Christmas 2013 Haul!

 I hope everybody had a good Christmas! I certainly enjoyed myself. I was lucky enough to spend time with great people and I got given some fantastic presents too. In case anybody was curious to see what I got, I decided to do a post/review on the Japanese fashion relevant presents I got given.

Here is my cute haul in full. My presents were mainly from Bodyline, including blouse L373 in pink. I wont be reviewing this blouse, as I already have this exact same blouse in lavender and I am sure I reviewed it when I got that one. But in summary, I really like it and I am glad I have a replacement for my other pink blouse.

I was also given this book on kawaii culture in Japan. I am still in the process of reading it, so I will have to let you know what it is like when I am finished. So far, it is proving interesting reading. I haven't really learnt any new stuff from it, but it has given me a new insight in to all things kawaii.

I was also given 2 pairs of wrist cuffs from Stocking Shock. This is the Circus style of cuff. I really like the velvet bows and the star charms. I know the cuffs look a bit wonky in the photo, but they look much better when worn. Stocking Shock's cuffs are a bit smaller than some other wrist cuffs (I am looking at you, Bodyline!) but I actually prefer this. I don't like wrist cuffs that look too bulky. The gold lace used is very pretty, although feels slightly scratchy. It's a shame the lace isn't a bit softer, but at least it looks nice. The only other criticism I have is the lavender bows are a different colour to the main shade of lavender on the cuffs. 

I was also given tights LEG356 which feature a cute bunny design. In the past I have been a bit wary of getting tights from Bodyline because I once received a pair which were really thin and flimsy. I was really scared I was going to ladder them before I had even had a chance to wear them. These tights are a little bit thicker. They are still a bit on the thin side, but they don't feel as flimsy as the previous pair I ordered. The black part of the tights is bold and stays opaque when worn. The ears of the bunny are slightly faded in comparison to the rest of the black though. The size is one-size and I found them quite comfortable. I am about 5'4'' and slightly bottom heavy and I didn't have any troubles fitting in them at all.

Unfortunately, not all the items from Bodyline were what I expected.

This is cutsew L540 in pink. I made the mistake of saying I wanted a size L, because I have wide shoulders. I would have fitted the M size with stretch room to spare and the size L looks a bit like a tent on me. But this was my own fault for under-estimating the stretch capability of the top.

The design for the cutsew is very cute. The print on the front is crisp and stands out. I also love the frilly detail on the collar, finished off with pearls. It is nice to have a cutsew with a bit of detail to it, otherwise it can look far too casual. The material is soft and the frill has been gathered well. I would have maybe put a few more pearls around the collar.

I was less than frilled to discover that once again, my brand new Bodyline had arrived stained. This is not even the only stain I found. I am sure a lot of my readers will be aware of the recent saga with Venus Angelic and Bodyline. There are a few bits of interesting information I know about Bodyline. The first, is that Bodyline models will model the M size clothing. As we found out during the massive post Bodyline put up, Bodyline will resell the pieces worn by their models but they allegedly didn't with the ones Venus modelled because they smelt and the clothes got thrown away. From that comment, I am guessing Bodyline does not make an effort to clean their products before they sell them on. Another piece of information that is important here is that apparently in the Bodyline stores in Japan, they wont let you try the clothes on and instead will get your measurements so they can recommend a size for you.

Because my top is a size L and customers supposedly don't try the clothes on in store, this means that nobody should have tried my top on. But where did the stains come from? My only guess is they must have come from the warehouse. I appreciate their warehouse is huge and they can't check everything, but I still don't think this acceptable. As I have mentioned, this is not the first time this has happened and it is really putting me off ordering from Bodyline in the future. I don't want to be worrying about mysterious stains on my new stuff. However, it is worth pointing out that the rest of my order was free of stains. I guess it is just bad luck that I got a stained item.

The top is definitely too big for me, but I was thinking of removing the pearls from the collar and then using it as nightwear. The material is lovely and soft and does remind me of pyjamas. Once I get the stains out, it will be perfect for lounging about in. I am a little hesitant about ordering myself a size M of this top in case I am unlucky and get another stained item.

Well, it is a shame I am ending this post on such a negative note, but I am genuinely happy with all of my other presents. The important thing is I got to spend quality time with the people I love over the festive period. I hope all of you had a brilliant time over the holiday period as well!