Axes Femme Kawaii

So someone needs to tell me when Axes Femme Kawaii got so super cute because excuse me, their stuff is so darn cute right now!

I've always liked Axes Femme. Their clothing has always been pretty and affordable and decent quality - in lolita terms, put their stuff around special set level. Their Kawaii sub-brand isn't new, but I haven't paid much attention to it since it first launched. And oh boy, I regret that decision.

There's absolutely no point to this post other than to share some of the cool stuff from Axes Femme Kawaii that's currently available.

How adorable is this whole coord? Lemons are so on trend, and I love the pastel yellow of the blouse and how it coordinates with the red. It's retro, but still so lolita. If I were into fruity prints I'd be all over this!

Speaking of things that I would totally wear, check out this ensemble. A classic harlequin with an Alice in Wonderland vibe, what's not to love? It's actually a vest and a skirt, which I think is great. It does come in blue as well, which is super Alice-like, but I preferred the black colourway.

Moving on from main pieces I had to share this cardigan because unless I'm being a bit dim I think it is a 100% match for Honey Cake. I'm not a Honey Cake diehard, but still, this cardigan is adorable and I always get a kick out of "offband" items that match burando perfectly.

And lastly...oooof, this blouse! Floral blouses are love, and this one is just gorgeous!

I've always found that Axes Femme is very "what you see is what you get". There are no sneaky shortcuts or missing details, they just provide very straightforward, well made, but simple garments.

So if you aren't aware of their Kawaii subbrand, well, now you are, and don't make my mistake of not checking their site for years!

PS if you have five minutes, click here for a cute video of Misako modelling some of their new stuff!

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.

Coordinates from June 2021

 I'll admit, June nearly came and went with nary a coord. May and June were both hectic months for me and I didn't have the energy for lolita. Or, more specifically, my lolita room was a mes and it was hard to get into my wardrobe and I was in a cycle of "can't wear lolita until my room is clean, don't have the energy to clean my room".

But right at the end of the month my area went into lockdown again and I suddenly was working from home again. The first couple of days I just enjoyed wearing my PJS but after that I decided that for the first full week of WFH I wanted to try wearing lolita every day (sound familiar)?

So on Monday I wore Teddy Chocolatier - cute, comfy, and the first time using one of my new Glitter Tale blouses (which I'll post a review about soon, promise).

JSK & OTKS: Metamorphose temps de fille
Blouse: Glitter Tale
Bolero: Maxicimam
Shoes: Bodyline
Wristcuffs & Necklace: Angelic Pretty
Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao

I felt so adorable that I had to take a selfie to show off some more details of the outfit. I really enjoyed wearing a blouse as well as a bolero - and there's just something about a big white collar that is so typically sweet. And I wore my beret further back on my head and that also gave me extra cute vibes!

However, it was bitterly cold so I ended up actually taking a shower in my lunchbreak to warm up! And after that...got into my cozy PJs ^__^

The next day it was cold. Again. And I was under the pump with work and all my motivation to wear the pretty outfit I had pulled out vanished...then stayed vanished.

Oh well, tis what tis. I'm happy I wore lolita once this month, and we'll see where life takes me ^__^

Coordinates from May 2021

May was another quiet month on the lolita front (including blogging here, oops). To be completely honest, I think all of 2021 is going to be fairly quiet, but that's okay. 

My first coord of the month was worn to get yum cha with my sister and niece, before bringing said niece back home for a sleepover. It was fun and I got many compliments, from husband, family and our waitress. And, of course, yum cha was tasty.

Skirt: Metamorphose temp de fille Flower Bottle
Shoes: Bodyline
Brooch: MadIllustration
Everything else: Offbrand

I really liked pulling in a little bit of blue in the accessories, I think it added a nice depth to the outfit. Also, because I wanted to show off my smaller hair clips and my brooch, have a selfie as well. 

Then my second and final coord of the month was worn to work. I'm heading back to full time and pulled together this toned-down look on Friday when I was one of three staff in the office. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd missed wearing lolita into the office!

OP: Metamorphose temp de fille Berry Stripe
Shoes & Socks: Bodyline
Hair clip: Taobao
Everything else: Offbrand

So yeah, nothing to ground-breaking about the month of May but I'm happy to still be wearing lolita with some degree of regularity ^__^

Coordinates from April 2021

I'll admit - the fact that April is already over is...disconcerting, to say the least. But I suppose that's just the passage of time for you!

I had the first week of April off work, and was really happy because James said "there's this cool yellow bush in flower, want to shoot?" and when I ran some concepts by him he wanted to go with the lolita option! In the end this coord was super way off where we started, inspiration-wise (it was going to be a classic floral wa lolita thing!) but still super cute. And by taking all his feedback on board it's also a bit different from what I'd normally do, mostly in terms of the wig. But I like it!

OP, Headbow & Necklace: Lady Sloth Verrrry Berry Picnic

Shoes & Wig: Bodyline

Everything else: Offbrand/Taobao/Handmade

Full photoshoot will be on my Facebook page (this is just an unedited shot to show off the outfit) and you can also see a second look that we shot in the pretty bush on there too.

At the end of that week on the Saturday we ran some errands and hung out with some friends to roll up characters for a new D&D round robin thing we're doing. I'm a total noob to tabletop gaming (two one shots and a few sessions of an abandoned campaign so far) but I'm pretty keen to be doing this. But anyway, I decided that super-casual lolita was more comfy than jeans, so that's what I wore.

Skirt: Handmade

Vest: W <3 C

Star Clip: Yokai Candy

Everything else: Offbrand

I mean, technically you could argue that this isn't even lolita, and I wouldn't argue back. But I approached it as a lolita coord, so I'm counting it, even if I didn't wear a petticoat or cover my upper arms and I chose my colours entirely to match my sneakers. 

I also got a really nice compliment from the girl at the checkout at the pet shop, she said she liked my whole aesthetic. I liked it too, TBH! It felt very me.

And then...I didn't wear lolita for the rest of the month. We were very busy with photoshoots, and I went from doing an 8-day to a 9-day fortnight at work and let me tell you, not getting a long weekend every weekend after a whole year of it is a bit of a shock to the system! But I'm happy with these outfits and even though I'm busy, life is good ^__^

Around Your Wardrobe in 30 Coordinates - A Retrospective

It is the end of an era - I have completed all the AYWI30C flatlays! To stave off my sadness, I thought it would be nice to take a bit of a retrospective look at the challenge and share a few thoughts. 

I first posted the list of prompts in February 2018, a little over three years ago. I've been working my way through them ever since, not keeping to any particular schedule. Since I started I've moved house, gotten married, adopted a second cat, and gone through some many personal ups and downs that it's kind of dizzying to think of. And through it all...I was going around my wardrobe in a series of flatlays.

First up in this retrospective, I wanted to share the coords that I absolutely love. These are the ones that I want to wear! Not included are ones that I loved, but have already worn a variation of ^__^

It's so out of my comfort zone, and that's why I've come to love it.

Matching set? Bonnet? Yes please!

I have a burning need for OTT classic and lately I'm really into lighter coords too.

But I still love black-based sweet, and this "traditional" coord is #goals.

Black and white with a pop of colour, I have a mighty need.

And since this did take me so long to complete, let us take off our hats to coords made with main pieces that I no longer own.

I wanted the funds more than I wanted to hang on to this dress until I fit it.

I realised that while I adore this print I don't love the cut on my body.

Again, the lure of money now vs. being able to wear this eventually won out.

A combo of "too small" and "soo short" and "I don't think I'll wear it much" led to goodbye. 

I also used two skirts that are currently in my "to sell" pile, but things migrate back and forth from there so I'm not including them ^__^

I'm so happy to have come up with this challenge, and to have completed it. I could talk even more about everything, but I think I probably did that enough throughout the series. To see every post in this series, click here, and for now, let's close this chapter of my blog...and go onward to new blogging adventures!

AYWI30C #30: To suit a certain make-up look

 And here we are, the last flatlay of this series. I hope you enjoyed these posts as much as I did.

This last look is designed to match a certain make-up look, and this look of mine form a few years ago is what I had in mind:

Photo by The Enthusiast. 

I tried to make this look very doll-like, and took it as an opportunity to use my Innocent World bonnet. With flowers of course, because is it really me if there's no flowers?

In keeping with the doll-like theming, I decided to use the matching OTKS for the dress, and my simplest black shoes. I enjoyed this sort of old-school styling (chunky platforms and a bonnet) combined with a distinctly modern dress.

I kept the rest of the styling mostly simple,. with just a ribbon choker for a necklace and my pink heart bag...once again, this coord highlights my lack of a black handbag!

But something I really enjoyed with this look is that other than said handbag, I steered clear of coordinating with pink (or at least, not much pink)...which is not common for me! It's pretty difficult actually, but I really enjoyed the result.

Overall, I just loved this look.  It's dressy without being OTT, interesting without being overwhelming. And, like with many other outfits as part of this series - I wouldn't have gotten to this place without this prompt.

And with that,  I am done! I will be posting a retrospective of this series in a little while but for now let me just say - I hope you enjoyed it, because I certainly did!