Muneca

I think I might be ready to do this. This is my sweet, dearest Chihuahua. Her name was Muneca. On February 12th, 2015, she made her journey to Heaven. She would have turned 16 years old in March.

She was very frail and very sick.

I love her very much. I won't ever forget her.

Farewell for now Muneca.

My-Lolita-Dress Review II

Time for another review!

I readily admit I'm loving My Lolita Dress more and more for their wide range of options, a comfortable range of prices and absolutely excellent customer service. I really wanted to splurge a tiny bit on a dress for Valentine's is it would be my fiance and I's first year anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than by wearing pink? I know, pretty scary right?

But I've never denied it. I LOVE the color pink! I simply lack the confidence to wear it. I don't feel comfortable in overly cutesy things so I know I didn't want to choose something that would only be suitable for sweet Lolita. So while I was browsing I was caught in by this lovely dress.

I was really charmed by the more mature, classic looking collar and wrist cuffs, and the dress came with a matching sash that could be tied around the waist for a more fitted, less flowy look which definitely sealed the deal. Made of chiffon and sprinkled with tiny moons and stars, it was sweet, but (to me in any case) still held an air of elegance that could potentially be even more accentuated by the right accessories and shoes. 

So on January 27th, I placed my order. As usual, the process was very simple through Paypal. I awaited my email to be notified when it was shipped out, but much to my surprise it arrived quite early on February 4th! I didn't choose a special shipping method, so 9 days in total was quite speedy!

As usual I forgot to take a picture of the packaging, but it was all wrapped securely in a Fed Ex bag, and the dressed was placed again in a second bag. Pretty standard and aside from some minor wrinkling (seriously, why do I not own a steamer yet?) the dress wasn't damaged in any way.

As you can see, the dress is pretty true to it's stock photo. A lovely soft shade of baby pink and adorable "pearl" buttons. They don't seem entirely strong however so I will have to keep an eye on them to ensure they don't break, although the dress did come with two extra ones attached in a bag.

The adorable little moon and star details! You can even see the extras like planets and star clusters, it's all so cute but tiny enough as to not feel super overwhelming.

The lace is unfortunately not the best, and I included a close-up of where it doesn't quite match up and there are loose threads in some places. Still, it doesn't particularly bother me as it's very small, and only on the hem of the dress and a small amount on the neckline. It's not extremely scratchy and stiff, but definitely not the best either, but since it's used in such a limited amount I don't find it particularly bothersome.

Overall, I am once again impressed by My Lolilta Dress' level of customer service (I must have bothered poor Linda, the sales representative about half a dozen times and she always answered me back promptly and courteously), and the professionalism of the entire transaction. Their website is constantly updating with new, beautiful items so I'll definitely be keeping my eye on it for the future!

Shopping Services and Taobao

Here is my confession.

I'm scared to use shopping services. During all my years in Lolita I used one exactly once, and that was only because I was determined to get my hands on the Twinkle Journey OP by Metamorphose (which I ended up selling a year later, but that's besides the point). I didn't get scammed or end up waiting for ages. Nothing was damaged or needed to be tracked down during shipping. But. I was very, very anxious the entire process, and I couldn't feel truly relaxed until I had the dress in my hands. From that day forward, I vowed never to use a shopping service again.

Naturally, this limits quite a lot of things I can buy from taobao stores. For the most part I've been okay with this. My-Lolita-Dress is offering more and more from many of the popular indie brands, and there are so many beautiful things to be find from second-hand sales I never felt like I was really missing out.

Then the other day I was reading over at Luna Rain's  blog, where she recently posted a review about her newest taobao order. I was instantly stricken when she showed two beautiful cutsews from one particular taobao store and I could absolutely not get them out of my head. For what feels like a ridiculously long time I have been searching for simple, but elegant knit tops to wear with casual, Lolita-inspired coords and have grown more and more infuriated by the lack of options! I honestly can not believe the lack of cute details in just about every place I have searched, except for-of course, Korean or Chinese sellers on ebay where anyone with a 96cm is listed as a 2XL (and the garment is probably STILL too small).

But as I'm browsing this shop (and per the review discovered these tops would likely fit quite comfortably), I have to admit, I'm wondering if it's time to give the ol' shopping service a try once again. Just take a look at these!

How can you say no to that! I have to admit, every day I am more and more tempted, and once I buck up the courage I may finally attempt my second ever taobao order. Wish me luck!

My first lucky pack!

I am so excited! I have finally purchased my very first lucky pack!

For as long as I have been a Lolita, I have always adored the exciting Lucky Pack posts that sprinkle egl, wondering what goodies awaited inside the many packs from the likes of Angelic Pretty, Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Metamorphosis. I longed to have one too, but many factors always stopped me- I don't like shopping through a shopping service, lack of funds and a general fear of wasting my money on a bunch of items I wouldn't even like or fit into.

So I waited.

Then just yesterday I was browsing through My-Lolita-Dress.com,  and I came upon this:

Oh gosh, so many cute possibilities! And for such an affordable price!

I was super anxious. I had never heard of the brand Pink Up before and my goolge-fu was failing me. Still, with only 100 packs total (and only 1/3 of that in my size), I knew these babies were going to get snapped up fast.

Luckily some other Lolitas were able to help me out a bit and I learned that Pink Up is affiliated with the brand Long Ears and Sharp Ears Studio, which was only a hair more well known. Still, from what little I found, it seemed the brand had positive reviews and adorable options, and I was already chomping at the bit to finally experience what seemed a Lolita rite of passage.

I do admit I am very nervous about the sizing. Because of the lack of reviews, my only clear indication about their sizes is that they ran small. I ordered a size Large as their chart listed a bust of 96-98cm and a waist of 76-78cm, both of which should fit me quite comfortably with a little wiggle room to spare. However, my one review of the Long Ears and Sharp Eyes brand indicated that their L-XL size fit someone with a waist and bust at least 10 cm smaller than that! Oh dear...

Still, I'm keeping my hopes up! While about half their items look a little too sweet for my tastes, the other half is absolutely gorgeous and classic and mature! And as I'm especially focusing on expanding my wardrobe color palette and styles, I'm very much looking forward to what surprises are in store for me. Sadly my order won't be shipped out until the end of the month so there's a bit of a wait time, but I'll keep myself focused elsewhere until then.

I'll be sure to post a review once it arrives. Keeping my fingers crossed for a lucky Lucky Pack!