FromJapan Mega haul

A few months ago I put in a substantial order with the shopping service FromJapan. Now, I'll be honest it was a complete impulse splurge in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep and I should say I regret it, but I really really don't, I got some hella cute stuff! Onto what we're all waiting for, the haul!

**Dream dress alert!!!**

Metamorphose Wonder Card / Card Playing Kitty OP and headbow set [Lolibrary].

I saw this exact set come up on the Mbok last year, it was relisted a few times before the seller everntually pulled it. I couldn't afford it at the time and was devastated when it was no longer available, so you can imagine how excited I was when I saw it pop up again! I knew I was meant to have it! I was particularly interested in this set as it has the matching headbow and the OP is complete with waist ties, detachable black ribbon bows and the collar and cuff set. It also all seems completely unworn, the headbow even still has its tag! I probably paid far more than its really worth now, but come on? A set that's this complete? I also now have something to match the Parka I bought a while back [if you remember?]

Next up I put an order through for some items from Maiden Clothing I could probably have managed to order direct from them, but I kinda felt like I was saving something on the postage by ordering through FromJapan.

Angelic Pretty Trick Girl Set [Lolibrary]

As I was ordering around August time, I decided to get my Halloween outfit sorted early. This is one adorable dress and fits perfectly! I did wear it out on Halloween and I got a lot of compliments! I've only worn the mini hat for halloween, but I've actually worn the dress a couple of times, its perfect for more casual frilly outfits! The velvet is so soft and beautiful <3

**Another dream dress alert!!!**

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Chocolate Fascinate Fairytale [Lolibrary]

I knew when this dress first came out that I had to have it! I'm not really a fan of chocolate theme prints personally (love how they look on other Lolitas though!), but this one is different to me as it's done in Baby's more traditional Fairy Tale style depicting the story of Hansel and Gretel, so I think I'll be able to work it =D Up close the print does not disappoint, so detailed and pretty! I didn't actually realise this came with socks until it arrived, so that was a nice surprise when I opened the box! 

Maiden Clothing is a really good site to buy from in my opinion. They have a scoring system for the condition of their clothes and it is beyond accurate! All of the items were in better than expected condition, I'd almost go as far as to say nearly new!

I also grabbed some accessories off of both Yahoo Japan auctions, Mbok and from Metamorphose's webstore.

Socks:

-Wonder Card socks in blue. These are new with tags. They aren't my preferred style of socks for this print (these are) but since I didn't think to order my preferred socks when I saw them on sale on Meta's website they'll have to do =/ They complete the set at least!

-Crown Label Bubble Bath socks. I don't have this print, but I really want the Pinafore jsk and since I already have so much regret over the Wonder Card socks I didn't order, I decided to snap up the socks while they were on sale! I could have ordered direct from Meta's website, but thought going through the Shopping Service may work out cheaper on shipping in the longrun (Who knows?).

-Angelic Pretty Fancy Paper Dolls OTKS in lavender [Lolibrary] Socks with ears?! Yeah, I HAD to have these! They were released for Fancy Paper Dolls, which is a print featuring Lyrical Bunny, so I knew I needed these to go with my Lyrical Bunny lucky pack print! They are so cute! Though not in the greatest condition, I bought these second hand and unfortunately they do have a feeling of wear, I'll be sure to wash them before wearing!

Close up of accessories (all Angelic Pretty):

-Lyrical Bunny Wrist cuffs in Lavender [Lolibrary] Yeah, I know, I just bought these in white! But I just couldn't resist getting the lavender too! Besides they go perfect with the socks!

-Bunny toy headbow [Lolibrary] This was released this year to go with the Melody Toys print, but I just knew it would go fantastically well with both my Happy Garden and Lyrical Bunny (though I thought of putting it with Lyrical Bunny first!)

-Magical Lyrical Bunny Necklace in pink [Lolibrary] Released for last years Halloween, but I am a complete sucker for AP's Halloween jewellery! Also, Lyrical Bunny again! =D Aaand its new with tags, win!

These were all sat on my dream item list too, so its always good to tick them off! So happy to have them all! ^_^

FromJapan are a really good shopping service and I do definitely recommend them if you need to buy anything off of auctions or webstores in Japan. I've always found them super professional, communication is fantastic, postage is very quick, and their website is very simple to use - your orders update quickly and accurately!

Hope you enjoyed sharing in my box of delights! I cannot wait to wear it all!

Co ord catch up! WGW and Manchester Meet

Has it really been a whole month since my last post?! Where does the time go, must be the time of year, I swear!

I have a couple of outfits to post from the past month or so. The first is an outfit I wore to stroll around Whitby during the Whitby Goth Weekend. I didn't go to attend any of the events but rather to just have a look round the stalls that go, get a cup of tea and generally have a nice kawaii day out!

Jumperskirt, Socks and Headbow: Wonder Party by Angelic Pretty

Handbag: Angelic Pretty

Bolero: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Shoes: Offbrand

Accessories:

Headbow: As before

Pearl choker and Bracelet: Vivienne Westwood

Star clip: Chocomint

Worn:

My face!

I started taking slightly arty bonus shots of my co ords, like this:

I think they look cute ^_^

I wanted a fairly simple outfit with my Wonder Party as I wasn't in the mood to go too over the top and just wanted to look cute! I think it came out really elegant and cute, I'm happy with it!

The second outfit I'm sharing today I wore to a meetup in Manchester. The meet was for a comm photoshoot for the Tea Party Club's calender. We got given May as our month and decided on "May flowers" as our theme and I couldn't resist wearing my Thumbelina jumperskirt again!

Jumperskirt, bolero: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Shoes: Clarks

Handbag: Vivienne Westwood

Tights: Ebay

Accessories:

Flower crowns: Handmade (I couldn't decide which one to wear, so I wore both!)

Bow clip: Handmade

Necklace: Gift

Pearls: Offbrand

Charm bracelets: Pandora

I managed to get quite a few worn photos of this co ord, which is awesome because each photo shows it off so differently to me!

Running out the door to the meet!

These were some steps outside a really pretty building where we took one of the shots.

This was one of the displays in the museum full of cranes, we took another of our group photos in front of this!

The last two photos were taken by the lovely Nadina [tumblr] who I met for the first time at this meet, she's super talented and took all the photos for the calender too! ^_^

I wasn't sure if this co ord would work until I put it on, I wanted to subtly draw on the red touches in the print without it being overpowering. Even though the red in the print is a bright pill box red, I think it was a good choice to go with shades of red like the scarlet roses in my hair, fuschia bag and suede red rather than matching as it would probably been too much otherwise! I'm really pleased with this outfit too and don't want to change anything in it!

I really enjoyed going to the meet, it feels like a long time since I've been to a meet and it was nice to get dressed up and hang out with other Lolitas! <3

I hope you enjoyed looking at my latest two outfits, with any luck it won't be a whole month before I post again!

Dollhouse? Orange Cherries? Ballet?

A couple of months ago (Eeek! Really so long ago? I know I'm having trouble keeping up to date, but I didn't realise it had been THAT long!?) I impulse bought a couple of things on auction with some money I had left in my Paypal account (as you do! =/) and I wanted to show you what I so desperately splurged on!

I used Celga for all of these purchases and the service was the usual good service I've come to expect from using them for the past four or so years.

So! Onto the wares! 

First up, Dreamy Dollhouse headbow in Lavender, it *finally* came up on auction, I've been trying to track it down for what feels like an age!!!

Then I found what seemed to be some seriously old school Meta:

...And just how could I resist! The auction wasn't that clear on whether this is Meta or not, but I can confirm that it is! It's so adorable, covered in orange cherries and yellow apples, it even has some metallic print on some of the cherries, just delicious! Cannot wait to put together a hella loud outfit with this, there is not enough orange or garish Meta in Lolita! Win!

Then I found a skirt with an Imai Kira illustration screen print:

Angelic Pretty's Ballerina Print skirt [Hellolace]. Since getting the Princess Silhouette OP in white last year, I can't get enough of Imai Kira's adorable illustration style and was so excited to see this crop up at an amazing price! It fits me okay, but the top of the waistband where the scallops are tends to roll a little bit, so I'm not entirely sure how to co ord this yet! I might also pop the detachable waist bow on a headband.


I'm super happy with all of my purchases and am so glad I was a little more impulsive with my spending this time! What's your best impulse splurge?

Wild Strawberries

You may remember that a few weeks ago I posted an outfit that I wore for a photoshoot, the photos from that shoot are now back and I'd like to share them all with you! =)

I worked on the shoot with a lovely fellow called James Stubbs, his flickr can be found here under James Stubbs photgraphy. He was fantastic to work with, friendly, very professional and patient =D

It was up to me to style the shoot and I chose a strawberry theme as I'd recently finished an enamel strawberry flower crown and was chuffed to bits with how it came out, so I knew I MUST wear it!

This is the close up of my face and the flower crown, I love the way my hair curls on my cheek in this photo, and of course my awesome new flower crown ;D

I decided to go with a picnic them alongside the strawberries, since it seemed like a pretty obvious accompaniment. I feel it also took some of the awkwardness out of the shoot as its been a long time since I've done a photoshoot and I've had some trouble with my confidence over the past couple of years.

When I was sat on the picnic blanket for some reason I felt like the photo wasn't going to come out very well at all, but it's probably my second favourite out of all of them. I guess I relaxed a little more since I thought the shots would get deleted anyway XD
I love all of the different colours and textures in these two photos!

This is my absolute favourite from the shoot, the set up looks so serene and relaxing!


Both these photos seem to have a lot of atmosphere to them for me. I like that the model (me!) isn't so much the focus and its more about the surroundings and the clothes. It's good that it could be anyone in these photographs, they are more anonymous and less about the individual.


James also did some editing later on and added black and white filters:

The picnic scene from a different angle, this has such a vintage feel to it! You can imagine digging the photo out of a musty smelling shoe box and reminiscing about it!


When I first saw this photo, I'll admit that I missed the colour and it was a bit of a shock after seeing the rest. But then I took a moment to have a proper look at it and realised that the black and white adds a certain silence to it, leaving me to "hear" the image, I can almost listen to the twigs snapping underfoot, the birds in the trees and smell the earthiness.


I hope you enjoyed looking through my photos and don't think that the way I review them is too weird! I felt that doing this shoot was an exciting opportunity for me and I am glad that I can share the photos with everyone! ^_^

Also, if you haven't already, do check out James' [flickr], his work is fantastic!

Birthday treats and small splurges!

Can you believe we're into September already?!

I wanted to show you the adorable things I got for my birthday, which was way back in mid July!

First up, my Canary OP from Angelic Pretty:

This was an impulse buy from money I was given from my birthday. At first I felt really guilty for buying it as its actually a damaged dress! There was a stain on the front top tier in the centre front, which the previous owner had redyed the dress from pink to try and cover, unfotunately for her with little success =(

Fortunately for me is that first of all, I love the new colour and the way the ribbon has absorbed the dye more and is darker, so the dress resembles the white version with black ribbon a little more, which is actually a dream item of mine!

And secondly, when the dress arrived it had a strange odour, which smelt like the dye (dye smells terrible), so I put it in the wash alone to try and get some of it out. The water in the machine was bright pink and actually stained the rubber seal at the front, but when I pulled the dress out and hung it to dry, I was astonished to find that the stain had completely disappeared! I didn't use any special stain remover or detergent or anything, just my normal powder, so I think I was just lucky!

I also got a couple of pairs of new shoes (I've only got two feet!)

The purple jelly sandals are from JuJu. I spied them on sale at Schuh and decided to spend the last of my birthday money on them. I've had a bad experience of wearing jelly sandals before, where I chose to try and save a bit of money by buying cheap fakes, unfortunately this didn't work out as they split my feet open after a very short walk and I had to walk home again with blood covered feet in clear sandals, I was ashamed! I'm hoping these shoes work out better, And they haven't let me down so far! I love them, the colour of them is so vibrant and beautiful!

The red heels are from my amazing fiancee, Jams! He surprised me with them while we were out, telling me to try them on and then buying them. The gorgeous red suede is to die for and the cut outs on the front are strangely seductive (I should write shoe porn XD). They also look fantastic with my new dress!

I've also been meaning to show you the small additions I've beem making to my wardrobe. Sometimes I browse Lolita sales groups on Facebook or Livejournal or search ebay, and before I know it, I have another amazing item heading my way!

I think I already mentioned in another post that I managed to find the Whipped Cake bangle and headband as a set on ebay for an incredible price, right after buying the bangle, typical! But the set was the same price as I paid for the bangle, so I'm not complaining!

I also got the shoes on ebay from a shop. I think they came from China, they arrived very quickly. Not sure about the fit though, I'll probably put insoles in them when I wear them. 

The wristcuffs I found on the LJ community angelicpoodle. I've been wanting the Lyrical Bunny wristcuffs for a while now and this colourway will also go with my Happy Garden OP!

I made the mistake of checking back onto angelicpoodle a couple of weeks later and that's when I bought the socks! I've been looking for some legwear to go with my Girly Note jsk by Meta for ages and I thought these would be perfect!

I found the headbow whilst mooching Lolita sales groups on Facebook and having a soft spot for AP's Ichigo Chan collection could not pass on the opportunity to buy it! Its perfect for layering with bigger headbows and since I have quite a get strawberry themed dresses and headbows, I'd say it was a worthwhile purchase!

Frustrated with never managing to find the right tights to wear, I also decided to buy enough tights to keep an Octopus looking fabulous!

These are all from the same ebay store and came to around £20 including postage, though some of them were more expensive than others, like the lace pair which were over £4! So pleased that I no longer have to fret about my legwear so much!

Do you enjoy shopping?

Recent commission - Black Gingham OP and Headbow

A couple of weeks back I finished a commission for an OP with matching headbow in black gingham. 

The pattern I used was the same as a previous dress that I'd made in black, but I altered the sleeves to be slightly fuller and longer, as the young lady I was making it for said she was slightly taller than me. You probably can't even tell the difference, as the changes were very minimal!

Front and Back of the dress on the mannequin:

Close up of the bodice:

The headbow was requested in a slightly different style to my usual design. This one was made to lie slightly flatter. The headbow worn on a mannequin head:

Photos of the OP and headbow laid out flat:

I seem to say this about everything I make, but I am really pleased with how this came out! The dress is fully lined with a side zipper (invisible), back shirring and a pocket. It even has detachable waist ties too! The client was super impressed with the dress when she received it too and plans to wear it whilst on a trip very soon, I hope she has an amazing time! =D


What have you done recently that you're proud of? (It doesn't have to be anything huge! I'm always pretty pleased with myself when I remember to hold the door for someone! XD)

Sweet Ribbon Strawberry Outfit and Exciting News!

Yesterday I had a photo shoot with a local photographer (that's the exciting news!) and I wanted to share the outfit I wore!

My outfit:

Rundown:
OP: Sweet Ribbon Strawberry by Angelic Pretty
Bag and Shoes: Angelic Pretty
Socks: Offbrand
Accessories: See below

Close up of my accessories:

Flower Crown: Handmade (and coming very soon to my Storenvy shop, The Frilly Ninja!)
Wristcuffs: Handmade
Bangle and Strawberry ring: Ichigo Chan by Angelic Pretty
Heart ring: Polka Dot heart by Angelic Pretty

Glasses Ring: Mary Quant
Everything Else: Offbrand

My outfit worn:

And a close up of my face where you can see my flower crown better:

(Sorry it's not the best photo =/)

Accessories shot of my hands:

(I've been using this as a banner on pretty much every social networking site I use XD)

I also took some props along to my shoot:

They're both offbrand, the parasol was actually an amazing TK Maxx find! I also took along a picnic blanket but I didn't get a photo of that.

Hopefully I'll get the photos from the shoot through soon! I can't wait to show them off, there seemed to be some amazing ones taken! I really enjoyed strutting my stuff for the camera too ='D


Also, bonus photo of me and my dog, Ziggi Stardust!

Have you done anything to make yourself feel amazing recently?

Small review of Lolita Desu

Today I wanted to share a small review of the Lolita shop Lolita Desu. Lolita Desu is a shop that sells clothing and accessories suited to a variety of Japanese fashion styles.

First off, let's admire my beautiful purchase:

Whipped Cake bangle in Yellow from Angelic Pretty!

I bought and paid for my bangle on the 1st of July. The site was very easy to use and I paid with Paypal, really simple. I paid, I think, $35 USD for the bangle and another $10 or so for registered shipping, a little more than I was hoping to pay for this bangle, but I've been searching for it for a long long time, so I didn't mind too much!

On the 12th of July I received an email stating that my order status had been updated to shipped. I was starting to wonder when my order would arrive and if I'd ever get a tracking number. It was at this point I realised you can log into their site to check the status of your order, since I thought my item was just taking a while in the post! XD I was a little irked that it had taken 11 days to post, but I didn't feel it was a major issue.

17th of July, my order arrived. It arrived quite early in the morning and I was still half asleep, so I'd forgotten all orders I'd placed, so it was a pleasant surprise to open the package and find my bangle, haha! The bangle was sent well wrapped in tissue paper inside a small bubble wrap envelope. I always cringe a little when acrylic jewellery isn't sent in a box, but that's a personal thing, they're probably perfectly safe in bubble mailers!

-Communication: 4.5/5 - Emails every time my order changed, though no email about a delay in shipping, but I'm just nitpicking.

-Accuracy of item description: 5/5 - The bangle was described as "in good used condition" and arrived in better condition than I expected, no flaws or sign of wear that I can find!

-Item shipped when agreed? 4/5 - There was no shipping date agreed and I don't think I was told when it would be shipped, but it took longer than expected to be dispatched.

-Packaging 4/5 - Item arrived without damage, so packaging was adequate. Would have preferred a box though.

-Overall experience: 4/5 - Transaction was very straight forward and I love my item!

Overall, I'd use Lolita Desu again. Their site is very easy to use and they get some adorable items in! I think the points I have picked up on are just me being a little over fussy and are not actually anything wrong with the shop! I do recommend this site!

Sailor Zip Up Commission!

Busy busy time of it at the moment! I feel like my feet don't touch the ground! New job (sort of), visiting family and a commission to work on! I wanted to show you the most recent piece that I've been working on, a commission for a zip up top in my nautical design. I was commissioned for this piece after I replied to a WTB in the Lolita Sales UK group on fb, so you never know what might happen when you reply to posts!

When I approached the client I originally sent her this not very clear photo of the zip up I made for myself a few years back:

She was interested, and asked for more photos:

At this point, I thought she'd ask for pretty much the same top, but then she surprised me by asking for it in black and grey! I had my doubts at first that it may not have the same cute effect as the white and pink top, but once I'd finished making it up, I was very pleasantly surprised:

I absolutely adore the way this turned out! I was actually sad to send it off in the post, haha! I love how elegant this style manages to look in the black and grey, it is a completely different to my white and pink one! The black and grey colour scheme was a genius choice, and not something I'd have every thought of!

I'm considering making another zip up in navy and pale blue next, what do you think?