September 2017 Haul- Casual Bits and Bobs Edition

Happy Shopping! Knowing that I will probably have to start thinking about Christmas present planning soon (urgh...) I decided to try and get one last haul in before all the holiday madness kicks in. The under-current of this month's haul was 'Will I, or Won't I?' because of customs fees, but I spread out my ordering so that I was always prepared to get hit. Luckily, only my Lolita Desu order got hit. Anyway, these are the J-fashion related items I purchased...

First today is a bag I ordered from Spreepicky. I would have ordered this bag from Taobao, but I was having difficulties locating it. So Spreepicky was the easier (although slightly more expensive) option. But the service was very convenient. I went for Airmail rather than EMS, because the EMS fees seemed ridiculous for ordering just one bag. This meant shipping was a little bit slower, but my bag arrived well within the estimated shipping time. The bag was well packed and there was a protective mesh bag inside for extra protection.

I absolutely adore this tarot card design! The embroidery parts are done neatly and the design is very crisp. I was torn between ordering the white or black bag, but I am happy with my choice. I like the gold colour on the white version. 

The bag is fastened with one simple popper. This is probably the biggest disadvantage to this bag. It doesn't feel overly secure and there are open bits at either end. This means that I probably wont be able to use this bag in very wet weather, as the rain will just enter the bag at the ends. 

The bag is of a reasonable size. It is meant to be a clutch bag. When fully opened up, I was able to fit 3 fingers width inside. So it is big enough to hold the absolute essentials, but not a lot else. The bag is well lined and has an inner pocket. I was also impressed that the bag didn't have any strange odors coming from it, as a lot of my Taobao bags have been a bit dodgy smelling on arrival. The little silicone packet inside was obviously doing its job well!

The strap and chain feel very sturdy and I think it will hold up well. It is a decent length and there is a bit of room for length adjustment too. I am now debating whether or not I want this bag in black... I was given a store discount coupon, although it doesn't last very long. I would say this bag was worth the price paid, even if I could have gotten it a little bit cheaper with better Taobao sleuthing. 

I also placed an order with Lolita Desu, as there were a few bits there which caught my eye. I got a few bits to make the order and shipping price more worth it. I went with Airmail again, which was just a few days longer than I would expect if I had gone with EMS. The tracking still worked, so I was happy with the service. Also, because I am a repeat customer, I got a slight discount. Nice bonus!

This order was also well padded and wrapped up. I even got a little thank you note, sticker and free candy in the order (although I purchased the Blueberry Cheesecake Chupa Chup because we don't have that flavour in the UK and it sounded nice). This made the order feel a little bit more personal, which is unusual for a company of this size.

The first thing I got was this Strawberry Jam Jar brooch which is by Swimmer. I really am going to miss Swimmer now they are closed... Their accessories were so affordable and the designs were very cute. This brooch was quite well made. The embroidery is well executed. I love the little details such as the ribbon and bow on the lid. There is even a little fake pearl on the polka dot bow. The stitching around the edge keeps things neat. As this is a felt brooch, the material is quite flimsy and bends easily. But with reasonable usage, this is not really an issue. The back has a simple badge pin. A 2-way clip on the back would have been a nice touch, but I am happy with just the badge option. I will be keeping my eye out for more Swimmer goodies on Lolita Desu in the future, as they seem to get quite a lot of their stuff and I imagine it will get harder to find as time goes on.

I also got this skirt by E Hyphen World Gallery. This was out of curiosity more than anything else, because it was super cheap and this is my first item from the brand. As I am getting in to Larme more, this is a brand I keep hearing about. The skirt is made out of very stretchy fabric. It reminds me of cutsew style material, but even stretchier and slightly thicker. The colours are really lovely. They remind me of mint ice cream.

There is no opening or shirring in the waistband, but it is so stretchy that sizing is not an issue. I had no issue stretching the skirt to get it on. It probably wouldn't be ideal for larger wearers though, even though it can stretch further. 

It is very fitted and clingy when worn. Obviously I wont be tucking my top in when I wear it properly, as it causes an unsightly bump in the fabric. I am generally quite happy with the skirt for casual wear. My only disappointment is in the length. It ended a lot higher up my leg than I thought it would and I kept having to pull it down at the back. It did keep all the essential bits covered, but I like a little bit of length at the back for added security. The skirt came with the original tags attached, so I could see how much it originally cost. It was quite cheap to begin with, but I admit I wouldn't pay full retail price for this skirt. I am happy with the skirt, but only because of the really low price it was being sold at. It is a fun design though, so I will be keeping an eye on E Hyphen in the future, even though I am not 100% convinced.

Finally, I got a F.i.n.t skirt for casual wear. I first saw this months ago, and the store discount was enough to convince me to take the plunge. The ivory colour was a bit darker than I was expecting, but otherwise I really like the colours. The material this skirt is made of is very strange though. It is very lightweight, but the strange part is that it reminds me of the material used for umbrellas. It has that sort of weird feeling when you touch it. 

I bet you can all guess what drew me to the skirt! I love the print so much. The moons and stars are well dispersed.

There is a ruffle of tulle at the bottom. I am sad that it is left unfinished. Hopefully it wont get damaged. The tulle used also feels quite cheap. This definitely seems to be one of those skirts which looks good, but when you get up close and handle it you realise it is cheap.

This skirt also doesn't have an opening, but there is shirring this time. It stretches quite far. I found I was able to pull it over my hips with ease with a bit of room to spare.

The skirt is lined. Given how cheap some of the other skirt details are, this was a pleasant surprise.

And a worn photo. The skirt felt comfortable to wear. I was surprised that it almost reached my knees. Seeing this picture, I think I would wear a light petticoat with it. It looks a bit sad and droopy here! 

And so ends another haul post without any obvious lolita in it! There hasn't been a great deal available that I have really wanted lately. I am thinking about saving up for a bag that I want, but otherwise I am focusing on casual daily wear more. But as a lover of all things strawberry related, I am sure you will be seeing the brooch in a lolita outfit from me soon!

July 2017 Haul- Pre-Birthday Edition (picture heavy)

I always find the period just before my birthday a bit of a strange time with regards to shopping. As my mum was going away around the time of my birthday she gave me my birthday money a few weeks beforehand. But I had to be very careful what I brought in case anybody had gone ahead and brought things for me! There were a couple of things that cropped up that I knew I was unlikely to get as presents, so I had a bit of a shopping spree. I suppose I just wanted to use my birthday money to treat myself, so that is what I did. The majority of today's haul is Larme influenced, although there are a couple of Baby necklaces in the haul as well.

Firstly, I noticed that New Look was having a sale, so I decided that this would be the perfect time to order a couple of skirts that I had my eye on. I also got myself these really awesome lilac coloured jeans (not pictured, but you may have spotted them in my birthday blog post) in the sale too. I am sort of still trying to figure out what sort of Larme style I would like to wear and I liked the look of this skirt in the stock photo. As it was so cheap, I got 2 colours! They are made of a crepe style fabric, which gives them a very interesting texture. I really like how it feels. The colours of the skirts were exactly what I was expecting and looked similar enough to the photos on the website.

They have these little side strap details which I think help to stop them from looking too plain.

The zip line was done neatly and well concealed. I have to admit I did have a little trouble undoing the zip at first, as it was a bit stiff, but it seems to be getting easier with time.

I am really pleased to see that the skirts are lined. The stitching on the skirt is done neatly. I feel these skirts were definitely worth the price paid.

Here is a worn photo. There is just one slight issue with the skirt- where I have lost weight, my waist measurement is now considerably smaller than my hip measurement. So this means that I had to order the size based on my hips and the waist is a little bit baggy on me. I found the skirt looked better once I had fiddled about with re-positioning it, but you may be able to see in the photo that it is sitting lower than my waistline. I am not too concerned about this, but there is no way for me to wear a belt with the skirt. This is something I am going to have to consider when ordering in the future. Luckily, New Look offers free returns so I am still able to order with confidence.

Next is a BTSSB necklace that was on my wishlist. But before we get on to the necklace, look at how massive the box that Japonica shipped it in was! I am holding the necklace up to the box for a size comparison. It is no wonder Japonica charged me so much for shipping! I find it a bit wasteful, but there wasn't really anything else on auctions or Mercari that I particularly wanted. The awkward thing about having a smaller wishlist is that things can pop up out of nowhere but then it will be ages before you find anything else. So it makes shipping stuff a bit of a pain, because if you combine orders you have no idea how long it will be until the next item comes up.

Anyway, here is the necklace! I have wanted the Chained Berry Memoir necklace ever since the series came out. This is maybe the second time I have seen the necklace appear on the 2nd hand market, so it doesn't seem to be that common. 

I absolutely love the design. The antique silver colour is so lovely. It really suits the CBM print as well. The strawberry charm is so cute. It makes a slight jingle noise as well, which one of my budgies approved of! 

The chain is of a decent length and there is a bit of room to adjust the length as well. What I really like though, is the small Baby logo charm on the chain. I thought that was a really lovely finishing touch.

Next we have another Baby necklace, this time purchased from Closet Child. I had a bit of a dilemma about purchasing this. Those of you who are familiar with my wishlist on Facebook may be aware that I really wanted the Twinkle Constellation and the Stars of Confeito necklace. This necklace is similar, but it is not the same one (I think this one is called Kitty Constellation or something along those lines...). The main differences with this necklace is that there are fewer stars, the edges of the stars are more pointy and there is a big ribbon on it. So I had to decide if I was happy to settle for this necklace, or wait and try to get my wishlist necklace (which very rarely comes up and usually sells quick when it does). As you can see, I went ahead and got this necklace and I was really pleased that I did. The design is really cute in person. In actual fact, I have made getting the Twinkle Constellation necklace a very low priority now, as I am really content with this necklace.

Going by Closet Child's description, I would say the condition of the item was as expected, maybe even slightly better. My only complaint is that the ends of the ribbon are not properly sealed, so there is a slight bit of fraying. That is easy to seal up though. The stars are so cute and they look a whole lot better in person than they do in my photos. I love to multi-coloured beads as well. It looks really pretty when worn. I am so glad I took a chance on it.

In the same Closet Child order I got this Katie badge. It still had the original Katie packaging and price tag. Although the box was a bit battered, I was still pleased that CC included it when they sent it to me. The original price tag was a bit scary though! I love Katie, but I feel their prices can be a bit steep sometimes, so I am always keeping an eye out for good deals on the 2nd hand market.

The badge is absolutely perfect and looks brand new. There are no scratches or damage anywhere. The design is crisp.

The back has a simple pin. There is no glue residue visible anywhere. So I am pleased I was able to add this to my order. I am still reluctant to pay retail price for Katie though!

Next we have an Aliexpress order. It's been ages since I have ordered from there because I wasn't that impressed with the service last time. But I decided to give this shop a go (I think it is called Adomoe? I will try and find the link) as it has some pieces which can work very well for Larme. There are even a few Mon Lily replicas (including this skirt) on there. I don't really wish to promote buying replicas, but as Mon Lily is by DreamV and I have mixed feelings about their quality (especially for the prices they charge for some things) I didn't feel as guilty about buying this replica as I would usually. The skirt I got is very shiny, but you could see that from the stock photos anyway, so I knew what to expect. The materials are a decent quality for the price paid. However, the only issue is that the material creases really easily, as you will see in the worn photos.

The details on the side were executed reasonably well. They could have been better, but they also could have been a lot worse! I like the use of velveteen for the bows. It offers a fun contrast with the shiny main material.

There is a small shirring panel, which is really well hidden underneath a ribbon on the outside. This panel is not overly generous, but it is nice to have it there. I found the sizing guide on the product listing to be pretty accurate.

The stitching is quite neat. I could find no obvious flaws on the skirt.

And here is a worn photo. Do you see what I mean about the creasing? I haven't checked to see if you can iron this skirt, but my guess is you cannot. Creasing aside, I am otherwise impressed. The skirt was comfortable. It hugged my waist well without being too tight.

I think the ribbon topping the shirring emphasises the size of my bottom a bit more than I would like, but overall I am very happy with the skirt! I just need to get those creases out!

Finally, I got these 2 lacy tops from the same Aliexpress store. They have a cute heart cut out detail. I am not that blessed in the bust department, so I have always been a bit wary of the cut-out trend in Larme, but the hearts on these tops are small enough that it isn't really an issue.

The heart cut out was done quite well. The edge is neat and you can easily make out the heart shape. Although the lace quality is a bit questionable, it actually feels surprisingly soft. It is not itchy at all! 

There is a small ribbon loop on the back to make putting on the top a bit easier. I thought that was a nice touch.

The stitching is very neat and once again, I found no obvious flaws or mistakes.

The size guide on the product listing was spot on and I found the right size easily. The top is comfortable and feels nice against the skin. I like how the neck doesn't cling too much and the way the ruffle around the neck looks when worn. As you can see, the heart shape is easy to make out too. I love that it is subtle and sits well above my bust. The only thing I am going to do is cut out the labels inside. Having a see-through top means the labels stick out like a sore thumb.

And so that is my latest haul. I am really pleased with every single thing I got. My larme wardrobe is really starting to shape up now, and I have added some nice accessories for lolita as well. I am really looking forward to extending and experimenting with my style a bit more and these pieces are really going to help me achieve this. Plus I got some absolutely fantastic birthday presents from my friends as well (thank you!!!). I am feeling very spoilt right now, but also very loved. This has been a really positive time in my life and I can genuinely say I am feeling happy. This is mostly due to the wonderful experiences I have had lately, although a little bit of retail therapy can be good from time to time!

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.