[Real vs Replica] Angelic Pretty's Melty Moon purse

Top row: real Angelic Pretty purses. [lolibrary link]

Bottom row: Taobao replicas

Angelic Pretty's Melty Moon shoulder bags have been immensely popular since the 2013 advertisement of their re-release of the Dream Sky print series. The purse showed up in the photos but no mention of it in any price sheet or release announcement was shown. Many people however were gushing over just how cute and even unique the bags were. There was speculation that it would be released along with the dress release but it was all just hopeful talk. The purses didn't get an advance announcement but were simply added to the online shop and, very quickly, sold out afterwards. To my knowledge AP only did one rerun of the series of bags, though it would not surprise me one bit if they end up doing more! Personally I'd love to see new colors such as white, silver, or gold.

A few days ago it came to my attention that there was Taobao shop that was selling replicas of the bags. Loris had previously done a replica run however their bags have a cloud on the bottom instead of the drippy parts, and are without the printed star detail. I don't currently own loris' moon bag so I can't compare it to these- though I HAVE heard that they are a fair big bigger than the AP bags.

The Taobao shop, called "Michiko Cat", only carries blue, pink, purple, and yellow bad replicas so I was a bit sad to see I couldn't get a black one. I ended up ordering yellow, blue and purple. I already own the brand pink bag so I didn't feel the need to buy it and the yellow one was bought so I could more accurately compare it for this review, and also so I could use it with everyday wear while not worrying about messing up my brand purse so much.

There are a few general observations I've had about all three bags and would like to point those out before I inspect each color separately.

Firstly the hardware! The main zippers are still star shaped but are lacking the tiny "AP" embossed into them. The stars are also noticeably bigger in size. The small zippers on the back of the dangling stars also have different pulls which I found a bit odd since the AP bags have very generic zipper pulls here, whereas the replicas have a more unique pull style used.
The buckles on the shoulder straps are heart shaped on the replica. While I think they're still cute they really don't fit the star theme at all. They DO make room for the strap better than Angelic Pretty's star buckle, but again... disjointed theme :(
The stud pieces that finish the strap to attach it to the body of the bag however are still stars. So that small detail is still the same. As well as the buckle loops they're attached to still being the same style.

The stars printed on the front are good & on the dangling star it really, almost shamelessly, says "Angelic Pretty" in silver lettering. Not sure how I feel about that one.

Some of the stars however are attached in ways that are incorrect when compared to the real bag while some are attached correctly. The incorrect star for mine is only on the blue bag. It's not super obvious though unless you know to look for it. I also noticed the stitching on the stars is somewhat wonky and not as nicely spaced as with the real legit bags, while the star pieces themselves aren't also lined up well.

The facing inside the main body of the moons is actually stiffer than the real ones so my guess is they'll be more likely to get bent in a way that damages them. Some of the pieces don't line up right and have weird top stitching. All have generic pink lining and a small inner pocket.
The outer stitching is at times wonky and not always evenly spaced. I expected as much and it doesn't always detract from the bag unless it starts to pull oddly or the pieces aren't lined up correctly.

Material pulling oddly on the inside of the moon's curve.

Misaligned pieces on the replica's "drip".

The yellow bag specifically is a lot more of a "dirty" yellow color as opposed to a true yellow. Also much darker than the original. The material, however, is fairly soft for a replica bag and is much better than most cheaper bags/purses I own. It did however have a strong chemical smell and you will want to air it out before using it. I just set them on my window sill for a few days and this usually does the trick for me. There wasn't any squeaking when I rub the material against itself like with a few others (noted below) . And the dangling star is attached correctly. Overall it's the better material wise of the 3 I ordered but the swtitching construction is still off a lot.

When it comes to the blue bag however the material feels oddly sticky and makes HORRID squeaking noises when it rubs against itself (tempted to video record this honestly lol). It also had weird random little pieces of clear tape stuck to it but no tack was left when I picked them off. Much less wonky stitching on it compared to the yellow bag here. The loop for the dangling star is placed wrong and thus doesn't hang like it should but it's not a total deal breaker honestly. Just a small detail. Material wise this one was the worst but construction wise it was the best.

The purple purse is not as soft as the yellow purse but gladly it is not sticky like the blue; but it actually almost feels... dry to the touch? Very hard to describe. It does have a slight squeak when the material rubs but not enough to cause an annoyance. It also has a slight smell but not nearly as stinky as the other 2. This one however has LOTS of marks (especially on the inside) where the machine foot tried to "walk" over the material with great difficulty. And again... the dangly star is attached correctly! Yay!

Yucky marks from the sewing machine pressure foot.

All in all for 128 Yuan each these bags are really not that bad at all! They're certainly much cheaper in price and quality but make a fair substitute for the real ones. However it does seem to be like running a gambit when it comes to the quality of the bags between the colors. If anyone else has bought these bags please let me know what your colors were like. I'm curious if the wonky stitching is a color-based happenstance or if it's completely random.

[Michiko Cat Store Home][Melty Moon direct link]

*Note* I will forever say purchase the original bags from Angelic Pretty if you can as the quality is always so much better! And supporting the brand you love is the best thing to do! But understandably buying them isn't always possible ^^;;