Review #22: Bodyline

Again with the Bodyline reviews, I know, I know. This one will be short and sweet. I decided to take advantage of their recent sale and free air shipping campaign to try their new chiffon blouse I had been lusting after ever since it popped up on their Rakuten site. In the end I got that blouse in two colours, another blouse for some old-school looks and shoots I'm planning, some new socks and we also got some cheap accessories from the sale for the model wardrobe.

L517 in 2L

Fits bust/waist 94/82cm

This is the blouse that incited the lust - I have honestly been waiting for Bodyline to do something in chiffon since the trend started picking up and they finally have! Since white was sold out in 2L and I don't wear yellow, I got this in pink and black. Again, it's one of those awkward Bodyline moments where the bust is to small and the waist is too large, but normally things like that average out for me. However, it ended up fitting perfectly across the bust and the corset lacing in the back means it will fits my waist even when I loose more weight. And I really, really, REALLY love them.

Overall this blouse is quite nice, all the ruffles have rolled hems so there are no raw edges, the sleeves have a decent amount of elastic and, most importantly, despite the fabric being polyester it's not a noticeably "sweaty" fabric. Obviously, it is sheer but a camisole underneath takes care of that. I took a few shots of the pink one to show some of the details. The first photo is most accurate to colour, it's a warm toned pink, but I had to use flash to show some of the details. As for the black version, it's identical but black ^__^

Bow on the sleeve.

Heart-shaped buttons!

L3176 in 2L

Fits bust/waist 98/86cm

This blouse has been something I've looked at every time when placing an order, but I think it may have gone down in price or something, because this time it was added to the cart instead of being ignored. I had the oddest problem with this blouse though - it was really difficult, even after unbuttoning the front, to fit my head though! Also, the sleeves are a bit short but since I'm 169cm tall that's not really surprising. I'm smaller than the listed measurements, so it's big on me but I think it would fit up to what's listed no problems, though the neckline may be an issue if you have a thicker neck. As far as construction goes it is sturdy, and the fabric is their typical polyester and "others" which may get a bit sweaty in warm weather but is nice enough to look at and to the touch. I'm quite happy with it and have lots of coord ideas!

I only have one photo of it showing the laces on the bib as I know people like to know the quality of Bodyline's laces. Blogger kept rotating my other pictures so they were upside-down. Again, excuse the flash.

As for the socks, I don't even remember which ones they were, as Bodyline tends to have several very similar pairs of socks on the site at the same time. In any case, these are quite nice. The lace isn't spectacular, but they are cute and comfortable. However, though both pairs seemed to be under the knee socks on the site the white ones are shorter than the black pair so if you're on the taller side like I am perhaps look into their OTKs instead, because they may well end up as under the knees anyway!

As far as speed of order goes, I placed my order on the 10th and received it on the 20th, which I consider a very good turn around time. Of course, since Bodyline posts out on Tuesday's, ordering on a Monday helped with that sensation of speediness ^__^

Review #21: Lyris Design

On November 15, 2013 [does this sound like the opening to a vintage murder mystery, or what?] I won a $150 voucher for Lyris Design. So I commissioned a steampunk vest and wanted to review the process and the product for my readers. I shall do so in timeline form, because I feel like it and because otherwise this could potentially get very confusing...

15-16 November. Giveaway winner [haha me!] was announced on the Lyris Design facebook page and the owner, Carly, sent me a nice message explaining that the voucher was valid for one year, and to let her know what kind of thing I would like to have custom made. I messaged back with two different ideas - a skirt and a vest. Since the vest is what I ended up getting, that's what we'll focus on. It's a variation of this 1898 jacket from what is apparently a tennis outfit, basically nixing the sleeves in favour of tiny cap sleeves.

17 November. Carly got back to me with a few more questions so she could give me a quote, I replied, and she quoted me $280 for the vest, which meant with the voucher I would be paying $130.

I should mention here that normally I wouldn't commission something like this. I think the price is really reasonable, especially considering all the trimming and the fact that the price included posting me not one, not two, but three calico mock ups to test the fit, but I normally veer away from spending this much on a single item of clothing. As such, this is actually the first thing that's ever been tailor made for me [other than stuff I've made myself or that my mum has done!] so, though my experience with Lyris Design was super positive, it's still experience one of one with custom made items. Not that it really affects my opinion or changes my awesome experience, but I am just putting it out there.

18-20 November. I confirmed that I would like to get the vest and asked for payment information and what measurements I'd need to give. Carly sent back a document with what measurements she needed. On the 20th I sent back my measurements and mentioned that I'd be offline until the 27th.

27 November. Right on the day I was meant to get internet back Carly sent me links to a bunch of different trim and button options to choose from.

1-3 December. When I finally got back online and checked everything out I told Carly which trim and buttons I preferred. She confirmed my choices and checked my address to send out the mock-up and gave me a list of things to check when I received it.

9-10 December. I got the mock up on the 9th, complete with a handwritten note on some lovely paper and fabric samples for the vest and it's lining. James took some photos for me on the 10th to show Carly the fit and I messaged back with those and a description. It was a bit tight across the bust, I couldn't raise my arms in the sleeves [and also wanted to make them smaller for aesthetic reasons] and it was a bit large around the hips, but the length, waist and neckline were perfect.

11 December. Carly sent back some follow up questions and said she would do a second mock-up ASAP to ensure we got the fit right.

18 December. Shhhh... so it took me ages to reply! I have a bad habit of ignoring messages when things get a bit hectic, so it took me a while to give Carly the information she needed. I also apologised and said I totally understood if she wanted to leave it until after Christmas because of my delay.

2 January. Just when, after all the Christmas and New Years kerfuffle died down, I was thinking that I should send a follow up message sometime soon Carly messages saying she's sent off the second mock-up.

8 January. I got the new mock-up and it's a much better fit all around except there's a bit of extra fabric around the armhole. I also wanted the sleeves to be a bit shorter again, but Carly had definitely tweaked the pattern to fit me a lot better.

12-14 January. It was a really busy week so I hadn't replied back with photos when on the 12th I get a nice message from Carly just checking I'd gotten the mock-up okay. It was perfect timing, since I was planning on messaging her anyway so I quickly replied with more pictures and a description. We discussed what needed adjusting and Carly said she'd get to work on a third mock-up.

18 January. Carly messaged to let me know she had finished the newest calico and would send it on Monday [this was a Saturday] and apologised for not sending it yesterday. Any fellow Aussies reading this will remember the horrible heatwave we were having then so I didn't mind at all.

23-25 January. Got the third mock-up on the 23rd and it was pretty damn perfect. We exchanged a few messages with a final confirmation, Carly mentioned that she may not get to my vest until the end of the week as she is finishing up pieces for a fashion show and I said it's not a problem. Angeline Bubsy was walking for Lyris in the fashion show, so I was keen to see it go off well!

6 February. Carly sent me a picture of the fabric with the buttons and trim laid out on it [and I should mention that this photo is probably the most accurate to colour in this post] to confirm it's all fine before starting the trim. She managed to get a pretty good colour match with the braid and buttons! I got details for paying the balance and Carly said it should be finished by the end of the weekend.

8 February. I pay, send a message saying I've paid and Carly tells me she's finished one side of the cording. This is where I start getting rather excited!

10 February. I log onto facebook and what is at the top of my newsfeed but a picture of my awesome vest that Carly posted on her page! She also sent me a message with the picture and tells me it has been posted and to let her know if there are any issues. I sent back a really enthusiastic message because she did a really, really fantastic job and I couldn't wait to have it in my hot little hand!

13 February. It arrives! I was still dozing the the morning when James comes into our room going "package!" so I managed to wake up for it. Unwrapping pictures follow, and a first thing in the morning worn photo featuring my "I just did up 13 buttons, and I've only been awake ten minutes, I am proud of my dexterity" face.

This cute little parcel came to me inside a regular padded post satchel. The note was personalised and contained care instructions, and was printed on a nice paper.

 

So I may have let out inarticulate noises of joy when I unwrapped it. My pictures don't show how lovely this is. The workmanship is fantastic and the fabrics Carly chose are great. This is probably the best made piece of clothing I own, and I own a lot of clothing! If I were to nitpick there are a couple of places where the trimming isn't completely symmetrical, and there's one loose thread in one buttonhole that catches a bit, but like I said, that's being nitpicky. It fits wonderfully, is exactly what I asked for and is extremely well made.

So, long story short, Carly was wonderful to work with and very attentive to detail, making sure that the fit was perfect and checking that I was happy with everything before proceeding. From start to finish this commission took three months but given that I caused some delays by slow responses and there was all the joys of Christmas in the time period as well I think that that is quite a reasonable turnaround time. As far as pricing goes I think it was super reasonable, especially since she didn't charge postage on top and she sent me four packages overall! The amount of fiddly work that would go into the trim and even all the buttons of this is, well, a lot and even though I'm sure she's a very experienced pattern maker there was a lot of time spent getting the pattern right for me.

Super long story short: Lyris Design is awesome, if you want something custom made go to her!

2014 Wardrobe Post

If you click on the image you'll be redirected to my second EGL wardrobe post...I've been in lolita for a year and a half now, and I love it!

Review #20: Bodyline

On the 22nd of December I had a family Christmas lunch, and my dad gave me a combined belated birthday/Christmas cash bundle. So I came home, consulted James, and placed a little Bodyline order of a pair of shoes and three skirts. As usual, I got tracking numbers within a couple of days, but the tracking info remained empty until my two packages were marked as posted ["Arrival at outward office of exchange"] on the 27th. From then, I received my stuff on Januray 3rd, which was amazingly fast given that it was in transit over Christmas and New Years.

L353 in L

win

I've always kind of liked this skirt in grey, but I know myself well enough to know I wouldn't wear it much, pretty as it is. But when Bodyline restocked it in more colourways the red seemed to be an awesome choice! And it seemed correctly, because this is my new favourite skirt. The fabric is nice and light and feels more like a true cotton than a polycotton, though it's probably jut a nicer blend. The print is lovely and it's beautiful and full. This is probably the best Bodyline piece I've ever owned. I love it.

According to Bodyline this skirt fits an underbust of 68-88cm and a waist of 68-84cm and I got it in a large instead of a medium because I have a prominent ribcage. But it fit perfectly comfortably and I probably could have gone a size down despite my ribs.

Why, Blogger? Why you rotate this?

L325 in 2L

gre and brw

This skirt has always been one of my favourites, but I was never the biggest fan of the existing colourways - I'm not as in-love with black as I once was, I don't like pale skirts and the red seemed like it would be a hard shade to match. But then Bodyline released more colourways and since I couldn't choose, I got myself the green and James bought the brown for me slash the model wardrobe.

In theory I should be able to fit [just!] in the medium, but we have that in black in our model wardrobe and I can't fit it over my rather prominent ribcage. So unless you have a slim underbust if you are hovering between sizes I'd suggest going with the 2L. Both skirts are quite nice though due to the many layers they can be heavy and lead to rapid petticoat deflation.

My phone refused to photograph these skirts well - no flash and they both came out black, with flash they came out bright and horribly shiny. However, the colours in the stock photos are very accurate, and a simple google search can reveal nice worn photos of this skirt in a few different colours.

SHOES285 in 250

brw-beg

When these shoes were first released I was all "oooh... cute steampunk shoes!" and since that feeling didn't go away I got a pair and they are pretty darn cute! My standard Bodyline shoe size is a 250 and these feel like they're a little on the big side around the toe, but my foot definitely wouldn't fit in a smaller shoe. It was a bit of a squish job to get my feet in there. They seem to be of standard Bodyline shoe quality, which is not bad at all to my mind, but I haven't yet worn them for an extended period of time.

The only issue I have with these shoes is that the zipper is either black of a very dark brown that looks a bit out of place. I couldn't get the colours to come out right in the photo either, the stock photo is way more accurate so just imagine a black zipper on shoes in the colours of the stock image.

All in all I'm very happy with my newest wardrobe additions! I feel like I'm at a place with lolita that I have a pretty good and versatile wardrobe so I'm going to be focusing on adding some handmade gear and getting more creative with the clothes that I have.

Review #19: F+F Blouses

I recently had to sell off a bunch of my lolita due to a mixture of things no longer fitting and me gaining a better understanding of what my lolita style actually is [long story short, much as I adore sweet, I can't really wear it] but the upside of that was having a bit of cash to reinvest in some new lolita. Since blouses are what I really lack, and they're also the thing I can't sew for myself, I placed a nice little F+F order.

Longer reviews are below, but in summary all the blouses are quite nice as far as fabric quality and construction goes. My photos aren't that great but fortunately the stock photos are very true in regards to colour and all other details. However, sizing is a bit inconsistent so read on if you are thinking of purchasing any of these blouses. For reference, my bust is currently 95cm and I've listed what F+F said the bust was for each piece.

TP00051 in Lady 80 [Bust 92cm]

This is a blouse I have lusted after since compiling my hypothetical steampunk lolita wardrobe. So I gave into temptation and here we are. I love it. It's made of F+F's standard poly-cotton, and I love all the laces on it. I'm not the hugest fan of the fabric on the collar, but it does look good despite being a bit shiny. The blouse has detachable waist ties, the jabot is attached with press studs, and the ribbon bow is attached to the jabot on a pin, so you can move it around as desired.

Fit wise this one runs large as it is a perfect fit on me. The sleeves are also a great length on me, not tending toward shortness like some Bodyline blouses. For reference there I am 169cm tall, so this is definitely a good sleeve length for taller lolitas! All in all, it's a lovely blouse and I am really glad I got it.

TP00123 in Lady 80 [Bust 98cm]

I really, really like sailor lolita, but I'm not really into navy. So this is perfect for me! The first thing I really noticed is that it is definitely a loose fitting blouse, like the website says. You need to look at the last couple of model stock photos on the website to really see with, but this is not a fitted blouse. It does, however, look great like that. It certainly gives it a more casual vibe, but I like that.

As far as fit on the bust goes this is fairly accurate - it's listed as fitting a 98cm bust and it fits well on me. It might not fit too well if you are smack bang on 98cm though, so if in doubt, maybe go a size up.The sleeve cuffs are also a bit tight, so make sure to check that measurement as well!

TP00103 in Lady 80 [Bust 96cm]

I already have this blouse in white, but since I lost weight it only fits with the corset lacing full tightened, so I tea-dyed it for a shoot. But I really liked it. For me, this is a perfect lolita blouse - cute but not OTT, and the ruffles around the neckline made it look great under JSKs despite not having a collar. So now I have one in black and one in white, though I only snapped a photo of the white on for this review  ^__^

I don't remember how accurate the fit was to the listed measurements last time [silly me didn't put that in the last review] but this time around they were a tad on the small size - these blouses are skin tight. It's good, especially as I intend to shrink down a bit more, but I would definitely recommend getting the larger size if you are hovering between sizes. The sleeve cuffs are tight on me as well and I had to get James to help me tug them off, so that may be something to keep an eye on as well.

As far as postage goes, these were all instant shipping items. I ordered on the 16th and they were shipped the same day. I received them on my doorstep on the 21st, which is pretty quick to my mind, especially over Christmas.

Extended hiatus announcement.

It's first thing in the morning for me, so please ignore the lame title of lameness.

Long story short, after having no internet from what turned out to be more than a week, I realised that I've run out of a bit of steam for this blog, so I'm indefinitely extending the hiatus. However, I'll still be answering comments and also posting clothing reviews, because I find them so helpful myself.

If you feel like keeping up with my photography, modelling and otherness, you can find me at the following sites:
Photography on facebook
Modelling on facebook
Tumblr of a bit of everything
Etsy store

Hope all my lovely readers are well, and I'll see you when I see you!

Announcing a temporary hiatus.

The time has come. I will be without internet for a week [hopefully not more!] as we switch providers, so other than this post, and my scheduled gratefulness post going up on Sunday you won't hear from me for a few days. I've been busy studying for my final uni exam so I haven't had a chance to schedule in new posts to go up over my absence so until we are back online, Roli out.