Meta Fairy Tale Review

Well, I am finally able to fully review my latest Metamorphose order and I have a video to share!

In case you are wondering why my living room is such a mess, it is because we are currently storing some of my mother-in-law's stuff whilst she moves house. Anyway... back on topic, my video is now available to watch on Youtube- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tKa-QaX3cU

And now I am going to give a more detailed review right here-

Ordering Process

I had to use the pre-order form for this series. If you look under Meta's FAQ section, they give you a clear list of the details they need. I am not a massive fan of Meta's website layout but doing the pre-order was very easy. After I sent my request, Meta responded very quickly. I was meant to receive 2 emails and both emails arrived rapidly. So all I had to do was sit back and wait for the items to become available. About 2 months later (which was slightly longer than Meta predicted on their site) the items arrived and I got the email saying I needed to send my payment. Actually paying for the items was slightly harder because instead of Meta invoicing you, they ask you to send them the payment. The instructions are a little strict so you have to make sure you don't make a mistake. Thankfully, I was able to pay without any problems and I am usually hopeless in these situations! Meta ask that you send the payment within 7 days of getting the email to say the items are available, which I think is reasonable.

Shipping

This part was a little annoying. Meta don't give you any options when it comes to shipping service so they sent my parcel using EMS. Meta also don't let you mark down the value or mark the parcel as a gift so if you get hit by customs, it might be steep. The EMS part of the shipping was very quick. However, my parcel was held up for the best part of a week in the customs office here in the UK. During this time, my parcel did not move an inch. It was just sat in the depot awaiting to be presented to the customs officer. My parcel was then handled by Parcelforce because we don't have EMS here. Feeling a little impatient, I got James to phone Parcelforce to see if there were any hold-ups. Phoning Parcelforce has got to be one of the most tedious things to do EVER. They just keep passing you between different people and don't give out any helpful information. The advice they give sounds automated as if they just repeat the same old information again and again. In the end, I did not get charged customs but I was charged VAT and then Parcelforce added their handling fees on top. So I had to pay £44. If I had a customs charge on top of that then that sum would have been a lot higher.

Packaging

Sadly, I can't show the packaging from my parcel because I ripped it up and forgot to photograph it! If you watch the video you will see that my items were wrapped in thin paper-like cardboard. Although my items inside were safe, I felt that the package could have been more secure. There were a couple of small holes in the parcel so maybe Meta need to use a bit more parcel tape next time.

So, now I shall move on to the items I got!

This is the mini skirt in the lavender colour way. I can confirm that the skirt is absolutely gorgeous! The material has a slightly rough texture to it which is exactly what Meta said it would be like in their description. Thankfully, it doesn't feel cheap. The construction is good, as you would expect from one of the big brands. There are no loose threads and the skirt looks well made. The elastic in the waist is very stretchy and is not too stiff. This means it sits very comfortably on my waist. It doesn't dig in to my sides at all and you almost forget the skirt is there. The lining is soft too.

My camera does not do the print justice. It is beautiful. The print details have come out very clear and crisp. It is not the slightest bit blurry. The colours used are a bit darker and deeper than they appear in my pictures.

This is the crown lace around the bottom hem. It is a bit wider than I was expecting but it is very pretty. The edges are not rough. The lace is soft and not itchy at all.

If I had to pick something I dislike about this skirt, it would be the way the print is broken along the seam lines. However, it could have looked a lot worse and I am hopeful it wont look too bad when worn.

Overall, I am very impressed with the skirt. I also got the bonnet-

I used to avoid bonnets so ordering this one (my very first!) was a little risky for me. I have to be honest, I am not fully converted to bonnets yet so I wont be getting another one soon. But I don't regret getting this bonnet. My initial thought when I saw it was that it was huge! The bonnet has some wire in it but I am a little worried that it wont be able to support the shape and may flop about a bit. It doesn't help that it got a little bashed about during the shipping. I am going to have to spend a bit of time tweaking the bonnet to make sure it looks even and has a decent shape. There is a comb, which is very useful and helps to keep the bonnet in place. The bow you can see is detachable so if I am not feeling very brave I can always give the bonnet a miss! Thankfully the lace is not too wide and the bonnet has been kept very plain (apart from the bows). The ribbon ties are very soft and are not fraying at all. The ribbon is very shiny.

This is what the back of the bonnet looks like. It would have been good if the base part of the bonnet was more structured and could even benefit from another layer of wire to keep the shape better. When worn, the 2 bows on the back come down the sides.

I thought it would be cute to let Ahiru try on my bonnet. Ahiru looks cuter than me!

Out of all the pictures I took, I felt this picture best showed how the bonnet looks from the side when worn.

I also got a little surprise with my package. Apparently I qualified for a free gift! So I got given this water bottle as well.

It is made of metal and features the swan logo (this happens to be my favourite lolita logo). It is a lot brighter and pinker than it appears in the picture. It seems a bit of an odd thing for a lolita brand to give away but I am always grateful to receive free stuff. I was saying on Facebook that Meta need to gradually release an entire picnic set with the swan logo on it!

I tried the skirt and bonnet on just to show what they look like worn. I intend to wear some more elaborate outfits using this skirt in the future.

Don't be fooled by this photo. Although this picture suggests that the skirt reaches my knee, it actually sits a little bit above the knee (and I am 5'4'' in case you were wondering). I am wearing just one petticoat here so the skirt is not fully puffed out. It will probably handle more puff well. I was expecting the skirt to be a little short because it is listed on the site as a mini skirt. Compared to other skirts available, this skirt is a couple of centimetres shorter. I was wondering if I needed to wear an underskirt underneath but I think I can get away without one. I will also wear my hair bigger to help make the bonnet appear smaller. I only quickly tried the bonnet on so my hair is flat here and this makes the bonnet look very big compared to my head! It actually looks bigger in person.

So overall I am very happy with my new items. I can tell already that this skirt is going to be a favourite of mine. I already have a few different outfit ideas planned so do keep an eye out in the future!