Haul May/June 2017- Oh Look, There is Some Lolita in There Edition

Today I bring you my latest haul and guess what? This one actually has some lolita in it! Although I couldn't resist a couple of Larme inspired and general J-fashion pieces, so they are included too. I also just got my latest Taobao order this morning, so there is a Taobao haul review coming soon.

The first of my recent purchases is the mook that Angelic Pretty recently released. I am going to be completely honest here- I got this purely for the bag. But I am pleased to report that the mook actually has some content to it, unlike previous mooks which were just like small leaflets (My Cinema Doll umbrella 'mook' was just a few pages). There is a Paris photoshoot featuring Risa Nakamura. I was especially impressed that all of the locations were listed. There is a hotel with incredible decor pictured in the mook which I am now keen to stay in! I ordered through Amazon Japan, which is really simple to do if you already have an account. The mook came shrink wrapped. I was a bit sad that the bar code sticker was placed slap bang in the middle of the mook (actually on the mook and not the shrink wrap) but thankfully it peeled off really easily without leaving a mark. Some of the pages of the mook were a little bent because of the way the bag had been inserted inside.

Here is the bag. It is so cute! As is the case with a lot of these cheap gifts in mooks, you should not expect the items to be up to the brand's usual standards. As you can see in the photo, this bag is very small! As a rough estimate, it is only about 15cm tall. But apart from the small size, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. The materials are thick enough to rival my other AP bags. It feels pretty sturdy and I am also confident it will hold up in a typical rain shower. 

The depth of the bag is also very narrow. I found I was able to fit my phone inside with a smaller purse and some room for a few tissues as well. You might be able to cram some small make up bits like lip gloss in as well. So if you are the sort of person who carries a lot of stuff, then this bag is most definitely not for you. For small errands though, the bag could work out well. 

The clasp holding the bag shut is very good. I actually had trouble opening the bag at first! So I think it is quite secure. It has a long strap (not adjustable) which is long enough that most people will be able to comfortably wear this with the strap across their body. The stitching on the bag is pretty neat and I found no flaws anywhere. As you can see in the picture, the AP text is pretty crisp as well and has a nice font. So considering the price, I am really impressed with the bag. I wont be using it at any big lolita meets, but for casual everyday use it is ideal.

Next we go more Larme with this tulle skirt from H&M. It is a simple skirt with a tulle overlay and a ribbon-like waist. I really like the soft blush colour. It is the perfect shade. The skirt also has a good amount of length to it. I think the proportions of under-skirt and longer tulle skirt are spot on. 

Due to the type of material, it does raise a problem with what to do with the ends. Here H&M have decided to just leave the edge of the tulle as it is. I suppose there isn't a great deal they could have done to it without it affecting the soft, free-flowing feel of the skirt. At least the bottom has been cut relatively neatly. It does mean having to be a little bit careful when it comes to washing the skirt though. 

H&M has notoriously dodgy sizing, so I made sure to try the skirt on in store. I tried on my regular clothing size and found that the skirt did fit me correctly. However, if you are considering buying this skirt, or anything else from H&M, then still go and try it on! I found the zip was a little bit stiff, but it has gotten better after undoing the zip a couple of times. Maybe it has loosened up a bit now. It doesn't go all the way to the very top though. If I was being a bit nit-picky then that may have bothered me. I really love the ribbon style waistband. It fits in with the style of the rest of the skirt. Simple, yet effective. I will be keeping an eye on H&M for future Larme style purchases, but will be proceeding with caution.

Next is this bag that I got from DreamV. I had intended to order more stuff with this bag, but I have always been a bit sceptical of DreamV's quality. Some items turn out great, whereas others have the odd flaw or a general 'cheap' feeling. Not wanting to push my luck (I was going to get the bag in pink as well but decided to wait and see how the purple one turned out) I just stuck to the one bag. The purple colour turned out to be lovely. It is a nice, cool lavender shade. I'm not too worried about matching it to anything in my lolita wardrobe, as I loved the bag design anyway and just wanted it for everyday use.

There was a very small bit of damage where the colour had rubbed off a bit. I tried to point it out using my finger in the photograph, but it was very small. You may also have noticed that there is an obvious open end around the edge of the bag, where the white is. I was a bit annoyed that this hadn't been done a bit neater. I ended up painting the damage with some matching nail polish I had to hand.

Aside from that oversight on the front, the rest of the stitching had been done very neatly. I really like the gold heart shaped zip pull too. 

I love how the clear window has glitter in it! The Lovehearts style message is cute too. I am not really in to Ita Bags, but I suppose if you wanted a low-key Ita Bag then this bag could be an interesting option. I think what surprised me the most about this bag was that it didn't have that unpleasant strong plastic smell that you find with a lot of cheaply made bags.

The strap length was very easy to adjust. The length of the strap is reasonably generous too.

The bag has a decent amount of room inside. It certainly will hold the same amount as your typical lolita bag, maybe slightly more. Now that I have painted over the flaws, I am really pleased with my bag. It has put me off going and buying the same bag in pink though. I am just not sure it is really worth me getting it in another colour. Maybe I would consider it if I was placing a DreamV order anyway and the price of the bag dropped.

Finally, I have a new lolita skirt and it is one I am super excited about! I missed the reservation for this Le Miroir print last year by mere hours and have been hopelessly searching for it ever since. Well finally I managed to get the skirt in my top colour choice. I would have preferred the JSK, but I was so desperate for these cute birdies that I was happy to settle for the skirt. If anybody sees the dress for sale though, I may still be interested. 

The print is lovely and crisp. I really love the bold colours. These bright lovebirds are my favourite birds in the print! I am loving the dusky pink too, which I think is a good fit for the print instead of something more sugary pastel.

It has this gorgeous lace on the bottom hem. Considering this is a Taobao brand, I am very impressed with the lace quality. It even has the LM initials for the brand in it, so Le Miroir obviously went to some effort with their lace. The bow design may not be as original as some of AP's custom laces, but it is still pretty decent.

The stitching was generally very neat with the only exception being a lot of loose threads around the buttons. This did make undoing the buttons a bit harder, but I have cut some of the worst threads off now and it hasn't done the skirt any harm. The back of the skirt waistband is shirred. I was worried that the skirt would be too big for me, but the elastic is quite strong, so it hugged my waist okay. In fact, I would recommend being more than a few cm under the suggested measurement because although it will stretch to the given measurement, it might be uncomfortable. My waistline is 7cm under the given garment waist measurement and I found the skirt fitted me well. The one thing I find a little annoying about the skirt design is how the waist ties attach to the skirt. The waist ties do not have their own designated buttons, so the waist ties attach using the same buttons which you use to do up the skirt. So to take the skirt off, you need to take the waist ties off first. It is only a small criticism, I guess. I don't think I will be using the waist ties anyway, so it wont affect me. I was really pleased that my waist ties have the print on both sides. They even managed to fit a bird on to the ends of both ties. The buttons have a pretty pearl design as well.

I was very pleased to see that the skirt came with a lining. Although the printed fabric is opaque, I always feel that having a proper lining is a sign of more quality.

I also got the matching hair clip. The bird cage actually has a mini bird charm inside it! I thought that was pretty cool. The back has a simple alligator clip. An additional badge clip would have made it more versatile (if you wanted to use it as a brooch, for example) but for a hair accessory the simple clip is fine.

Here is a worn photo I took just quickly chucking the skirt on. It holds a fair bit of petticoat and only ends a tiny bit above my knees. It is no worse than some of my shorter AP pieces. The skirt materials felt nice and soft. Overall I found it very comfortable. I am very happy to be able to take another item off my shrinking lolita wishlist!

So this has been a very positive haul, although I have tried to be careful, which may have contributed to my happy vibe. In case you haven't guessed, the bird print skirt is my favourite item from this haul! I was devastated when I missed the reserve, so to get the skirt a year later has been a lovely start to my Summer. I am loving my new bags as well. The quirky designs are going to be fun to wear. And I will have a Taobao haul post on here very soon, so be prepared for more new purchases!