Lolita Closet - Metamorphose's Fancy Egg High Waist Pinafore JSK

This week's post, let us look at Metmorphose's Fancy Egg in the high waist pinafore version in pea green. The third post I have for the Fancy Egg print, this dress belongs to my friend, Keiko, who asked me to keep an eye out for it and to buy it if it ever popped up on the second hand market. It is her grail dress and she been obsessed with it every since the print was originally released, so for awhile I would check for this dress. Only lately, I have spent a lot of time looking for this dress and eventually I found it in this version and it came with the matching headpiece!

Metamorphose Fancy Egg in pea green

The pea green color was definitely one of the more unique colors in the original colorway options and I was surprised that it was a bit more muted in life and not as bright. It is definitely not a mint green, but leans more towards a more earthy tone of green. It might be hard to tell since my carpet is pink, but it is a very lovely shade of a soft green.

The dress has an empire waist cut and the main part of the bodice is embellished with diamond shaped trim and satin and grosgrain ribbon on the center panel.

Bodice details
 

You can see the different types of trim and lace that decorate the bodice and it is all dyed perfectly to match the green colorway. The skirt is gathered into the empire waist and can accommodate a medium sized petticoat.  The dress has a side zipper to help you get into the dress. Keiko told me, it is quite comfortable and because it is high waist dress, you don't feel constricted when you eat.

Back of the dress

The dresses in this series do not have fancy buttons for the shoulder straps, and it one of those things I wish they could have spent a bit more time on since I think any kind of shank button or even a fabric covered button would have worked better than the plastic one they chose.

The back panel features a quarter panel of shirring, and you can lace up the back with satin ribbon. I noticed that this dress did not have waist ties, which is a bit more unusual and uncommon for a lot of lolita dresses. I would say a majority of dresses in my collection come with waist ties.

Details

Once again, the print is beautiful in any of the colorways and I think the pea green brings out more of the gold details from the print. You can see the subtle lace print on the border and the hem is finished with the green pea fabric.

Mini-hat!

When I found this dress, it came with the hat headpiece that none of my friends knew about! I knew it existed but I preferred the barrette or the bonnet over the hat head piece. It's actually really cute in life, since the hat is stuffed and is very soft and light weight. There is a hair comb on the underside and the two ribbons are sewn on the side. The ribbon on the hair is removable so you can use that instead as a hair piece instead of the hat. The ribbon is made from chiffon and has a small cameo decoration on it made from plastic.

I might take a break from this print and move on to other things in my closet for future posts for now. I do have the black colorway of this print, so that definitely will come up later on!

I hope you enjoyed looking at Fancy Egg with me and until next time,
Stay fancy!

Lolita Closet: IW Henriette Vest

I have not blogged about Innocent World at all in my series of Lolita Closet posts. I recently just made a small order from the company, so I'll share my experience with their ordering system and what I bought from them (*o*@)!

Innocent World is one of the few lolita brands that ships world wide and their english website is very easy to navigate and understand. Their shopping cart system is a bit odd, as there isn't one! Every clothing item has a listing on the side of the quantity in stock in their respective colourways. You have to submit an order form with their special item codes and wait for the company to either reply to you, or be invoiced by paypal for your purchase. My normal e-mail and my paypal e-mail are not the same, so I did not notice I got invoiced until almost a week after! (>_<;) Oops..! 

Innocent World order

Those who know me, have known of my long outstanding quest to find a nice vest to go with my everyday clothing and for lolita. I could not find anything when I was shopping at the mall and a lot of the regular priced vests that I like from Alice and the Pirates are just too hefty on my wallet! Fortunately, IW was having a sale and I saw this vest...and decided to buy it. It was still expensive in retrospect, but I don't regret getting it!

Keiko was over one day, so I asked her for her opinion about the vest and she told me to buy it if I liked it because she knew how frustrated I was about finding a vest. While she was looking at their site, I asked her if anything caught her interest and I'd get it for her birthday (^_^;)

The smaller package is hers, while the bigger one is mine. I asked Innocent World to gift wrap her item and they wrapped them both! Haha..! The packages came with a hand written note thanking me and hoping I would like the goods. I rather like how simplistic it is and makes it feel more personal, and the stationary is beautiful!

Small details for gift wrapping

 They definitely don't go overboard, like how BtSSB or AatP gift wraps their items, but I still appreciate it. I think I'm picking too much of my mom's taste lately, because I really like the floral print of the wrapping paper they used to 'blind package' the items!

Henriette Vest

This vest came in three colourways; navy, brown, and black. I chose black because it coordinates well with a lot of items in my wardrobe. (I apologize if the lighting in the picture is off, when I uploaded them on flickr, it just made all the images darker! Bah! Plus the lighting is all over the place >_<;;) The vest is very simple, there are three non-removable bows in the front and is a round neck vest. Initially I was not sure where the closures were, but their is a zipper on the side seam. Putting it on is a bit odd because you have to pull it over your head and then zip it closed. Not the conventional way to put on a vest...but it does not bother me too much. 

Details

They used a simple rose lace along the collar and princess seams. I wish they placed the top bow a bit lower because it's covered by the lace. If I feel like it, maybe I'll move the bows one day.

Back

Removable ruffle

 The back is very simple, not too many details to talk about. The tail ruffle is removable, and I bought it because I thought it was cute and would look nice with a skirt. There is no shirring on this vest, however the measurements on Innocent World's site are quite accurate and it fits me very well. I find it rather flattering and hopefully I'll get a chance to wear it this weekend!

Little Birds Cameo Ribbon Clip

My experience with Innocent World was a positive one. Their customer service is great and they do respond to you quite quickly if you send them inquiries. I e-mailed them back informing that I had received the package and thanking them, they were sweet enough to say that in the future if I needed anything gift wrapped again, to give them the names of the recipients so they could include personalized notes in their packages. (*o*)! How sweet is that...! ♥

~~~

If any of you are wondering what I ordered for Keiko, I got her this barette.

I obviously don't have pictures of it since it was her birthday gift and it would not make sense for me to open her package! I did see it when she opened it and it is very beautiful...and she can wear it anytime too!

So, until next time!
♥

Super Junior

The postman woke me up today with a lovely package! A few weeks back, I made a pre-order for Super Junior's Boys in City 4 - Paris photo book and also ordered their 6th album, Sexy, Free & Single. It was a birthday present to myself and I had been secretly thinking of getting it when they had announced the photo book earlier on. The photo book was released last week and I got a notice that it shipped on Thursday. Took less than a week to get to me! I was really surprised~!

I ordered through YesAsia since they offered free shipping and somehow it ended up being a lot cheaper than other sites. The cover price of both items were marked up, but it somehow ended up being cheaper because of the free shipping. Other sites killed my shopping cart with their explosive EMS and air mail rates @_@;;!! Although when I received the photo book and album, I realized why the shipping was through the roof! The weight of the books combined were 3.5kg, (about 8 lbs).

I didn't bother taking pictures of the packaging, since it was plain, but the books had 2 layers of bubble-wrap protection and there were no dents or bent corners.

Moving on~~!
Say hello to Sword-bean Shiba!

S.J. in the house!

I purposely ordered the Type A version of Sexy, Free & Single after a lot of contemplation. The album was released back in July and I've held off on getting it because I wasn't sure which version I wanted. There were 3 (@__@;;)! They sure know how to take a fan's money since each version had great extras that the other versions didn't have.

The Paris photo book was released on Super Junior's 7th anniversary (Nov.6th) and is a collection of photos of all the members on their days off when they weren't performing for their concert; which happened earlier this year.

Excuse some of the weird lighting for some of the pictures. I took some pictures during the day time, and others at night at my desk. >_<;

Silver text!

 Let's start with their 6th album! There were 10 random different text color versions of this album, the original is with red text, but I'm quite happy I got the silver one. I was hoping to get silver or gold since it stands out better on the blue background. The album is a hardcover photo book (84 pages) and the main concept for the photos was natural...handsome...flower...boys? (^o^*);;

I can't quite figure it out, but I do like the concept. 

Leeteuk

Yesung

I think my favourite picture from the photobook is Yesung. He looks completely different and I didn't know it was him when they first released his teaser back in July. Plus...he's rocking out his look! He has branches on his head!! (*o*@;:)!!

Leeteuk has a really nice series of photos too.  I was really fascinated with his hair accessory and the make up they did for him. Most of all the members look completely different in this album, at first you can't really recognize them easily.

I think the only shots I don't like are Siwon's. The styling make him look like an odd version of John Galliano and it just doesn't do anything for me. (o_o);

  

Siwon

Kyuhyun!

The trend with k-pop albums is that they come with collectible photo cards. However, it's all distributed randomly and you don't know who you'll get. I like all the members of Super Junior, although I'm a bit biased towards a couple of them. I have to praise the photo card gods, since I ended up getting Kyuhyun, who is my favourite member in the group!! (*O*)! I had a 10% chance of getting his card so I was super surprised and thrilled when I turned the card over to see it was him! The back of the card has the text, Sexy, Free & Single and Kyuhyun's digitized signature on it. 

The back is where you can find the CD and it's just a slot in the back where the CD can be pulled out.

Boys in City 4 - Paris

Onwards to the photo book now! I pre-ordered the normal version which came with an extra postcard book and the poster. The special version came with an extra poster and some other stuff along with a behind the scenes DVD. I only wanted the book, so I opted to go with the normal one. There was an option to get the poster shipped in a tube on another site, but YesAsia wasn't offering that, so that's why I ended up with the folded poster. 

BIC4 Post card book

I'll start with the postcard book! It has 20 different postcards featuring the members individually and as a group and they're perforated so that you can detach them from the book to use as postcards. The back of each card has the corresponding members signature digitally printed. They resolution/print quality is great and they are printed on nice card stock. I don't think I would have the heart to use one!

Boys in City 4 Paris!

The photo book is hardcover and a little bit over 350 pages! The eye candy...!!

The inside has many comments from all the members through the pages. I can only read the English parts of the book since my Korean literacy rate is quite non-existent. I think if I got the Japanese version I probably would have been able to read it...!

Candid

Yesung

The book is separated into 6 parts to highlight the different locations and areas they were photographed at. It's nice to see some of the sights and areas they were at since my sister and I were in Paris a couple years ago. Only minor drawback is that many of the photos have a 'staged' feeling to them, especially if they're indoors, but it doesn't make the photos less appealing. I actually like the odd candid shots when they're not focused on the camera. When they're out and about in the city many of the photos are of them staring off into the distance and it looks like they're absorbing and taking in as much of Paris as they can.

Kyuhyun, Eunhyuk and photographer Leeteuk

There's a series of shots with Kyuhyun, Eunhyuk and Leeteuk, where Leeteuk is being the photographer. The shots are really funny, cute, and oddly amusing since a photographer is taking a picture of them taking pictures of each other.

So handsome! *o*

 I won't post too many photos of the book itself. That would spoil it for whoever wants to buy it. I know people have already scanned and uploaded a large portion or the whole photobook online already and fans have complained about it; that it ruined the element of surprise for them. I tried to avoid it as much as possible and it worked out well.

I'm really happy with this purchase!

Super Junior, Fighting!
♥

Lolita Closet - Bodyline Carousel JSK in Black

It's been awhile since I've done a closet post! I really think I should wear lolita more often, but I haven't had the chance to plan many outings to wear my dresses to. This time around, let's look at my Bodyline Carousel Dress! Also known as the L144 dress on their site, it is unofficially called the Carousel print and is a popular and iconic print from Bodyline. It comes in black, yellow, pink, lavender and saxon blue!

Bodyline Carousel Print (L144)

I acquired this print while I was shopping at the Harajuku Bodyline location in Japan. At first I had saw the skirt version and I really liked it, until I walked over to the OP and JSK rack and immediately my eyes went to the JSK. I also purchased the matching knee high socks and the head bow to go with the outfit.

Bodice

The complete set was very affordable and the print was extremely cute. That's the nice thing about Bodyline, is that it is a good starting point for a lolita. Even if there are negative connotations with the company and because of it's prior history (of being a adult costume shop), nowadays, you can find some fun and charming prints in their lolita section.

The straps on the JSK have elastic built into them, although I found no need for it to stretch. The dress features a side zipper and the bow in the front is removable. There is black lace trim along the front and integrated into the design on the dress. It actually blends into the fabric design, but it adds some visual texture if you're looking closely.

Back of the dress

There is a shirring panel on the back of the dress and it is hidden by the ribbon corseting. Since this was the last dress they had in the store, it was size LL. It was actually a bit loose on me, but I was really surprised that I would have to buy an LL sized dress. However, since Japanese sizing is graded very small, it makes sense that I would have to get an L or a LL. 

The waist ties are permanently attached to the side seams of the dress. I've seen and read about fellow lolitas who removed the waist ties from Bodyline dresses because they didn't like them! To each their own (^__~*)!

The knee highs were very cute! Initially I didn't get them when I bought the dress, but on a return visit, I decided to get them because they were not expensive (500 yen) and it would help complete the set. The socks feature one of the carousel horses and the colored stars that appear throughout the print.

The lace used to line the hem of the dress isn't of particular high quality, and can be a bit scratchy, but if you have a petticoat on, it is not a problem.

Carousel Print

The print itself is very adorable, featuring horses and stars, it has a very whimsical feel to it. They used this part of the print to make the matching tote bags out of. This past summer, I decided to get the bag since it was in stock on the site. At the moment, I don't have a picture of it though! /(>_<;)\

Headbow, pink version

The Harajuku store and online site did not have the black version of this head bow in stock. To be honest, I've never seen it! So I opted to get the 'pink' version of the head bow which has white lace instead. Because there is white occurring in the overall design of the print, it matches quite well and helps it stand out against my black hair! (*o*@!)

Although I have the complete set to this outfit, I've never worn it all together. I think it would be too over the top, but I like having all the pieces to this set. It's probably the only set that I own that is so complete!

As I write this post today, the dress is not in stock on the Bodyline site, however the skirt should still be in stock. But because this print is quite popular it does come back ever so often! This dress I got during it's second release. So, if you're looking to get it, just keep your eyes open for it!

Until next time!
♥

Mint on Card Order: Review

My sister and I placed the order for some doll shoes from Mint on Card quite awhile back. The order finally showed up on my doorstep (which I was surprised about because I didn't know my sister was shipping it to me!). 

Originally I wanted to get some boots and flats for my MSDs for a project I wanted to make and finish for Anime North, but I didn't end up having enough time for it and the shoes had not come in either. At the time the items I had ordered were in stock, but one of my sister's 1/3 shoes was a pre-order, so it was not known when the order were going to arrive at Mint on Card. 

The site carries a large selection of shoes, wigs, dolls, etc. The prices are quite reasonable and the quality is not bad at all. They import many well known company items which makes it easier for us to order the items.

Mameshiba makes an appearance!

The site doesn't accept paypal, so you do need to have a credit card to make an order. Also if you do make a pre-order you have to wait until all the items are in stock before they can ship your final order. They don't split up the shipments. (Which is why ours took awhile). We made the order back in the middle of March and it arrived today, a 3.5 month wait!

Mint on Card invoice

The box arrived at my front door, and it was packaged in a sturdy shipping box. Inside was stuffed with packing peanuts and a layer of bubble wrap. The invoice had a marshmallow stuck on it. Wouldn't a mint been more appropriate? (^_~)*

The goodies

Forgive the horrible lighting in these photos. There wasn't much sunlight when I took the photos and I haven't installed photoshop on my computer yet (and I'm too lazy to run them through the editor on Flickr!) >3<;;

All the shoes were individually packaged in plastic zip lock bags and they also have some price tags on them. I was a bit worried about the pair of 1/3 heels that were crammed into the tiny bag. I'm surprised how they got it in there!

1/3 shoes from Angell Studio

A-S Fairy Lady Heels

A-S Lace High Heels

These are the 1/3 shoes my sister ordered from Angell Studio. On the left are the Fairy Lady Heels and on the right are the Lace High Heels. They're really cute and I wish they were real sized because I really like the houndstooth shoes!! The detail on the front is very pretty. The Lace heels have a cute detail on the sides and I was glad that the feathers didn't get crushed in the packaging! These shoes remind me of a pair my sister owns...or something really similar to ones I have seen in person somewhere. Maybe Zara? Or a Louboutin shoe?

Once again I have to wonder why dolls get all these pretty accessories and items when our own closets are lacking... LOL! The pain and woes of a doll collector.

1/6 and 1/4 shoes

These are some of the cheaper shoes that were part of my order. I just got the panda ones because I thought they were cute..and there weren't expensive at all! The flats will get transformed into something else. I don't expect those bows to stay on there for a long time...

These are the boots I got for my MSD boy from Dollzone. They're being modeled by my girl right now though out of convenience just to make sure they fit... >3<;; 

They're quite nice and the belt straps on the top come off too. The style is meant to either be worn up, or folded halfway down. I like how the bottom portion of the shoes look.

I just have to make the outfits that some of these shoes were intended for now! (*o*@)!!

Overall, the order from Mint on Card was a pleasant process. The site is quite up to date with their stock and their pre-order conditions are listed well on their site. They do say when the order will be made, but the time in between isn't really determined. You just have to be patient and the order will be put through. As long as you're not in a rush for some of their pre-order shoes, everything else would arrive within a timely fashion. The package arrived within 2 weeks of shipment through regular First Class post from USPS.

Thanks for reading!
♥

Lolita Fashions - Pt. 3 (featuring Baby, the Stars Shine Bright)

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright is one of my favorite lolita brands, and the first one I knew about when I first learned about lolita fashion. One of the more expensive brands out there, however their prints are quite sophisticated and the lace and materials used are quite lovely. 

Baby is well known for their sweet (amai) prints and they have some great classic designs too. Their collections often also feature a rabbit, named Usagi-chan. Because I really love fairytale prints, I believe Baby is one of the best companies out there who have put out many different classic fairytale prints. It's an interesting concept because lolita is built upon the idea of princess-like attributes, and what could be better than wearing some exceptional dresses and bringing some lace and frills into your life while encompassing this ideal?

The first experience I had with Baby was when we went to Tokyo a few years ago. In my guide book one of the areas mentioned to go to was the Baby showroom, and when I showed it to my sister she immediately said she wanted to go there. I wasn't so enthusiastic about lolita then, but it didn't hurt to go see what Baby had to offer (^__^")

The showroom in Daikanyama is the flagship store and would ideally carry all of the present collections. Oddly enough, it was tucked into a corner of a building entrance and it wasn't until I mentioned we would have walked past it already and turned back we saw the plaque on the wall. 

Baby the Stars Shine Bright Daikanyama. The sign was so small that we walked by it.

Down the corridor you see the doors to the store.

 You aren't allowed to take pictures inside the store, like most shops in Japan. The store is quite small, I was expecting it to be larger, but space is hard to come by in Japan. The shop assistants are so adorable! They tried to help us as much as they could even though they spoke little to no english. My sister would ask them for certain sizes or colors for shoes and I would have to try to tell them in Japanese. They were so sweet and when they both gave us a 'sold out', it was so funny and cute. They did however, recommend another pair of shoes to my sister which she did buy. They are super cute, but sadly they do not fit anymore (>__<) and my feet are too small to wear them. 

Baby shoes from their 2008 collection.

My sister did buy an umbrella from Baby too, and I have to point out she hasn't used it yet. Don't know what she's waiting for. (^__~)'

One of Baby's newest collections is Rin-Chan's Black Cat. Rin-chan is part of the staff at Daikanyama. The collection features a cute dress, blouse, handbag, and some accessory pieces. I actually really like the dress and the bag. It's really charming and cute. I think style correctly, it can be very versatile. (Although I don't know if the tail is removable. I hope so?)

Rin-Chan's Black Cat OP with the blouse. The back has a tail! Check it out here.

Rin-chan's Black Cat purse. It's so cute!

I don't know if Rin-chan worked at the Baby store when we were there, but I think it would be so cute to meet her! She is adorable! The price for the OP is a bit steep, however, compared to their "For Pure Maiden" set, it's cheap. Which I can't say is a bad or good thing. I think if you really love it, you just have to go for it. Go big or go home! I don't know if I will consider getting this set...but it definitely is on my wish list.

If you have ever wondered what it is like to be in a lolita shop, it's actually not a scary experience. Yes, there's an overwhelming amount of pink in Baby stores, but the staff are very kind and let you browse through things on your own. Granted, the experiences that I was in Baby, I was talking in english with my sister and friends, so they tend to shy away until you approach them for some help.

This is such a cute video! Misaki Aoki is a model for Baby and Rin-chan is there to help her out at the store. I love Rin-chan's voice... \(^__^-)/

What I find interesting from Baby is that they explore the use of velvet and more luxurious fabrics. Usually their more high-end expensive items have so much workmanship featuring the use of chiffon and tulle. Most of the time the design is a bit out there for me to consider but it's still so lovely to look at!

Baby's Odette OP. The original price was 102,900 yen! Lolita Couture!

There are so many dresses from Baby that are so beautiful to talk about. I'll leave this particular post with the Cinderella Jewelry print from last year. If I could ever find it at a reasonable price, I think I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. Something about this print gnaws at me and I really want it if I could have it. The print is gorgeous with the Cinderella motifs in the frames. However, it is a very popular print and it's hard to find because of it's popularity.

Baby's Cinderella Jewelry JSK (2010)

Here are some of the panels on the print. Each frame features a different iconic scene from the story of Cinderella. You can also see the details of the pearls and other jewelry motifs built into the design.

Cinderella flees the castle at the stroke of midnight.

The glass slipper is returned.

 I think Baby offers so much with their designs and prints; so much fantasy and reminders of a time long past. It makes me very whimsical. It's true their products are quite expensive, but I think the workmanship and the thought that goes into the designs and prints reflect an extensive amount of work and in the end it's worth it. With all things, you should love the what you purchase and have an emotional attachment to it, and sadly, there's too much of this emotion when I look at some of Baby's designs! My poor wallet! (>__<)

My next post, I'll talk about my most recent Baby acquisitions. Stay tuned!

♥