Lolita Closet: AatP Princess JSK Shirred

My first Alice and the Pirates post, even though it is not my personal Alice dress from my own closet! My sister recently ordered a dress set from Baby's online site and even though she had it for a week, she didn't open it. She knew that I would like to document everything about it, so I ended up taking it home with me one day last week and opened it in my room.

Initially I helped her put the order through on Baby's site because their shopping cart is a bit ridiculous and she could not be bothered to try to read the 'help' page on their site. I have to say, it is a bit nauseating to look at and it helps that I can read some of the Japanese kanji...

If you ever order anything from Baby, the wrapping tissue they use is pink, and if you order from Alice and the Pirates, the tissue will be blue. Something cute that I noticed ^__^"

Alice and the Pirates

They wrapped the dress beautifully and I love the ribbons and stickers...so I added the sticker into my collection. (Haha, I'm such a dork >__<;; ) The package included the plastic and paper shopping bags as well. I love the attention to detail...♥

AatP Princess Jumper Skirt

The JSK is really nice and simple and I quite like the floral print. It looks really busy in the picture for some reason, but when you look at it up close or in person, it is very pretty. The neck ties are not removable but since they are just ribbons, you can just tuck them on the inside of the JSK and it won't create any bulk. The dress is made out of cotton and has a polyester lining.

AatP Princess JSK front

The front bows are really cute, but they are not removable for washing, however the ribbon for the corseting is. The trim is nothing extraordinary or custom, but it's simple, neat and adds some visual texture and highlights some of the design lines in the dress. I like how they've used it to accent the hemline and it also matches the headband.

AatP Princess JSK back

One of the reasons my sister purchased this dress was because the back is a fully shirred panel and it stretches quite wide. One of the not forgiving things in the lolita hobby is that not all the dresses are made in different sizes and can be somewhat limiting. (-__-")

The waist ties are removable and I really like the ruffled tiers on the back of the dress. It's quite adorable and gives the silhouette some extra poof. It's definitely princess-like ^__^"

Headband

The matching headband for this set is quite simple and versatile. You can use it for a lot of other coordinates and it's always nice to have headbands (in my opinion~). The bow has a wired structure so you can shape your bow to your liking and it is made out of cotton.

I really like this dress, when I opened it I was really taken back by how nice the floral print was. I looked nice on the site, but in person, it just really grows on you and it's really lovely. The construction is not as detailed as some other Baby or AatP dresses but I suppose it's because it is a simpler dress. Overall, it's simple and has some lovely elements and I can't wait to see my sister wear it! ^__^

Until my next closet post!

Take care~!

♥

Metamorphose Winter Lucky Pack 2013

Metamorphose recently posted up their sale for Lucky Packs last month! This year, they only had skirt options available (instead of the skirt or JSK options), but they had the choice between a light or dark lucky pack. 

Since all lucky pack items are unknown, it's always a matter of luck for which items you will receive, but their picture posts usually give you an idea what will be inside a pack! From this year, I gathered that each pack would have this combination:

-Skirt

-Pair of bloomers

-Blouse

-Socks

-Accessories (headbands, barrettes, bracelets or necklaces) 
 

I opted to get the darker version of the pack because the example picture had the Sweets Street skirt which is one of those prints that I had previously obsessed over. However, looking at other people's posts of EGL and the variety of prints they have shipped out, I'm a bit disheartened that I didn't opt to get the light version of the luck pack also! (>__<;) 

Lucky Pack time!

 As usual, Meta packages their bags within a bag and included in the package was a thank you note and instructions for how to return the package if there was something defective with it, or an incorrect order.

Unfortunately I got charged with customs for my package and the ransom I had to pay was insane. I pretty much cursed the whole time in my head because the duty was so much. Almost 50% additional for my purchase, so I'm not really happy about that. Plus there's all these ridiculous fees they add on to bring up the price. 

Not. Impressed. 

Let's get onto the good stuff! I took a peak inside because I started taking pictures of everything so I knew I had not received Sweets Street, but from the color and print I knew I wasn't disappointed!

I received the shirred skirt of the Masquerade Lady print!

Masquerade Lady SK

Masquerade Lady Bloomers/Drawers

And to my surprise, I also received matching bloomers for the skirt. I was just expecting plain bloomers from Meta, but this is something different! I don't think I should wear them as bloomers and would look nice with a kodona styled outfit. I'm not really sure what to do with them, but I am amused that I got them in the pack.

Masquerade Lady Print

Since the skirt doesn't include the border design, I think it's a very versatile skirt to pair things with. I don't own too many skirts, but I do enjoy mix and matching them with things in my wardrobe. (Also, they are also very easy to travel with since they don't take up too much space!) The skirt has some lovely soft cotton lace along it's hem and it is lined on the inside. The fabric has a lovely feel and touch to it. You can see the texture that runs along the weft weave of the print in the above picture.

Shirred Ribbon Frill Blouse

 I'm not sure of the name of this blouse, I just read what was on the tag, but it's a simple normal blouse without too many embellishments. Oddly, I almost wish I had this in white since I don't have any plain white long sleeve lolita blouses. The back has a lot of shirring, so it can span a variety of sizes. It has waist ties at the back and has a modestly sized neck tie (that I personally really like!)

Heart Bracelet

My last item I received in my lucky pack was a cute heart bracelet. It has a heart charm and Metamorphose logo charm and when I took it out of the package, I thought if I tweaked it a bit, it would look better as a necklace. . . Hmm... Ideas!

Besides the hideous fees I incurred from customs, I'm rather happy with the items of my lucky pack! I'm glad I didn't decide to get two since the fees would have been an extra burden on my wallet. Because I received the Masquerade Lady drawers instead of plain bloomers, there were no socks or hair accessories includes in my lucky pack to compensate for the price of the drawers. I'm fine with that decision since I have enough bloomers and although I like socks, I rarely wear the brand ones that I own. 

If you ever decide to get a lucky pack, it's usually worth it and helps you build your lolita closet with some staple items. I paid 10,500 yen for this pack, and the retail price of all these items together was 36,645 yen. So there was a huge savings! (*o*@)'!!

Until next time, Metamorphose!

♥

Volks Sumika Times ft. Sora

Volks' Sumika Times blog accepts owner pictures of their Volks dolls and my sister has submitted quite a few of her Dollfie Dreams that have popped up on the blog before. Sora has made a cameo appearance before when I gave him to my sister to bring to the LA Volks showroom to find a new wig for him. 

They updated this awhile back in November and I'm just getting to blogging it now, but better late than never! Sora got his big feature on the blog during his trip to London. My sister was kind enough to bring him along on one of her business trips and snap shots of him with some iconic buildings and architecture around the city! She was the one who sent in all the pictures to Volks to have him showcased.

Sora, a Volks YoSD Kakeru

You can check out his feature here on this page to see the other pictures and commentary. (^__^;)

After Sora appeared on the blog, I brought him to a doll meet the week after and some of the attendees recognized him because of his showcase! I thought that was amusing~!
Sora, you're getting lots of love!

♥