Sugar Pansy by AP

I apologise because this will probably be a very short print review. I am a little busy today. So today I am looking at Sugar Pansy by Angelic Pretty. Here is the main picture of the series from the Angelic Pretty website-

As you can see there are 3 dresses, a skirt, socks, a bow and a bonnet. At first I thought the 2 dresses in the middle were the same dress so I will review just one of them (I think there are only a few very subtle differences anyway).

I decided to review the dress with the tiered skirt. Sometimes with tiered skirts they can appear a little lumpy. This dress is probably one of the nicest tiered dresses I have seen in a long time. The tiers are not too bunched up so it doesn't affect the overall shape as much. This dress also has an interesting bow at the waist. Instead of having a very 3D bow they have experimented with folding instead. The result is a much flatter bow which reminds me of origami. I am not sure if I prefer this sort of bow or not but I like how it is different. There are only 2 other small bows on the front so your attention is more drawn to the main waist bow. The neckline is also pretty. If it had been more square then it may not have worked as well. The sleeves are nice and puffy but not too big. My absolute favourite part of this dress is the pansy shaped lace used.

I don't really know what else to say apart from I think it is really stunning. I would like to see this lace being used again.

An interesting inclusion in this series is this dress-

It is casual and relaxed. Although I probably wouldn't wear it, I would love to see somebody wearing this. It is very different to what I am used to AP releasing. For me personally, I feel it looks a little too much like something you would wear to bed. It is not the sort of dress that you look at and instantly think of lolita. Maybe this dress will appeal to both lolitas and a wider audience. I think I will reserve my final judgement until I have seen it being worn by a few people.

And finally, a print close-up-

An AP print without food! And it is not OTT cutesy! It is sweet but not so much that it will put off the people who dislike AP's more OTT crowded prints. I can definitely see this appealing to more people.

Whilst the dresses are fairly casual design-wise, I get the impression that Angelic Pretty have put a lot of thought in to this series. It is like they have been taking in the opinions of their fans but also the people who may have been put off Angelic Pretty in the past. If you had told me a few months back that I would be using 'casual' and 'Angelic Pretty' in the same sentence, I would have laughed! Will this series be popular? I really hope so.

Another Valentine Thank You!

I was very surprised last week when I got my very first Lolita Valentine and now I have had another one!

http://community.livejournal.com/loli_valentines/89220.html?view=2549892#t2549892

I am number 19!

A massive thank you to the Valentine maker. Quite a lot of the Oxfordshire lolitas got a valentine this week so I am really happy for my friends too. It is about time I sat down and made Valentines for all my wonderful friends and style crushes too!

Primark, how I love thee...

I remember how a few years ago, Primark was not considered very fashionable. When I was younger I recall going in there but maybe only buying a pair of socks or some pyjamas. Most of the clothing was just simple and casual. My sister would browse the sportswear whilst I recoiled in horror. But then something changed.

Primark gradually started to become more trend aware and modern. It started appearing in fashion magazines a bit more. Primark was an easy way to keep up to date with the latest fashion but at an affordable price. And then I found myself starting to fall in love with Primark.

What I love about Primark is that you can now go in there and you will find lots of loli-able items. Whether it is just a small piece of jewellery or a simple cardigan, I am always finding stuff hidden away in little corners. Recently I have been buying a lot of Primark stuff. I have this ring shaped like a baby deer, some bows and lots of jewellery with a vintage feel.

This is what I bought last weekend-

The black bag cost me just £5. It is small with a bow on the front (not very visible in this photo. Sorry!). It came in beige as well but I thought the beige version looked a bit too "old" for my personal tastes. The beige bag could probably work well with classic style but I still went with the black version. The rose headband cost £2 and it was hiding right in the corner of the shop! I have tried it on and it looks very cute with a real nature feel to it. I will probably use a few pins to keep it in place on my head. I am unsure if it will go with my Meta rose printed JSK but I love roses so I will probably find a use for this hair band at some point. And Finally, I got an eye shadow palette for £1. That is 25p per shade!

I was reluctant to try Primark make-up before. I doubt it will stay on for very long but I intend to use an eye shadow primer with it to help it stay in place. I have already tried out the colours. They are very nice but maybe slightly too glittery. I would try Primark make-up again but I will try to see if they have something with a bit less sparkle.

Recently, Primark released a £9 dress. It has vertical stripes with floral details. When I first saw it, I thought it could be turned in to a lolita dress. In fact, I saw somebody on EGL had already done this. When I initially saw it I was tempted to buy it. If I see it again I will probably buy it just to see how well it works. It was very classic in appearance. It was casual but I think that dress has potential.

Considering the current trends Primark are showcasing, it wouldn't surprise me if we see more Primark featured in the lolita community in the future.

Luna on Youtube!

I just wanted to let you all know I am now on Youtube. This is mainly because Photobucket was taking forever to upload a video yesterday! Anyway, if all goes well I may start doing some video blogs on Youtube so keep an eye out. My user name is LunaRainLolita

http://www.youtube.com/user/LunaRainLolita?feature=mhum

At the moment the only video is the one I did for myasianfashion.com where I answered questions asked by members. MAF have changed a few things so the Show and Tell thread has been made private. If you are not a member of MAF then you can view the video by going to my youtube channel or go here-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEtdgYWAqus

Just so you know my voice does not really sound like that! I thought I sounded horrible but my husband assures me it is just the recording. My face is a bit dark because the lighting in our living room is dreadful. Anyway, if you have always wanted to know what prints I want to see made or what my favourite flower is, now is your chance to find out!

M Fashion review Feb 2011

Today I am reviewing http://mfashion.eu/ who I recently purchased a head bow from. Yes, I managed to get the matching Wonder Cookie head bow to my dress!

The shop was fairly easy to browse with a variety of different categories to make finding items easier. I am able to view the site in English so it is very easy to read. They also have details on their shop location if you wanted to visit the store in person.

The ordering process was fairly simple but a little fiddly. The How To Order instructions are available in a few different languages. Basically, you have to send them an email with the items you want and they give you a list of the details they need. You can only pay by Paypal or a bank transfer. It would be nice to have some more options but I guess a lot of people use Paypal anyway so this should not be too much of a problem. It is also worth noting that if you use Paypal you have to have ensured shipping.

The shop staff got back to me fairly quickly and I managed to pay without any hassle. I noticed that I had to prompt them a little to get a response. I sent them an email just to double check they got the payment ok and to ask when the item was going to be shipped out. It would have been nice to have been given this information without having to ask but the staff were very friendly and again, they responded quickly.

My main complaint was that they chose to use TNT to ship my parcel out. I have never had to use TNT before and I was a bit confused by their website. Their site is hard to navigate and they are slow to update. It meant that the tracking I was given was pretty useless. I had to look up some average delivery times between the Netherlands and the UK to get a rough idea of when the bow was coming. I think there are more reliable companies that could have been used in place of TNT. However, the bow did arrive safely. It actually arrived a day earlier than James and I had predicted. The bow was packaged safely. I was expecting to have to sign for the bow so I was a bit concerned when it was just pushed through our letter box.

And here is the actual bow!

The item was brand new with tags. Unfortunately the price I paid reflected the original Angelic Pretty retail price and shipping to their store. I paid 50 Euros which is probably a tiny bit too much but I guess the item was brand new. Besides, I was looking everywhere for this bow and this was the only shop that I could find it in so I was willing to pay a bit more. The person who dealt with me left me a cute little note and the bow was wrapped in a pretty pink polka dot plastic bag which I have kept.

So overall, my experience with M Fashion was positive, maybe neutral. My main complaint was with the shipping service TNT. I would order from M Fashion again but I would try harder to shop around to see if I can get myself a better deal. At least I managed to cross an item off of my Want To Buy list!

Scent of Rapunzel by Alice and the Pirates

Today I will be looking at the latest from Alice and the Pirates. This series is called Scent of Rapunzel. The set includes 2 JSKs, 1 one piece, 1 skirt, 1 bonnet, 1 headbow, 1 pair of socks and a few jewellery pieces.

First up is this JSK. The bodice looks very fitted and it will probably sit very nicely on the person wearing it. When I was reviewing Alice and the Pirates and their Kuroneko No Dance series I was disappointed by the baggy shapeless looking bodice on one of the dresses. So I feel this dress is a huge improvement. The bodice on this dress has a simple bow. It is not too detailed and blends in with the rest of the dress. I was put off a little by the line of wide lace running just below the bow. I thought the lace used looked a little messy in the photographs. Whilst I personally think it looks messy I guess it is needed to hide the top of the interesting choice of side corseting. Let's have a closer look!

When I first saw this dress I noticed the tulle straight away. I didn't realise it was being used to lace up a corset at first. I thought it was just sat there looking floaty and highly flammable. I find the tulle disappointing. It is the sort of thing you would expect to see on a child's fairy costume or at a wedding. For me, this detail is too much. I seriously hope this is detachable. The ribbon used on the back corset is a lot neater when compared to the tulle.

The straps on this dress are fairly slim with a line of semi-circle lace running along them. They are very simple. With the tulle detail attracting so much attention it is probably best that the rest of the dress is relatively simple. The skirt has a nice amount of puff to it. I think the length here is a little shorter and whilst I like the puffiness of this skirt, I prefer the styles used on the other 2 dresses. The bottom hem is finished with some neat looking rose lace. I think that with this first dress the designers were trying too hard. I don't think the bold choices work very well.

Next up is the one piece. I think this dress looks a lot better than the JSK above. At first I was a little unsure if I liked the fake bolero but it seems to work well with this dress. It gives off a more layered look. The fake bolero is finished off neatly and looks good from the back view too. None of the pictures on the website show the dress without the sleeves but I am assuming they are detachable. The sleeves have a very princessy feel. They flare out at the bottom and are finished off with more lace. I think it is safe to assume this dress is not for those who dislike fairy tales! The front of the bodice has some corset detail which I thought looked too wide. The waist is finished off with a bow which I think is detachable. The bow is on the generous side. It would possibly make a nice head bow if you did not wish to purchase the head bow from this series. The shape of the skirt seems to suit the rest of the dress. The shape is not as rounded but it looks like it is very spacious. The bottom hem is finished off with rose lace which looks very tidy. In the black colourway this lace blended in very well with the dress.

And then there is this JSK. Unfortunately not a lot of photos of this dress are available yet so I can only review what I can see. Again, the bodice looks a decent shape. I thought this one looked a little flatter than the bodice on the first dress. This will probably suit girls with a smaller bust. The straps have a decent width. I think the width of the straps is about right for this dress. I dislike the small panel of gathered lace on the bodice. I find it untidy. I think the dress would look better without it. I do like the simple bow underneath the lace. Looking at the other dresses I think this ribbon is probably of a high quality. The waist bow on this dress is again on the large side but because this dress is simpler I would probably keep the bow on the waist. The shape of the skirt looks flatter on this dress but there is a lot of gathering so it will probably puff up very nicely as long as you don't use a very large petticoat.

And this is a close-up of the print. There is a lot going on in this print. very busy! It is probably a bit too much for some people. I actually really like it. I love the castle turret, the key and the pair of scissors. I dislike the birds. The way they are positioned sort of makes them look as though they have just flown in to a window and gone splat! I also like the hair plait and the roses running along the bottom.

I don't usually feature the jewellery but I had to include a picture of this scissor brooch. It is really pretty! It is a lovely classic piece which I would happily love to have in my jewellery box. There are a few other scissor pieces in this series so they are worth checking out on the Baby the Stars Shine Bright website.

Overall this is a very stunning series but for some it will be too princessy or too over the top. I think the one piece is the best dress in this series. I don't think some of the design points work very well but I think it is a strong series that will sell well. This time, I think the print works best in black but the red looks stunning as well. The cream/off-white version does not appeal to me. I am seriously considering getting the skirt (money situation pending of course!).

VALENTINE!!!!!! :D

I am jumping up and down with joy. I feel like my heart could burst at any moment.

I got my very first Valentine on the Lolita Valentines community today! I had to come on here straight away to share the wonderful news! Every Saturday morning I look at Lolita Valentines without fail. I think it is wonderful to have such a positive online lolita community and I always love it when I see people I know getting some love. At some point I am going to have to make Valentines for the lolitas close to my heart too.

I would like to thank the Valentine maker. The Valentine makes a reference to my blog so I am assuming it is somebody who has seen this blog. This has really perked up my Saturday so thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

The post (I am number 32!)-

http://community.livejournal.com/loli_valentines/88626.html#cutid1