Anna House Skirt: Review and Alteration

Originally posted January 8, 2013

Awhile ago I ordered for a second time from Anna House, after working out some things with my mom about money. You can see my previous Anna House review here if you’re interested.

I saw on the website that the skirt I’ve been wanting since I started wearing Lolita didn’t have a size option, so I figured there might only be one left. I sent them a message asking how many were left, and if they had an XL. The replied ‘we have one size XL left,’ which I took to mean ‘we only have one skirt left, and it is a size XL.’

So I went over to the site and ordered it. There still wasn’t a size option available. I get an email confirmation that my payment went through and go to bed happy.

The next day I wake up to find an email stating that my size SMALL skirt has shipped. I go check the skirt page and they’ve added the size option back, with an XL and a small available. I send them a message explaining the mistake, and they say that they’re sorry and I should send it back to them when it arrives.

I then send a message asking if they will pay for shipping the correct size to me, but I never get a reply. I send another message. No reply.

The skirt arrived yesterday and I decided to alter it because Anna House apparently has shit communication skills.

Now the real review can start.

Here’s the skirt:

It’s made of a kind of stiff, scratchy fabric. It’s not really uncomfortable, but it’s not what I was expecting:

It has two different floral laces running across the front of it:

It has really cute strawberry buttons that are for the straps that were included:

It has this weird white bow sewn at the front between the cute buttons:

The zipper is really difficult when it gets to the seam. I don’t know why, but it can be rather painful on my fingers to try to zip it up:

It has a very small shirring panel in the back:

Here I am wearing it before the alteration:

It was very uncomfortable, and I couldn’t get the zipper up all the way:

The back did this really unflattering thing:

And now we can move on to how I made it so much better. The first things I did was remove the two floral laces and the weird white bow. I wanted to remove the shiny ribbon from the bow lace, but found I couldn’t. I don’t mind it too much, though.

Then I cut off the button holes, opened the straps, and ironed them flat:

Then I removed the shirring panel and ripped out the gathering stitch on the skirt body.

I cut one of the straps into three pieces and used them to add to the shirring panel. I sewed it back to the skirt and added three pieces of elastic. I don’t have pictures of these steps, but here’s the final result. All of this was hand sewn.

I used the other strap to make two matching bows. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the remaining piece.

And here I am wearing the final result:

The zipper zips and the back looks less unflattering.

And here’s a picture with my amazing Bodyline bag:

Ignoring the size issues, I’d give the skirt itself a 4/5.

Anna House, however, once again receives a 2.5/5 from me.

They have decent products, though this is the second piece I’ve ordered that has misleading sizing (this time the given measurements were too small. A size small skirt is supposed to fit a 27 inch waist and it could probably go up to a 29.) and the communication is terrible from what I’ve experienced.

This is the second time I’ve been disappointed by Anna House. I usually give reputable stores 3 tries, which I will also apply to Anna House because I know a lot of Lolitas enjoy it. If they ever have something I’m interested in I’ll consider making another purchase, but I will be very wary and won’t expect much.

Two dresses and a blouse

Originally posted September 11, 2014

It’s about time I got around to making this post. These are some of the projects I’ve finished working on. I’ve also finished a pair of thigh highs, a dress and a blouse for my friend, and a few little hair accessories but I don’t have pictures of those.

First up: Navy pleated dress

This dress has large pleats, a pocket, and a side zipper. I like the boatneck style a lot and I think this dress is super pretty even while being fairly simple. It was super hot when we went out so there’s not too much to this coord.

A close up. You can see the pattern of my gloves better here. I got them at an antique store. They’re very nice.

Here are Dezzi and I being adorable on a train ride.

Next up: Green dress with a pussybow blouse

I absolutely adore this dress. I think it’s a great example of my sewing having improved tremendously. It’s finally fall so I can wear it with tights, a blouse, and my super warm capelet!

Here I am without the capelet. The blouse has a bow and gathered tulip sleeves. It’s made out of a white swiss dot fabric that’s very soft.

The dress has two pockets and a back zipper that I am very proud of! I think I’m finally getting the hang of zippers.

Here’s a picture of the blouse by itself. It’s the first cotton blouse I’ve made (I’m more comfortable with knit blouses) but I think it came out okay. I certainly learned a lot while working on it.

Bonus picture of me with a funny expression:

That’s all for now!

Lolita Meet Ups

Originally posted April 11, 2014

In my last post I mentioned the meet ups my community has been hosting, and I think it’s about time I uploaded some pictures! I think most of these are group shots, but there will be some individual ones as well. I’m gonna go in order.

Our first meet up was at the zoo. It was incredibly hot but very fun.

My favorite photo from the meet is this one. The best part about it is that our wigs match the chickens.

Our next meet involved wandering down state street and visiting art museums and things of that nature. My favorite part of these meet ups is that even when the planned event is done most of us stick around and do something else, like go out to eat or go to the mall to hang our for a bit longer. 

This one was more of a mini-meet, since most of the lolitas left early for various reasons.

Then we had the Valentine’s meet! It was hosted at a lolita’s house and turned into a slumber party. Unfortunately the only image I have of that meet is of me trying and failing to make friends with a cat.

The next two meets were at tea houses. I think most of us preferred the first one even though the second one had a much cuter aesthetic. This is by far my favorite picture from the first one:

Here I am looking spectacularly awkward (I have to practice poses or something.) This was my first attempt at rag-rolling my hair and I like how it turned out quite a bit!

We took a line-up picture outside the next tea house. This is our reaction to seeing a dog being walked across the street.

And my favorite picture: scandalous pettis.

Making this post has made me realize that for 3 out of 5 of these meets I’ve worn strawberry coordinates. I really like strawberries. I think I might lay off of them for a little while, though. Hm.

50's Inspired Outfit

Originally posted August 21, 2013

I was finally able to take some decent pictures of my finished outfit! Dezzi and I went out for a shopping adventure (because I needed new shoes) and I still haven’t had to use another get out of jail free card for the Wardrobe Refashion pledge! I’m proud of myself.

I did my hair in victory rolls again, because it’s pretty much my favorite hairstyle right now. I also bought some lip liner, which helped my lipstick stay on. Who knew?

The top has handmade continuous bis tape around the collar, sleeves, and bottom. It’s made out of the same fabric the skirt is, so it matches perfectly. I originally had 1 inch bias tape but thought it looked too thin, so I made some 1.5 inch instead. I’m happy I did.

I used a T-shirt pattern I’d traced awhile ago and did some alterations so it would work with a non-stretch fabric. I did cut this on the bias so there’s a tiny bit of stretch. It’s a bit tight around the boobs still.

The bust dart isn’t nipple-y or puckering at all! (Sorry if the picture is upside down. WordPress keeps putting it in like that no matter how I rotate it.)

The bias tape meets up at the back of the collar and it doesn’t look too bad. Not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with it.

The skirt is self drafted with the help of Design it Yourself Clothes (review coming soon). The sweep is 100 inches and it has 4 belt loops (made from some of the left over bias tape) and an 80 inch long belt.

The back zipper is not perfect, but it’s turned out much better than my previous ones!

That picture is pretty awful, sorry. It’s not that wrinkled anymore. Anyway, besides the very bottom I really like how the zipper turned out. And, of course, it has pockets!

And since my pinking shears finally arrived, I was able to finish the seams. Here they are after being washed:

I mentioned my new shoes earlier. I’m still breaking them in. They were a little tight so I tried the freezing method and that helped a little, but I think the only way to make them comfortable is to wear them.

Another Bodyline Review!

Originally posted March 13, 2013

We’ll start from the top and make our way down, I suppose.

I bought the L285 cardigan in red for $27:

I was kind of taking a risk on this one because the measurements were smaller than mine, but it stretched pretty well. The fabric itself is surprisingly soft and comfortable. It does have a few issues though. It came with this terrible lace included in the ruffle that was super itchy:

I cut it off, but it was still incredibly itchy and the ruffle started to fall off. I scrapped it and used it for a pattern.

Would I buy this again? No.

Next we have L047, the first JSK I ever bought. I was having some money trouble and had to sell it, but it dropped to $33 so I got it again. It’s now down to $27 (screw you, Bodyline)

It came with Bodyline’s cheap satin ribbon in the bib and back shirring, but I took those out.

It’s pretty true to size in the bust department, but there’s some wiggle room if you have a slightly larger waist that the given measurements.

The fabric isn’t the best, but it’s acceptable, and I love the gingham strawberry print.

It has rose lace instead of strawberry lace, which bothers me. But that’s really just nitpicking. It also came with waist ties attached, but I hate waist ties so I cut them off.

Would I buy this again? I would, and I have.

And this brings us to L445, which I call the heart JSK. My friend actually bought this for my birthday for $40. 

I stuffed two petticoats under this to see how it would look, which is why the skirt portion is a bit odd. As you can see, the heart is a bit distorted because the largest size was sold out.

It came with a huge bow on a headband, and a detachable bow for the dress. It’s made of a weird material. I’m used to Bodyline’s decent quality cotton, but this feels just a little bit… plastic-y, I guess?

The straps are also a bit strange. They’re gathered where they meet the JSK and bigger around the shoulder.

The lace is alright. Nothing to really brag about, but not awful.

Would I buy this again? I didn’t buy this one, but I’m going to say yes, I would buy it. I’ve wanted this JSK since I first saw it on Bodyline’s site and even with all the disappointments I really do like it.

And now for the skirt I bought. This is L048, and yes, it is the same print as the JSK. I really like this print. 

It’s pretty much the same deal as the JSK, expect the measurements on the site are too small. My waist is 85 cm and this fits me fine. The lacing is the cheap satin ribbon which has to stay until I can replace it.

Would I buy this again? Yes. Especially for the $20 it is now.

And now for my final item: shoes251 in red. I ordered these for $40 in a size 24.5 and they’re a bit long, but I have to get this size because my feet are wider than usual.

This picture makes them look brighter than they are. They’re a few shades darker than this.

They arrived without scuff marks and damage.

Would I buy these again? Yes.

That’s all for now!