Review #56: Glitter Tale Blouses

Wow, it's been a hot minute since I've blogged much of anything, hasn't it? Roll up your sleeves and prepare for a long one - it's a review that's was a long time in coming! Seven months, to be precise. SO let's go back in time...

I got in touch with Glitter Tale on Christmas Day, 25 December 2020 and after a little back and forth about availability I filled in the order form, submitted it and paid my invoice on the 27th.

On 25 January I got in touch as I wanted to see what the ETA was, and was advised that making time would be 35-85 days due to the upcoming Lunar New Year and the impact of COVID19. Given that I've read that Glitter Tale are slow, I assumed it would be on the longer side which was around mid March if counting from the date I paid for my order.

Then on 18 February I unexpectedly got a message asking for my waist measurement, which I apparently forgot to fill in. I have no idea if that was my fault or if they someone messed up the data - I can't imagine forgetting an entire field (I tend to be pretty anal about such things) but I don't like the thought of them just...losing one of my measurements. Who knows!

March came and went and on 12 April I asked for an update again and was told two blouses were done and the other was going to be made on Monday (the 19th). I don't know if it was or not, but on the 29th I finally got told my order was done! They said it was shipped and they would provide tracking after an upcoming four-day national holiday, but I didn't get the tracking number until 6 May, and the tracking didn't record any activity until 10 May. So I doubt it was actually shipped when they said it was.

Once it was in transit my package came pretty quickly and it was finally delivered 19 May. Halle-fucking-lujah!

Overall, I am not happy with Glitter Tale's customer service or turnaround time. I knew it wouldn't be great based on other reviews I've seen, but it was still pretty bad. 85 days (the advised maximum making time) is approximately 12 weeks, but it was 20 weeks from payment to shipping activation. Almost double the provided worst-case estimate is not okay, especially when little things kept adding up to lead me to believe I couldn't trust what they said about where they were at in the process.

Seriously, is there an indie brand out there that actually delivers products in their advertised time frame? Actually, belay that complaint, off the top of my head I remember The Black Ribbon being good as well as MadIllustration. But still. Ugh.

Anyway, enough complaints about timing and onto the actual clothing review.

And lets start the reviews off with a look at the blouse I'm most happy with - the simple white one. This style intentionally came with bunny ears, but they were left off on my request. This blouse is almost perfect. It's well made, the fabric is soft and not sheer, the details are super pretty. 

The only downside - and this is consistent across all the blouses - is that it is a bit tight and gapes at the bust, and is also a bit longer than a standard lolita blouse with a a big length without buttons at the bottom front. However, these could be due to flaws in my measurements, my body changing in the  months it took to make, or simply be a design choice that isn't really evident from stock photos.

Next up is this gorgeous chocolate brown chiffon number, which is just beautiful! There is less contrast between the lace and the fabric IRL, but they're not the same colour and I think it adds a beautiful depth to the blouse.

I mean, just look at that! So pretty.

And last..and least...is this lavender blouse. It's certainly fine in terms of construction and all that, but I am not happy with the colour.

Also, it's hard to see in photos but the stitching is a bit off colour-wise and there's these odds press studs in the cuffs. It's not a problem, per se, but it's a bit odd. The sleeve are also a bit tight around the wrist, but like the bust size issues in all the blouses I'm taking that as pretty inevitable with custom online orders.

But in terms of colour - I ordered the far right, third row on the table below, and I honestly can't tell if I chose badly, if the stock pictures are off, if they made it in a different colour, or if I'm just bad at judging colours.

Here's a quick photoshop comparison - left is what I was expecting, right is what I got. It's darker, duller, and more blue-toned than anticipated and it doesn't match anything in my wardrobe (except for one beret...is that enough?).

So I'm pretty disappointed with the last blouse, and it's frustrating because since Glitter Tale weren't the best to deal with overall my gut instinct tells me they just used a different fabric. But I do know it could have easily been my mistake, or simply be a result of picking colours online. So I'm grumpy and disappointed and don't know what to do with those feelings!

But oh well. Two out of three ain't bad. And they are pretty good in terms of fit and quality. If it weren't for the terrible delays and dodgy customer service, I'd be quite happy. However, as it is I don't think I'd buy from Glitter Tale again.

So this review is a bit of a mixed bag. I'm happy to have two new blouses that fit me well in colours that suit my wardrobe, and I'll probably sell off the lavender one.