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



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.