[Bodyline Review] Short Sleeve Ruffle Blouse in Pink & Lavender (L364)

Short Sleeve Ruffle Blouse [link]
L364
("Pik" = Pink)
("Pul" = Lavender)
[Review of White]

Size Medium
Length (52cm)
Bust (94cm)
Waist (80cm)
Shoulder length (36cm)
Sleeve length (22cm)


Shortly after Bodyline released a new series of items blouse L364 caught my eye. It seemed like a simple and cute enough blouse to be worn with a variety of dresses, skirts, and styles. I decided I'd give it a shot and order two of these blouses before many other reviews were out about them. The wide variety of colors was also a plus, as well as making it a bit difficult to choose what colors to order. What would be most versatile? What would look best with the wardrobe I have and want to build?

[Bodyline Review] White Cotton Knit Bolero (L237)

Cotton Knit Bolero [link]
L237
("Pik" = Pink)
("Owh" = Off White)

(Size Medium)
Length: 14in (37cm)
Bust: 33in (84cm)
Shoulder Width: 13in (34cm)
Sleeve length: 23in (60cm)


As I was first starting out and growing my lolita wardrobe it was fall in the Pacific Northwest and thus it was cold, rainy, and just all those good things that make it sweater weather! Most of my normal cardigans were much too long to wear with any lolita dresses or skirts so I figured buying some more suitable ones would be a good idea if I wanted to dress up during such a season. I was still very new and to me brands such as "Angelic Pretty" or "Baby the Stars Shine Bright" seemed expensive for a hobby I wasn't 100% sure I was going to stick with. And thus I bought these boleros from Bodyline.

That totally sounds like the beginning of a horror story!
(Note: I decided to only take pictures of the white bolero as the fabric I use as a backdrop is pink)

[Bodyline Review] Sax Blue "Pussy Bow" Blouse (L373)

Short Sleeve Ruffle Blouse [link]
L373
("Sax" = Saxon Blue)


Length: 52cm (20.5in)
Bust: 88cm (34.6in)
Waist: 78cm (30.7in)
Shoulder length: 34cm (13in)
Sleeve length: 18cm (7in)


I honestly wasn't sure what I thought of this blouse when I first saw the stock photo; the neck tie is so encompassing that it was a bit hard to see passed it to the actual blouse. While Bodyline has been "upping their game" with their stock photos every now and again I find them falling short. While this one does do a good job at showing how the blouse looks with the tie it also doesn't let you see all that much detail on, ya know, the actual blouse.

After scouring the internet a bit for some other photos from girls either wearing it or trying to sell it I decided to give it a shot and bought it in the saxon blue. I'm a bit weird when it comes to lolita as I'm honestly not a fan of huge Peter Pan style collars as I get the notion they end up eating your neck- so the fact that this is was a high collar blouse really interested me! It could be cute without too much going on like L364.

[Bodyline Review] Triple Bow lolita shoes (shoe259)

Triple Bow lolita shoes [link]
Shoe259
("dpink" aka Dark Pink)

Heel height: in (5.8cm)
Front platform: in (1.3cm)


I'll be completely honest outright. I've always thought these shoes were ugly. TOO sweet for my taste. I like cute things and bows as much as the next sweet lolita but my personal style falls on a weird line between sweet and classic. So these shoes with their giant clown-esque round toes and large bows all over were never something I thought I would be buying.

And then cosplays I want to do start getting planned for and I go in search of shoes. And these ended up being the closest in style without breaking my bank for what I needed. The cosplay is of Ranka Lee from the second Macross Frontier movie "Sayonara no Tsubasa"- namely her "Niji Iro Kuma Kuma" outfit. Aside from heavily altering some heels or finding other shoes I opted for an option I seemed less likely to hurt myself trying to walk in ^^;; (I'll talk more about these shoes for cosplay use once I make posts and progress on that.)

[Bodyline Review] Cut-out Lolita Boots (S506)

Cut-out Lolita Boots [link]
S506
("dbrw" aka dark brown)

Heel height: 2.3in (6cm)
Total height from heel: 11in (28cm)
Front platform: 0.6in (1.5cm)


When Bodyline first released photos into their "new" section on their Rakuten site these were instantly popular. The style was cute, unique, and very detailed for a pair of Bodyline shoes. I knew that I wanted to try them out as soon as I could buy them. They were super cute! I had been wanting to purchase a pair of lolita boots that were no the usually knee-high-with-a-couple-of-bows style many "lolita" boots tend to be, I was even pondering ordering some of the wedge-heeled ones (though I wasn't totally in love with them) so these dropped at the perfect time for me!

I ordered these on the 9th of February via AIR mail through Bodyline and received them on the 26th. The tracking actually said the package was still in customs on the 27th lol. So I'm starting to wonder just how accurate tracking can be. So long as my stuff even makes it into US customs I'm pretty happy ^^;;

Now onto the actual boots!
(*Note* I had to leave the tissue and foam supports in these boots to take photos of them due to how soft the material is.)

[Bodyline review:] Sax Blue 'Tea Party' lolita shoes (Shoes251/S522)

Double Strap Tea Party Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes251
("sax" aka Saxon blue)
[Review of Gold]
[Review of Silver]

Heel Height: 0.5in (1.2cm)

These shoes are so cute. I really think they're adorable! I generally don't wear flat "ballet-esque" shoes since for some reason they end up hurting my feet more than small heels. These seem like they have a heel but it's pretty much negligibly short in reality. But I really wanted to give these a shot since finding a variety of lolita shoes would be wonderful! But I just didn't have much luck with them in the end...

[Bodyline Review] Gold Double-bow platform lolita shoes (Shoes255)

Double-bow platform Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes255
("gld" aka Gold)
[Review of Navy blue]


Heel Height: in (9cm)
Front Platform: in (3cm)

I decided to give these shoes a try as I am used to seeing a lot of platform shoes in classic style lolita. Bodyline had them for a really great price and had just decided to make them available in gold and navy color! I had seen a ton of girls wear these previously so I figured "eh, what the heck?" and bought some for myself :3

[Bodyline Review] Navy Double-bow platform lolita shoes (Shoes255)

Double-bow platform Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes255
("nav" aka Navy blue)
[Review of Gold]


Heel Height: in (9cm)
Front Platform: in (3cm)


I've been wanting some navy lolita shoes for a long while now! Navy/blue is a lolita colorway I'm very attracted to and liked the idea of having lolita shoes to match some of my dresses. When select styles of Bodyline's shoes started getting navy colors I was excited though skeptical; how accurate were the stock photos? Would they end up some weird green color like shoes274 are (though those shoes are super cute and I'd still love to buy them!) I took a chance buying shoes255 in their navy color so at the very least I could write up a review here ^^;;

[Bodyline Review:] Fur-lined slouch ankle boots (shoes298)

Fur-lined slouch ankle boots [link]
shoes298
("blk-brw" aka Black with brown accents)

Heel Height: 2.3in (6cm)

I've seen these boots kickin' around on Bodyline's site for some time though in reality I never payed much mind to them. They seemed cute but I never wanted to risk the listing prices to find out (BL certainly seems to inflate prices when first listing shoes lately!). These boots however seemed to not be so popular as the prices fell, fell, and fell some more. Then the site had a 1000yen off all shoes sale and these boots became super cheap! I figured "why not!" and ended up buying them since I couldn't find any info on other blogs. Well I certainly am not disappointed!

First Bodyline order of the year~

It took all the way until February for me to make a Bodyline order! I'm honestly a bit proud of myself! Haha really though I don't order from them a lot- maybe once every 3 months is that? Regardless I made an order just last night because of some items Bodyline released recently! I also needed to snag up some shoes for some cosplay before they were totally sold out, so I took the opportunity to do so while also getting the new boots they released!

[Bodyline review:] GOLD Classic yet sweet lolita shoes (Shoes300/s507)

Classic yet Sweet [link]
shoes300 (same as s507)
("gld" aka Gold)
[Review of beige color]

Heel Height: ~2in (5cm)

I have found a new favorite shoe from Bodyline.
I cannot get over just how cute they look and feel! I ordered a size 245 as I generally wear a US size 7.5 and they fit perfectly on me so I would say that they are "true to size".

The shoe design has enough room to wear them with thick socks though your toes -may- hit the end a bit if the strap isn't buckled down tight enough. But there's also enough room in the toe box, and overall shoe, to wear insoles if need be.

[Bodyline review:] GOLD Double strap 'tea party' Lolita shoes (Shoes251/s522)

Double Strap Tea Party Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes251/s522
("gld" aka Gold)
[Review of sax blue]
[Review of Silver]

Heel Height: 0.5in (1.2cm)

I always find these shoes to be mega cute when I see them on Bodyline's site and so many girls wearing them made me want to try out my own pair. However I have found that no matter what size I buy they end up giving me a look similar to clown feet ~_~;;

[Bodyline review:] SILVER Double strap 'tea party' Lolita shoes (Shoes251)

Double Strap Tea Party Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes251
("sil" aka Silver)
[Review of Gold]
[Review of Sax blue]

Heel Height: 0.5in (1.2cm)

Shoes251 have become a very popular style of Bodyline shoes for not only sweet lolitas but also fans or fairy kei and kawaii styles in general. They are a very versatile and cute shoe so I am not surprised at all by their popularity.

However I've personally ran into some problems when trying to shoes out on my own.

[Bodyline review:] Sweet Strappy Lolita shoes (Shoes283)

Sweet Strappy Lolita Shoes [link]
shoes283
("blk-blk" aka Black)
("owh-owh" aka White)

Heel Height: 2.25in (5.5cm)
Front Platform: 0.9in (1.7cm)

I ordered these on two separate occasions. Once I've gotten an actual box with the shoes! And the other it was the normal wrapped-in-tissue thing Bodyline generally does with their shoes.

To be honest, while I like having the boxes, I have come to understand just why they don't ship them as well. The box corners punctures holes like crazy into the bags Bodyline uses to ship the shoes and the holes are by no means small. If you've ordered a small accessory it would surely fall out of the holes. If you are ordering JUST shoes you are more likely to get the boxes as well as opposed to an order of mix items. (I have NOT received a box with any boots I've ordered though.)

[Bodyline review:] Knee High Rose boots (SHOES225/s503)

Knee High Rose boots [link]
SHOES225
("owh" aka White)

Heel height: 2in (5cm)
Height from heel: 14.6in (37cm)

The boots were shipped, often as bodyline does, without a box. They were wrapped in tissue paper with a rolled foam insert to keep the shaft of the boot more rigid during shipping. I highly suggest you save the foam for when you store these boots!

I'll cut straight to the chase and say it now: THESE BOOTS ARE EXTREMELY STIFF! The material they're made of is NOT forgiving at ALL and will hurt your ankles if they wear in the "wrong" way D:
I decided to replace my laces with ribbon as the lace felt cheap and waxy to the touch. I figure there is  good reason for this but aesthetically I also prefer the ribbon. I have never worn the roses on the boots themselves as I found the clip backs will leave marks in the material. I have clipped them into wigs and on headbands though and they look very cute that way! I also received one of the roses with a missing hinge piece and thus couldn't even use it :T

The zip on my boots are sometimes fussy and require a good tug to get them up all the way. I also suggest that if you have larger calves that you do not purchase these boots as the top straps have zero flex and only a little room to velcro them larger. The tongue also has very little material to it so it will not be able to cover any gaping if you have large calves.

*note* I've discovered after many wears of these boots that one of the tongues isn't correctly placed within the boot so it causes just the bottom part covering my foot to slide sideways and pop out of the lacing a bit. It's more than annoying as, again, the material is very stiff and it starts to hurt the top of my foot :

Rose clips, how they work, and the broken one...

Lolita Resolutions for 2013

So I saw Pawawanpi make a post like this and I really liked the idea! A post about the direction, dreams, an aspirations for my lolita wardrobe. I have a lot of things planned in the future as for lolita but am also flying by the seat of my pants a bit ^^;;. So I think putting things into a list, or even just this post, is a good idea so I can come back and reflect, or just remind myself, of where I want to go and what I want to do with my collection

My goals for lolita in 2013:

~ Obtain at least 2 of the print pieces I really really love.
I have a few of these and while I know it seems almost showboat of me there are reasons I really love these dresses. To me it's not about popularity or anything of the such, as I know a good deal of them are indeed very "popular" by lolita standards. (Chess chocolate mint/ivory jabot jsk, Dream Sky navy/lavender jsk, etc etc) But it's more of me loving the print itself. It's like art to me. If I could just have bought fabric of it I would make all the things!

~ Fully construct at least 3 of the dresses I have doodled out designs for!
It's almost an addiction for me that, ever since I first discovered what lolita was 10 years ago, that I would doodle out designs for a "lolita" dress. Of course so many of them by today's standards would be considered "ita" to a lot of people: lace everywhere and large headdresses (lol). But that's what was popular back then. How -now- I have come up with some seriously cute ideas! Stay tuned for those though (Angelic Pretty should seriously hire me.)

~ Sew my own blouses.
Lolita blouses, in my opinion, are one of those things that are just so insanely prices that it boggles my mind. I've broken down the cost for a dress and so a, newly bought, brand dress generally has a "reasonable" price given costs, labor, materials and such. But a blouse, unless full of details, is just pretty fabric marked up due to a brand's name. And to be honest I don't often find blouses I actually like! So I plan to start sewing my own. This way I can cut and style them better for my body and not run the risk of measurement A or B not fitting right on a bought blouse.

~ Sell off unused/unwanted items
I have a lot of unworn skirts hanging in my closet that I didn't like for one reason or another- generally the waist band's elastic is too strong (curse you bodyline!) and I'm a bit too lazy to alter them. It annoys me because I like the prints a lot but I just can't see myself wearing the skirt at all. This has happened a lot and I need to become very diligent on selling off the skirts and shoes that do not fit either in measurements or style. Lee impulse buys and more LOVE buys!


I know this isn't a remarkable list. But goals are still goals no matter how small :) and I've got to start somewhere!

Last Minute Change!

Well. I'm not sure exactly WHY they decided to do so but now I don't have to work New Years Eve!! :D I'm so excited!! I don't have to worry about crazy drunks on the road and I can be somewhat rested after NewCon! ^-^

So that's a huge relief!

That also means, though, that I'll have two 4-day weekends in a row. Which honestly after having... I'm not really sure if I'll want to go back to work >_>;; Seriously. It's going to be really hard to do so.


In other news, speaking of NewCon. I picked out my outfits to wear in the lolita fashion show. I'm thinking that Fruits Parlour (mint) will be a good choice as most girls on the page are showing outfits that will be black and brown based. I know others will do pink as well since that's a very popular lolita color. But so much black? Come on :( there are so many cute dresses in OTHER colors!

Here are the ones I picked out. Not 100% sure about how Sugary Carnival is put together though...

I'm probably going to try out some cream colored socks in my stash to wear with Sugary. For fruits I'll wear light pink tights. I just don't want Sugary to be PINK PINK PINK.

Actually wait... Here we go. I like the cream color!! Now I can't choose what shoes though... light pink or black :(

Augh! I need to update more!

I can't believe I haven't written anything in 6 months or so. I plan to go through and finish up a lot of entries to started and to also sort of "fill in the blanks" on all the other things that have happened. Maybe this won't net me many views or reads on those entries but I hope to at least keep a bit of a record for myself this way. I post so much more on Twitter and on Facebook than anything... but I miss blogging like I used to.

I used to update EVERY DAY after school. But now that my life is just working it doesn't happen so much. Things are still happening but why... why haven't I been adding anything? Maybe it's just as though I feel like I don't have the time to? Even though I often find myself thinking I need to find something to do. Maybe it's the thought that no one even reads these things *laugh* Which to me is a double-edge sword in a sense.

I want my privacy and to be left alone... and yet I want to be noticed and praised. I've got to find this happy medium in there- does it exist? Hmm... well... DUH ^^;;

Quick news is that I'm sick and slept pretty much all day Saturday. I only really got up to use the bathroom twice but I never ate. Not until nearly midnight. I know this isn't healthy in it's own sense but at the same time after all that sleep I do feel a bit better. I'm guessing I have strep due to my tonsils/throat being swollen and my voice sounding like I'm talking with my mouth full of food @_@

I hate being sick. I blame my co worker. He was coughing and hacking and not covering his freaking mouth! Ugh. I would blame public transit but I do my damnedest to not touch anything on the buses. I know how little those things actually get cleaned >_O (once a YEAR. Way to go TriMet)

Anyway I have a bunch more reviews to post. A lot of Bodyline things for shoes and even some wigs. I've noticed my post mentioning the Stocking wigs gets a lot of views due to the links/photos there. I have about 3 now from different stores that I'll be writing a review about so look forward to that :)

If you want to see any of the cosplay goodies I've been up to there's always Facebook and my DeviantArt.

I'll update more fairly soon... >_>;;

[Bodyline] Order #1: A lot of skirts (pt 1?)

I've ordered from BodylineYokoso before for various random little things- never too much though since I know shipping quickly adds up. However during the past 2 months there has been a really awesome promo of $1 shipping for November and $5 shipping for December (oh no it's almost up!). I finally decided to take a dive and order some lolita clothes. I'm not totally new to the fashion since I've been admiring it since early 2003 but I'm totally new as to wearing it and actually OWNING it. I decided to order a few cute pieces off of Bodyline and mostly stuck with cheaper things; I'm not going to lie- I'm very frugal. I wanted to give it a shot and not invest too large of an amount into it just yet. On top of that I knew once I had something in my hands I would easily be able to make my own using that piece as a base. However I was a COMPLETE derp and only ended up ordering skirts and some shoes ~_~ Crap. I made another order fairly recently with a few blouses though and it's on it's way to my door now. I do hope to get it soon but I guess we'll see...

Onto a review of what I got!!

*IMAGE HEAVY*