A Good-Sized Fanplusfriend Review

Due to a series of events, I find myself at home on a day that I haven't had off in, probably, well over 2 years.  Basically, there's a pretty hardcore blizzard visiting the Midwest, and my boss and I decided my 45 minute commute would not be safe today.

In addition to being home today, I got an unbelievable surprise delivered to my door yesterday (and right after I vacuumed!)  My order from Fanplusfriend came, probably a month earlier than I was planning on!

So first of all, here's what I ordered:

-Sweet/Casual Lolita Frill and Smocking Neat Skirt - 2 of this skirt, one in black & one in dark brown

-Casual/Country Lolita Flat Top Straw Hat - in Ivory
-Casual Lolita Black "Note & Crown" High Stockings White
-Classical Lolita Rose Piece Knee Length Thick Stockings - in Pink
-Elegant Pink & Cream Pearls Bracelet
-Snowflake Pearls (I cannot find the listing on their website, anymore).

All of this, with shipping, cost $131 and some change.  I thought this was a great price!

Second of all my order timeline:
January 23rd, 2011
-Placed order and paid, received order and payment confirmation
January 24th, 2011
-Received message from Fanplusfriend that informed "From Jan 13 to Feb 17 we are on holiday, we cannot make order during this period.  Your order would be shipped after Feb 18 in time sequence".
January 29th, 2011
-Received e-mail informing me my order had shipped with tracking number
January 31st, 2011
-Package arrived at my door


The little crown is just covering up my address

So, because I'm silly and ordered something else from China around the same time, I assumed that this was my new bento box so I ripped open the terrible packaging.  I stuffed a blanket back into the envelope to give a better idea what showed up on my doorstep.  For some reason, it seems to have been partially coated in packing tape, and I'm not really sure why.  On a lighter note, nothing in the unglamorous lumpy packaging was damaged in any way.



Look!  Here's my stuff

Everything was individually wrapped.  Even the jewelry boxes were in little plastic bags.  It seemed that the skirts and socks were arranged to protect the hat.  I was so worried it would get crushed in transit, so I was thrilled that it was all in one piece.

I love Country Lolita more that, almost, every other style or Lolita, especially in spring and summer.  So, I've been trying to find on of these for, about a year.  So, I've finally ordered one!  The bow on the hat is very simple, but the knot in the middle is loose enough that I can slip a flower corsage clip through.  The inside is plain, with lining just above the brim.

Once I took pictures, I wore the hat the rest of the time.  I made Husband take a picture.

I'm really pleased, as it sits comfortably and it does fit.  I also love the light color and I can't wait until it really gets warm enough for me to wear outside!

Pink pearls!  I love pearls and, as far as I'm concerned, if they're stretchy it seems like a bonus!  Again, I was concerned because I have bigger wrists, however, everything sat nicely without any weird stretching.

While I do like the piece, I'm not sure how much I'll be wearing it with my Lolita stuff, though I do know that I will wear it with a lot of my other clothing, and with my mass of single strand stretch pearl bracelets.  Though, it would look gorgeous if I ever dressed in Hime Lolita again.

Now, I'm not going to lie.  These looked nicer on the website, but on the other hand, they were 88cents.  I love few things as much as pearls, but snowflakes are up there.  It's sort of getting out of the winter season, but I should be able to wear these another month, and definitely will be able to use them next year.

I also got 2 pairs of socks, both were packaged differently and were made differently.  On the pink pair, the design is woven in.  On the white pair, the design is printed on.  I'm nervous about washing them, and will be looking into information if it's safe in the future.

So, as far as socks, they're pretty much fine.  The pink ones are the shorter Japanese OTK type, with the cute scalloped edge.  The white ones are more of an American (in my experience) style OTK.  They are quite long, and say up on my legs very nicely.

I did want to point out that the white and black socks seem to suffer from a printing flaw.  Both socks have the same flaw in the same spot on both socks (the black line circled in pink).  It's very tiny and hard to see, but if you're thinking about ordering, it's good to know.  Also, the image kind of stretches apart when these are worn.  It doesn't obscure the images or anything, it's just a result of a printed on image.

Finally!  My skirts!  I wanted a very plain black and brown skirt to go along with more casual coordinates.  One of the lovely members at the LolitaFashion.org Forums pointed me in the direction of this skirt, and I fell in love.  I decided to get both colors in the same pattern. 

Overall, the fabric is a very lightweight and unlined cotton.  I know this would be a turn-off for some people, but I was very pleased.  This means I can layer under it in winter, but it's light enough that I'll be able to wear them in summer with no problems.

The lace on both is lovely, and quite simple.  I was hoping that the brown skirt would have brown lace, but I really like the black lace.  The brown is a dark enough color that the lace doesn't pop out too much, and is just a lovely accent.

Also, it has a button and zipper closure (shown on the brown skirt, because it's easier to see.)  It also had non-detachable waist ties.  Due to the light nature of the fabric, when tied the waist ties lay very flat and don't cause weird bulges under fitted shirts.

Then, naturally, I had to throw some coords together with all of my new goodies.  You can't see it, but the shirt I'm wearing in the first outfit is my self-made Mass Effect "Impressive" shirt.  For the second one, I wanted something very casual (and would you believe that pink sweater cost me $5?)

So my final run-down on my Fanplusfriend order!

Communication - 4/5 Only because do to their wording I was not expecting these things for almost a month.  I'm happy they were early, but I feel like something was not communicated correctly in the first e-mail I was sent.

Shipping - 4/5 Shipping was very fast!  I didn't check my e-mail for two days and it was on my doorstep!  However, that bag it was shipped in looked like something tried to eat it before they sent it out...

Product Quality - 4/5 Everything was fantastic for what I paid.

Individual items:

Boater Hat - 8/10 It's pretty much fantastic.  Upon close inspection, you can tell it was inexpensive, but otherwise great.

Pearl Bracelet - 6/10 Very nice, but costume jewelry.

Pearl Earrings - 5/10 Great value, but don't look as nice in their stock photos.

White&Black Socks - 6/10 Very nice, and very warm, but with some printing issues

Pink Socks - 9/10 These are great!  Right up there with my BTSSB OTK's

Skirts - 8.5/10  I love these, but I can see others being disappointed in the fabric quality.