First Haul of the Year

A great way to start off the new year is starting it with receiving new things in the mail! Luckily I had quite a lot come in over the holiday weekend, but sadly, I did not have as much time on my hands to get around to opening everything and give it a good once over until now.

Here's a shot of everything together out of the packaging. It's a total of four packages hailing from Japan, Singapore, Canada and the United States. I kind of get the feeling my post man is always dumbfounded as to why I'm getting so many international packages. But at the same time my better half gets a lot of packages from a tailor in Italy and aclothier in London on a fairly common basis so I guess I shouldn't feel so bad as I'm not the only one int he house doing it. 

My first package was a trio of dragon crowns from VoodoooDolly. I had a couple of chances to get crowns from her before but I was absolutely enchanted with this particular style since I saw it as a raffle prize at Nightfall earlier this spring. She hasn't had this style for sale in a while and it was well worth the wait in my opinion. I can't wait to integrate them into my next outfit.

They are all metal and a bit on the bendy side but are a celebrated addition to my wardrobe since my tastes have been steadily moving towards more ouji and hime looks. As always her packages come with a wax sealed note which you only get with shipments, a great little goodie if you collect memorabilia.

My second package consisted of a singular dress, Juliette Justine's La Fleur Princesse in mint. A fellow lolita in Singapore was so gracious to sell it to me, aiding in my obsession of colorful chiffons from my favorite brand. The material is very reminiscent of Coppelia and Robe de la Danse.

Continuing on my streak of good luck, I placed one of my favorite blouses (it's also from Juliette Justine ) to see how the shade matched and it's almost identical! I'm pretty sure it's the same material but it's really satisfying for me when I find matching tones in similiar items as I'm a very matchy-matchy kind of person.

After giving the dress a look over for any tears or stains, I found I couldn't find the tag at all. I turned it inside out and became a bit frantic as the usual placements for the tag were nowhere to be found. It was rather odd as I finally found the tag near the bottom of the lining doubled over. I think this is the first time I've encountered a tag placement here from this brand. Has anyone else have this experience from JetJ?

My third package was from Divinity Doll, a Canadian seamstress and jewelry maker. I had commissioned this piece from her a month or so back and was really excited to see the finished product. I won't be going into too much detail about this piece as I'm going to do a separate write up for cage/hoop skirts later this month, but I'm terribly excited to work with this new alternative to petticoats.

My final and package was a Thaddeus Vest from Alice and the Pirates. I've been slowly collecting more and more boy style pieces and found this might become a staple piece in my wardrobe due to it versatility for both male and female coordinates. Upon inspection I've found the construction of this jacket is quite.. Interesting; and flawed would only be the beginning of my description for this piece. It's still quite wearable though, and I am rather fond of the jacquard fabric. For those of you that also have outerwear pieces from AATP, its the same as the Admiral Jacket and Captain Hollow.

Thanks for ducking in and checking out this first years unboxing. I hope you're as lucky in your finds this year as I have been and may the odds on auctions be ever in your favor!

Unboxing and Detail Spotlight : Juliette et Justine's Robe De la Antique Doll

I recently received Juliette et Justine's Robe de la Antique Doll and wanted to the share the unboxing as well as some detail shots for this particular gown. This brand generally gets a lot of flack in regards to their printed dresses so I wanted to show some of their other non printed designs which are pretty great and don't get a lot of recognition in my opinion. 

I've been waiting for this dress for a little while now and thought the actual release time was going to be pushed back since the dress before it, Petite Robe de être et le Néant, better known as the Momento Mori / Vanitas dress, had been having issues and that initial release was delayed. It arrived around Tuesday however, right before Thanksgiving, so it was quite a nice thanksgiving surprise.


The box was a little dinged up when it arrived, but luckily it did not have any water damage or any tears or holes.

Like most of their shipped items it was packaged in tissue paper, yet this time it was also wrapped in a celllophane bag. I also ordered a pair of tights pictured above and for all terms and purposes the packaging for everything was much like the last release I received, Cadre du Usagi in sax. 

The dress is a very interesting color and ranges between a muted purple to a grey brown depending on the lighting. The sash looks more like a dusty plum in come lights to the grey brown again as well. I think it resembles most a muck lavander or taro coloring. It's really unique and I'm afraid my photos really don't do this dress any justice. 

I fond the bodice particularly pretty, and found it very reminiscent of another piece I own by them, Robe de la Danse, which I'm wearing in my Bunny House petticoat review. Also in the photo below and above you can see that the bow sash is actually sewn in place and not a removable sash. I liked the choice of colors to compliment the main color but I am quite sure this will be a challenge to coordinate color wise as I don't really own any shoes in either colorway or anything that remotely compliments these tones.

The front details of the gown has a sort of a slanted scalloped layout and thought that idea was pretty unique especially in the way the chiffon drapes over one another down the front. I think with the different lengths and subtle changing shades of chiffon coupled with the diagonal flowing lines in the front panel gives the dress more character and adds depth to a normally plain solid piece.

When flipped it shows the diagonal scallop details a bit more clearly than the front does. 

I was a little sad when I looked at the sleeves, I guess I'm just more accustomed to not having elastic in sleeves, but it makes sense given that arm sizes tend to fluctuate from person to person. 

All in all, I'm quite happy with my purchase and have been slowly piecing together something for a coordinate since I was really usnure of the true colors; so sadly there's no coordinate photo but another shot of the front.

I really wanted to share this piece and my love for Juliette Justine's non printed pieces and hope perhaps you saw something you liked here as well. I was a bit nervous after hearing the troubles Petite Robe de être et le Néant was having so was so very much relieved when it came without any discrepancies or funky puckered hems. Thanks for reading!

Review: Juliette et Justine : A Rabid Rabbit Collection

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to receive a bit of an items haul and with it my Juliette et Justine Cadre du Lapin in Bleu Fume. This is my third favorite dress I own by them [ Un manage robe and Robe de la Danse being first and second ] and I was pretty torn between the rose dragee and blue fume. I took a bit of a gamble on it seeing as how they had not released the colorway as a sample photo; but my friends that attended Anime North where JetJ had showcased these new colorways said that both were astounding. Juliette Justine also ended up releasing a skirt version in a slightly brighter pink. You can view all the colorways of the jsk releases here.

Here is the packaging which with every shipment they also include a little slip which has your order and additional information about the specific item you purchased. The dress itself is double wrapped. It is first encased in a sealed plastic bag and then again in tissue paper and pressed with a small seal sticker and ribbon to look like a little badge or rosette on the tissue paper. It's a nice additional touch that they've done with every release I have purchased with them and I'm a sucker for small details like that. 

 The fabric of the dress has the look of shantung or dupioni silk ( though its listed as polyester from the website ) so it has a bit of a textured look overall. The print is crisp and pretty colorful. I already own the black version of this dress so it was a bit surprising to see the trim after first laying it out. Instead of being a warm cream its more of an ecru / tea dye. The print looks really different in a lighter colorway, and in my opinion stands alone from the original albeit being the same print. In the last photo is both colorways side by side.

 There are a few breaks in the print alignment with the cameos but they try to keep it as minimal as possible. If you check in the front of the bodice you can also see that they lined the front with the material that matches the sash, another nice touch.

The dress is a back zip instead of a side zip and the print also continues over the back bodice. As you can also notice in the photo is that there is no shirring. To be truly honest one of the reasons its my favorite brand is because of this. On a personal level I really would prefer a dress to be fitted to me than to have shirring and they are one of the few brands that offer this. When reserving an item with Juliette et Justine they also offer limited custom alterations to your item give or take 3 to 4cm. I am fortunate enough to be within their fitting sizes but its nice to know that I can get a brand dress fitted to my specific measurements, that way I don't have to worry about corset lacing or waist ties.

 But for you ladies and gents that do not fit, there are also other options! Some of their dresses offer a design that includes partial shirring and fully shirred; there has even been a release that included a size 4 which goes up to 100cm bust and 80cm waist. The designer, Miss Nakamura, has expressed in quite a few of her interviews that she was interested in expanding and making more sizing options so I feel even in the near future more sizes will be made to accommodate which is awfully awesome.

I actually had a bit of a hard time finding the seam of this dress which makes me ridiculously happy. It follows down right through the middle of one of the cameos and they did a great job of lining up the print. You can also see how clean the lines are on the underside in the second photo with minimal stray threads. I think I found two? This sort of construction and attention to detail gives an overall seamless look which I always look for in a dress. Lack of print alignment can sometimes make a good cute dress look really sloppy when you see one half of a rabbit face poking out at one end and half of another on the other end. 

Now here are some photos of the slip as well as the bottom hem. There is an additional layer of nylon lining added right above the bottom hem of the dress almost like a built in petticoat but only sewn in along the bottom and not the whole dress. I think it was just made to have the bottom look a bit more full.

Last but not least are photos of the sash. It's the print repeated twice on both sides and can be used as an accessory or not at all with this piece. It also carries the same corresponding hem color as the dress. I sort of find the sash to be a bit much with the dress and have been trying to find new ways to incorporate it into the coord instead of wearing it as the actual sash.

Overall Construction : 5 Straight seams, clean lines through out, a lot of thought and detail is put forth and it shows.
Design: 4.5 I think this cut is a little on the plain side though still very flattering as with the previous release. I was a little put off by the tea dyed / Ecru trim since it didn't look this dark in the stock photos. I love the included sash accessory even though, I myself, suck at using it.
Quality: 5 Everything is very soft, and fabric used gives it a very luxurious oppulent look.
Print, crispness and placement: 5 On point all the way. Why doesn't one of the rabbit have a top hat? I would really like a top hat and monocle..haha


 All in all I'm actually pretty happy I ended up getting the blue since it suits my wardrobe palate more. I originally wanted the pink thinking the color hems would be pretty close to the original black colorways so I could use the black sash with the pink dress and  vice cersa and have them correspond with one another. Seeing the difference in person I'm glad I went with my gut. Maybe one day I'll try to hunt down the pink.

I hope you guys stay tuned, Rufflecon is mere weeks away and I can't wait to get started on my first experience to New York and visting BTSSBNYC. At Rufflecon I am going to see Triple Fortune again and Enchantlic Enchantilly! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading.

A Stocking Infatuation : Lolita Brand Tights

As I began wearing lolita, it also sparked a love for finding and collecting fashionable tights. I've been mulling around and idea for a guide and review for various types of tights that are popular in lolita fashion. I will be breaking up my posts into three different categories of  Brand / Indie / Loliable and as I procure more, they will be tagged accordingly to find later. 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.

Today I'm going to review brand tights from Victorian Maiden, Juliette et Justine, Enchantlic Enchantilly, and Triple Fortune.

These are Juliette et Justine with Ribbon Tights.

The packaging is pretty basic consisting of a card board sleeve and cellophane as well as a sleeve that tells about the denier and the print. Every once in a while the style of tights the girl is wearing will change but these are pretty much the basic sleeve. In this particular case since these ribbon tights were purchased direct from their website, they also included a little leaflet about the tights.

• Construction: 5  out of the package they were dyed evenly with no smell or residue.
• Quality: 5 Being made of polyester they have a smooth soft feel to them and the thickness definitely shows.
• Elasticity: 5 They were both accommodating  to my calves as well as a waist line with even more room to stretch without distorting the print. They are not stiff at all and also shrank down to size when washed and do not look stretched out.
• How print holds up stretched: 5 The print does lighten up a bit but still holds its dark color. See last photo.
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 5 I'm usually a stickler about this. They aligned the print across the sides of the calves to match on both sides and the ribbon print is very crisp as well as the detailing of the cats and lace.
• Inseam to toe: 26" / 66cm
• Denier: 80
• Cost: 3990 Yen
• Tall or Petite Friendly: On the packaging it says from 90 - 160 lbs. I would say even for someone taller than me they would accommodate pretty well and as well a smaller person though they might be a bit big for someone shorter than 5ft.

All in all, I own 7 pairs of Juliette et Justine tights and  otk tights and they are all about the same in price, size, and quality. I would highly recommend these if you do not mind the thickness of 80 denier tights.

Next are Victorian Maiden with Victorian Queen Tights

The packaging consists of a cardboard flap for the tights as well as regular cellophane. There is also a little card that has the price as well as the name of the tights on the card. Each one from the series is a little different and the back panel of the design actually includes the print from the tight. It's a nice touch of detail in my opinion.

• Construction: 5 Strong waist band and no smell from the dye when first opened.
• Quality: 5 Very well crafted and soft to the touch. Also no bleeding when washed ( I also have this particular print in different colorways. ) The polyester fibers are soft and pliable for such thick tights
• Elasticity: 5 The waist band went past my navel so these were fairly stretchy and then some. 
• How well the print holds up stretched: 4.5 The print distorts a little up over my back end but thats hidden under petticoats. It also lightens overall so keep that in mind when color matching items. See last photo
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 5 The print overall is flowers and crowns and when worn it looks like a lot of busy camouflage but the crown outline and details are still pretty visible and crisp.
• Inseam to toe: 25" / 63.5 cm
• Cost: varies Depending if you're ordering from Beth or Victorian Maiden the price is a bit different as are the prices for the otks of the same fabric. But you're looking between 2,900 and 4000 yen usually.
• Denier: 80
• Tall or Petite friendly: I would say yes to both parties. Although 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.


You can even be a little rougher with these as they are a thicker denier and super stretchy. I love the varying color choices.These are by far my favorite brand tights and currently own  6 pairs of their tights and would love to own them all if they matched my wardrobe. 

The next brand is Enchantlic Chantilly with Thigh Highs / OTKS.

The packaging is much the same as before with a cellophane cover and cardboard to hold the tights in place.There is not book or slide cover with these tights / otks. They whole outside presentation is pretty basic, but the presentation isn't so much as important as the tights I suppose?

• Construction: 5  Evenly dyed and clean overall look.
• Quality: 5 Almost silky outer texture for polyester and a lot of detail are put into these tights.
• Elasticity: 5 Even as otks these have a fair amount of stretch and went to my mid thigh easily, could have probabl gone a bit higher.. I would still recommend garters if wearing the otks however as after a half an hour to an hour they will start to slide down depending on your size.
• How well the print holds up stretched: 5 The print fades slightly but not too bad when worn and continues fairly good opacity. The line stretches only really appear around the elastic towards the very top of the otks which are not visible when worn.
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 5 The diamonds are really detailed and also have letters in some of them. All are still very visible when worn and continues to look as crisp as when newly packaged. The side is aligned spot on and there is a lot going on and no detail is looked over.
• Cost: varies Depending if you're ordering otks or tights beween 4,536 and 3456 Yen
• Denier: 80
• Tall or Petite friendly: I would say yes to both parties. They are about as stretchy as their old diamond otks, the newer ones have been running shorter as of late, but they are fairly accommodating to both large and small lolita.


 I have yet to own the tights but am waiting for the gold diamond sleeping beauty colorway to be released and will update accordingly when they do.

My next on the list are Triple Fortune Tights ( I forgot the name of these particular ones. )

These tights I have owned for a while now and don't have the original packaging saved unfortunately. They came with a cardboard sleeve cover and had a plastic wrapping.

• Construction: 5 no smell from the dye and overall good feel.
• Quality: 4.5  Well crafted and soft to the touch. The color was a little lighter in person than in photos yet really vivid. The polyester fibers are not rough but also very visibly thick.
• Elasticity: 5 They have a lot of give especially around the waist band and hip area in general. I did not have an issue, but I will note there is not as much more give around the thighs bigger than mine without fading or stretch lines if you are a taller lolita.
• How well the print holds up stretched: 4 The print does fade slightly when worn but not so much that you see white streaks or print is distorted. Still continues to be opaque.
• Print placement, Crispness, Alignment: 4 Considering the print does not have a lot of overlap, it would not have been that hard to align the print where it does meet in my opinion. Print is clear and the placement is solid.
• Inseam to toe: 28" / 71"
• Cost: varies  4000  / 4100 yen usually.
• Denier: 80
• Tall or Petite friendly: I would say yes to tall but lolitas taller or more bootylishious ( I have been dying to use this in a sentence. ) than myself would need to watch the thigh / buttocks area for print thinning.




These are kind of hard to come by unless you use an SS via online or someone who can go to KERA. That quality is good and are fairly sturdy tights. 

Currently I have two other lolita brand tights ( Btssb and VM Beth )  in transit, so I should be updating fairly regularly. I hope those of you reading find this resource useful towards your next purchase. Tomorrow I'm going to go over Indie and Loliable tights, so I hope you stay tune and thank you again!