Review: Qutieland, Rose Melody, Infanta & DollscroPs

I received a package from Quiteland earlier this week and decided to do a review for those interested.



The package contain three orders:
Order placed on November 29th
Rose Melody JSK: http://qcute.livejournal.com/22191.html#cutid1
Rose Melody blouse: http://qcute.livejournal.com/20736.html#cutid1
Order placed on December 9th
Infanta skirt: http://www.qutieland.com/product.php?id=396
Order placed on January 12th
DollscroPs skirt: http://www.qutieland.com/product.php?id=386

As you can see, I’ve waited a long time for some of these items and not all have been worth the wait.

Let’s start with Quiteland:
This is my fourth time dealing with Quiteland and it almost feels redundant to praise to them, as they were as always excellent with communication and generally pleasant and polite to do business with.
They notified me at some point about the blouse that the manufacturer had run out of the original lace. They sent me a photo of another type of lace and asked me to ok it. I did. Then a few days later they emailed me and said that the manufacturer had found some of the original lace and would be using that.
I wanted to combine the shipping on the first two orders which explains why it took so long to get my first order. The Infanta skirt was really the item that took the longest to make. I inquired about the status of my order in the middle of January and they replied that the embroidery was taking longer than expected. A few days later an email was sent out to all who’d ordered it.
My orders were shipped on the January 31st and I also received a shipping refund for the DollscroPs skirt. I finally received my things on the 17th after it being held in customs for twelve days.

Summing up: Excellent service on Qutieland’s behalf.
9/10


Rose Melody JSK







The construction of this dress is very nice and overall I’m happy with it. It’s fully lined and all the seams are perfect. The only thing that’s bothering me is the bodice of the dress. The white fabric is detachable which is a plus as it looks a little ridiculous, because it sits so high up on me. I would have liked the bodice to be a couple of inches longer, so it would have taken me in at my natural waist. But then again that’s how I feel about a lot of Lolita dresses, but even more so in this case, because it doesn’t really sit as an under bust design on me. It cuts me off half way up on my boobs, which looks a little unflattering to say the least. However, this probably may be solved with the right blouse underneath.
Altogether, I’d say, while the dress is exceedingly cute, I do think it will look best on someone within the standard size. With my 97cm bust and 80cm waist, I’m not in the standard size range that Rose Melody uses. But it looks nice with a white blouse underneath it.
5.5/10



Rose Melody blouse



This blouse was the most disappointing item that I ordered. I guess the fitting is all right, besides the sleeves. They could have been a bit longer, because once I start moving my arms a little bit they ride up. Just for the record I provided measurements for my shoulder, wrist, upper arm as well as arm length (and of course waist and bust).
Two things bother me greatly about this blouse:
1. The lace. I can’t really complain much about this, because I was sent a picture of it during the process, however, I’ll mention it anyway. The pattern on the lace is made with blue thread. I didn’t really think about this when I saw the picture of the lace, I thought it was just the light, but it looks blue in real life too.
2. The fabric. I was expecting a soft cotton and while it is made from cotton, it’s the kind of cotton ITS used for some of their skirts and F+F sometimes uses. This type of fabric is fine for skirts, but for blouses, not so much. It’s much too stiff a fabric to look flattering on you and it makes me look at least 10 kilos heavier. Maybe it’ll look acceptable under a JSK, but I’d really hoped to wear it with skirts too.
Besides those issues, the blouse is well made and has many cute details.





3/10 (If It wasn’t for the fabric it would probably have gotten an 8.)

DollscroPs skirt




(Seems a little rushed at the waistband.)



This skirt is so cute. I love the colour and the appliqué. It’s fairly well sewn and check out the lining.


That was a surprise. While the colour doesn’t really fit with the skirt, I do think it’s a really cute fabric for lining. It has detachable waist bands and bow.
8/10

Infanta skirt




This one’s a real gem. The embroidery is exquisite and so is the make; very well done. I absolutely love the lining. It has nice soft tulle lace at the hem and the string of pearls is detachable. It also comes with a large bow, where it’s supposed to go, I don’t know, but it’s cute nevertheless.
It was rather mystifying when I unwrapped the skirt and I found a piece of the lining sewn on to the front of the skirt.


I don’t know what is written on it, but it’s a little sloppy to send out such a thing in my opinion. I managed to remove it, but it left its traces in the velvet – an indented line. It’s only noticeable upon close inspection, though.
One thing to consider is how the design of the skirt is doesn’t go up as high in the back as in the front. This means that you can’t really tighten the skirt from your natural waist and up to your under bust. It’s not a big deal and the skirt looks fine when worn, I guess, I just like to be able to super fit the skirts ;)







9/10

So overall a bit of mix, huh. I hope some of you could use this. Feel free to ask if you have any question or want more details.

Dots Before My Eyes

I started and finished the skirt I talked about a couple of posts back. Even though, it's not the most complicated design ever, I feel a little proud to say that I actually did it in just one afternoon. Well, I guess it's quite possibly the most simple design for a Lolita skirt, but for someone like me who stares blankly into the air when someone says two words related to sewing, it's quite an accomplishment to finish something like that.
Halfway my mom asked me if I didn't think that "sewing was so much fun?". Not so much. There are moments when I feel like I may spontaneously combust.

I made it a bit shorter than the tartan skirt. I like this whole making my Lolita clothes. Just for casual wear anyway. It's nice to get a new skirt for just under 20$. Next I'll try to do something a little more complicated, maybe some ruffles and at some point try to do a half-elastic waist with a zipper. I've also talked to my mom about making a whole dress. I just need to find a pattern for a dress with a bodice I like.

Anyhoo, here's a picture of the skirt in action. I wore it yesterday. I was just hanging around the house, playing the piano for a while. At the moment I'm trying to learn Emilie Autumn's Shalott. It's acutally an easy song, but at the same time a bit fast paced, so it's taking longer than I'd like ;)

Yes, that's my piano. I bought it a couple of years ago and love it to bits. It could use a tuning, though :/

On a final note, along with everybody else, I too am doing the whole formspring thing, so ask me anything :D

Time To Spice Up The Batcave

It’s hardly a secret that Lolitas like to be in surroundings that are as beautiful and luxurious as the dresses they wear, and dream of having that perfectly decorated room. A lot of girls let their sense of fashion influence how they decorate their homes: Some like the Sweet princess style; some the Classic romance and others prefer the Gothic elegance.
Regardless of your personal style, there seems to be a rising trend in blogging about interior designs and I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon. I’ve always loved decorating my room and have it be a little piece of my inner world realized. This post is going to be a list of ideas to what you can do to prettify that palace of yours without you having to refurnish and paint the whole place.
My own style is somewhat of a mix of fairies meet romantic princess meets… something Victorian. So here is a list of things I have done or would like to do with my room.

Fairy lights: Decorate your mirror, your bed, your closet, your something with them. They’re so cute and usually fairly cheap. They come in many different colours and different shapes, so choose something that will go with the rest of your ideas.

Picture from WeHeartIt

Canopy: If possible, you can hang a canopy over your bed. There are several different types of canopies. You could go with the mosquito net type – white and simple, or if you can find a store that has more colours. I used to have one in dark purple with velvet trims. Now I have the simple white one. I’ll share a picture of it.

Yes, I have stuffed animals on my bed like a five year old. Yes, I like Harry Potter. Yes, that’s a collage of crazy pictures with my friend and me.

Another way to do a cute canopy over your bed is like described in this link. It’ll require a lot more work than the first suggestion, but I do think it looks really cute and you have more options with the fabric. I really wanted to do this a few years ago when I was completely crazy with Harry Potter, but I never got around to it.

Pillows: Lots of them! Pillows in different shapes and sizes, colours and fabrics are such a nice way to add a little extra something to your room. Put some on your bed and/or on your chair. You can make them yourself even if you aren’t the great sewing wizard. Or you can keep your eye open for some next time you go shopping. H&M have some really cute ones up on their online shop at the moment. I really like this one:

If you’re making some pillow covers yourself and you’re from Denmark, then Stof & Stil has lots of really nice new spring fabrics at the moment; plenty of those vintage looking fabrics with big flowers. Love them.

Silhouette: Follow the tutorial Lolita Charm has up here and make a cute silhouette picture of yourself to decorate your walls with. I tried doing this last weekend, but I did it a little differently, because I didn’t have any black paper, so I just did that part in Photoshop and printed it out. Then instead of decorating the silhouette, I spent some time on the frame for it.

I just painted some scrapbook paper with acrylic paint and bedazzled it with some jewels I had lying around from a past unfinished project, then I glued it to the silhouette and bippity boppity boo! All done. :3

Fairy wings:
Picture from Costumes Fairy

If you like fairies (who doesn’t?) and want to add a bit of their beautiful world to your room, why not put a pair of beautiful wings on your wall? Once again something you may be able to find in the stores and online, but if you want to it a bit more personal, why not make them yourself? With the proper materials it is actually very easy.
The lovely Emilie Autumn did a tutorial on how to make a pair of fairy wings here.
This is something I’ve wanted to do myself for so long and I have all of the materials for it except for one thing. I have not been able to find a wire that is strong enough anywhere! Once I do, you can be sure a pair of spiffy wings is going up on one of my walls.

Masks: If you’re as fascinated with masquerades as I am, then you’ll probably be into putting a fancy mask up on your wall or on display elsewhere. Once again something you can make yourself if you’re the crafty type of gal, or find in the stores around New Year’s and Halloween (and Fastelavn in DK). Or you can find some pretty ones online. I recommend Carta Alta that is the manufacturer of a lot of the masks you can find in other stores. However, it is much cheaper buying them directly from Carta Alta. I bought this beauty (plus one in purple for a friend):


Frames & collages:
Keep an eye open for cute frames for your walls or buy some plain ones and decorate them. Then display pictures of your loved ones in them or perhaps some quaint vintage photos or postcards. You could also make a spiffy collage with pictures of you and your friends/loved ones or maybe some fashion related? Perhaps a collection of all your favourite Lolita images?
Also try to stop by DeviantART and look at some of the prints offered by your favourite artists there.

Storage: Find a bunch of cute boxes to store your clutter in: Perhaps some cute hat boxes for all your hair accessories. How about a box for your gloves? What about displaying some of your favourite jewelry on a tiny mannequin? Show off your beautiful rings on one these shoe ring holders.
Picture from Elegance by Elena

Garlands: Put up some garlands of artificial flowers and ivy to decorate your mirror. You can also use them on your bed if it has a frame or headboard that would accommodate that. I put up two garlands around my mirror recently.

These types of garlands are a little difficult to come by where I live and also a bit expensive. So I decided to hunt for some online and I ended up buying them from this store: GT Decorations. I liked their selection and they were one of the cheapest I looked at.

I love the frosted effect on the purple flowers. My mom walked in and said it looked like something out of a fairy tale and that she felt like she should be going “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”. Mission accomplished then ;)

That’s all for this time, hope there was something you could use, and I’d love to hear your decorating tips.

Homemade skirt & stuff

Today is the last day of my vacation. I go back to work tomorrow. Unfortunately, my friend was ill most of the time while visiting, so I didn’t get a chance to see her that much nor did we get to do a lot of photo shoots. So that was a bummer. She did bring me this sweet gift, though. A haul of jewellery from claire's.



On the plus side, I had time to finish sewing my Lolita skirt. I started this project several weeks ago, but didn't have time to finish it. It’s the first thing I’ve sewn in my entire adult life and also the first wearable thing I’ve sewn. Ever. It’s far from perfect, but totally fine for those semi-casual outfits. I used this tartan fabric for it:

It’s a very basic skirt with a full elastic waist band and the type of lace that is called ‘feston’ in Danish.

And here is a picture of it worn:

I really like this coord and I wore it today when I went shopping. I found this purple pumps on sale:

I think I only have one item to coordinate these with, but I just had to have them.
I also bought some fabric for the next skirt I intend to sew soon. Some black fabric with small white dots:



The tartan skirt has a circumference of four meters, which I found out is just a bit too excessive. So this time I’m going to make it just three meters.

I’ll leave you with these pictures of my Innocent World dress. I wore it the other when my friend had cancelled, because I had already curled my hair for a photo shoot, so I couldn’t resist dressing up in this dress. I felt so decadent, because I only went to the mall and back home and watched Disney’s Aladdin. Haha, I love Genie.