Tuesday, April 26, 2011

ModCloth.com Review

ModCloth is an online clothing and homewear shopping site that specializes in indy brands, and is gaining a bit of a following in the Dolly Kei, Cult Party and Mori Girl communities for their unusual and "dolliable" items.

I lucked out on April 18th when a kind fellow Dolly Kei LJ Community member posted a link and coupon code for a ModCloth Secret 50% off sale! I had been looking at a couple items and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity. I ordered the same night.

So I ordered: Conversations Over Candlelight Dress, Sweet Prophecies Cardigan, Cuckoo Bootie, and Heart Songs Necklace. Regular price, these items would have cost me about 234$, but because of the sale I got them all for 117$!

On to the review:



Shipping - 24.95$ from UPS. I think it was pretty reasonable for shipping from the US to Canada. ModCloth's shipping information page says that international orders are delivered within 7-10 days, which was absolutely the case for me. I didn't get to take a picture of the box condition apon delivery because I got too excited and opened it up right away, hehe. But! It arrived in perfect condition, not even a tiny dent in the box. 5/5

Items: All the items I ordered were packed securely and without wasteful and environmentally damaging packing foam <3

Conversations Over Candlelight Dress - $47.99





A simple black shift/tunic dress, perfect for layering things over, will also make a great canvas for all the accessories I plan on piling on top of it. Exactly what I was looking for, and exactly as illustrated on the site. 5/5

Sweet Prophecies Cardigan - $49.99













This is even cuter than in the picture! The second layer of lace is almost gold in colour, which is hard to tell from the picture. It's only available in "one size fits all", which initially worried me, but it fits perfectly. So my best guess is it fits sizes 4-8. 5/5

Cuckoo Bootie - $119.99









Absolutely amazing! These are without a doubt, the cutest ever! They are slightly less pink in person, but that doesn't bother me in the least. Shoes can be hard to order online, but the sizing for these seem to be exactly the same as places like Spring and Aldo, and they fit me perfectly. I can hardly wait to add these to some summer Dolly coords! They also came with shoe covers <3 5/5

Heart Songs Necklace - $17.99











So I'll admit: for the original price of 17.99$, I expected it to be bigger, that's my only complaint. It's still really pretty though! 4/5

Overall, I am thrilled with with my ModCloth order and I'm looking forward to ordering from them again. It was fast, easy, and the quality is great! I highly recommend ModCloth <3

Click Here For ModCloth

On a side note: I bought the rest of my materials for my give-a-way items today! I'm so excited to complete them and have my first blog give-a-way!


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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Strange Dolls and Nightmarish Beauty from Marmite-Sue

I discovered an amazing doll maker and artist over the last couple of days, who goes by Marmite-Sue. Her dolls and imagery are beautiful, creepy, melancholy, nightmarish and ethereal all in one delightful package. Truly, I don't have words.






Please go to her official site to explore her amazing art: ClickHere Her dolls can also be custom-ordered as well.


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Friday, April 15, 2011

Finds, Update

Firstly, still working on my "big" post concerning Dolly Kei, but it's coming! In the meantime...

I found a great source for ornate rings! Suzy Sheer isn't a place I would ordinarily shop, but I went in on a whim today and lucked out! They have a huge assortment of ornate cameos, baubles, and flowers that would be GREAT for dolly. These are the three I bought, the bauble and cameo were 2 for 5$, and the rose was 5.60$





This picture also highlights my super-fashionable (hahaha) burn I obtained ironing clothing to put on a mannequin for a display I was putting together for work.


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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Tattoo post, finally.

Not much to say about them, I just meant to post it waaaaaay earlier :)




Lion Heart/ Rabbit Heart

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Wow!

I was working on my next entry ( which will be posted tomorrow hopefully!), when I realized I have 60 followers! Thanks so much everyone!



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Friday, April 8, 2011

New Grimoire Shop!




Exciting news! Announced today Grimoire's official blog, a second Grimoire location "Grimoire Almadel" will be opening May 14th!

There isn't a whole lot of information yet, as the post is mostly saying how happy they are to be opening a new location, but it sounds as though it will be an extension of the current shop as opposed to a new theme. No pictures yet but I'll be posting as I find out :)

Official Blog Post Here





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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

DIY Doily Lamp

I found this incredibly beautiful craft idea posted on Tumblr (no idea of the original source sadly), and had to share it!

Edit: Thanks to kb for finding the original source -
http://dosfamily.com/2011/01/lace-lamp/



Basically, blow up a balloon, coat a doily in paper mâché paste, let dry, pop and thread a lighting fixture through! Beautiful decor idea!

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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

50 Followers!! Thank-you!




I've reached 50 Followers! Thank-you so much everyone, it thrills me to no end :)

To thank everyone, I'm planning my first give-a-way! Specific details to come soon! Thank-you so much for following my humble dolly blog <3


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Friday, April 1, 2011

Trend in Dolly Kei: the OTK Sock


Spring is here! It's finally warming up and we can bring out our lighter clothing. Spring generally signifies wardrobe changes, and this will include our Dolly outfits as well.

You've probably noticed in the last little while that Dolly Kei street snaps, and coord posts on the Grimoire shop blog, have been making a move from tights to knee and over-the-knee socks. Whether this is a general trend, or simply a sign of the season change, remains to be seen.

So, how do we go about working the socks into our wardrobes?

Firstly, this look is definitely going to work best (visual-wise) with knee length and shorter hemlines. A basic "rule" (and I'm using the term very, very loosely) could be: shorter hem = longer socks, longer hem = shorter socks. I say this because I feel that you still want the overall look to be demure, and with a shorter hem and knee socks, you can run the risk of getting a "school girl" look. You also want to have the contrast so as to add to the layered feel of Dolly.


I personally adore the way OTKs look with a shorter skirt!

By all means, use a patterned sock! It too will add to the overall contrast and layers of your coord (but, it's very important for a pattern sock to fit properly. Too tight is not going to look good). That said, a good alternative to this is to simply layer two pairs of solid coloured socks over each other, like Kaori is in the picture below. This is great for anyone who feels a bit insecure about their legs (pattern can be unforgiving, it can also be difficult to find patterned socks in larger sizes so that the pattern doesn't stretch funny) or if you feel you already have enough pattern on top.




Another way to wear this look, (especially if it's still a bit chilly, or if you simply don't want your legs to be exposed) is to pair your patterned socks over a pair of solid tights. It will give you the exact same affect, but without your legs being bare.

At this point, I'm going to make a little suggestion to make your life easier: sock glue. Yes, the very same kind used in Japan by school girls. It comes in cute little bottles, can easily be ordered online if you don't have access to an Asian market (yesstyle.com and j-list usually have it in stock), and will save you the constant pull-up sock tug that is pretty much par for the course with OTK socks.



I myself have been having a hard time finding suitable patterned socks in stores here, so I've been going online. Celeste Stein carries their prints in both knee and OTK lengths on their online shop, and sockdreams.com have a huge selection of styles as well. Also, don't count out classic and gothic lolita brands.

Of course, this look isn't going to be for everyone, and you can absolutely do amazing Dolly coords for spring and summer without them! (I'm definitely not saying bye-bye to my tights anytime soon). Just some hopefully helpful pointers for anyone who might be interested :)



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