Cutie Creator Taobao Small Haul & Review - The Basics

Hi cuties, today I have a really cute and needed Cutie Creator haul. I've heard about the Taobao shop a lot on blogs and YouTube and how good value it is for its small price. Currently I'm building my lolita wardrobe slowly through pickiness and budget, so I need to be able to wear what I have multiple ways. I've got pretty far with what I already had with wearing hime gyaru before but I've found myself not wearing one dress as much and missing some basics. So I gathered my dresses, laid them out and went through them one by one to see what I'm missing or how I could wear it differently. So here is what I bought, I've split it between basics and new life pieces.

The Basics

Double rose head bow with cherub chain detailing £7.40

My wardrobe colours are white or cream x pink or lilac and I didn't have one solely white/cream head piece. I have two dresses that don't include pink which didn't come with head wear so this was needed a long time ago. Quality wise everything was good except the band aid tape binding at the bottom, but that can easily be replaced quickly. I really love the cherub charm on the pearl chain and it reminds me of Rosemarie Seoir so overall I'm quite happy with this item bar the ugly band aid tape.

White lace wrist cuffs £6.30

As I said before with my wardrobe colour way nearly all of my blouses are white so some white wrist cuffs were on the list! I really like the bow and drop bead charm and I bought them because of that. The length is a little long but I haven't worn them yet so I will wait and see how I like it. The lace is soft and I also like the ribbon choice on the cuffs too so I'm very happy with these and glad to finally have some.

New Life

Rose pearl broach/clip £4.40
I bought this to go with my love potions dress, the metallic goes well with the magical girl nature of the print. The flowers are made out of a paper/gauze however it does look really nice so I don't mind. the pearl chain is quite stiff and maintains its shape well. The broach/clip fixture is really secure and good quality too.

Flower Broach Chain £8.40
I bought this to go with many different dresses and update them but my solid dresses in particular. I tried to buy one of these in pink as well however it sold out. Solid dresses can be dressed up or down easily and this will completely transform those dresses. When it arrived it came safely in this box too which I now use to store my earrings. I love this piece the drop gem charm is multicoloured and the chain is nice and strong too. I'm really happy with this and shall try pick up the other colours in the future.

So this was my small haul, I was really happy with everything and it has opened up my wardrobe at such little cost. I'll definitely shop at Cutie Creator again too as I was really strict with what I bought since I didn't know the quality. There is so many different things to buy from there and they've already added new products since I've ordered. Hopefully it cools down soon so I can wear my new pieces and lolita wardrobe again, I've missed it!

Blog soon

Amy xx

Love Potions Casual Coord

Jsk: Love Potions - Rocky Taobao

Cutsew: Handmade by me
Cardigan: Offbrand
Underskirt: MeLikesTea
Beret and Tights: Offbrand

Crown Bracelet: Jesus Diamante
Bear Bracelet: Magical Harts

When I was planning this coord I really wanted to wear my Love Potions jsk again because the first time I wore it the photo quality unfortunately was really poor. My first coord with this dress was a winter Hime coord but recently I've been wanting to wear causal lolita to prove to myself I can wear it more in general life. My Hime coords take endurance with the full on hair pieces and I want to be able to wear my dresses in more simple ways too! The colours of the jsk are very soft, dreamy and mostly pink so I wanted to stick to pink and whites in my coord so I could match to my underskirt as well. The dress is quite on the short side for lolita dresses so an underskirt is definitely a must!

I think all the different pink tones work well, with the soft pinks and the pop of stronger pink on the beret. The wig is a baby pink/blonde Starlet wig from Lockshop wigs and is my go to wig when not wearing my prisila hair pieces. I definitely want to find some more lolita wigs as I like wearing hats especially berets which I can't wear with hime bump or pigtails. I used the waist bow from the jsk on my cutsew neckline as I found when wearing the large ruffle collar it needed something to balance it out. 

This was the first bear bracelet I ever made as a prototype before I started making them for my shop Magical Harts I made it to match my wardrobe with the pink and white colour way. I really think teddy bears are cute and was super inspired by seeing all the sweet lolita teddy bear prints. I hope to get one myself in pink some day but I haven't found the dress yet.

Here's my eye make up, I wanted to match the pink and gold tones that are in my dress and I'm quite happy with the end result. I used a pink eye shadow from Colourpop as a base for the pink glitter I used from a palette my twin bought me. I then used a golden highlighter for my inner corner and used my staple diamond lash lashes. I don't know if you can tell in the close up but I naturally have two different colour eyes which always provides different results with my lenses!

I definitely now want to wear more casual lolita coords but I'm currently melting away in this heatwave. Has anyone else given up on dressing up nicely in the heat?

Blog soon
Amy 

Lolita Wardrobe 2018 Midway

Hello cuties, I know this post is usually done at the start or end of the year but I wanted to show of my wardrobe I've made so far. It's only last winter that I seriously got into lolita and started to understand what I like so it isn't a massive wardrobe but I'm very happy with it. 

Before I get started I would describe my style as hime (I think hime really comes to life with hair and jewellery, lolita can be really dressed up or dressed down.), sweet and building up to casual. My colours are pink, white/cream and lilac and I would also say that I am a part time lolita and don't wear it too often. Also to make it easier I haven't included many 'normal' off brand pieces to try keep down on pictures.

Jsk

Oldest left to newest right.

Perfume jsk Fraises Taobao, Dreamy Fairy Angelic pretty in pink and lilac, Love Potion Rocky Taobao and Dream Heart Day and Night Butterfly Sling Jsk Rocky Taobao. 

The perfume jsk was the first ever jsk I bought, I bought it second hand off someone on Facebook, I got it because I loved the motifs and it was a good price. Looking back on it now, it isn't the exact style I was going for at the time but now that I want to do casual it works quite well. I love my Dreamy Fairy dresses they're so easy to wear and can be dressed up nicely for hime. I love the prints that Rocky come out with and they're very affordable, not tall friendly but I have an underskirt and adjust the straps. Look out for a review on the newest dress in the future.

Blouses

Oldest left to newest right.

ShinkuRose blouse, New Look jumper, Bunny House Hime sleeve blouse, handmade cutsew and Lady Sloth crop blouse.

Again with my oldest purchase you can see it doesn't perfectly fit in with the others, it was made to my measurements and is lovely quality but I wasn't focused enough with my style at the start. With my height I ordered many custom blouses and can recommend Shinku Rose, Bunny House and Lady Sloth to anyone that needs custom sizes. I want to make more cut sews for myself as they're perfect for casual and also so much fun to make!

Skirts

Oldest left to newest right.
Metamorphose Lucky Pack skirt, MeLikesTea underskirt and Handmade plaid skirt.

This is where I'm lacking the most but I don't like to buy brand skirts in as they don't fit well. My Metamorphose skirt was bought back when I wore Hime gyaru and has a nice jewellery print on it. I've got many skirt projects in the pipeline though with my large pile of fabric waiting!

Jackets and Outer

Oldest left to newest right.
La Pafait bolero, BTSSB Teddy Ribbon cape, Handmade Matching Plaid Otome no Sewing cape and Crop Cardigan.

I'm really happy with my jackets nearly all of them are winter pieces but I only really wear outer pieces in the winter. I included one of the many crop cardigans I use for wearing lolita casually which I have in different colours as they're so easy and useful. 

Accessories
I'm not going to list them all but this is the collection I'm most proud of. I've carried many pieces forward from my Hime Gyaru days with my La Pafait and Jesus Diamante necklaces/headpieces and they all hold a lot of joy to me as I hunted them out from auction sites. My jewellery is where my lolita becomes quite Hime and it really does transform my wardrobe. You might spy a few Cutie Creator pieces which I will be doing a review on soon. I love my indie brand pieces too with Bubblegum Emporium and Puvithel being favourites. But I think all of this selection shows the hunt I had for the special items, the rare pieces or just the perfect colour or motif to go with a dress which was really fun and makes it special when it all works together. Btw the pink Onespo fox muffler is faux fur and the bear bracelet near the bottom left is handmade by me and my twin and available in our Etsy Store Magical Harts!

Bags

Oldest left to newest right.
Diamond Honey Heart Ita Bag and Angelic Pretty Heart Enamel Bag.
Since it was nearly 30 degrees C when taking these photos and having to turn off the fan so I could shoot them, I just decided to take photos of pure lolita company bags. My twin and I bought two of the ita bags together when the pre order came out and we both took them to Disney and twinned together, it's such a big bag so it was perfect for it. The Angelic Pretty bag was a gift from my twin so is very special to me, it is a micro bag and the complete opposite to the Diamond Honey one!

So that's my wardrobe so far! I'm quite happy with it considering it's only a baby part time wardrobe. I love dressing and planning my Lolita coords I feel I can make a lot of different outfits with the pieces I have and I look forward to finding new pieces and curating my wardrobe further.

What piece are you coveting for your wardrobe next?

Blog soon x
Amy

The Story Sew Far - Lolita Sewing

I've always loved sewing and crafting and now that I've finished university I actually have time to sew for myself. Luckily with Lolita fashion sewing and crafting fits right in. Sewing is such a joy to me but also as a tall person it allows me to indulge in the fashion and have a better fit at the same time. I definitely want to craft and sew a lot more this year especially in a Japanese fashion sense so expect plenty more posts, but first I want to show you all I've already completed this year. 

I joined a Facebook sew-a-long for my first project which was a basic elasticated skirt. Skirt length is something I suffer with a lot and I usually have to wear an underskirt with to get the correct lolita length and with wanting more causal pieces this was a nice project for me. There was an optional theme of valentines which I planned to do, I also added old school and winter too which lead to me to create this

The skirt was so much fun to make, as you can see I stuck with the materials I chose from my little drawing at the top but once I started to work with the tartan I realised that with the pattern doing the heart applique I planned would of been too much and I wasn't too fussed with losing this detail. I experimented with bow shapes and sizes and made a couple bows to go with it in the tartan and the mock poodle (sheepskin?) faux fur. I am really happy with how the skirt and bows turned out, to me it's a really nice old school girly looking piece and I was kind of inspired by the Angelic Pretty Candy Chan to add the fur trim around the bottom. 

You might of also peeked behind my hime hair that I made a capelet to be a set with my skirt. I reversed the fabric choice as I barely had any tartan left but it also balances out the tartan pattern as well. The cape pattern is from Otome no Sewing 5 which I graded up to my own measurements. This pattern is a real pleasure to sew and takes no time at all, I finished it in a day, a rather busy day where I didn't have full attention to it but it was really relaxing for me. I hope you don't mind the jeans in this photo I put it on quickly as I realised my hime hair hid it all before! These pictures are also before I bought a super poof petticoat in a proper length for my height so I definitely want to wear this again and get better pictures. 

This cutsew was another sew along on Facebook. the sew alongs started with more simple projects and increase in difficulty, however this ends up with some really good staple projects first. I had no cutsews before this and really wanted to do some more casual lolita looks so this was a must. As I wanted to wear this with a cardigan I decided to keep it simple with the sleeves but do a chiffon ruffle collar and hem which I've seen a lot on other cutsews. The top doesn't look so good on the mannequin and as it's slightly big but fits lovely on me. 

This was a really cheap project as well, since I was experimenting with what to do for my cutsew I bought two tops from Primark to play with and the chiffon and flower embroidery I already had so all together this project probably only cost me £5/6. I need to make some bows to go on the neckline with this top as the neck ruff is quite full and dramatic and needs something large to balance it off with it so they're on the to do list.

I don't just sew though, I picked up my knitting again when I saw this yarn at the art group I go to. The yarn is mohair and has a lovely sheen to it, but also has a gold thread through out it too which is overspun in parts to create the slub look seen on the headbow. I decided to knit a headbow to go with a dress I have which is offwhite with small gold details on it, I got the dress second hand without a head bow so I desperately needed something to wear with it.

WIP

I've been bitten by the knitting bug. So after picking up knitting and doing a stockinette stitch headbow I thought I would jump right in and do a preppy jumper! The pattern is Sirdar 7769 and I've used a really nice yarn with a holographic thread running through it called Hayfield (Sirdar) bonus glitter yarn Dk in Fairy dust and a plain pink for the belt in Hayfield bonus yarn DK iced pink. The glitter yarn is really nice and not scratchy at all, the glitter is more holographic which suits the pink well.

You start with the back piece and it is knitted flat rather than in the round which is nice for a beginner. I've had many learning moments when knitting this and a giggle at how easy it was after I worried about it for so long.

I'm currently half way ish through the front which I'm knitting much quicker now especially once I got past the ribbing area. I think the sleeved pattern would be really good for lolita so I might knit this again in white and pink for winter.

So there all the projects I have done/doing so far, I have really enjoyed being able to do these projects and can't wait to do more. These projects also prove that it doesn't have to be expensive, all the sewing projects were under £10 each, the jumper is a bit more but it looks like I will have some of the yarn spare which can go to future crafting. Stay tuned for more of my sewing and crafting updates.

Blog Soon

Amy 

What is Otome no Sewing and How do I use it?

Hi girls, I've talked a lot about otome no sewing but not about what they are. In a sense there like a lolita pattern Ikea, they have pretty pictures of the products in the front then at the end is the instructions and patterns. 

Unlike gothic lolita bible the patterns are non branded ones however instead you get a lot more 'premium' patterns of actual clothes and plenty of them! roughly around 20 probably more!

So here is one of the front pages with coord ideas of all of it's patterns. Here you can see close up shots as well of certain details. Each pattern has a number which is its name once you've chosen a pattern you can go to the back to see the construction method and find the paper pattern of it (more on this later) 

Some of the patterns has photo instructions these are normally for more complex patterns. Only a couple of the patterns have photo instructions but don't worry...

Because the rest have diagram instructions and written instructions too!

But they are all in Japanese???
Yes they are but with the google translate phone app you can translate via photo! just take a photo of the page and let the app do the work for you. Turn flash on in the app as this helps it focus every time. You might get a few confusing translations but don't panic! translate the whole page first and not just little sections, you will find that the other sections will help you figure out any confusing areas. 

Now here are you paper patterns! confused? all the patterns are overlayed each other which means you have to trace off these patterns to which I recommend a tracing wheel. As you may need to alter the patterns tracing off means you can keep the original to check back to when needed. 

In this photo you can see the key, it will tell you what patterned lines to look for, for each pattern and how many pieces it has.

But my pattern I chose isn't on the paper pattern?
Some of the patterns are alterations of another pattern or include some self drafting. But don't worry there is instructions for it in the book sometimes the self drafting is for simple things like ruffles or pom pom balls. Some pattern call for alteration of the pattern but instructions are given on how to do that as well.

The pattern I want to do has a technique I've never done before?
Before the diagram  black and white instructions is a page on how to do certain techniques however google is your friend as well! I only recently learnt how to shirr with elastic thread (so easy!! why was I so afraid of them?) and how to gather with my overlocker.

so to conclude 

- Otome no sewing is a Japanese lolita sewing book with paper patterns in the back

- it has coord ideas at the front showcasing the patterns

-photo instructions and black and white instructions in the back

-It provides paper patterns that you have to trace off as they are all overlayed

- some pattern pieces are not provided but take some self drafting or alteration of a pattern that is already in the book.

- The books are seasonal one for s/s and one for a/w

I've managed to find these books at £15 and to get 20 or more patterns from it is an absolute steal! You can draft these patterns your self if you take long enough but to have already thought up patterns and instructions included projects is such a luxury. The patterns range from simple to detailed clever cuts. From scarfs and mittens to Ops and fluffy bear coats! I hope I've been able to help explain what these wonderful books are sewing lolita was a bit daunting for me but now with these books I have so many wonderful projects to choose from!

Shoe Strap or Belt Hole Tutorial

Oh no the shoes strap (or belt) doesn’t fit right! it’s too tight or loose and you need more holes, but put that needle or nail away. Today I thought I’d do a mini tutorial about how to put more holes in the way I learnt in footwear classes in college. Unfortunately we measured incorrectly for the ankle strap and its too big, but thanks to my lessons I know an easy way to get a more professional look then using a needle.

What you will need

1. a heavy duty hollow punch tool for leather (I measured the ankle strap holes and chose 1.5mm which worked great, but you should measure the holes on your shoe/belt) as pictured I purchased mine on ebay very cheaply here
2. A ruler! for measuring the holes and the distance between them
3. A pen or pencil marking tool
4. mallet or hammer
5.work surface or scrap wood you do not mind getting dents on.

And here’s how to do it~!

1. Try on the shoe/belt and mark on the reverse/wrong side where you need the extra holes for it to fit. Then take off the shoe/belt.
2. Using the ruler measure how far the holes are apart and note this down so you can make your new holes spaced apart the same (Mine was 5mm).

3.  Remembering that measurement mark on the wrong side of your shoe/belt with your pen or pencil in middle (like the already existing holes) spacing them out until you reach your mark you put on earlier to show where it fits (if like mine the fit mark is in the middle just do another hole after it )

4. Go to your work surface or get your scrap wood. As you can see the punch leaves dents even if you are light and careful!

5. Place your shoe/belt down on the surface/ scrap wood so you can easily see the markings you made. (sorry for the shadow, I needed the light on so I could see the markings) you can push down with the hole punch tool so that it leaves a little impression which will let you check that its in the right position. Don’t worry too much about making it perfect and equal~!

6. Hammer time! But don’t worry its very easy. Hold the hole punch further down and steady it, hammer the tip of the tool with some force. Don’t worry you can remove it and check if you’ve gone all the way through if your nervous but I found it needed some force. Once you punched the hole remove the leather cut out from your tool and move on to the next one until finished.

 

And walla! all complete~ don’t worry about any bumps around the holes you just put in they will go away with wear. It might be intimidating to do but in my opinion it gives a much better looking result~! I thought this would be helpful for cosplay as well as general things. Ask away if I wasn’t clear in anything in the comments, I hope this helps

Blog Soon x
Amy

An Tai Na shoes review

Hi cuties, hope you are all enjoying the summer, we just got back from a holiday so sorry for not posting for a while >< . Now some of you might of noticed we ordered some lolita shoes that fit with Hime very well. These were one of the first things I ordered when building my wardrobe as it became very clear I had no shoes suitable at all~!
We both chose An Tai Na for it’s custom sizing, but when our lolita friend came in wearing them at a photo shoot we were convinced to order since they looked so lovely! Ordering from An Tai Na may look a little confusing with all the customizing and it being a Taoboa shop, but don’t worry, we’ll do a mini guide at the end of the review ^^
Now onto the shoes!

This is how the shoes were packaged once I got of all the plastic wrapping all over the box (forget to photograph it haha!) The box is a little worn and bent but that doesn’t matter! The lid had my details on it so I didn’t take a photograph but it was reassuring to see all the details. I love that each shoe has its own little bag to keep it safe! I chose EMS by the way ^^ it took 3 weeks for my shoes to be made and shipped over which I think is good. They forgot to email me that my shoes were on the way but it made it a nice surprise!

The first shoes we ordered are the white bunny heels~! they jumped right out at us when we were looking at all the different shoes and we just had to get them! Of course like all the shoes they are colour customizable so you can choose whatever you like ^^. We chose white to get a more magical look.
Our shoes are customised: White, 4.5cm heel height and are for a shoe size of  27cm ( uk 8 maybe 8 1/2)

The shoes are very detailed and look even cuter in person! The shoe has had a lot of work into such as the mock lace trim around the shoe which is scalloped and even has little hearts dotted about. The ankle strap matches too and has a large heart buckle on it <3 The fluff ball and the bunny bow are detachable on shoe clips so you can dress down the shoe (and not worry about damaging anything!) over all the shoe is comfortable to wear and feels very secure, I don’t feel like anything will break on them. I love the little heel and the heel height was actually recommended to me as better for my shoe size, which I appreciate their consideration.

One warning about these shoes is that they turned out to be real fur, so please take this into mind when ordering them.

Over all Review

Design: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5
Quality 4/5 (a few threads but brilliant for the price)
Price: 5/5 $38 US dollars!

The second shoes we got were the Pink Crown heels ~! These are my staple Hime shoes now. I picked these to be pink but once again there is many different colour options which you can see on the product page as well!
Our shoes are customised: Light Pink, 4.5cm heel height and are for the same shoe size ^^

When you see the shoe unpacked the crown looks floppy but no fear, when worn  it looks a lot nicer. the crown has cute studs to represent jewels on it too. I chose this shoe as it’s slightly more wearable then the bunny ones and goes with a lot more ^^. I chose the crown shoes as crowns are a frequent symbol in Hime fashion. Unlike the other shoes these have a more round front which gives a different feel.

Once again the quality of the shoes are great and very comfy, I think I might wear these more than my bunny shoes since I can see them going with more of my wardrobe ^^

Over all Review

Design: 5/5
Comfort: 5/5
Quality 4/5 (not as many threads on this one though)
Price: 5/5 $38 US dollars again~!

So there the shoes I bought ^^ I just bought another pair of a lolita sales comm which I can’t wait to arrive. Their flats and black, had to be sensible this time~! I would definitely recommend buying An Tai Na as they are great quality, very customizable, do a big size range ( even foot sizes bigger than a uk 8) and Have great customer service.

buying guide

For my buying experience I went on their TaoBao store and searched for the shoes I wanted. You can search by heel height which is easy to spot without translating it. You could also translate it for more specific results, but for me I just went through them all as you can change heel height on the shoes.

Once you have found the shoes you want, you can then email their English speaking customer service person, she has very good English and was great at answering my questions. I pasted the urls of the shoes into the email and specified any customising I wanted such as heel height etc.

She’ll then email back asking for your foot size and country. Measuring your foot size is quite easy and if your worried you can ask questions to the customer service.

After this it is just confirming your order details and choosing your shipping, they confirmed the price very early on as well and have multiple shipping options. I chose EMS which for two shoes to England cost around £50, they didn’t email me my shipping code but my order was in the stated time so I have no complaints there ^^.

I hope you found this review useful ^^ An Tai Na shoes for other j fashions as well so check them out! they have some pretty cool platforms and lolita boots which I might look at next

Blog soon
Amy and Clairey xx