Review for Bodyline L191 and BAG120

It was requested, awhile back, that I review one of my favorite Bodyline pieces: L191, or my Heart Chocolate Sweet Biscuit JSK.  Since I have the bag, too, I'll be sharing a few words on that.
 




Shown with Detachable Bow



Back View

This particular JSK is listed as made from the material "Cotton Other" on Bodyline's website.  I'm not sure what that means, but it is a heavier cotton cloth.  I believe that if you had a petticoat that wasn't stiff enough, the dress would cause it to droop.  With a racer-back bra (or one of those little discs you put on a bra to turn it into a racer-back) this dress looks really nice in the summer time with no blouse.
I've washed this piece several times, with no problems.  To dry I just hang upside-down to air dry.  It irons, alright, as well.  Not great, because of the thick fabric, but alright. 

Th back is shirred and has corset lacing.  However, the ribbon that was used for the lacing seems really cheap and it looks like it should tie at the bottom.  Also, the ribbon is really, really long.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm thin, and don't use much lacing, or if the ribbon is just really long.

The waist ties are beautiful, and (if you're really patient about it) tie very nicely.  However, because of the way the corset lacing is, it tends to get stuck in my waist tie bow if I try and tie it myself.

The waist ties close-up are so beautiful with so many lovely details.  It seems like just enough, while not going over the top.

The JSK uses a zipper closure, under the left arm.  This is nice, in that it keeps the zipper very nicely hidden.  However, due to the style of zipper it tends to rub on the underside of my arm.  It's more annoying than painful, but I generally have a red mark under my arm at the end of the day, even when I wear a blouse.

 I also wanted to point this out.  I want to make it very clear that the dress did not come with this rip.  However, I wanted to point it out and the situation that caused it. 
The first time I wore this dress, the zipper got caught on that cloth part when I went to zip it.  It got stuck, BADLY.  To unstick the zipper, I had to cut off that particular piece, and pull it out of the zipper.  Now, I don't know if this is a result of random chance (lucky me!) or if it has to do with how the zipper is sewn in.  If you notice, that cloth piece around the zipper folds over a bit there.

The print on this is gorgeous!  All soft colors, with details that resemble the lace on the dress.  Also, you can't see but I tried my hardest to get a picture, the background behind the cookies is not white.  It is actually a very, very light yellow with white dots on it.  People probably can't see it when you wear it, either, but it's such a pretty little detail, and I didn't notice it for a long time.

The bow detailing is also very lovely.  The dress has two small bows, where each strap connects to the front of the dress.  It also has two detachable bows, the smaller of which I have not pictured.  They're both really nicely made, and if you like to wear large head bows, the smaller of the two could, probably, be easily converted for that purpose.

This is the sort of lace you'll see most places on this dress.  It's not soft, but it's not really scratchy either.  It's not uncomfortable or itchy, at all.  It's more of an off white than a white, too.

This is the lovely lace on the bottom.  It's a longer piece of more stiff lace, with a little line of short puffy heart lace sewn on the top.

However, I noticed this problem with my lace.  It's cut, more or less, wrong and a bit sloppy.  Some places are considerably worse than others.  In fact, some places the lace is trimmed correctly.  As much as I love this dress, this is my second biggest peeve about it.

My biggest peeve with this dress is this underarm ruffle.  I have tried ironing it a million times, but due to a combination of the thick fabric and seeming like there is just to much fabric in the ruffle, I can't get it to lay flat.  Right now, I have it hanging in the bathroom to try and steam the ruffles down.



Really quickly, here's the bag.  It's a nice good size, but unfortunately no sort of pockets or dividers.  Also, the straps seem really cheap, and weak.  When I use this bag, sometimes I worry that the weight of the things in my purse could cause them to tear.  However, it is nicely lined.  I like it because it matches my dress, but it's by no means a must-have.

Final Rundown:

Bodyline L191 - Heart Chocolate Sweet Biscuit JSK

Pros:

-Nice heavy fabric

-Top of the dress made so it can be worn with or without a blouse

-No problems with washing

-Beautiful detailing on the waist ties

-Nice colors and details in the print along the bottom

Cons:

-Some detailing looks cheap (mainly corset ribbon)

-Zipper rubs on arm

-Poorly cut lace

-Ruffle won't lay flat

Overall Rating: 7/10

Bodyline BAG120 - Matching Tote

Pros:

-Good size

-Nicely lined

-Matches the dress!

Cons:

-Straps seem cheap

-No dividers

Overall Rating: 5.5/10

Also, I would like to point out that, as of this posting, on Bodyline's site the prices are:

JSK - $31

Bag - $6



Me, wearing the reviewed pieces



BodyLine Review for L304 & SOCKS369

I am thankful everyday for my wonderful husband.  I say this because I'm reviewing the dress and socks he picked out for me for our second anniversary (the cotton anniversary).  He knew I wanted the dress, but was unwilling to order it because of the shirring at the top.  I wasn't sure how it would look on me, at all.  He picked out the socks to go with (which look great!)

Alright, so onto my review.  First, L394 or the Antique Clock OP. 

Like I said before, at first I wasn't willing to order this myself, because I was very apprehensive about the shirring at the top.  I was afraid it would make me look lumpy, and possibly somewhat heavy.  However, I was head-over-heels in love with this print in grey.  Apparently, my husband really liked the print, too.

So, here it is hanging on the hanger. It's quite plain, over-all in construction, which I really like.  The print on this dress, while hardly obnoxious, has a lot going on so the plain construction looks really nice.  Also, because the top is plain, I can wear a pull-over sweater over the top and it looks gorgeous!

Another concern I had was the lace.  Here are some lovely picture of it, though:

In the picture on BodyLine's website, I thought the lace almost looked silly.  I actually told Husband that if I ever were to buy it, I would probably remove it.  However, once I had the dress in my hands and tried it on, I changed my mind.  It's quite lovely and cut nicely.  It does stick up somewhat odd, at the sides though.  I may make a tiny stitch on either side to help it lay more flat.

I was concerned because I own BodyLine's Sweet Biscuit Heart Chocolate JSK and the lace on the bottom was cut quite badly.  However, that wasn't the case here at all.  Also, the lace is pretty soft.  Once again, I was concered it would be typical semi-scratchy BodyLine lace, so this was a pleasant surprise.

The print is very lovely, and very detailed.  It features Harlequin diamonds, polka dots, clocks, and the printed on ribbon reading "Antique Clock".

I'm in love with the pattern, truely.  As beautiful as it is online, I think it's so much more lovely in person.  It's very detailed, and I love the distressed look to the clock faces.  In addition, I didn't think I could love the color gray this much.  Due to the many shades, it's really easy to coordinate with different grays without it looking odd.

It also came with a detachable bow, but I don't really have much to say about it.



I haven't really been using it, but I'm trying to figure out a good way to attach it to the back of the dress, since the back is really plain.  However, the pin is really low so the bow tends to tilt forward and look akward when attached.  I may just need to detach and move the pin up higher.

Alright, and as much as I love the dress, it's not all sunshine an rainbows.  For some reason there are loose threads all over the dress.  I've never had this happen with a BodyLine piece, so I was really surprised.

I know it's not really a huge thing, but I was irritated, especially because a lot of it was on the outside of the dress along the bottom of the shirring.  All I need to do is go along with a scissor and clean it up, but there's a part of me that thinks I shouldn't have to.  I know it's BodyLine and their quality isn't supposed to be the best, but when I buy a $20 Mossimo dress at Target I don't need to clean up sewing sloppiness.

So, in closing:
Pros:
-Plain dress constuction compliments the print
-Shirring fits nicely and is forgiving
-Lace is soft and lovely
-Print is beeautiful!

Cons:
-Lace on collar sticks up strange in one spot
-Pin on detatchable bow sits too low
-Loose threads everywhere!

Overall: I'd give it an 7.5/10

Secondly, the socks.  As I said, Husband picked these out himself to go with the dress.  Which, you may be surprised how well harlequin diamonds, polka dots and striped socks go together!

The lace on the top is so incredibly soft, it's kind of amazing.  Overall, the construction is good.  However, the bows on the socks are, kind of, in a random spot on both socks, once you put them on.  They look like they would sit to the back, unworn, but they really don't.  Also, these are supposed to be OTK socks, but they are really stretchy and have a snowball's chance in hell of staying up over one's knees without sock glue or fashion tape.

Overall: Nice constuction, but with some irritating flaws.  6/10

Finally, I just wanted to share some pieces I've been using with this OP.  Like I said, because of the many colors of gray, it's been fun to play with!

I got these hairclips and watch necklace from Claire's/The Icing after I got the dress, to go with it.  I love the flower clips with the dress, as it's something I wouldn't normally just put with clocks.

I also have this sweater that my parents got me for Christmas (but my big sister picked it out for me).  It's from Kohl's and the brand is Apt.9.  It's a wool sweater and is all warm and beautiful when there's a pretty clock "skirt" to go with it.  It was a nice surprise, since I had gotten the dress only 2 days before Christmas (it was late in the mail).