Brand Tight Review - Baby the Stars Shine Bright

I just received another pair of tights this week from Baby the Stars Shine Bright from their US webshop sale that happened earlier this week.  Please feel free to tag or share this with other people and please by all means comment questions about any of the brands I review. I am happy to help as best I can.
My review is a 1 to 5 scale, 5 being the best, in regards to: 
Construction
Quality
Elasticity
How well the print holds up stretched
Print placement, Crispness, Alignment

I will also list :
Tights inseam to toe
Cost
Denier
Tall or Petite friendly

For reference in regards to size, I am 5'9"  / 175 cm and my inseam all the way to bottom of heel is 31.5" /  81 cm, hips 40" / 102 cm. The thickest part of my thigh is 23" / 60 cm and calf at  14.76 " / 37.5cm. In the visualization of the tights stretched I used a glass growler which is approx  15.5" / 39cm around.

For my original review My reference for petite was 5'0" but  one of my smaller petite friends was so kind to relay some additional info regarding her experience with the lengths of some of the tights as well. She is 4'10" leg inseam 25 "/66cm and shoes size 3.5 / 21cm.

Baby the Stars Shine Bright - Searching for Baroque Tights in

 

I actually ended up with two pairs of these tights due to a non responsive seller. I purchased one pair via Lacemakret nwt, and when the seller never responded and it took two and a half weeks. When they went on sale on the webshop, I purchased them again in the case I would not receive the pair I got through LM. Ironically enough, the SF store tights got here even before the LM users did.. So they both still arrived to me, thank goodness. The packaging is a simple cellophane with a cardboard piece to show the form of the tights. In the packaged version to the right of the first image you can see two models wearing BTSSB dresses as well as a business card.

• Construction: 5  No snags or misprints along the seams. Out of the package they were dyed evenly with no smell or residue.
• Quality: 5 They have a smooth soft feel to them and the colors are pretty vibrant. The details are pretty elaborate.
• Elasticity: 4 Pretty accommodating to my calves without distortion of angels or portraits that are midway up the print. They were a bit on the snug side for my butt which caused the crotch area to ride fairly low. 
• How print holds up stretched: 5 The print holds its dark color and there is barely any lightening of color.
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 5 Pretty on point in all aspects. I would have though around my thighs the mint color would have shown the lines but they held up pretty well. The lack of alignment is not really that noticeable when these are worn. Does have a darker green seam down the sides though.
• Inseam to toe: 26" / 66cm
• Denier: 80
• Cost: 30.00 These were on sale / $41 with priority 2 day shipping from Baby SF to TX
• Tall or Petite Friendly: I would say even for someone taller / larger hip size than me than me they would not stretch to fit comfortably as I had a bit of trouble with the stockings riding low in the crotch area ( there was about 2/1/2 - 3 inches between my pelvic area and the crotch area of the tights ) and as well a smaller person though they might be a bit big for someone shorter than 5ft.

I do like these tights. I think they would be pretty nice in the ivory colorway as well but I believe that is already sold out. They are a bit darker than the stock photos on babys website but I would like to try and see if another pair of their tights rings true on the fact they might be a bit too short for someone as tall as me.

I have two other pairs of tights still in transit but as soon as those get in I'll be sure to let you know. Thanks for reading!

Baroque : Missing Letter Keys / Rabbit Circus Comparison

I was recently contacted and asked to make reviews and a construction comparison of different dresses from one brand. Today I'm reviewing/comparison of construction for Baroque's Missing Letter Keys and Rabbit Circus. 

Communication is generally pretty good with Mana and they have also as of recent made a USA reservations page to make it a little bit easier with ordering..You can find it here.


Baroque's Missing Letter Keys and Rabbits came shortly after Pearl Drops on the Dry Flower in November 2012 and arrived around the beginning of January of 2013.

I own the black as well as the orange and although these are the same print there are a few slight differences that I'll also point out later.

The fabric for this dress was cotton. The print is pretty crisp and with some of the keys actually spell out the name " Baroque. " I thought this was a really nice touch to implementing the name into the dress. There is also a simple tag right next to the color coordinated zipper though no clasp at the top. You can also see some loose threading at the top of the dress where the lacing meets the zipper. 

The print is only on one side of the dress which is fine and there is partial back shirring as well. In this second photo you can also see that the lining is orange to match the dress which I thought was pretty cool.

 

The bottom pleated hem was sewn to the bottom of the lining as you can see here. It's.. well a bit of a mess when you look at the underside in the second photo and along the hem top right with the lace in the third. I'm not a grand seamstress by any means.. but I would have expected a little bit more from a company who is mass producing dresses. 

Another thing I would like to mention was that with my orange dress I only had one set of button holes with no option to adjust the straps, where in the back version of the same dress there are two. 

 

The print doesn't really match up very well on the side nor on the bodice ( it was a rather large issue with the Pearl drops series ) but it's not that noticeable when the sash and bows ( 2nd photo of all the bows and said sash as well as the free gift ) are worn over the dress.

It is nice however that there are little differences with the print of the ribbon details when placed next to one another.

Overall construction: 3 out of 5 
Print Crispness and Alignment: 4.5 out of 5

I have to admit even with the hiccups with the actual construction this is still and will forever be one of my favorite print dresses. It is a dress I never get tired of seeing and would someday love to own all of the colorways. I think that puts me at a somewhat biased opinion because I am willing to look over its short comings because I favor the print so much.




Baroque's Rabbit Circus came out after The Antique Chair collection in Feb of 2014 and shipped around April of this year. This is also after the Kingdom of Lolita series from which I ordered tights from Baroque. .

 I own both the black as well as the red gold colorway of this jsk with a black and white glitter star apron skirt.. thing.

The material is a heavier thick chiffon, dare I say crepe chiffon? I don't remember if this was noted during the reservation period and maybe I missed it , but I was actually surprised the dress was this material when I initially unwrapped these from shipment. The print is crisp and has a lot of details, even more than Missing Letter Keys. Again they also incorporated the name into the star designs and banners on the dress which I find very charming. There is not a tag with these dresses as there were in the prior releases however. 

With this print, the alignment is a bit better as you can see in the first photo. A majority of this print was along the border of the dress or along the bust so there wasn't a whole lot of print matching/aligning to make sure of. I'm super happy it didn't cut into any of the cameo portraits in either jsk so that's a plus.

 The print is one sided and the fabric dyed. My only complaint about this is that the black jsk doesn't really look black. It looks more navy in natural light and it it is virtually impossible to match to a black blouse. In the red x gold colorway and the navy x gold, the gold is more of a brown and not really gold at all like the trim which I would consider gold. The lace detailing is pretty intricate and is different from the original design. Though there are lots of left over threads from sewing the lace and dress together, the lines are cleaner and not as messy as before (see 2nd - 4th photo). The slip is also black to color match the dress.

On the back there is also partial shirring and adjustable straps. Both jsks this time had 4 sets of holes this time so felt no need to photograph twice.

The dress came with a lot of loose fibers / threads but the overall construction is a lot better than before.

The apron that was included with the jsks or ops came with in your preferred color option and  with or without stars. I chose stars for both colorways. The only drawback to this is that glitter gets everywhere... Seriously. I don't mind it so much, but I did have to shake out my comforter a few times after taking these photos.

Here is also the free gift that was included with this order as well as the extra bow. 

Overall Construction: 4 out of 5
Print Overall Crispness and Alignment: 4.5 our 5 The off color of the black really puts me off

I do enjoy this print and the thought and detailing  put into the print should not go unnoticed. My only qualms are of the choice of material as the dying make the colors a bit off, and since this material is a bit heavier than cotton it weights down your petticoat a lot faster. Also the straps even on the shorter settings have a big tendency to slip down during the course of the day.

The Weigh In 

 

Missing Letter Keys:

7.5

Rabbit Circus :

8.5

Missing Letter Keys is my favorite print wise, but construction wise Rabbit Circus is way better and cleaner.

 It should also be noted that for reasons unknown to me, these newer dresses by Baroque ( Circus, and from the looks of it, the cutlery dress ) can fit a much larger petticoat  ( think meta size huge poof ) and by doing so kind of makes it looks like you aren't wearing as much of one when the dress is worn. I am wearing one petticoat in the first photo and three in the second. It has also been noted that the dress pattern person, dress maker, and tights factory have been changed recently so there might be even more differences in construction, colors, and material choices in the future. In the next week or so I will be able to make a re-evaulation and review of Baroque's upcoming products as they have so graciously provided a pair for me to review.

Thanks for taking the time to read and hope to see you soon!

A Stocking Infatuation: Loliable Tights

So far I have covered lolita only brands, indie brands and now we come to a big chunk of my collection loliable brands. There are a lot of really artistic and amazing artists out there manufacturing tights, but whats great about loliable brands is that they don't cater to just lolita they cater to all types of fashion. I hope today by reading this you get to hear about a new brand or artist you have never heard of or rekindle some appreciation for and old favorite. Please feel free to tag or share this with other people and please by all means comment questions about any of the brands I review. I am happy to help as best I can.

My review is  made on a 1 to 5 scale, 5 being the best, in regards to: 
Construction
Quality
Elasticity
How well the print holds up stretched
Print placement, Crispness, Alignment

I will also list :
Tights inseam to toe
Cost
Denier
Tall or Petite friendly

For reference in regards to size, I am 5'9"  / 175 cm and my inseam all the way to bottom of heel is 31.5" /  81 cm, hips 40" / 102 cm. The thickest part of my thigh is 23" / 60 cm and calf at  14.76 " / 37.5cm. I wear size a 10 to 10.5 in womens or 27 cm. In the visualization of the tights stretched I used a glass growler which is approx  15.5" / 39cm around.

For my original review My reference for petite was 5'0" but  one of my smaller petite friends was so kind to relay some additional info regarding her experience with the lengths of some of the tights as well. She is 4'10" leg inseam 25 "/66cm and shoes size 3.5 / 21cm.

Merry Go Round  Candy Stripe Tights

These tights came in a little cellophane wrapping with a small sleeve with the Merry Go Round logo on them. I purchased this particular pair through a shopping service and didn't get all the little extra ads and bag but when I visited Japan this last April I purchased another pair at the store Dangerous Nude in Shinjuku, Tokyo. [ Shout out to the Tokyo International lolita comm for being the most hospitable and sweet girls ever for bring me there <3 ]

• Construction: 4.5 A good well rounded good quality tight. Thicker fibers, good color albeit darker than normal, and they are stretchy and not stiff.
• Quality: 4 I really like these tights. They are pliable, soft and the print is unique. The red was a lot more of a bordeaux than red when I received them so that was a little disappointing. The beige looked a little weird against my skin tone because I'm very not white but that is no ones fault. No smells or curious odors when taken out of the package.
• Elasticity: 5 These are pretty stretchy. As these are not really made to fit someone of my size I did pull off wearing these to a meet and walking around Tokyo all day. They are not stiff at all but the waist band probably hit maybe two inches above my pelvic shave line so they sat pretty low and my hip measurement was not lending any favors.
• How well the print holds up stretched: 3.5 / 4 I'm on the fence about this because I feel if I were a shorter person the print would not have looked so faded when stretched out. My size was not so much an issue as much it was my height. There was a noticeable amount of discoloration as the print went past my mid thigh.
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 5 The side view shows the alignment of the pattern matching back to front. The overall design is on point and crisp. On par with brand tights.
• Tight inseam to toe: 26.5" / 67.31cm
• Cost: 3500 yen
• Denier: 80?? To be honest it was never listed anywhere and I also can't find it on their website or blog if you can confirm the weight I'mm change it accordingly.
• Tall or Petite friendly: Petite friendly! These tights are not made for tall girls at all. I would  strongly suggest the otks if you are interested in trying them out.

All in all these were good tights and I would recommend these for girls shorter than me. They're super cute and especially for someone into sweet or creepy cute, these are right up your alley. I am in the process of obtaining a pair of their otks and will update if these will be an option for taller girls seeing as how for otks l getting them over your whole legs is not so much an issue.

MAM Avant Garde Drop Tights

I purchased these tights at their brick and mortar shop in Harajuku Tokyo Japan in April. It was downstairs of a building and really super niche. I think its places like this that make me love their culture. The tights are wrapped in a cardboard cover with a snazzy design and then covered again cellophane. I even kept the receipt andyou can see I got these on sale.

Construction: 5 These are incredibly well made. They have a soft shimmer to them and they feel like silk on your skin. Print dye job is bright and vibrant, no smell when opening the package.

Quality: 5 Super soft texture and feel like you're wearing breathable velvet .

Elasticity: 5 Super super super stretchy. I actually kind of thought these might be too big on me before I put them on. I think I'm so used to wearing high denier tights that I almost ripped these putting them on thinking I would have to pull them taught as I go.. which you don't, they slide like a dream. 

How well the print holds up stretched: 5 They looked beautiful.

Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 5 There isn't really an overlapping or aligning issues but I would have to check if I got any of their more lined vivid tights. Drops looked crisp when worn but sort of bled into my tattoos since the denier was so low.
Inseam to toe: 26" / 66cm but it varies. They carry different sizes for their tights so I would imagine the inseam would be different.

Cost: These are originally 2500 but I got them on sale. On their website prices range from 1000 to 540000 yen. For the special edition collaborations like the EVA x MAMAvantGarde are around 4100 yen and the 540000 Swarovski collaborations 80 denier tights can be found here.

Denier: Varies. This particular pair is only 20, but they ranges from 10 to 80

Tall or Petite friendly: Both! They accommodate for all sizes.

This is by far my favorite loliable brand. I chose to use a lower denier for this review because I have been mostly posting a lot of my thicker tights and felt I needed to balance this a little more.  I wish they would do more asymmetrical prints but I really enjoy the fact they just have some really creative prints ranging from paintings to color block to furry socks. They ship internationally and are really easy to work with if you have trouble.

Sakizo with Daughter of the Circus Tights

These tights were purchased after the Triple Fortune and Brilliant Star Event in Tokyo. This is technically a re-release but I was still pretty excited to add these to my collection. They come in a cellophane slip with artwork from Sakizo on the front.

•  Construction: 4 These are pretty well put together. The waistband itself is pretty accommodating and the print is pretty and eye pleasing. The colors said red though and the packaging says bordeaux.. honestly in real life its more purple brown red chutney.. or a brown merlot, if that makes sense.
• Quality: 3.9 The fabric is soft but it feels off and a bit scratchy in comparison to others I own. The double sided printing of the tights is really good and the tights colors are pretty vivid, but the black isn't as dark as it should be and the bordeaux doesn't look like.. bordeaux.. No odors or smells from the tights.
• Elasticity: 3.6 Snug fit. The elastic comes about and inch and a half from navel but the tights themselves are a bit on the stiff side everywhere else. Not a lot of roominess on the butt end. Sort of up in the air of how they will hold up in the long term like they might want to roll down if wearing over the course of the day. 
• How well the print holds up stretched: 5  Around the calves and thighs they were fine, a bit snug in the bum area and there was some slight fading. Pretty opaque throughout the legs though. Not going to knock off points for an area where people can't see.
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 5 Placement is perfect, Crispness throughout and alignment on point. 
• Inseam to toe: 29" / 73.66cm
• Cost: 3333 Yen
• Denier:80
• Tall or Petite friendly: Petite to a tee. Above mentioned friend wanted to mention at 4'9" had an issue with the tights being baggy and bunching around her ankles as she wore them through out the day. I am on the fence as to recommend these to taller lolita. They're just a bit too stiff to my liking and I'm afraid that even at 5'7" it might not be a good idea to wear these. I would be cautious if you are a taller lolita considering these.

All in all not a bad pair of tights for the price. I probably would shell out the extra 700 yen for brand tights though if given the choice between the two. They're really colorful but not a lot of options colorwise. And not a lot of people can work brown merlot into a coord or brown tights with red and pink strawberries.. but to each their own.

These are Grimoire Une bibliothèque secrète and La Fee dans le Mounde du Verre Tights 

• Construction: 4.5 (My only gripe) Why don't these guys just settle on one uniform length for tights? I have 8 pairs of tights from them and they are all different lengths. ALL of them. Why? The world may never know. Other than that the prints are always beautiful, always super soft and they make a lot of different deniers so that's always a plus for variety.
• Quality 4.5 Great craftsmenship, attention to detail, and I've never had a pair of tights that smelled off. The fading in the black irks me with some of their prints though.
• Elasticity: 5 they are amazing and I've never had a waistband or stiffness issue.
• How well the print holds up stretched:  3.5 if its black and heavier denier / 4 if it is any other color honestly. I have no idea why, but Grimoire's black always looks  distorted / stretched out and mildly faded even on smaller people in my opinion. With cream or red and even green this is not the case. There is some small fading on the other colors but never as noticeable as it is with the black.
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 4.5 I really love the creativeness behind the tights and the prints are almost always clear. Alignment is sometimes an issue on the sides.
• inseam to toe: drastic differences... 
• Cost: varies, Library was 3990, Fairy 3360, but usually not more than 4400
• Denier:  varies, secret library are 80 and Fairy Butterfly is 20
• Tall or Petite friendly: both! The sizes are pretty random in length as you can see in the first photo. Almost each pair I own are a different length which is kind of queer but there has never been a pair I could not fit comfortably.

This brand was the first place I bought printed tights from and still continue to. From when I started collecting they have always had intentional shipping so you can always order direct from them and there is no need for an SS. I was so sad I did not get to visit their shop when I visited this year and it's one of the first places to go to on my agenda when I go again. I highly recommend these  tights to people of all shapes and sizes.

Thank you for reading this segment and I hope this was useful for you as it was fun for me to do. I still have a few other pairs of tights to review and coming in the mail but I want to wait until I fully assess them before making any recommendations.

Waiting to review: Poposhop Boom Deisgn Replicas, Merona

Coming in the mail: Yoh tights, Btssb, Kira Imai, PielPie

When money allows next que: Kira Imai, Madame Chocolate, JetJ, Triple Fortune

Until next time happy stocking hunting!