Krad Lanrete Skirt and Clobbaonline Review

Close-up on the print!

Ahhhh, I'm so excited today! I was recovering from a weekend cold and my long-awaited Krad Lanrete Phantom of the Opera skirt finally arrived in the mail! If you follow this Taobao brand, they are known for Mozarabic Chant, a medieval theme print. I'm actually excited for their new jellyfish print, despite my reservations with the brand actually making it in their estimated time frame. You can visit their shop here: http://krad666.taobao.com

Stock picture~

To order this skirt, I decided to use Clobbaonline instead of a cheaper shopping service because it would be a definite reserve and I wasn't comfortable with other SS level on communication with Taobao shops. This skirt was custom size, which the shop offers for preorders only. I got it in the black & gold colorway~

Length of order to delivery: This is where it became an unacceptable length of wait, since the estimated completion date was LATE MAY/JUNE and I just got it today (Aug. 19). I sent an email to Martin (the guy behind Clobbaonline) with the filled out order form on April 4th, various update emails in between, arrived at their office on August 4th, skirt got sent out on August 7th, so registered AIR took about 12 days to arrive to USA.

Here's the emails that I got from Martin starting in June and ending in August. :/

Response after I sent an email about the status of the skirt

Response after I sent an angry email about not getting updated & the ridiculous wait 

Final update email

Price: It cost $76.95 + $17 custom size fee + $15 registered airmail = $108.95 and I paid via Paypal.

Communication: Good! Martin replies quickly (within 1-2 days) and is fluent in English. However, I was really upset that he didn't update us fast enough after Krad Lanrete messed up on their printing. I had to send some emails asking about the status of the skirt each month. Some of my anger about the whole wait was that other people had already gotten their skirts/jsks/OPs.

Quality: AMAZING~ I really like the lightness of the fabric of the skirt, the nice lace detailing, and the fact that they have a brand tag on the inside.

TL;DR: ★★★☆☆ (3 stars) Martin of Clobbaonline was great to work with, but this got negative points for the super delay of Krad Lanrete and my personal opinion on how communication went for updates on the progress of getting my custom size skirt (originally supposed to be made first, but then made last).

Cute packaging!

Bubble wrapped for protection

Skirt inside a plastic bag

Size comparison of the package to Clover Omnibus manga (actually very small!)

Phantom of the Opera Short Skirt in all its glory~ It's made of light silk-like fabric! Perfect for summer!

Tag on the skirt (I think the elastic is in the back?)

Very nice lace adorning the ruffles 

Lining inside (very light fabric)

Sample coord worn with Classical Puppets A-line petticoat

Another worn skirt closeup

Final worn closeup~

Lastly, I gotta recommend this song! It makes me think of how lolitas always want to be extravagant but we actually are living our dreams through the fashion while our real lives are quite plain. Also, it's a good commentary on pop culture right now. Also, insane that she's only 16?!?!?

Chantilly Phantom Merry-go-round Skirt!

I got this skirt & sock set as an ACEN 2013 exclusive from Harajuku Hearts x Enchantlic Enchantilly! I backordered it since this color way was sold out on Friday afternoon (yes, isn't that crazy?!) And after the swap meet, I got black x white Chantilly diamond socks too! I love this skirt to death~ Of course, this happened in May but I'm now just putting up pics.

http://lolibrary.org/apparel/phantom-merry-go-round-skirt

Out of the bubble mailer, the skirt was inside a Chantilly bag.

Free postcard!

The design is beautiful!

Closeup on the print

...even closer!! 

built-in petticoat

closeup on lace detailing and fabric texture

Wearing the skirt & socks in a coord (left) to an exhibit at the Art Institute

Lolita Outfits: February - August 2013

As you probably noticed, I've started wearing lolita fashion! I really enjoy my local comm as its just small enough to know everyone, but enough that we have a variety of styles and have decent sized meetups, along with carpooling to bigger meetups in Chicago. I think I joined when the drama was low or gotten rid of in the other comm and everyone is really nice so far! The best part of joining a lolita comm is probably seeing prints and dresses in person. I've been taking too many pictures with my phone instead of a camera, so quality is pretty low. Also need to exercise... my face is getting chubby and I need to smile more...

February - First Meetup!

Second coord ever! I am so embarrassed about this one, if only I tucked my blouse inside the HW skirt...

March - Brunch meetup

Wore my new circle lenses + falsies with my Lady Sloth skirt!

May - ACEN Friday & Saturday, Brunch/bowling Meetup

Friday coord - late to ACEN because I tried curling my hair with a flat iron; first "brand" (H. Frill)

Saturday coord - Thank goodness! Someone in the Chicago comm took a pic & shared it in the fb group!

As a Doctor Who fan, I'm obligated to share this random Tardis that appeared in the hotel lobby.

Coord for brunch/bowling meetup (old school?)

June - International Lolita Day & Megameet in Chicago

International Lolita Day - someone took a picture of us & shared it online

EDIT: Just kidding, I just found this one!
I forgot I did a review on the sizing of this jsk on the Plus size lolita discussion fb group

Megameet in Chicago - My prized Chantilly skirt! (no shoes at home)

July - lots of meetups

Bastille Days meetup - yay for Metamorphose socks, boo for no sock glue

Swap meet coord - need a better petticoat :'(

Brunch meetup - TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE

August - meetup at Art Institute

Art Institute of Chicago exhibit meetup - unplanned kuro/shiro! ♥ Chantilly~

And suddenly I look better since this photograph was taken in daytime with natural light
Loving this Innocent World replica bag that I got at the swap meet

Lolita Timeline!

I'm getting a ton of socks & accessories from a Taobao group order soon so I expect my coord skills to get better soon! I'm expecting a Krad Lanrete the Phantom of the Opera skirt (edit: arrived!) and some Lady Sloth stuff to eventually arrive, along with another Chess Story B&W striped jsk from my Taobao order.

Lady Sloth Cherubim Skirt Review

Hello! I got back last night from an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago for Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity. We didn't know it was Lollapalooza until we got there, so we had to deal with tons of traffic on the way back ^_^; I wore lolita and carpooled with another girl & her boyfriend from Wisconsin down to Chicago and the exhibit made me want to snatch ALL THE HATS from the cases. So check it out if you're interested in art or historical fashion!

ONTO THE LADY SLOTH REVIEW!

I recently did a post on Lady Sloth for Featured Brand of the Month at Indie Lolita Brands. She's very affordable, especially if you need custom sized clothing in lolita fashion! I've been eyeing the Cherubim Skirt for a while ever since some people posted amazing coords on Tumblr with it.

Length of order to delivery: I sent a PM on Jan. 8th, response on the next day, sent out the filled out word doc via email on the 10th, got paypal invoice on 11th, took a long ass time and paid on Feb. 4th (^_^;), skirt arrived 1 month later on March 7th!

Price: It cost $110 + $10 shipping to USA for the skirt. However, the normal waist skirt is $90 during her Summer Sale! (jealous) Payment method is Paypal. You can pay either in 1 or 2 payments.

Communication: Good! English isn't her first language either (she's Polish) but she replies quickly! Lady Sloth is a mother/daughter team so the daughter does the communication/design while the mother is the seamstress!

Quality: Great! I really enjoy my skirt, although it's a very simple design. The main focus is the lovely print! I wish I would have asked for a chiffon "frill" or lace on it to make it fancier. It is very light so it creates a perfect silhouette with my Classical Puppets petticoat.

*Note: I would be wary if you're ordering a high-waisted skirt with jersey fabric; 2 girls from my comm who are plus-sized got the Autumn flowers HW skirt from her and it was TOO big. One basically sewed up the shirring in the back by herself because it would take too much time to send it back & have LS fix it (which LS offered).

TL;DR: ★★★★☆ (4 stars) Wonderfully made, but not as much oomph as burando (always a 5)

Simple bubble mailer (ignore the large number; it's how my campus mail keeps track of packages)

Folded carefully in a clear plastic bag

Front view

Back view! Asked for half-shirring (IDK if she does that with each one)

Lady Sloth's tag

Closeup of the print

Cream lining

Her tag sewed on in the back, along with straps to help keep your skirt on the hanger

Wore it in a coord for Bastille Days!