings firmly in place.

Here is a worn photo. The earrings are a good size. Surprisingly for such cheap jewellery, they did not leave a green tinge after being worn for a while. This is fantastic! As these earrings have turned out so well, I have decided I will keep an eye on the store in future. I wasn't overly impressed with the bracelet or the necklace, but these earrings are fantastic. So I would say this store is a bit hit and miss. Also keep an eye out for potential replicas.

Next are these bags from Whale Fall which I had to wait very patiently for the pre-order to close for. Initially you could order certain colours in different materials (I can't remember exactly, but I think the other material was suede) and I went for the cheaper material option. This cheaper material turned out really well though! It has a canvas-like feel to it, which suggests that it may hold up to a light rain shower. I wouldn't want to use it in a really heavy downpour though! It has been quite dry here lately, so I have not had a chance to try out their water resistance. Living in a rainy country, it would not have made much sense for me to go for the suede option anyway. The colours are spot on. I was especially impressed with the size, although I don't think the handles would be strong enough for a exceptionally heavy load. But for everyday essentials it should be fine.

The bow on the front is a little floppy, but I think it looks pretty cute! If I was being nitpicky, then I would say it would have been nice for the material to be less creased. This could have been fixed by putting more care and attention to how the bow has been formed. The pearl and star charm is adorable.

The embroidered logo has been done very neatly. I like that the logo is not too dominant and is just tucked away neatly to one side.

There is a pocket on the back of the bag, which has a WF logo heart charm. I like that they have not just used the cheapest plain heart charm. It shows some effort has gone in to the design.

As you can see, there is lots of room! Although the depth of the bag is not that wide (you can see this in the next photo) the bag can hold a surprising amount of stuff. There are also additional pockets on the inside as well, with one having a zip. This will help to keep your stuff a bit more organised.

The stitching is generally quite neat. There are a few places where I think the ruffles could have been executed better, but overall they have been done well. I am really pleased with how these bags turn out. I don't have any similar bags from Larme brands to compare them to, but I think these Taobao bags are good value for money. I am confident they will hold up fairly well and I can't wait to try them out.

Next we go to a favourite Taobao store of mine and this hat from Haruhi Clover. Amazingly, there was only a tiny bit of warping to the hat brim during shipping. I did notice a few flakes of straw coming off the hat though. I went for the ivory colour (known as 'generate') and was very pleased with the soft, ivory shade of the ribbon. Although the lace is a bit whiter, the colours don't clash too much.

The ribbon used is matte in texture. I like the simple, yet well formed shape of the bow. 

I really love the floral lace used. It has a pretty pattern and it also feels soft to the touch. This is quite good quality for Taobao. Some of the lace did get a bit folded during shipping though, so I am going to have to see if I can find a way to flatten it.

The bow at the back has a pretty key charm. I think the bow could have been tied a little bit better, as the tails look as though they are fighting for space! This bow is detachable and is removed by undoing a simple pin style clip. I am going to leave the bow on, but it is always good to have the option to take it off.

Here is the hat worn. The hat fitted comfortably on my head. There was a fabric band inside the hat to help it fit better. It also means there is a slight barrier between your head and the potentially itchy straw. I still prefer my Haruhi Clover bowler hats, but this straw hat is a really decent offering. I can't wait to try it out. I need to shake up my headwear a bit and try new things!

Also from Haruhi Clover is this double star brooch and chain. The stars are those same puffy stars that you see used a lot in J-fashion accessories. They are cheap, but they have neatly stitched edges and the end result is pretty cute. The chain is a good length and I think the charms are well spaced out. However, I do think it looks a bit messy having a random bit of chain dangling down on one side.

The star charms are really cute! They break up the pearls nicely.

I was very pleased to see that the back had both a clip and a pin. This makes the clip a whole lot more versatile. The listing suggests wearing it as a hair accessory, but it could easily be worn in other ways, such as attached to a dress or blouse as a brooch. I do worry that maybe the clips are a little bit too big for the stars though and that they might show when worn. There was also a few strands of glue which I needed to pick off the backs. You might be able to see one of these strands in the photo, just below the clip on the left hand side of the photo.

Here is a very quick worn photo, just to try it on. This is not how I intend to wear it. I found the clips a bit fiddly to position at first and it took me a few attempts to get it to look right, which resulted in my hair getting messy in the process. With a bit of practice it will hopefully get easier to simply put them on and get it right first time. I am still really glad that I got this accessory though because as I already mentioned, it is very versatile. I think it has a lot of potential.

Also from Haruhi Clover are these shoe clips, which I have previously purchased in white. I wont do a full review of these, as I have previously reviewed the white ones on here. So I will just comment to say that I really like the navy colour. I wont be buying any more colours though because despite the cheap price, I still feel the bows are a bit big and the clips on the back could have been better hidden.

Finally, I got this skirt from here. This purchase was a bit of a gamble, but I got it because... rainbows. If I am being honest, I don't think the skirt looks as pretty in person as it does on the item listing. You can judge for yourself in the worn photo below.

The skirt is made up of purple, peach and sax blue fabric underneath and a peachy tulle overlay. The materials were quite disappointing. Not only is the fabric thin, it looks really cheap. I have seen t-shirts in budget stores with better quality than this. It also wrinkles very easily.

The stitching was surprisingly well done though. The hems and seams were all very neat on the inside. I couldn't spot any obvious flaws anywhere. The waistband was fully elasticated. I was a bit wary of buying a 'one-size' skirt but this skirt really does have a lot of stretch to it. When I tried the skirt on I was able to stretch the waistband out so far that you would be able to fit more than one person my size in to it! The waistband also felt very comfortable and put very little pressure on my stomach.

With the tulle overlay, the stitching down the sides is obviously going to stand out more, but it has been done quite neatly. The bottom hem was left plain though, which is a bit messy and could easily be damaged.

Here is the skirt worn. I am really not sure if I like it or not... I don't think it looks too bad in this photo, but when you see the skirt in person I don't think it looks as good. Also, the material seems to stick out a lot at the waistline, making me appear bigger than I actually am. The skirt was a good length on me though (I am about 5'3'' and a half). I think the skirt looks a lot better on the listing. If the tulle overlay had been white instead, I reckon that could have possibly looked better maybe? Or possibly pink? The skirt reminds me a little of the skirts you get as part of cheap fairy dressing up costumes. There was a fairy related event coming up which I was interested in, so maybe I will wear it there! It looks as though my gamble didn't pay off though. Thankfully my parcel miraculously escaped getting hit by customs fees, saving me roughly £35, so I am not too bitter about this slight disappointment.

So this order has had a couple of hits and a few misses. My favourite items from this order are the cherry earrings, the bags and the straw hat. I can't wait to try out the bags properly. I really hope they are as good as they seem. Ordering the skirt didn't turn out so great but I think it is still wearable. I am not entirely convinced though! Feel free to leave your thoughts on it, or anything else in the order.

Taobao Haul Review March 2017- Picture Heavy

It has been a while, but today I have a new Taobao haul to review. I ended up using Taobao Ring again, even though I vowed to try a new shopping service. I just really like how convenient the quick order function is. There doesn't seem to be much point me reviewing Taobao Ring again, so I will just get on to the items I got.

First up today is this hat from Ayl. I am so pleased with the deep red colour of the hat. It is a proper burgandy shade. As you can see the fake flowers and ribbon are a different shade of red, but they compliment the main hat colour. It is a lot more flattering than my photos make it look!

The fake flowers themselves are of a reasonable quality. They could be better, but they are not the absolute cheapest fake flowers either. I was pleased to find no traces of glue anywhere. I really like the crimped edges of the ribbon. It has a slight sheen to it, but it isn't too shiny. I think the ribbon quality is okay.

I was initially a bit confused by the random trails of ribbon coming from inside the hat, but it turns out you can pull them to alter the lining of the hat so that it fits better. I have never seen this detail on a hat before! It does mean that I am going to have to pin this ribbon out of the way when I wear the hat though. I don't think it looks very attractive having this random black ribbon sticking out.

I thought I would include a worn photo (apologies for the blacked-out face. I was really tired). As you can see, the brim of the hat is quite wide. It took me a bit of time to position the hat in a way which I felt looked good. Apart from the slightly too wide brim, I really love this hat. It feels really comfortable. With this in mind, I would consider buying from Ayl again.

Next up are these Sailor Moon inspired charms that I got from here. I got these with the intention of taking the charms off and making some jewellery with them. I actually found that because of the jewellery clasps on the chains, you can sort of join the 2 charms together and make a bracelet anyway. I might still stick with my original plan and take the charms off though. Considering how cheap these charms are, I think they look quite cute.

Despite being such a low price, I feel I do still need to warn you all that the colour of the charm was a bit patchy on the moon. Hopefully you can make it out in the picture. You can see a bit of swirling in the yellow which suggests the colour was not mixed well enough. Overall though, I do think you get what you pay for, and I could find no faults on the cat and moon charm at all.

I got all 3 of these clips from the same Taobao store here. I have ordered from this store previously. It is where my wooden butterfly brooches came from. This store has a lot of interesting and quirky pieces, some of which could work with J-fashion, so they are worth keeping an eye on. The colours on the 2 wooden brooches are lovely and the design is really clear. The fleur de lys charm in the middle could have possibly done with some better definition, but you can still see what it is supposed to be.

The rose and fleur de lys clips have a badge back, whereas the fairy has a stud back. I found the back of the fairy one a bit fiddly at first, but it is still lovely when worn. The backs on the other 2 were easy to use. The pins are generally pretty neat, although if you look at the rose clip on the left, you might be able to make out some small strings of glue. I am not too worried about these, as they are in no way visible when the brooch is worn. It would have been nice if it had been done a bit neater though, like it is on the other 2.

Next we have these over-the-door hooks which I got from here. These hooks allow for a decent door width (they went over my doors with plenty of room to spare). The metal feels strong and sturdy. There is also a small hole in the metal so that you can place a small nail in the top to keep the hook steady. Be careful not to use too big a nail though, otherwise you wont be able to shut your door! 

There was a small mark on one of the hooks but after giving it a quick wipe it is almost completely gone.

The ducks are not actually attached to the hooks. There is a magnet there. Despite being such a small magnet, it was surprisingly strong. This feature means that you can also alter where the duck goes, which I think is a nice touch.

And here is the duck over my door! The ducks are well painted and I think the design is really cute. They feel really sturdy and I think they will be able to hold a good amount of weight. So far, they are doing their job perfectly.

This is my new wig, which I got here. I got the ZH colour, which to be honest looks a lot darker in person than it does on the product listing. I don't think the listing really gives that accurate an idea of what colour you are going to get. Thankfully, I don't mind the colour too much, even if it is darker than the colour I was hoping for. The wig fitted my head okay. I don't have a worn photo just yet, because the fringe was a slightly annoying length and I couldn't get it to sit right for a photo! I need to give it a trim first. Sadly, I don't think the bangs are long enough for me to do proper side bangs, so I am going to have to do straight bangs instead. The wig only needed minimal brushing out of the packet and I like how well formed the curls at the bottom are.

The colour is very multi-tonal and natural looking. This makes it look a bit more realistic. The fibres are soft with only a tiny bit of shine to them. I was pleased with the thickness of the wig too. It doesn't feel too thin at all. Overall, I think it is going to be a nice casual wig once I have sorted the bangs. 

It is pretty standard to get a free wig cap with wigs, but I was surprised to see I got a free brush as well. I thought this was a nice touch.

Finally, I got this top from here. Much to my dismay, this top features some sparkly pink sequin writing which I had not been expecting. If you scroll down the listing, you can see the sequin writing is indeed there, but it is so washed out in the majority of the photos that I somehow managed to miss it. I was not expecting the sequins, so I am now going to have a fun afternoon picking all these sequins off. The top is of a low enough quality, that I really wonder if it is worth it. I am so glad that I brought this top when it was heavily discounted, although that huge discount should have maybe set off some alarm bells.

Here is the sequins in all their glory. Do not be fooled by the listing- these sequins are indeed the bright pink colour that you see in my photo. In their defense, I suppose the sequin writing has been quite neatly done. I just think the overall look is really tacky though. It reminds me of those cheap tops you see flogged on market stalls, which are aimed at little girls.

At least the top came with care instructions and a spare button for the back!

This is the reason why I decided to buy this top. The back of the collar is shaped like angel wings. I was intending to layer this top underneath another top so that just the wing collar is visible (I am not sure how successful I will be, but I am going to give it a go...) so it doesn't bother me too much that the top itself is of a low quality. However, I do feel the need to stress the low quality, just in case somebody reading this thinks the top is cute enough to wear on its own. The material is thin and you can tell just by handling the top that the materials are cheap. The wings however, are a really cute shape. You might be able to see a slightly untidy edge along the top of the wing in my photo though. This little bit is thankfully not too noticeable until it is pointed out. My main grievance with the wings is that they don't hold their shape very well. The material creases really easily and I think the edges of the wings needed to be a done with a firmer material so they are a bit sturdier.

The shirring at the bottom of the top is very stretchy, although I don't think the rest of the top has enough room for a plus-sized wearer to wear it. I guess the shirring does at least make the bottom more comfortable when worn, which is good because unlike in the product listing, this top ends on my waist line instead of the bottom of my torso. It is more like a crop top. The stitching is a bit messy in places and I think better elastic could have been used.

Here is what I mean about the top being more like a crop top. You can quite clearly see a bare strip of midriff.

Here is a shot with the top layered under a t-shirt to show what the wings look like layered over a different coloured background. I think once I have removed the sequins I will hopefully be able to wear the top as I intended. But overall, I am really unimpressed with the quality and I would be wary about buying from this Taobao store again.

Aside from the top, this was a relatively positive Taobao ordering experience. The quality is the level I have come to expect from Taobao. I especially like the brooches and the hat. Apart from the colour being a bit different from the listing, I am impressed with the quality of the wig too. Hopefully I will be able to bring you all another Taobao haul in the near future.