Let's Put This Hiatus to an End!

I've had next to no time so now that I have a few days with no classes, I figured it'd be as good a time as ever to start blogging again! I have had a few fun events to talk about as well as some future events coming up. So here is my official end of hiatus!

A Hiatus! Oh No!

Hey everyone! I've been pretty awful about updating this blog. I'm going to be doing my best to remedy that! I have some things planned to write about as well as a few things to talk about already! Bear with me! I'll have an update later this week!

Clobba Online Review: Emperor and Nightingale Coat

Hello Everyone! Sorry about the lack of posts over the past month or so. I don't really have an excuse but I've got quite a few plans to blog about coming up soon so you'll be hearing more from me!

I ordered this coat from ClobbaOnline.com. I started my ordering process on 12-7-10. I sent an email to ask about shipping prices before I ordered and they got to me within 12 hours. They gave me prices for EMS, SAL, or SEA mail. They have a DHL option listed on their site but it may not be available for all items or something since they didn't give me a quote for it. I ordered the Emperor and Nightingale Coat in Black with the optional mantle. I had some issues getting their order form to load on 2 of my 3 computers but I was able to place my order later that night.

By the time I woke up the next day (12-8), I had received my invoice. I paid immediately and they confirmed that they received my payment shortly after. They did not tell me how long it would take for them to actually ship the item. On 12-16, I sent them an email asking when my order was going to ship. I received a response the same day from them stating:

"The coat set is not ready yet. The supplier is making a new batch at the moment. There were a few left from the previous batch but they ran out too fast. I will email you once it's ready. :) "

On 12-26, I sent another email to ask about when they were expecting to receive the coats and received an email back a couple of days later.

"The coat will need another 2-3 weeks. The supplier is still doing the embroideries for all the coats at the moment. :)"

I asked for another update on 1-11 and expressed my concern about how long it was taking.

"Please give me an update on the status of my order. It has been more than 1 month since I sent payment. (8th of December) There is nothing stated on your website that the items were out of stock. Since I paid through paypal, I am only covered for 45 days from date of payment. I am starting to get concerned since this time limit is fastly approaching."

They responded the same day with a link to their feedback on EGL and the following:

"The embroidery is still not done. There are more coats in this batch as this will be the last batch before the holiday begins. The supplier will not make more of these coats after the holiday as spring collection will be coming then. Most Infanta pieces does not need to be manufactured. But this coat runs out too fast everytime after a new batch. So you will need to wait some times. Most customers ordering the Emperor and Nightingale coats are like that since this Oct. I'm sorry if there's any confusion."

On 1-23-11, I received another email from them to let me know that they had received the coats and that they would be shipping out as soon as possible. At this time, I asked if it would be possible to order something else with my order. They said I could but they warned me this time that it would take time because they were having issues receiving shipments from Dream of Lolita. I decided to have them just ship the coat for now. I received an email with a picture of my package and tracking number when they shipped it on 1-28-11.

I couldn't get my tracking number to work but I received the item on 2-4-11. I ripped it open without getting a picture but the picture they sent me works well enough XD. The coat was nicely folded in the package with the unattached back ruffle, jabot, and mantle. The back ruffle and jabot attach with pins and the mantle has a button. The coat came with an extra rose button and an extra pin. The wool is nice and thick and very comfy. The coat is fully lined and the fur is really soft. It is very warm and will definitely keep me warm in the northeastern winter.

Say hello to my new dress form that my Mum gave me for Christmas! Here's the coat without any of the extras.

With the mantle only

With the back ruffle

Without the back ruffle

Back ruffle close up

Jabot close up without mantle

Jabot close up with mantle

Jabot (Sorry about the sideways pictures here... For whatever reason it won't let me remedy that...)

Close up of crown charm. Unfortunately it is missing its rhinestone. It's not very noticeable but worth mentioning.

Close up of the cameo. The cameo feels a bit loose. I may have to sew it on tighter. It's made out of plastic and looks a little cheap under the flash of my camera but it's fine in real life.

There are long threads that weren't cut on the jabot. Not a big deal again, but worth mentioning. It's easy enough to snip them off.

The back of the jabot. The back ruffle attaches the same way.

The Infanta logo and crown embroidery

The embroidery of the bird cage. The birds eye is a little rhinestone as well. ^ ^

Overall, I am very happy with the coat. The delay was a little annoying but, it is understandable. I just wish that they had let me know about the delay before I had both placed and payed for my order. Would I order from them again? Most likely. The quality is great and it was well worth the money I spent on it. I'm thinking I may press my luck in the near future with their Dream of Lolita section since I really want one of those nice spade purses! Thanks for reading! I'll do my best to post more often! And on an unrelated note, Binghamton now has two lolitas! We've been hanging out and it is wonderful! But more on that later! ^ ^

Halloween-Time Photoshoot

I really wanted to shoot here but we were asked to leave since there was no photography allowed T_T This was the only photo we got.


Back around Halloween, I modeled for a few photos for a contest I wanted to enter. I had a lot of fun working with two great artists, Eric Maruscak of Pepperink.com and Jason D. Moore of Jason D. Moore Photography and would love to do it again some time soon. I'd like to share some of the photos with you!

-Photography by Jason D. Moore Photography

-Photography by Pepperink.com

They have minimal editing other than being taken with HDR technology, which from what I understand, is when you take three or more images with different settings so that you can edit the photos that are identical other than the lighting together, taking only the best parts from each photo. For example, the last photo above is comprised of the three images below.



It's pretty neat. I'm in love with the end product it produces. It's so hard to stand perfectly still for so long though!

Contest Ideas!

And for good measure, here's a really adorable panda photo!

I'd like to have a contest soon to celebrate that I'm getting really close to 50 followers. The problem is I can't for the life of me come up with an idea for it. Simple giveaways are boring don't you think? Anyone have any ideas that would make for a fun contest? I was thinking some sort of photo contest. I'd love to hear what you guys would have in mind!

Halloween!!!!

For Halloween, I didn't do a whole lot. The day before however, I had a very small get together with a couple of friends. We all dressed up as pirates and did very un-pirate like things such as have dinner at Denny's and watch The Running Man. I was mostly happy to get to wear a bunch of my new items (and old items actually), that I have never gotten to wear yet!

Coord Rundown!

Blouse/Socks: AatP
Shorts: h.Naoto Gramm
Shoes: An Tai Na
Bag: BTSSB
"Corset"/Hat: Offbrand
Eyepatch: Handmade

As always, I'd love to hear what you think. Did anyone else do anything fun for Halloween?

5 Lolita Pet Peeves

A little while ago, a user on EGL "challenged" us lolita bloggers to do a small blog on what we dislike in lolita. I've got a few pet peeves myself so I thought I'd make my own ^ ^

1) Cake Hats
I've hated cake hats since the very first time I saw one. I also place those awful ice cream cone headdresses that AP put out with Milky Planet in this category. This is my number one pet peeve in lolita

2) Wigs
I like wigs a lot actually. It is always really annoying though that it seems without a wig, one's outfit just isn't really considered complete and seems to be lacking something. I wish more people would show off their real hair.

3) Wa-Loli
When I first became interested in lolita, I desperately wanted to be a wa-lolita. I loved all those bodyline yukata dresses. Part of me is very glad I never was able to get one. I like them on rare occasions on an asian girl, even then though, I couldn't imagine wearing them as a daily fashion. I think western girls look very out of place in them.

4) Blunt Bangs
Again, I like bangs, but I feel like you are expected to have blunt bangs in lolita. I've never been a fan of myself in bangs and every time I wear lolita I always worry that my lack of bangs makes me look strange in the style. I understand that they aren't necessary, but I wish there were more bang free lolitas.

5) Bonnets
Lastly, I hate bonnets. I always have and probably always will. I think they look goofy and just ruin the whole look. Half bonnets have the possibility of looking less ridiculous, but still rarely look good.