*Angelic Pretty* Elisabeth Unicorn Special Set JSK [HD photos]

[ Lolibrary Link ]

It's very rare that a "special set" released by a brand catches my attention. But with Elisabeth Unicorn, a dress I love in so many colorways, the special set made me excited! Mint! DUSTY mint! At least 60% of my wardrobe is mint! And with the more toned-down sweet styling and coloration this dress is exactly the direction I want to go in with my lolita wardrobe.

The problem I found was how to get my hands on it. This dress was specifically made for the Osaka store and I had never have used a shopping service other than Japonica for things on Mbok. I pretty much gave up on ever figuring out out to get this dress... other than buying it secondhand. So I saved up and bid my time and waited for a price I was willing and able to pay.

And all the while the photos I would see of girls wearing the dress was such a taunt. But like most dresses after some time the popularity wanes or people decide they're not what they wanted :) so all I had to wait was for that to happen. And boy, I am NOT disappointed in this dress in the least bit!

[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 ^^;;

*Angelic Pretty* Lavender Holy Lantern skirt ~ [HD photos]

[ Lolibrary Link ]

Angelic Pretty's Holy Lantern series was huge in popularity upon first news of its release. The series appealed to many wearers of lolita and it's sub-styles. Although the release seemed to learn much heavier towards a "gothic" aesthetic it still had a huge following among sweet wearers. The series' dress and skirt cuts were all very unique and interesting and the fabric is just lovely.

I really loved this skirt but sadly could not fit it into my wardrobe in any way. The lavender color is much closer to a lilac than anything so it is a much colder purple than a true lavender; so be weary about this if you are looking to add this series' lavender piece to your wardrobe.


Skirt measurements:
Waist: 27.5in (~70cm)
Length: 15.7in + 1.1 in of lace (40cm + 3cm)


WARNING: IMAGE HEAVY POST

[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!

[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.

[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.

Am I a real lolita now?

I finally caved and ordered myself some petticoats from Classical Puppets. I've been using crappy Leg Avenue ones this whole time and while I was OK with the poof they gave me the petticoats just were so meh quality and the elastic would start to hurt after a while ~_~;; I'm tempted to alter the new ones so the waist band size is static and just add a zipper in. Too much elastic against my body as it is when wearing lolita dresses! In the end I got 2 a-line: one black and one white, and their cupcake petticoat in white. I might get one in black considering I have a ton more black lolita dresses but I suppose white can still be worn under them, but a black petticoat under a light dress might look a little strange ^^;;

In the end I did a small order off Taobao in order to make the EMS shipping worth it. So on top of the petticoats I also got some replica melty moon bags :o *le gasp!* and NOT the ones from Loris! (That just have a cloud on them instead of melty bits) though I might order those sometime soon too because they have other colors like silver and white. And I've also heard that they are larger than the Angelic Pretty bags? Which would be nice because they're so tiny!

I guess we'll find out how good or bad they are once I get them. The stock photos look pretty good but that doesn't mean the materials won't be odd or sticky. So here's hoping they turn out good!

[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.)

*Angelic Pretty* Sugary Carnival JSK ~ [HD photos]

[Hello Lace Link]

In 2009 Angelic Pretty released what would soon become a "holy grail" and "dream dress" for many lolitas in years to come. Sugary Carnival was popular enough to justify to AP to release another run of the series- though with a few minor tweaks this time such as the back lacing not using the dress's lace for the loops. Regardless of releases this series, and particularly the black colorway, became a long sought-after print (on top of being one of the most reviled at the same time). Though AP has release many amazing dresses since this is still one of my absolute favorites; to the point I sometimes joke with friends that I want to be buried in it!

In most photos I have seen of this dress the colors get very washed out. It's a pity really since in reality they are so rich and pretty in person~

Jumper skirt stats:

Bust: 34~38 in (88~98 cm)
Waist: 26~30 in (68~78 cm)
Length: 33 in (84 cm)

WARNING: EXTREMELY IMAGE HEAVY POST

Full review to come later~

*Angelic Pretty* Wrapping Ribbon JSK (2014) ~ [HD photos]

[Lolibrary Link]

Angelic Pretty's 2014 release of "Wrapping Ribbon" brought new styles and colors. Of those my favorite has been the new JSK which features removable lace at the bust, high quality satin bow details and delicate lace detailing along the princess seams.

Of the color selections mint seemed to be the most popular as it was the first to sell out. I had a bit of trouble picking which one I liked most but ended up getting blue. I like this dress so much I hope to pick up the lavender as well! (Though sadly it is now sold out on the site, boo~)

Jumper skirt stats:

Bust: 34~42 in  (86~106 cm)
Waist: 31~39 in  (80~100 cm)
Length: 34 in (87 cm)


WARNING: EXTREMELY IMAGE HEAVY POST
Full review to come later~

[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...