Lolita Quality review thread

[Anonymous No.9597507]

Post a dress you own, name which dress and brand it is and write a mini review. Feel free to rave about how awesome it is or rant about how bad it is. We all love close up lolita dress porn, please post photos.


Pls no theoretical arguments. Post exactly which taobao/brand you have and why you think it's awesome/shit.


Any brands welcome -- burando, taobao, indie, so long as it's lolita-related.

[Anonymous No.9597675]

Someone requested a Bodyline-Holy Lantern comparison so here I am. Black fabric is Bodyline L527 chiffon blouse, red is HL. Fabric is really similar.

[Anonymous No.9597683]

>>9597675
Left: Bodyline crotchet lace
Mid: Tulle lace H&M blouse
Right: HL tulle lace

[Anonymous No.9597787]

Thanks for making this thread. I just want to ask, if someone reviews or posts pictures, please include if you bought it new or secondhand and the price without shipping, SS fees and customs to avoid confusion.

[Anonymous No.9597793]

>>9597675
Chifffon is chiffon, yes. But black plain chiffon vs the red with a designed flocked print. Lining here matters since chiffon is seethrough, that bodyline blouse is likely not that good in comparison.

>>9597683
Not similar at all. HL had special Ap designed lace. Custom. Other 2 is generic lace, likely not scratchy but nothing special.

It's clear you don't know much if you can't even see that difference. This is why brand vs non brand arguments fail, you don't know what you are arguing about.

[Anonymous No.9597798]

>>9597793
This isn't the argument thread, this is the appreciate what you get from other lolitas who don't even know you thread.

[Anonymous No.9597803]

>>9597798
Oh my sweet summer child, how naive can you be.

[Anonymous No.9597807]

>>9597798
When had cgl ever been about appreciation. I can look at my only holy lantern if I wanted to, but that anon is trying to say bodyline and ap are the same quality.

[Anonymous No.9597815]

>>9597807
>that anon is trying to say bodyline and ap are the same quality
Fucking where? As far as I can see anon only posted a closeup of the materials and said they were similar. That's not the same thing as saying the garments are the same quality.

[Anonymous No.9597825]

>>9597815
See >>9597657

[Anonymous No.9597858]

>>9597793
OP doesn't say one being bad other being good though, what's with the projecting? I don't care about custom lace for instance, do you really think that he/she doesn't notice one being flocked while holding it on his/her hand so you have to point that out?kek

[Anonymous No.9597861]

>>9597825
She is saying there is not that much difference in quality you fucking moron.

[Anonymous No.9597863]

>>9597793
Actually I like it better when AP don't use custom lace. I can tolerate it on prints but AP letters look retarded on lace.

[Anonymous No.9597870]

>>9597861
>>9597815

Anon from >>9597825,

NAYRT initially, I was only providing context for where the comparison sprang from you walnut.

[Anonymous No.9597872]

>>9597870
Good, I thought you had no reading comprehension to save your life for a moment.

[Anonymous No.9597910]

This Surface Spell jsk

I really like it. I like that it has a good weight to it, doesn't wrinkle easily, is fully lined and well put together. The bust embroidery is sharp and beautiful. The skirt is nice and full and the shirring is sturdy.

The fabric I don't know the name of, but it's the same as a Dear Celine I used to own, a kind of woven fabric that has tiny... loops, i guess? of weft threads on the right side. like if terrycloth were so low pile that it was actually flat?

The odd thing is that none of the green trims used match, they're all slightly different. I'd have preferred them to stick with one kind of lace they could dye right. The white lace is average taobao tier, maybe a step above Infanta. The tulle trimming isn't crisp but the embroidery is clear. There's definitely worse out there.

I would seek out Surface Spell again.

[Anonymous No.9597914]

>>9597858
Considering she thinks a chiffon blouse is just as good, yes she needs hand holding. You may not care about the custom lace but it's clearly "better" lace than generic stuff. Personal preference is different from quality.

[Anonymous No.9597947]

>>9597807
I asked her to share pics, your argument is in the other thread.

>>9597675
>>9597683
Thank you

[Anonymous No.9597953]

>>9597807
I asked her to share pics, your argument is in the other thread.

>>9597675
>>9597683
>>9597910
Thank you

[Anonymous No.9598127]

My sewing knowledge is pretty amateur, but I'll try my best to give an in-depth review of my 2015 Fleur Antoinette.

I counted 30 total pattern pieces making up the exterior of the dress if we count each length of ruffle as an individual pattern piece. Here's the breakdown:
-9 pieces for the bodice including the stomacher
-3 pieces for each sleeve
-8 pieces for the overskirt
-2 pieces for the underskirt
-2 pieces for the waist ties
-6 ruffles (neckline x1, bodice x1, sleeves x1 each, skirt x2)

The OP is lined in the bodice and the skirt and has a neckline facing made out of the floral print fabric. With the exception of the overskirt hem which is serged and then blind-hem stitched, all of the hems are rolled. All other visible edges are serged.

The floral and plain portions of the dress are made of the same fabric, which is a very fine cotton with a vertical striped motif. The base colour on the floral fabric is a lighter and creamier shade than the plain fabric, which is more beige. The detail photos on the far right are the closest I could get to the real-life colours on my computer, the pink on the flowers isn't as high-contrast in real life. The lining is a fine matte polyester that is surprisingly breathable. There is also floral trim around the neckline and sleeves made from pink and green ribbon that is slightly darker than the pink and green on the print.

The OP's actual measurements are slightly larger than what was listed, and Mary Magdalene was a few months late with sending it out because of factory issues.

[Anonymous No.9598142]

>>9598127
This is really interesting!

[Anonymous No.9598177]

>>9598127
Oh man, what a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing. Makes me miss having MM in the wardrobe like crazy, the details are always so good.

[Anonymous No.9598199]

>>9597914
I just said it is the same material. And it is. I don't know what is your problem.

>>9597953
Np.

[Anonymous No.9598217]

>>9598127
Thank you so much for this. This is a great read.

[Anonymous No.9598245]

>>9598199
All chiffon is not the same material. What am I even reading. I really doubt they have the exact same weave and percentage of polyester.

[Anonymous No.9598274]

>>9598245
Anon, stop arguing with stupid. They've clearly decided ~* burando is overpriced *~ and there's no talking them out of it

[Anonymous No.9598281]

>>9598245
>>9598274
Anon provided photos though. As far as I can tell they are about the same weave. I worked in a fabric store in my highschool years btw.

[Anonymous No.9598288]

>>9597683
These laces are obviously different from each other but it seems like there isn't any big quality gap either. Really surprised about H&M blouse, I never seen anything but shitty raschel in fast fashion stores in my country before.

[Anonymous No.9598296]

>>9598288
it might just be my monitor, but the stitchwork on the HL lace looks denser and the lines are more defined than with the H&M lace. Though for fast fashion that's some pretty good quality stuff.

[Anonymous No.9598477]

(1/2) Generally I prefer burando over Taobao. Most of the time I am disappointed with the weight of the fabric (chiffon or cotton too sheer) or texture (too scratchy) or print quality (print is blurry or faded). Typical complaints. I have bought and resold many Taobao pieces while building my wardrobe. However there are a couple that I would never give up.

Pic related is a blouse from Magic Tea Party. There is one colorway and size still available for 158 RMB: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a312a.7700846.0.0.ffe8001zg12CY&id=18605924496

The blouse is made from cotton broadcloth of approximately the same weight as my blouses from BSSB, AATP, AP, etc. Cotton torchon lace is used throughout and the buttons are plastic.

The pintucks and seams are straight, sleeve gathering is even, and buttonholes are neat—finishing details that are just about the least you would expect from professional work.

The neckline is deeper than my other blouses with folded collars so if I want to wear a choker (in a classic coord, for example) this is one of my go-to blouses.

My only nitpick is that scallop lace on the collar and bodice--I have been meaning to replace it with rose lace. Someday…

[Anonymous No.9598479]

(2/2) My other favorite Taobao piece is from R-Series/Rose and Bones.

The white colorway is still available for 898 RMB: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a312a.7700846.0.0.ffe8001zg12CY&id=540056736549

It is priced considerably more than most TB lolita dresses and well worth it! The velvet is so plush and comfortable. I honestly need a throw blanked made out of that material. The print is rich and vibrant; the design is printed directly on top of the satin and has a lovely sheen that imitates the iridescence of a real Morpho butterfly’s wings. The print does not line up perfectly due to the shape of the skirt but that is not too obvious.

Custom matching ribbon/bias tape is used inside the garment. The OP is fully lined.

My only gripe with this dress is the length and location of the zipper and really, it’s a personal problem--I am not nearly flexible enough to pull the zipper up by myself and it’s a literal pain to figure out the right way to reach around.

Other brands I would recommend: SweetDreamer, Yolanda. I’ve heard good things about the quality of Dear Celine, Surface Spell, and Krad Lanrete but haven’t bought from them yet. Hoping to see some reviews of them here!

[Anonymous No.9599721]

Got this JSK from Pretty Rock Baby from a taobao order maybe ~1mo ago. For 348 RMB, I'm pretty happy with it.

The dress is cleanly constructed with neat seams/zipper and is fully lined with matching wine fabric. The print itself is a blurry, which is to be expected with these painting dresses, and not as bright/saturated as the stock photos (which doesn't bother me) but is printed on a thin polyester damask that gives the dress a nice texture. It's light and airy and easily wearable in more casual settings. However, since it's printed on one side, major snags can pull white unprinted fibers onto visible areas.

Verdict: For ~$60, would buy again

[Anonymous No.9600924]

Hoping to get a reply from taobao-savvy lolitas.

Any ideas on how long ZJ Story usually takes to complete their preorders? This was bought around the end of May and I'm worried I missed the ending somehow (have been checking their store every week but I'm still worried I missed it)

[Anonymous No.9600929]

>>9600924
Wrong thread, bub

[Anonymous No.9601028]

>>9600929

My bad, I'll try the taobao thread.

[Anonymous No.9602389]

Can someone please post more pictures/reviews of recent AP releases, especially the insides? I only started liking AP last year so I'm not really interested in old releases.

[Anonymous No.9602536]

Can anyone recommend a blog or Youtube channel with nice quality reviews? I was looking for older pieces, but at this point I'm accepting everything.

[Anonymous No.9602541]

>>9598127
Thanks a lot for sharing these, anon!
You know, I'd kill for this dress on my size, but MM is just too large for petite girls...

[Anonymous No.9602590]

>>9602536
Amy tasukada

[Anonymous No.9602812]

>>9602389

The holes mentioned in lolita general is quite common in more recent releases, I'm afraid. If it makes you feel better though, what actually happens is that the upper area beyond the holes still get mostly sealed away so that the raw edges can't unravel.

Still a sign that even AP is cutting some corners, but imo it's not really as bad as it sounds. So long as you don't go sticking your hand up in the hole and pulling at the raw edges, they're unlikely to shift much and won't unravel any time soon. At least, mine seem to have held up fine over a few washing.

The zipper now, if the cut, raw edges are in the skirt end, I'd find that highly disconcerting. For some reason a lot of my recent AP dresses don't have zippers though, let me see if I can find a newer dress with a zipper on it to post the insides.

[Anonymous No.9602824]

>>9598127

Now you're making me love my antoinette fleurs even more. I'll never be able to sell them at this rate.

Kidding, but this is beautiful. Are there any other pieces you might do? I was about to post my amateur review but nothing as detailed as yours. Just 'oh this fabric feels nice' and 'well the seams are finished' sort of stuff.

[Anonymous No.9603025]

>>9602812
Tbb this has completely put me off from buying from them, I don't trust that they have a good manufacturer

[Anonymous No.9603081]

>>9602536
There are some detailed review posts here: https://gotadebaunilha.blogspot.com/search/label/Review?m=0

Would Tumblrs do? I know a few that posts some Nice reviews, but everything in Italian..

[Anonymous No.9603082]

>>9603025

I had a shock when I first found it, since I've been buying AP on-and-off since 2006 and it was the first time I'd seen it. Plus, I'd mostly bought special sets this/last year, so at first I thought it's because it's a cheaper set than regular releases. But I've worn the dresses with the holes in them at least a handful of times, washed them in the washing machine (in a laundry bag) and they're fine.

It's actually quite ingenious when you think about it. You're focused on the holes, but think about how much of the bodice is actually stitched together. On most of my dresses the back is shirred, so the entire back is attached. The front waist is also attached. The raw edges are sandwiched inside, between the lining and the fashion fabric. The holes are just small hand-sized openings on front left and front right. The lining isn't actually going to shift a whole lot from the fashion fabric, they're actually tacked pretty securely together.

No matter if you turn the dress inside out, outside in, the only way the raw edges are actually exposed to friction is if you actually go searching for one of the holes, stick your hand into one of the holes, grab the raw edge, and then pull that raw edge out through the hole.

See, it needs to be something you purposefully set out to do, to expose the raw edge. Otherwise the raw edges remain firmly inside. So there's very little friction to rub up against the raw edge and cause it to unravel.

Like I said, after a few months I got over it, and now I think it's pretty ingenious to reduce the cost of the labour hours that way.

[Anonymous No.9603087]

>>9603082
But did they reduce the cost of their dresses?

[Anonymous No.9603097]

>>9603087
They got more expensive overall.

[Anonymous No.9603105]

>>9603097
>>9603082
And meanwhile they are spending a lot of money on fancy locations, I don't get it

[Anonymous No.9603159]

>>9603087
>>9603105

Inflation means that the prices of most things -- non lolita, just everything in general -- is expected to go up every year. For the average worker, you expect an increment in your salary from year-to-year, even a small one. But for the business, this usually means slightly higher cost of the goods they're selling. This is called the wage-cost spiral, and it happens worldwide. So AP is not alone in that, it's simply how the world works, prices of everything is expected to go up little by little every year.

For AP though, they also face increased competition from other brands, and a shrinking market since lolita is slightly less popular than other jfash at the moment. If you look at their releases for 2016 and 2017, quite a lot of them are complete flops, with AP stuffing up to 4-5 dresses into some of their lucky packs last year. iirc that averages out to about 7k yen per dress (which girls who bought them then sold for 16k yen on lacemarket). They must have made quite a fair bit of losses on those releases, quite frankly I'm not even surprised they're trying to cut corners.

None of this sounds very reassuring for you as the buyer who only insists on recent releases (I mean, the older releases are still good and presumeably don't have these issues and are still pretty cute). But at least you should know that they aren't taking your money and laughing while they send you a shitty dress. They really aren't doing all that well, with so many flops this year I wonder what they'll do once they run out of past hits to re-do.

And, while they're cutting costs, imo it's still a decent way of doing things. Most releases the fabric and lace are still good, and they still add all the cutest details like custom buttons and accessories that you won't find on a taobao/bodyline dress.

Also try to keep in mind exactly what you're spending, $200 might be a bomb to you, but it's not even going to buy you a plain piece from an actual high-end brand.

[Anonymous No.9603166]

>>9603159
So do you think their Chinese workers are getting paid more?

[Anonymous No.9603169]

>>9603159
So do you think their Chinese workers are getting paid more? I work at a clothing brand so I know how stuff works. I just don't want to pay more for pieces that aren't the best they can do, because they want to save money on production while spending a shit ton on locations most lolitas don't go to.

[Anonymous No.9603217]

>>9603159
>288$ for an shirt made out of thin fabric with an unfinished hem

The moment I wish I could sell something shitty like this for that much money.

[Anonymous No.9604256]

>>9602541
>I'd kill for this dress on my size, but MM is just too large for petite girls...
This. I'm probably going to get it anyway and have it taken in. Usually getting it taken in is at least reversible, but I don't plan to resell it anyway. I'm just having trouble finding the older releases that are supposed to be smaller.

[Anonymous No.9604263]

>>9603169
Nayrt, but I work with economists and (unfortunately) inflation still happens when workers wages stagnate. It's still logical to raise prices to match inflation since there is a larger amount of money in the system and thus it's worth less. Not paying workers more makes companies a dick, sure, but it doesn't magically stop how inflation works.

[Anonymous No.9604301]

Crossposted to the Taobao thread a while ago, but this is Arcadian Deer's Air OP. It's very beautiful, definitely higher-tier Taobao. There's several different kinds of lace on the trim and while it's not custom lace it's all very nice and not scratchy. The print is very clear and has nice vivid colours. The buttons are plastic. It feels about the same weight as a chiffon BTSSB dress and is fully lined. My only small gripe is the pearls along the sleeves make the armholes a tad smaller than advertised. The stitchwork is solid.

[Anonymous No.9604305]

>>9604301
Headdress and choker that went with it.

[Anonymous No.9604311]

>>9604305
Stock photo.

[Anonymous No.9607530]

What's a good place to post reviews to? I don't mind crossposting to this thread, but I kind of feel sad if I take a lot of photos and do a lot of closeups and then the thread hits bump limit and falls off the board a few months later.

[Anonymous No.9607557]

>>9604301
I second this review, the I got the dress in the light colorway, and it's gorgeous. There are many fine details, the fabric has nice weight and dimension. I was very happy with this brand.

[Anonymous No.9607560]

>>9607530
Livejournal

[Anonymous No.9607567]

>>9607560

Is egl still alive?

(I assumed you meant egl, because otherwise you could easily say blogspot or something)

[Anonymous No.9607579]

>>9607567
only in January

[Anonymous No.9607583]

>>9604301
It looks prone to wrinkles from that pic alone.

[Anonymous No.9607587]

>>9607567
But livejournal is better than blogspot imo. Egl will never die.

[Anonymous No.9607590]

>>9607583
NAYRT but to be fair, it was stuffed in a box for at least a week before even being taken out. Steaming it will work just fine.

[Anonymous No.9607595]

>>9607590
Well yes, but I have dresses that aren't wrinkled at all straight out of the box. It is still worth noting.

[Anonymous No.9607723]

>>9602389
How recent? I have an Antoinette Decoration OP.

[Anonymous No.9607761]

>>9607595
thats just the nature of certain fabrics, not a sign of quality. I had the hardest time even steaming wrinkles out of a recent AP dress the other day. moot point.

[Anonymous No.9607787]

>>9607761
It's still worth noting on AP dresses too. It's useful to know when you're buying anything as you'll know how much care it requires. I disagree it isn't a sign of quality, I very much think it is.

[Anonymous No.9607946]

Took some detail pics of recent dresses I just bought. This one is Baby - I'm not familiar with sewing so I'll just post pics and some speculation

[Anonymous No.9607947]

>>9607946
Things of note are adjustable straps and made in Japan! Thick cotton textured cloth and crisp clear print

[Anonymous No.9607950]

The inside of the peaceful sleeping toys dress by AP. I think it's nice and well made. The chiffon is sheer and sparkly and lifts up. The lace is nice and no holes in the lining. Made in China though

[Anonymous No.9608286]

>>9607950

The holes would have been between the lining and the bodice, the lining itself should be fine.

I'm really curious if this dress has it though, since it's sheer chiffon it might be constructed entirely differently.

[Anonymous No.9608327]

>>9607583
I'm on vacation and it's been stuffed in my suitcase for about a month if that helps.

[Anonymous No.9608639]

>>9608286
So I checked for you and the dress does have them! In the front under the layers of chiffon. Circled them in hearts since it's hard to see.

[Anonymous No.9608663]

>>9607787
As a bridal seamstress, I can tell you that almost every dress I have worked on wrinkles and needs steaming, and they are much higher quality than a 300$ lolita dress.

[Anonymous No.9608674]

With all these AP posts about holes in them, what is actually the highest quality of the sweet brands now? Can anyone review some recent Baby?

[Anonymous No.9608680]

>>9608674
In the past baby has had shoddy quality in some of there dresses. Some aren't lined and there's been lots of reports of boning ripping through the fabric.

Despite the memes, I do honestly like meta a lot. Some of their designs are wtf level, but they have a lot of great quality basics.

[Anonymous No.9608688]

>>9608663
I understand high quality fabric still can need to be steamed. I don't see what your point is as it's still note-worthy. You're not wearing wedding dresses every day, so it doesn't matter if it needs steaming the one time you wear it. However it does matter for dresses you plan on wearing more often. If after every wash you have to steam it, it requires a lot more effort to care for.

[Anonymous No.9608695]

>>9608688
quality and care are not the same thing. I have several silk blouses my wardrobe that wrinkle like a mother fucker, but they are far higher quality than your average burando blouse.

[Anonymous No.9608790]

>>9608695
You're taking the thread title too literally. Resistance to wrinkles is normally part of a garment review.

[Anonymous No.9608809]

>>9608790
>I disagree it isn't a sign of quality, I very much think it is.
We're just replying to what's there

[Anonymous No.9608849]

>>9607946
I will never understand why Baby will line their skirts but won't line their bodices. Is this a cutting corners thing or is there like a legitimate design reason for this? Baby/AatP is the only brand that I've seen not line their JSK bodices.

[Anonymous No.9608855]

>>9608849
A jsk is designed to be worn over a blouse, so it isn't against your skin and another extra layer of fabric just makes it hotter to wear. It might be a cost cutting measurement but as someone that lives in a very warm climate, I don't mind it.

[Anonymous No.9608867]

>>9608809
That's my opinion. Cheaper cotton wrinkles more easily than higher quality cotton. It varies by fabric, but I still consider it when reviewing quality. You can disagree, I'm not saying that your wrinkly silk is on par with slightly wrinkled chiffon.

[Anonymous No.9609227]

>>9608849
I actually like that, cause it's one layer less. I know it's a stupid reason as it has nothing to do with lolita, but there are some dresses I just like to wear as sundresses (especially IW and ETC) and I'm always annoyed when the bodice is lined, cause I don't like the feeling of the polyester on my skin and it gets sweaty. That's very subjective though and of course not the real reason, so I'm interested in that, too.

[Anonymous No.9609303]

>>9608849
>>9609227

Honestly, I don't think they ever really started. Like I've seen much, much older pieces in someone else's wardrobe (reportedly from 2006 and older), and they've never been lined. I think so far as they're concerned, Baby designers are probably wondering what the fuss over lining is all about, since they've probably been operating for decades now and have apparently never bothered with it, so why start now? To them, their idea of quality probably lies in the fabric and lace being top notch, not in whether they add another cheap fabric to cover the insides of their dress.

The skirt lining is because if you go back far enough (pre-2006, the same girl from above had one of them), some of their ink flyers actually mention that their dresses will come with a (free) hard tulle petticoat. The lining may have been for comfort against that. If you've ever found references for starching your petticoat, they're referring to hard tulle petticoats, and not the soft tulle/organdy ones that everyone is using nowadays.

[Anonymous No.9612163]

Bumping.

I just received some AP and taobao last week, if there's any interest I'll find the time to do a bit of closeup comparison this weekend (the taobao stuff is on the losing side, though, so).

re: holes in AP, if anons are interested I can also post my most recent AP -- it doesn't have holes, in fact the bodice is completely serged finished.

[Anonymous No.9612751]

>>9612163
I'm interested, would love to see more stuff ITT

[Anonymous No.9617197]

All right. >>9612163 here. Just to clarify, this entire thread did start with some anons in the previous lolita general claiming taobao is as good as brand, and you already have folks up on top claiming good quality taobao. So yes, I'm nitpicking taobao a little bit more than usual and pointing out where the surface-printed fabric will fail. Everyone else is free to post their own stuff to the thread though, so I don’t think I should hold back.

Starting with a bit of Krad Lanrete vs JetJ. I think the only taobao "win" so far is that JetJ is also surface printed, which is the only thing nearly “even” with Krad.

Krad loses everything else, though. Their fabric is thinner, flimsier, and downright shiny. JetJ fabric is a nice fake shantung. Not actually high-end luxury shantung, but it does a good job or pretending to be good enough. Krad's fabric... I don't know, maybe this release is just terribad. Someone else should do a burando-taobao comparison of their other releases, because like I said, this Krad dress is downright thin, flimsy and shiny.

[Anonymous No.9617200]

>>9617197

This one to try and show you how SHINY the Krad fabric is. I thought it was unfair to compare Krad’s dress with a fake shantung JetJ, because the JetJ dress is meant to be matte with a sheen, not shiny. So I put it next to one of the shiniest burandos in my collection — AP’s Antoinette Decoration, which has little dots in the fabric that reflect light.

I'm not sure if you can see the light reflecting off the folds here. The effect is even more pronounced in real life, the Krad Lanrete dress makes the shiny AP dress look downright matte.

I don’t mind this level of shine too much yet, at least it’s not the kind of blinding shiny satin we tell newbies to stay away from.....

[Anonymous No.9617204]

>>9617200

….but I want to point out that Krad's sister brand Citanul is releasing this cat dress where the shine is even obvious in the stock photos. This is the first time I've had to worry about a legit lolita brand selling a shiny satin ita mess to actual lolitas.

[Anonymous No.9617205]

>>9617204

This is an older Krad dress (Mozarabic Chant). Considering it was surface printed, I’d say it held up well.

Considering it was surface printed, that is. I find with a lot of taobao pieces you need to keep one or two facts floating at the top of your mind, and then you can actually say “considering this was made with an inferior method to begin with, it aged wonderfully well”. Then somehow when reviewing burando the taobaolitas will also say “considering this was $300 and wasn’t presented to me on a silver platter I’m going to rate it lower than the taobao dress because considering the taobao dress was inferior to begin with the taobao dress aged very well."

If you don’t know what you’re looking at, there’s a little bit of white showing at the princess seams, which is actually white thread. The print is gone from there. Here and there across the bodice there’s also some white spots where the print is coming off.

I have JetJ’s Feerie, that predates this dress, and that print isn’t rubbing off. I’m not sure what JetJ is doing differently from Krad, or maybe it’s the chiffon, but I’ve never had anything from JetJ come off at all. So.... yeah, they might both be surface printed, but imo JetJ has better fabric and their stuff has held up much better over the years.

[Anonymous No.9617206]

>>9617197
Worse, she was claiming that bodyline and H&M was as good or better than brand. It at least brought up the hole-in-bodice issue though

[Anonymous No.9617208]

>>9617205

I want to add, this "high" quality comes with a price that’s already pretty close to burando. If you don’t have access to whatever CLA group Krad sells direct to, you’re stuck using clobba, even the taobao shop has its markup (and you need to factor in SS fees). I still don’t see anything in Krad’s quality that deserves this kind of pricing.

Honestly if Krad Lanrete is taobaolita's answer to "as good as brand", I think you might as well head on over to IW and buy stuff from their sale instead. Some of their stuff is discounted down to ~$100-ish, making it actually cheaper than taobao, firsthand, and you at least get much better fabric on your dress. Do it now, because once the sales stuff ends up in some lolita’s lucky pack you’ll likely see the nicer dresses being scalped at close to retail instead of close to sales price, and then you'll be back to complaining about $300 dresses when I already told you to buy them now when they're the same price as taobao.

[Anonymous No.9617209]

>>9617208

Moving on to another brand. I ordered this from Yolanda after seeing someone in my comm wear it. I love the trim. I love the texture of the fabric. The ribbons are double-sided matte finish, the button also has a matte texture, and the gold trim is a lot more delicate than I’ve seen on other dresses. So, a lot of good things to say about the trim used on this dress, I’m genuinely impressed. Yes, I'm being completely honest. There *is* good stuff about some taobao brands.


>>9617206
We'll get to that, stay tuned. I want to dump all the taobao first, then all the AP with nicely serged seams.

[Anonymous No.9617210]

>>9617209

The fabric, though, lets this down very poorly. It’s surface printed, and whatever it is, it’s like a whole other step below Krad Lanrete.

This purple one was bought directly from the taobao shop, I think it’s one of the last ones. It came direct from the shop with this white line near the side seams. All I did was take it out of the plastic, the dress has never even been worn.

In case you miss it, there's a white line directly aligned along the seam. I don't know how it got there and I don't know how to put the purple back.

[Anonymous No.9617212]

>>9617205
This is a nice review, thank you. I'm not a print person, but the face that taobao is generally surface printed turns me off even more. If I'm going to get a print dress, I'd at least like it to stay printed

[Anonymous No.9617213]

>>9617210

I thought the purple one was one bad dress, if you can get a dud from burando, you can get a dud from taobao too, right? I originally wanted red anyway, so I bought this red one off someone else, since it’s pre-worn, the first thing I did was wash it, right.

Hoboy. See the two white dots on either side of the pointy cross? The thread there is actually white. The waist bow pin had been there, and although I could probably get the hold to close up, the threads had twisted so now there’s white thread showing there instead of red. I don’t even know which thread to pull to get the red threads to show up there instead of having two white dots there now.

Also look very closely at the waistline. That’s not camera artefact or shine. Those white dots are bare white fabric, I don’t know where the red print has dissappeared off to, or how to get them back.

Now I know why girls are so nervous about washing their lolita. I’ve washed many burando dresses (some of my burando are worn every week and then I put them in the washing machine in a laundry bag. Same thing I did for this dress). I’ve seen dye run, but this is the first time I’m dealing with washing causing the print itself to disappear, leaving behind a dress with white spots. And the whole thing is so delicate, no wonder girls stop washing their dresses altogether.

Still love the dress, but goddamn this breaks my heart.

[Anonymous No.9617216]

>>9617213

This one is Grove Deer Pardminenan dress and it has combined the worst of both the flimsy shiny Krad fabric with the print rubbing off problem of the Yolanda dress. I LOVE the design, but again right out of the bag, direct from manufacturer, there is already a pulled thread again, this white line here (And a few dots here and there).

The seams seem pretty flimsy, too, you can see the threads joining two sides of the fabric, which you normally can’t. I’m not sure if it’s the fabric being too heavy. I have it stored folded in half, kind of considering whether I want to take it apart and re-sew it with an underlining, because the bodice looks like it’s about to rip away from the weight of the skirt any moment.

[Anonymous No.9617221]

>>9617216

This is the inside the Pardmimenan jsk with the oversized plastic snaps that are a complete pita to use. There’s white dots all over the place, apparently just sewing the seams down caused the threads to pull out of alignment so the white fabric is showing all over the place.

Honestly at this point I have a feeling those girls who say “taobao is as good as brand” actually mean to say “ taobao LOOKS as good as brand. If you’re looking at a photo. From a distance. From pretty far away. And have no chance of ever handling the real thing”. These flaws are so irritating, but they wouldn’t show up in photos, so you’d think the dress is gorgeous and all, except irl you know for sure the fabric quality is much lower, and while you're paying maybe $100 instead of $300, you can only be sure the dress looks good on its first wear. Anything after you try and wash it seems like a huge gamble. (Though again the white dots probably won't show up in photos so I guess taobaolitas don't care).


>>9617212

Glad you appreciate. I just mainly feel like someone needs to point out exactly what is what. I'm still buying taobao, and I don't mind the expense, but at least I'm doing it with my eyes open and not on the basis of some nooblets going on about things they clearly don't pay attention to.

[Anonymous No.9617223]

>>9617221

Switching brands again.

This is the Wizard’s Temple OP from Eden Lolita. Posting the stock photo here to show you what I based my purchase decision off.

[Anonymous No.9617225]

>>9617223

And here is the actual dress I received with GREEN-tinted “gold” mesh at the bottom. The effect in fucking DAYLIGHT is actually even worse (this photo taken at night in my room, because apparently I have no free time during the day)

I know that stock photos can be taken under different light, but burando photos tend to have the real life items looking better than their photos. Taobao… well, I got green-tinted mesh on my grey x blue dress. I’m not impressed.

[Anonymous No.9617230]

>>9617225

Going back to the idea that taobao is stuff that only looks good for photos and looks blah irl. I tried very hard to show you this, but I don’t think it shows up in photos.

On the left is the matching headdress for Pardmimenan. On the right is a bracelet from AP.

irl the Pardimmenan one looks so much duller. I had a shock when I took it out of the bag, the actual glass beads are decent-ish, but the metal is so dull and looks so cheap, the entire thing takes on a dollar-store look. In contrast, AP made some very good judgement calls, they used pearls with a much warmer tint (you can see even in photos AP’s pearls are almost peach-white), and while they cheated with using chemical-coated plastic beads, they also used a much shinier metal. Seriously if you can see it in real life, you’d have no doubt, AP jewellery just looks ten times better.

Of course, you can argue that these details aren’t worth burando price, the beads AP uses are even plastic. But that doesn’t change that when you actually show up to a meetup irl, your taobao stuff may end up seated right next to some girl wearing a slightly nicer dress that doesn’t have white pulled threads or lace that only matches if you stand in the right light, and she won’t be wearing dollar-store-looking pearl chains that only looks good in photos. In real life when you show up to a meetup you can see every single one of these flaws I mentioned.

[Anonymous No.9617231]

>>9617230

Rounding off the taobao with cheap To Alice, where I’m actually going to say, FOR THE PRICE, it’s not half bad. For one thing, the print stayed on the dress, and I have actually washed it once, and no white spots appeared.

I just wanted to emphasise that my expectations have been adjusted way lower because every time I talk to a taobaolita about quality, it always eventually boils down to “well for $300, you expect more of burando”. But that is not really the same thing as saying “this dress is as well-made as that dress”. In effect, what they actually want to say is “I like this dress more than burando because it’s CHEAP, I expected CHEAP quality, this is a dress that didn’t fall apart in my hands, and I’m not dissappointed because I expected CHEAP”.

[Anonymous No.9617234]

>>9617231

Detail shot. The lace is at least decently soft tulle, and the ribbon is grosgrain. For a CHEAP $50 dress, I’m pretty pleased, and would say it’s good buy.

Then the most major component, the fabric, is where you really feel the price. It’s a sort of plasticky polyester fabric, you can really feel it’s polyester, it’s not even pretending to be something better. The lining itself is so thin it’s actually sheer when you hold it up by itself.

This dress has been hung up for the whole week, and the folds from being in the packaging have not gone away — if you wanted wrinkly polyester that you need to iron, this would be it.

However, I’ve washed it, and at least there’s no white spots appearing -- yet. So basically it’s actually pretty decent CHEAP quality for a CHEAP dress.

[Anonymous No.9617238]

>>9617234

The lining is full with no holes. They used this trick to attach both the lining and the outer to the bodice at the same time, plus the lining fabric has a bit of stretch. So even if the bodice lining is completely out of shape from the outer bodice, you’ll never notice because the lining stretches to compensate.

Personally this screams “cut cost” to me a lot more than the AP dresses -- you want fully lined, sure, but it’s made from cheap stretch lining in a way that uses less labour, and the precision of the bodice doesn’t need any kind of quality control since they’re using stretch lining.

I also think most of this negates the purpose of a lining as well -- imo, the lining is supposed to hide the seams so you feel comfortable in it, but here the waist seam directly faces your body. It’s also supposed to reduce stress on the outer fabric, but here the stretch lining will stretch any way your boobs are, so the full stress is still placed on the outer fabric. This entire lining just seems pointless and more like a marketing ploy to me so that you can tell lolitas “hey our dress is top tier because it’s FULLY lined. Not even Baby does that, and it’s only $50! What a bargain!”

In my opinion, anyway.

[Anonymous No.9617240]

>>9617238

The outside of the dress also has some odd extra threads, I guess they messed up sewing the waist since there’s two sets of two layers of fabric to sew together.

To be honest I think this is actually really fine, I mean I just did a whole rant where the other dresses cost more but their fabric is so flimsy and thin and the print keeps coming off, so a few little raw threads around the waist on an actually CHEAP dress but you don’t need to worry about the print falling off is nothing at all.

Again, it’s so CHEAP. What’s a few raw ends poking out of the waist to fret over?

[Anonymous No.9617241]

>>9617240

I think I'm going to get a lot of girls that want to explain how their taobao dress that they've owned for a few months and worn a couple of times don't have the printed bits flaking off. That's okay, I own one of those too.

This dress is from Inori. I think I've owned it a year. Been through the wash about 6+ times. I thought it was great and holding up well, inspected it when it had been worn 2, 3 times and was ready to embrace taobao brands in general. Then I wore it two or three more times and changed my mind.

You can see the white spots again at the side seams and along the princess seams. This is an older dress, and it held up well for a year. Then the white spots start appearing.

Maybe yours just hasn't appeared yet. Maybe they will later, maybe they won't. I just haven't had a single taobao dress that doesn't show some quality issues after a few years and some washes. I'm certainly waiting to see if the To Alice dress starts showing white spots another year down the track and needs to be thrown out instead of simply sold on.

[Anonymous No.9617248]

>>9617241

And for comparison. This is Chocolate Fascinate Fairytale, direct from Baby. I've had this dress since 2011 or 2012, and yes, it was worn a lot in those five or six years. This pink version is my favorite and I wore it to go shopping on weekends quite often in addition to lolita meets.

It may be unlined, but the print is not flaking off or showing white dots. The pink lace is still pink, the ribbon is still stiff. This dress has been worn so many times, been through the washing machine so many times, I’ve lost count (fyi the care label says to dry clean it, but I kinda put it in the washing machine a few times when I was in a hurry. Wouldn't make a habit of it, but it's less damaged than any of the newer taobao, so that's something).

I can still pull this out of the closet and show up to a lolita meetup tomorrow in it without worrying that it’s six years old, whether it looks shabby or like it’s fading apart. I’m not even sure how many of my taobao dresses I could do that with six years from now. That’s what I’m judging quality by, and so far none of the taobao dresses have made it that far.

[Anonymous No.9617249]

>>9617248

Wrapping up with one last complaint/warning on taobao quality, then we start on the AP holes in their dresses.

No indie brand ever, whether taobao or Korean or JetJ, can print true black like burando. In this pic, To Alice on the left and Inori on the right looks downright grey. To Alice even has a black ribbon trim that does nothing except highlight how grey their “black” is. The dress in the middle is AP’s True Rose Story, and you can really see the difference of it being truly black, not "almost" black. Yes, the taobaolitas don’t care, it’s 2017 and nobody cares if their pinks match or their dress is grey instead of black, I know, but to everyone else who cares -- you were warned, indie brands can’t print proper black.

The only exception is JetJ. Given they also do surface printing, I’m hesitant to say for sure whether or not they can print true black either, even if they’re technically burando.

[Anonymous No.9617251]

>>9617249

Now, holes in AP dresses.

This is True Rose Story special set. There is indeed a gap between the lining and the dress, but guess what. I pulled the bodice fabric out. It’s actually serged completely all the way (or what I can see/feel of it anyway).

[Anonymous No.9617252]

>>9617251

This is Astro Regiment. The lining isn’t connected to the dress at the waist, but there’s some stuff linking the two together so I can’t flip it out all the way. Serged bodice seams again.

[Anonymous No.9617255]

>>9617208
>Honestly if Krad Lanrete is taobaolita's answer to "as good as brand", I think you might as well head on over to IW and buy stuff from their sale instead.
This is a false comparison, they do completely different kinds of designs.

[Anonymous No.9617256]

>>9617252

Princess Cat. The lining is connected to the dress, with a gap, again the bodice seams are actually serged, not left raw or unfinished.

[Anonymous No.9617261]

>>9617256

This is the most recent-est AP dress I have, Chocolate Rosette special set from the La Foret sale just last month (AP ended up putting these up on the webshop). Bodice seams serged.

[Anonymous No.9617264]

>>9617261

And finally, an answer. This is from Reader’s Digest Guide to Sewing. The section you want is called grading seams.

Basically chiffon is so thin and sheer that if you cut and serge 3-6 layers of fabric (the chiffon, the underlining and the lining = 3 layers. The seamed areas s will have 6 layers because the seam is turned under there, so it lies under another set of layers), there will be an obvious bump or ridge showing where seam edges are, because chiffon is so thin. To avoid this, you need to cut the seams to different lengths and not serge them, that way it’s less obvious when 6 layers of fabric becomes 5, then 4, then just the 3. But then you’d have to leave the edges raw, and enclose most of the bodice to prevent the raw edges from fraying.

The lining is mostly sewn to the dress at the waist for this, the gap is probably the same as leaving a pleat in a jacket lining — ease for body movement so you’re not straining the dress everytime you shift the lining when you move your body.

The lining is also made from fray-resistant stuff to minimise fraying, which explains why it's cut that way at the zippers and allowed to remain unfinished

That’s why if you buy a chiffon dress, the bodice section will be mostly sealed off with raw edges inside, so the chiffon can lie flat and look good. The gap is for the lining to shift a little without yanking the dress fabric too much along with it.

And that’s why it’s so easy for me to post so many dresses with serged bodices, I just went through my wardrobe and picked out the dresses with heavier cotton fabric. They’re all serged because the fabric is thick enough not to show the seam edges, the chiffon/thinner fabric need to have raw edges so that they can grade the seams into different widths.

[Anonymous No.9617267]

>>9617255
Then head to Wunderwelt and buy the brand of your choice second hand. I love some of Krad Lanretes designs, but I refuse to buy something and have it fade after a few wears. I know a lot of taobaolitas are new, and that they only wear their pieces a few times a year to meets and cons and that may work for them. But for me, the durability isn't there and I'd rather spend my money on something that will last.

Thank you anon for writing this up, it has been very helpful.

[Anonymous No.9617272]

>>9617264

Final post.

I wanted to stop with the reason for the chiffon dresses having raw edges in their bodice, but I think this is also noteworthy, if you're wondering why they don't just sew the bodice shut entirely, it's because sewing it completely shut *is* the cheapskate way.

This is Aquarium Carnival special set. It was only around ~$100, and it shows it -- no pockets, no embellishments other than two pearl drops and the waist tie button. The bodice is shorter than other AP dresses, they kinda really skimped everything they could to make this a ~$100 dress.

And the bodice is sewn entirely shut, no gaps. They won’t do it for the full-priced dress, because the gaps are to reduce stress on the outer chiffon fabric when your body moves against the lining.

Hope that finally puts the burando quality debate to rest. AP’s quality didn’t fall after all, it’s just us non-sewists who don’t understand the purpose of grading seams so the chiffon can lie flat, and leaving a gap for the lining to shift.

/end dump.

[Anonymous No.9617276]

>>9617267
JetJ is still many times more than Taobao even second-hand, it holds value extremely well.

Personally I buy a lot of brand, but that's because I like oldschool and it's cheap - I only buy a handful of higher-priced more recent releeases a year. I can see why lolitas that like JetJ-like prints would prefer Taobao, esp. since those kinds of prints aren't really daily wear pieces anyway.

[Anonymous No.9617279]

>>9617272
>AP’s quality didn’t fall after all, it’s just us non-sewists who don’t understand the purpose of grading seams so the chiffon can lie flat, and leaving a gap for the lining to shift.
This explains the holes, but AP's quality absolutely has fallen. I had the opportunity to look at hundreds of their dresses at DMC, and to touch and feel all the dresses they brought with them. I always assumed that people were saying AP was like Taobao now because the prints looked Taobao clip art-y, and the actual dresses were still made of much better fabric. But when you compare them to other dresses on the rack you can feel that some of those recent releases have much worse-quality fabric than others. I attended the event in a 2016 release and a 2015 release and was shocked to compare what I was wearing to some of the 2017 releases. They're not all bad, but that only made the duds on the rack more obvious.

A lot of other people I attended with commented on it too.

[Anonymous No.9617280]

>>9617272
While this is good analysis, the quality definitely went down. I have the Aquarium Carnival OP and the bows on the front were sewn on so badly (really wonky, like they were hand sewn on by a beginner) I had to pick them off and redo them myself.

[Anonymous No.9617288]

>>9617276
I'm not trying to make a judgment call on how people spend their money, and I really do understand the choice to spend less on dresses you may only wear 3 or 4 times total. It's actually why I've bought a few taobao pieces in the past, although ultimately I agree with the "taobao only looks good in photos" comment anon made, in that whenever I receive a taobao dress I love how it looks on me in pictures but am disappointed with how it looks in reality.

If you are looking for cheaper dresses to wear for how they look in photoshoots then go for it! It's a good price for your end goal-which is very smart.

It's just nice to have these reviews for people looking for durable pieces to wear for how they will look irl

[Anonymous No.9617289]

>>9617279
>>9617280

All right, I should probably has phrased that better.

"AP quality didn't fall just because there's gaps in between their lining and their outer fabric. That gap and the raw edges are actually a sign of better quality, because they took the pain to construct the dress that way so that it lies flat against your chest instead of having bumpy ridges along the dress seams".

Better?

[Anonymous No.9617295]

>>9617289
>Better?
Yup, I completely agree with you.

[Anonymous No.9617301]

>>9617272
Thanks for the analysis and photos, anon! Your posts gave me a few new quality indicators I hadn't considered before.

[Anonymous No.9617308]

>>9617295

Well, to be honest I haven't bought any of the 2017 releases -- huge part of buying so much taobao is nothing AP produced has caught my eye this year. Kind of don't really know if that says I have a shopping problem that I'm buying taobao because there's no interesting new AP that caught my eye.

Any way, if any anons have AP from 2017 and older, maybe they can post a few comparison to the thread as well.

(The bows were always odd to me -- I've had to resew Meta and Baby bows but never AP bows. I don't know if it's just luck that I always get the dodgy Meta and Baby bows and then someone else out there gets all the dodgy AP bows.)

[Anonymous No.9617332]

>>9617279
Which ones from 2017 were duds? Looking at this year's print history, almost all releases were chiffon/polyester. Personally I'm not a fan so I only have one that was the cotton and I'm extremely pleased with it in comparison to older print cottons. I did also get one chiffon print, but I'm only slightly disappointed with it, but I'm pretty sure it's my bias against the chiffon/polyester. I'll try to do a comparison against older dresses to see if it's actually my bias or not.

[Anonymous No.9617338]

>>9617332
They were chiffon, I don't know the names of the prints because I don't follow recent AP. One of them looked like the new Halloween print (something clip-arty in pastel and black) and the fabric was stand-out awful quality, the worst thing on the rack, another one had cakes or donuts or something and also looked really bad (kinda satiny as well). All the other prints and dresses I saw were fine, just obviously done on a different style of material to those in the past that may not be to everyone's taste (e.g. Daydream Bed was still nice, the strawberry print was still fine). The 2015/16 dresses I own are all polyester so it's not just my bias showing, and a lot of my friends came in chiffon prints from the past three or four years, which I thought were nicer than the ones they're currently selling.

I didn't get to look at the Halloween print Maki was wearing up close but it looked cheap from a distance, although that might be design moreso than fabric quality.

[Anonymous No.9617387]

>>9608663
late reply but, I been looking into buying a new iron or steamer. which one is overall better for clothing?

[Anonymous No.9617396]

>>9617272
Thanks fo all the work. It was really intersting to see and read.

[Anonymous No.9617607]

>>9617204
Wow, can't believe they're finally fucking releasing this.
>>9617205
MC was the pinnacle of KL, imo. They peaked and then turned into a mess.
>>9617209
This is so cute, anon! Thank you for all of your contributions. I'm really jelly of a couple of your pieces, like the JetJ unicorn dress.

[Anonymous No.9618944]

>>9617255
>>9617276


Kind of bypassed this convo, sorry. I do want to clarify why I directed girls towards IW despite what you think of as "difference in style".

Krad does many different substyles. The other two dresses they had up on the webshop last month were AatP/Baby-style (the Beauty and the Beast print and the vampire print). Mozarabic Chant, the Jellyfish print and Phantom of the Opera were more independent styles that I don't associate with any brand (certainly not JetJ, Jellyfish is way too cutesy and matchy-matchy to be JetJ's style). Portraits of Marie was different again, their releases from that period were really more conventional, not really similar to what JetJ would do. Venice Carnival with it's shiny embellishments actually looks more AP-style than JetJ. There's really only a few prints in their full, entire history of releases that seem distinctly JetJ-ish to me, the Versailles print and the twelve constellations print. Maybe it's because I'm not a newbie, I've lived through these phases as they went through them since they opened their taobao shop, not simply read it all up in one chunk of info on some internet page and then picked out two releases that I liked more.

Basically if you said "Krad Lanrete" to me, I DON'T think of them as "cheaper JetJ alternative". I only think of them as "yet another lolita brand", since they keep changing styles.

So of course I don't see the issue in directing girls towards Innocent World, because it's also yet another lolita brand.

Besides, quality issues and design issues aren't the same thing. If you want to buy Krad because you can't afford JetJ, or you like the print, that's fine. I just did it with the Versailles print, which I'm keeping because I still like it despite the flaws, I'll just wear it less and accept that the dress has a shorter life than burando.

I just want buyers to go in with their eyes wide open and not simply because taobaolitas are going around saying taobao is as good as brand.

[Anonymous No.9618963]

>>9617396
>>9617607
>>9617301


Glad you enjoyed, thank you!

[Anonymous No.9619064]

>>9608855
That, plus taking in seams is a lot easier when you don't have to fool around with the lining first.
Probably not what the company intended, but it's a definite advantage.

[Anonymous No.9619097]

>>9617213
shieetttt anon you made me run to my closet and check my Bunny Herbology for the holes. Thankfully its not the pronounced but they are there.

One thing I might add is that the fabric is very easy to snag. I snagged mine when I walked past a brick wall. (So be careful!)

[Anonymous No.9619108]

>>9619097

Ah daaammmn. Thanks for letting me know. I'll definitely be more careful with it at meetups. I might put the dress into a garment bag so it doesn't snag against other dresses.

[Anonymous No.9619465]

Anyone have a review of anything from Diamond Honey? Their prices seem too good to be true.

[Anonymous No.9619467]

>>9608855
Most blouses have lumps though, whether from buttons, ruffles or other details. Not lining bodices makes those lumps more likely to show through and can ruin the line of the garment (or even show through lines from your bra). I own a lot of Baby/AatP because I like their designs the most out of the major brands, but I hate the fact that they never fully line their stuff.

[Anonymous No.9619491]

>>9609303
>Honestly, I don't think they ever really started. Like I've seen much, much older pieces in someone else's wardrobe (reportedly from 2006 and older), and they've never been lined. I think so far as they're concerned, Baby designers are probably wondering what the fuss over lining is all about, since they've probably been operating for decades now and have apparently never bothered with it, so why start now? To them, their idea of quality probably lies in the fabric and lace being top notch, not in whether they add another cheap fabric to cover the insides of their dress.

>The skirt lining is because if you go back far enough (pre-2006, the same girl from above had one of them), some of their ink flyers actually mention that their dresses will come with a (free) hard tulle petticoat. The lining may have been for comfort against that.

Oldschoolfag here. Baby have historically fully lined some dresses. Both the velveteen OPs (2002 and 2006) I have from them are fully lined in polyester. Elizabeth OP is lined in cotton. 2012 Dessert OP is fully lined in thin cotton and you can tell from stock photos that other releases were lined too, since the thin polka dot fabric it's made from would be sheer otherwise. Can't check everything because some of my stuff is in storage, but I have a two 2002 JSKs that are definitely unlined and IIRC 2006 Ekaterina cap-sleeved JSK and the recent release Millefeuille JSK don't have bodice lining either. All the pre-2006 skirts I have to hand (velveteen/gobelin) are lined but I think I have a couple of cotton skirts in storage that weren't.

Those summery JSKs came with the matching detachable tulle petticoats and both were completely unlined - the petticoats have their own polyester lining and you wear them with that side on the inside to protect your legs.

From other brands, I've had full lining in 2005 and 2008 AP JSKs, a 2006 Meta JSK, an ancient ETC JSK and a 2004 IW OP. The only unlined oldschool I have is an old ETC OP.

[Anonymous No.9619493]

>>9609303
>Honestly, I don't think they ever really started. Like I've seen much, much older pieces in someone else's wardrobe (reportedly from 2006 and older), and they've never been lined. I think so far as they're concerned, Baby designers are probably wondering what the fuss over lining is all about, since they've probably been operating for decades now and have apparently never bothered with it, so why start now? To them, their idea of quality probably lies in the fabric and lace being top notch, not in whether they add another cheap fabric to cover the insides of their dress.

>The skirt lining is because if you go back far enough (pre-2006, the same girl from above had one of them), some of their ink flyers actually mention that their dresses will come with a (free) hard tulle petticoat. The lining may have been for comfort against that.

Oldschoolfag here. Baby have historically fully lined some dresses. Both the velveteen OPs (2002 and 2006) I have from them are fully lined in polyester. Elizabeth OP is lined in cotton. 2012 Dessert OP is fully lined in thin cotton and you can tell from stock photos that other releases were lined too, since the thin polka dot fabric it's made from would be sheer otherwise. I have a two 2002 JSKs that don't even have lining in the skirt, never mind the bodice. They're in storage but IIRC 2006 Ekaterina cap-sleeved JSK and the recent release Millefeuille JSK don't have bodice lining either. All the pre-2006 skirts I have to hand (velveteen/gobelin) are lined but I think I have a couple of cotton skirts that weren't.

Those unlined summery JSKs came with the matching detachable tulle petticoats, so lining's not for that. The petticoats have their own polyester lining and you wear them with that side on the inside to protect your legs.

From other brands, I've had full lining in 2005 and 2008 AP JSKs, a 2006 Meta JSK, an ancient ETC JSK and a 2004 IW OP. The only non-Baby dress I have with no lining at all is an ETC OP.

[Anonymous No.9619532]

>>9619493
ETA that I made a mistake about Elizabeth, only the skirt is lined (got confused because the part around the neckline was double-faced to stiffen the collar). The velveteen OPs are lined on the bodice but not the sleeves, but the Dessert OP has lining on the sleeves as well.

[Anonymous No.9620056]

>>9619493

Huh. That's ....pretty mixed. Maybe someone can ask Baby staff why they line some pieces and not others. Like I kind of get lining the heavier winter releases (velvet, gobelin) and the sheer releases and then not lining the summery jsks you mentioned, but everything else seems like they just line some dresses when they feel like it.

[Anonymous No.9620067]

>>9620056
I own a bit of Baby/AatP myself (JSKs and SKs only though), and the lining is pretty random. The only JSK I have that's fully lined is a Karami rerelease, I've one velveteen JSK that's half lined, and a few completely unlined JSKs (one velveteen, one not, and Gathered Chiffon). The unlined ones all have facings in them.

Honestly I don't mind the lack of lining a lot of the time. Means when I inevitably have to do repair jobs or alterations it's a lot easier to deal with. I had to tighten the elastic in my Karami JSK and getting into where the elastic was was a bitch. Whereas when I had to remove the boning from an AatP JSK it was just a matter of undoing the stitches and re-topstitching things.

[Anonymous No.9620728]

>>9617213
how did you wash your bunny herbology anon? like water temp, machine wash/handwash, which detergent? i have it in two colors as well so now i'm kind of scared.

[Anonymous No.9621651]

>>9620728

cold water, machine wash in delicates bag, woolite detergent. Line dry indoors, of course.

If it helps, when Krad released Mozarabic Chant someone translated the actual care instructions, either gentle handwash of dry-clean, at that point KL themselves were rather up-front that their print wasn't as hardy as burando's. So I'm probably going back to that, might do less damage. You could also try looking for a phosphate-free detergent, based on that's what spoonflower recommends for their print.

Actually I wonder how other girls wash their taobao. Gotta be some girls here that actually clean their clothes and don't just sell them off after wearing it one time.

[Anonymous No.9627256]

Would people be interested to hear about non-lolita brands or nah?

[Anonymous No.9628185]

>>9627256
It depends what brands. J-fashion still I assume?

[Anonymous No.9628205]

>>9621651
thanks anon!

re: the last part of your post, i and many people i know just take our stuff to get dry cleaned. especially prints. the cleaners near me are really honest/informative and tell me when i can just toss something in the washing machine as opposed to going through all the trouble. it's really weird how very few people seem to get to actually washing their dresses multiple times though...

[Anonymous No.9628207]

Can anyone review Krad Lanrete's Medusa?

[Anonymous No.9628270]

>>9607950
Anon, may I please ask, all those little dot... are they sparkly dots?

[Anonymous No.9628333]

>>9627256
The only brand I want to know a bit more about is LizLisa. Like, I want a comparison of original to replica, because I only own original and can't think of how bad the quality of the replicaa must be as LL quality is already 'falling appart after one wear'

[Anonymous No.9628764]

>>9628333
What are you doing to your LL? I've never had it fall apart after one wear. I have a few replicas (that I bought not knowing they were or gifted from a friend) and they are in much worse condition after washing. I am going to make a review YouTube channel later this month to review Liz Lisa and AP dresses later this month as it seems like a lot of people would find it useful.

[Anonymous No.9628780]

>>9628764
They just made really badly. It's buttons falling off the minute you buy the piece. Discouloration from cheap buttons and other 'metal' pieces on the pieces after one or two washes. Pilling etc
Like, I can't see how much worse a replica could be. Though I heard that the replicas are usually even shorter than the original, but how tf is that possible?

[Anonymous No.9628800]

>>9628780
I own like 15 Liz Lisa main pieces (dresses and skirts) as well as some more jackets, tops etc. Only pieces I ever had trouble with were lucky pack items. One skirt tore at the waistband at the stitching (don't know terminology sorry) but even after not fixing for like 5 washes it didn't get that much worse. It was on the inside, and still very wearable.

I've never had buttons falling off, metal discoloration, etc. I always use the washing machine, washing bags for my printed dresses, and air dry my skirts and dresses 70% of the time. I always use the dryer for everything else.

I think the best quality pieces I own are the sanrio collaboration dresses, new and old, and older non print pieces. After that older print stuff is pretty good quality. Newer non print stuff is kinda worse quality, with newer print stuff being worse, then lucky pack stuff last. Even then it's never god awful (except lucky pack) just cheaper fabric that wrinkles easier.
Also I don't think it's that short unless you're over 5"4, but that's the case with most jfashion.

[Anonymous No.9629027]

>>9628780
Are you sure you don't have a replica anon? What specific piece do you have?

[Anonymous No.9634519]

More a question about quality, I hope this is the right thread: Can anyone tell me about the quality and sizing of MAM\Maxicimam? Specifically their regular (not cutsew) OPs.

[Anonymous No.9634524]

>>9629027
100% sure as I bought all my stuff directly in store. Unless LL are selling their own replicas.
My pieces that don't have buttons are decent though normies tell me that the fabric looks more like what you'd use to make a costume rather than clothes and I also think so with some pieces.

[Anonymous No.9634531]

Not my picture.. but THIS FUCKING DRESS MAN. I can't remember the print name, but it is from Knight Night on Taobao.

It cost me around 350CNY and the quality is just so good for something so dirt cheap.. This is the dress I always look back at when comparing Brand vs. Taobao. This dress is just sewn beautifully. Its lined, the buttons are nice, the lace is good.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY.
THE FUCKING PRINT LINES UP EXACTLY AT THE SEAM. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING??!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH BRAND I OWN THAT CANT EVEN BE FUCKED LINING A PRINT UP AT THE SEAMS!? And the print is just so. fucking CRISP. Its such a high quality print on the fabric. Its just such small details like that, that are often missed on print dresses..

[Anonymous No.9636038]

>>9619465
I just got the "angel cat & devil cat" print in the mail yesterday. Its my first lolita dress so I have nothing to compare the quality to. I tried to take as best pics as I could. There's a hidden zipper on the side and only the skirt portion has a lining. It's also shirred in the back.

[Anonymous No.9636182]

>>9634524
Do you own any of their more popular pieces? Which ones do you think are bad quality? I've been eyeing their stuff but am worried now.

[Anonymous No.9636294]

>>9634524
... Are you buying their costume pieces anon? Pics because I don't believe you at all. I have a large number of pieces and none of mine are like that.

[Anonymous No.9636303]

>>9634524
just hopping in to say that i've also had legitimate LL just fall apart. i wore a pair of NWT sukapan, and the hem of one of the leg holes started unraveling horribly after the first wear. i'm skinny and i didn't get caught on anything so it's not a matter of stretching/freak accident. had to get a tailor to fix it.

i wouldn't be surprised if similar things have happened to other people, idk why everyone is being so doubtful.

[Anonymous No.9636310]

>>9636182
Don't listen to them. There's a couple grumpy anons who are upset that LL quality isn't the same as more expensive brands that are not meant to be equivalent. The only time you'll see /bad/ quality from LL is in their lucky pack pieces, which anon may have. And quality is almost always worse on lucky packs/special sets so you get what you pay for. I have a number of LL pieces ai wear regularly (like once a week or more) and the biggest issue I've had is some buttons falling off my favorite blouse.

[Anonymous No.9636315]

Someone was shitting on ragnarok's blurry print in the lolita general thread so I just had to post about it here. the bodice portion of the dress is more narrow than a US dollar bill, and smaller as it reaches the armpits. There's not way to wear it without mega-boobage. If you look closely even on the stock image the elastic band is creeping above the ribbon part, it's extremely unflattering and poor design in my opinion.

It was my dream dress before I received it...

[Anonymous No.9636323]

>>9636303
Do you know if it was a lucky pack item?

>>9636310
Seconding this, every lucky pack LL piece I've owned has been shit but everything else is good quality.

I don't think people realize most LL lucky packs have a fucking suitcase in them along with clothes for what, 250$? Why on earth would they expect normal quality?

[Anonymous No.9636327]

>>9636315
Sorry friend, but either your torso's too long or your bust is too big for Ragnarok. There are girls who fit into it perfectly fine.

[Anonymous No.9636329]

>>9636315
this is less of a quality issue and more of a you buying things that don't fit you issue

[Anonymous No.9636330]

>>9636315
>>9636327
Oops dropped my image

[Anonymous No.9636332]

>>9636330
also inb4 tiny asian no tits meme

[Anonymous No.9636346]

>>9636330
>>9636332
Both images of girls wearing a blouse under the OP
Congrats on missing my point. It fits me but I wish the dress laid naturally on my neckline like in the image, not pulled down below to expose more bust.

[Anonymous No.9636348]

>>9636346
>it fits me
>made a post and took pics complaining about how it doesn't fit you

ok

[Anonymous No.9636349]

>>9636346
Nayrt but I thought you were talking about the boob loaf not the cleavage it makes

[Anonymous No.9636369]

I'm not any of the anons who have been posting about Liz Lisa but I took some pictures of a dress and a pair of sukapan I own. I have worn these the most frequently out of everything I have.
I am not a seamstress or a good photographer, so I do not know how helpful these will be. In this first image I took a bunch of pictures of what I think is called their 15th Anniversary Antique Rose dress. The inner lining is shiny. Most LL dresses are made of this kind of textured fabric. I've placed the chiffon sleeve next to the chiffon frill detail on AP's Dolly Marine JSK. The only issues I've had with this dress are some loose threads, it's been in the wash a million times and nothing's gone wrong yet.

[Anonymous No.9636373]

Going to post my experience with Liz Lisa (I've mostly sold them/moved on from the fashion, so take my recent reviews with a grain of salt):

> 2008-2012
There isn't a single thing I've gotten during this time that I don't love from them. Wonderfully fluffy dresses and sweaters, cute shorts, well printed skirts. I still kept some of their stuff just because it's so comfortable. Never had any discoloration, falling buttons, nothing. Even if I did, I think loose buttons is something that comes with the territory of jfashion in general because I've gotten multiple BTSSB items with loose buttons (and ribbons for some reason?). One thing to note is that their bags are pretty terrible. Cute and lovely but as with all pleather, low quality.

2012-2014
Started buying less, but I can say that >>9628800 is correct about the quality of sanrio collabs. Neat seams, flat lace, good fit, etc. One thing I was afraid of was fading print but never had an issue with any sanrio prints.

> 2014+
I've only bought a few things direct from LL after 2014 and I would say that they're not really improving. In general, I feel that most jfashion brands haven't really improved in quality since after this time (or a little earlier, I just think mid-2000s stuff is best), but LL items were definitely losing a bit of their charm. I remember a lace panel blouse from them that was surprisingly rough against the skin, not quite scratchy but irritating. One of their long tulle skirts had a wonky elastic, so that the skirt always had a strangly folded section. I wouldn't say their quality has taken a nosedrop, but I would say more items are produced cheaply and that there are more minor errors in recent years.

[Anonymous No.9636379]

>>9636369
Here's the sukapan, again I put the lace next to the AP JSK's lace.

[Anonymous No.9636380]

Also since we're talking about LL:
> LLDoll
Great shirts. Print doesn't fade much, though the glitter takes a pretty severe hit the first few washings (please turn your shirt inside out to reduce the amount of glitter washing off). Skirts felt a little cheaper than LL. I loved their giant bags though.

> Tralala
Again, cheaper quality than LL, but not F21 tier either. I say that they're above DreamV but not by too much. Their blouses were great basics though and I do think the simpler designs make better everyday dresses. More or less LL on a budget, so expect cheaper quality to go with it.

> Juge Etta
I've only ever bought two dresses from here, and both secondhand. I'd say that this line was better quality than the usual LL, better textures, fabrics, etc. Construction was the same but you definitely had that "I should dry wash this to preserve it" feeling with their dresses.

I never bought from the Penderie line but I heard it was between Tralala and LL for quality. Also heard that the My Melody sideline (not the collabs) was around Penderie quality. However, I would say that bags and shoes are the same quality regardless of brand for LL subbrands, it's just the clothing quality that differs.

[Anonymous No.9636395]

>>9636346
So... wear a blouse? Also even if the girls posted weren't wearing blouses they still wouldn't have cleavage because the neckline sits high enough on them and their busts are small enough. Just accept that you're too big to wear the dress how it's meant to be worn and move on.

[Anonymous No.9636412]

>>9617272
Thank you so much for the in-depth analysis and clear photos. I'm fairly new to lolita but have been sewing since I was very young and it's incredibly refreshing to hear from someone who knows that they're talking about! If you have any more dresses you would like to share, please do, I'd love to hear your critique of any other Taobao or brand you have on hand.

[Anonymous No.9636444]

>>9634531
Knight Night Glory Heart. It's a dream dress of mine.
Could you take a picture of the print closer up? I can never seem to find a good picture of the print itself.

[Anonymous No.9636447]

>>9636315
the neckline is shirred for a good reason. though your bust isn't teeny enough to easily wear this, you can still wear a sturdy bra, pull the op down so the elastic sits and stays at your under bust, and show off your blouses with the most detailed collars and yokes.
>I personally do not like the bright white lace, and I think it should have been a regular, non-embellished hem.

[Anonymous No.9636463]

>>9636373
Another thing to consider is that their pricing hasn't increased with inflation. We're paying the same amount for years and expecting the same quality, but that just doesn't work. This goes for any brand and it's especially obvious with AP.

[Anonymous No.9636480]

can't take pics because I'm on holiday but I've had a few things from Dear Celine over the years that I absolutely adore.
they're a small indie and everything I've had from them is beautifully detailed, with good fabric choice, no loose threads. pic related is possibly my favorite main to touch and look at because
>royal purple, sort of rare colorway
>wow factor design, different lighting affects the look of the checks and perceived value of the color
>pretty lace, lined, pretty buttons
I wish I got it in black as well.
so far DC and Amastacia are the chinese indie on taobao that take the most care in designing and producing consistent good quality pieces.

>requesting any Millefleurs pic reviews

I love all their stuff and would love to hear how great their pieces look and feel irl

[Anonymous No.9636526]

>>9636182
I honestly don't know what's popular from them, as I stopped to buy from them, except if I can get a bargain from a second hand seller, but then I don't meh abt quality, because those pieces are usually pre 2013.

In terms of quality and fit, I'd advice you to try axes femme as they got a similar style. But the quality is a lot higher. As well as with ank rouge.

Also the LizMelo stuff is decent, but way too overpriced. If you find sth second hand don't pay more than 25$ for eg a dress. It wouldn't be worth it.

>>9636303
They're doubtful because they don't see how stupid they look as well because LizLisa is a god tier brand no one could dislike. (I don't even dislike the brand, as I think they do bring out nice pieces by times, but these days it's like 90% trash 10% nice)

>>9636323
I don't own a single piece from a Lucky Pack

[Anonymous No.9636549]

>>9636038
I have this dress as well. I own lots of brand to compare it with too. I would say, construction wise, it's on par with the rest of my pieces, as for the print I'm not sure if it's a problem with mine in particular because your photos seem quite crisp but the print is a tiny bit blurry, not noticeable unless you're very close and looking directly at it though. Lace is soft, nice quality. I really like the dress, it's cheap price and the lack of delicate feeling make me more inclined to wear it often, and without worry. I can post some high quality photos if anyone requests.

[Anonymous No.9636718]

>>9636526
>Axes better quality than LL
Anon, second hand axes is my favorite wardrobe filler, but their stuff is far worse quality than LL. Like, regularly approaching F21 fast fashion bad. If you think they are somehow better than Liz Lisa (which I find to be okay quality, fitting their price), than I really doubt your taste. Ank Rouge is fantastic, though. Now Amavel? Amavel in my experience is atrocious.

I can can write reviews of some of my more regularly worn casual pieces later.

[Anonymous No.9636767]

>>9636526
Your typing style and constant errors without proof does not make you look good. You're comparing Liz Lisa to brands that are similar in quality.

[Anonymous No.9636774]

>>9628270
not anon but they are sparkly. A girl in my comm has this dress.

[Anonymous No.9636775]

>>9636526
Axes femme is terrible quality. Ank rouge is a much better alternative to Liz Lisa, price and quality are about the same. Lizmelo quality is lower than normal Liz Lisa- I'm pretty sure it's a collaborative line between LL and some jp roomwear brand. The prices are usually much lower than normal LL, new and secondhand.

[Anonymous No.9636779]

>>9636526
>LL is okay quality
accurate
>Axes femme is better
are you high???

[Anonymous No.9636842]

>>9636447
This. I pin the dress to a no strap bar to hold the bust area in place so it doesn't ride up during the day and usually wear it with a bolero.

I haven't been disappointed by any jbrand. Taobao can be so hit or miss. Make sure when you're buying you really like the concept of the print or that it matches your wardrobe theme. I've disappointed by taobao quality but still in love with the print, so I'm still happy with the purchase.

[Anonymous No.9636894]

>>9636767
Maybe because I'm not a native speaker? Not everyone on here is from the US.

The Axes Femme clothes I own are from a way higher quality than my lizlisa clothes. They're not as thin, they're 'heavier' and longer. They look more like everyday pieces, while still keeping the girly vibe. What ircs me about ll is that it's so short, too expensive and looks like a costume because of fabric and print choices. I also said that I like their older stuff, which I own a few pieces from. I won't post photos, because why the hell should I? I already fixed all the broken parts.

[Anonymous No.9636930]

>>9636894
>not a native speaker
Okay? But you're still using net slang and can't seem to even review what you write as it's obvious they are typing errors. Btw the US isn't the only country that speaks English.

But seeing as you think Liz Lisa looks like a costume based on material, I really can't take you seriously. You won't back up your arguments while everyone else in the thread has.

[Anonymous No.9636963]

>>9636480
I also own this jsk in purple and REALLY wish I could find it in black. Love that textured fabric.

[Anonymous No.9636971]

>>9636894
>short, expensive, and looks like a costume
lmao this is a description that can apply to lolita brands, especially ap

[Anonymous No.9636989]

>>9636894
I have a few quality pieces from Axes, but most of their stuff is really not good. like, there are peices I have were the fabric is so thin that the shearing bunches out in weird ways and I can even wear it. it's possible you got lucky, but it's also possible you have pretty questionable taste

[Anonymous No.9637006]

>>9636989
Maybe I got the right pieces from AF but the wrong from LL.

Though I don't like any of their new releases as I'm not a fan of prints at all. And the 'popular' new non print stuff already appears to be extra short on the model. So no, I stay with their older, more sturdy pieces.

[Anonymous No.9637437]

>>9636373
How tall are you, anon? Asking because I'm 5'7 and always worried about trying something from a brand in case the waist hits too high.

[Anonymous No.9637463]

>>9637437
5'7 is a height at which you shouldn't consider to wear LizLisa. At least non of their latest releases as they're terribly short. Tops are ok though, they're usually sized like western brands, never had a problem with those. Check out burritoprincess on ig, she's 5'7 and wears newer releases.

[Anonymous No.9637486]

>>9637437
I'm 5'6" and things fit me fine. I'm also really petite and I have a short torso. It really depends on your build if it'll work or not. The skirts really vary in length, dresses as well. Sleeves will always be a bit short. I've had skirts that are closer to knee length and then some skirts that are ridiculously short. Those tend to be the sukapan though, so if you can't pull off short short, stay away from them if you're unsure.

[Anonymous No.9637554]

>>9637437
Original anon you responded to, I'm 5'4. I'm also standard asian build. LL skirts are longer than their sukapan and they fit me pretty well, but I'd say the sukapan are bordering short even on me.

[Anonymous No.9637567]

I've been meaning to review this dress for a while, it's Fox's Feather's Angel of Death OP

>CONS
First and most importantly, the fabric SUCKS. it feels almost... plastic-y, and the way it's woven is uneven- it's also sort of thick, but not in a good way. That being said, The print is nice and crisp(ish) but the lumpiness fabric sort of makes it look bad. It even makes that sort of swish-swish noise windbreakers make. It's unlined and while that ~usually~ wouldn't be a huge issue, the fabric makes it one. The zipper also has a tendency to catch on the seam between the skirt and the bodice but I feel like most dresses do that to some extent, but none as bad as this dress.There's also that issue of stolen art, but that's a whole other can of worms.

>PROS
while it is unlined, it does have an nice chiffon underskirt that adds a nice bit of ruffles underneath. all the ruffles/solid black parts are made of chiffon, and it's nice to the touch. the construction is decent, and all the seams are finished with serging. The cuffs are a ~little~ big tough, even for their larger sizes. I love that it's a long skirt, too but that's just personal preference. The lace is decent, and the buttons are on pretty tight.
overall, 6/10 or 7/10

[Anonymous No.9637583]

>>9637567
>Stolen art
Just fyi, they found the original artist and both got their permissions and paid them.

[Anonymous No.9637648]

>>9637567
Another con: the print looks kind of like penises. I can't hate it though.

[Anonymous No.9638081]

Going to review INGNI and Cecil Mcbee because I love these two brands.

> INGNI
Fluffy comfortable and warm sweaters. Their denim is just basic denim, and although I like their dresses (very comfortable, light), their sweaters is really what hits it home for me. Effortlessly fashionable while being extremely comfortable. Their long sweaters are meant to hit at the hip so you have the little peak of a ruffle or mini skirt flare, and I think that's a very classic jfashion look.

> Cecil Mcbee
They have great quality overall excluding shoes. The heels get smudged rather easily and they just aren't comfortable (you almost always need an insole). I think because of the fact they don't worry as much about custom prints, the quality of their clothing is a tier higher than the other brands brought up (LL, Axes, Amavel).

[Anonymous No.9638187]

>>9637463
I'm 5'7" and most LL/himekaji is too short, but I can find some pieces that fit just fine and wear himekaji regularly. Just measure before you buy, like any other brand.

[Anonymous No.9638190]

Sorry, I meant >>9637437 (although the other anon doesn't seem like they really know what they are talking about, as its really not any more difficult to buy LL skirts as any other brand)

>>9638187

[Anonymous No.9638569]

>>9638187
>>9638190
As someone above mentioned before it really depends on your build. With any brand not just LizLisa. I'm 5'7 as stated above but can fit a lot of shorter pieces as my torso isn't as long, and pieces will still cover enough. But people first need to learn what lengths don't look ridiculous on them.

[Anonymous No.9639101]

>>9637648
jesus, I can't unsee it now....

>>9637583
that's good to hear!

[Anonymous No.9640215]

I've reviewed two of my dresses for you, gulls.

First:
Angelic Pretty: Melty Ribbon Chocolate Collar JSK

This dress was my grail, and it was everything I wanted. It truly feels and looks so luxurious, like a high-quality chocolate bar.
*please note I don't know proper fabric terms*

The fabric itself is a high-quality thick cotton-feeling fabric with the chocolate bar detailing within. The detailing is done in a shiny sort of thread. This fabric is pleated and the weight means it sits very nicely over petticoats.
The collar and lining detail is done in a very soft fabric. The fine pleats at the bottom sit very nicely below the skirt. The lining is unattached as the dress is pleated. There is one pocket, as there is a zip on the other side, and also shirring. The shirring is very firm and feels strong, it bring the shape of the dress in nicely. The front ribbon is grosgrain and fastens under the side buttons with the waist tie fastening ontop and tying below. It came with a second grosgrain ribbon on a pin but I can't find anywhere to put it. There are buttons and two different trim details, one a metallic and one a satin. There are normal straps with a halter neck over top.
I am not the first owner of the dress.

Although this is not an AP dress with piles and piles of lace ribbon trim etc, the reason why it stands out to me is that it is 'simple' and every element is executed excellently and to a high standard.

[Anonymous No.9640235]

>>9640215
dropped pic

[Anonymous No.9640246]

Second: Lost at Sea by Krad Lanrete

There's been a lot said about KL lately, but this was one of the earlier releases (I also own Mozerabic Chant) and I have no problems with the make or quality. It is cleanly made and I personally love all the little details on this dress.

The print is gorgeous and has silver metallic stars on top. The print is crisp and not prone to pulling, although I have got some pilling on the chest sides where my arms have rubbed. The custom part of this dress that I truly love is the end of the waist ties with the gorgeous print and custom ends. The star buttons are matching (and match the wrist cuffs) and the moon at the top has KL's name embossed also. The head piece has an hourglass charm and the trail can be detached so it is just a small head piece. The head piece also has star-printed chiffon which is not seen anywhere else on the dress. I am very happy with how this dress has been made and hope to treasure it for years to come.
The skirt has an inside unattached lining and the bodice is lined which improves fit.

[Anonymous No.9640950]

Does anyone know the quality of Secret Honey? I kind of want their Disney collab stuff.

>>9640246
>>9640215
Thanks for the reviews. It's always nice to hear reviews for brand pieces.