What's so special about brand anyway?

Many lolitas, especially those new to the fashion, seem to bring up this question. But the answer varies from person to person. Here are a few explanations of what may make brand appealing.

1. The quality. The quality of brand items is amazing. The fabric is thicker and softer than anything you would find from bodyline and the lace is soft and not scratchy in the least. The ribbons used on this particular JSK have barely frayed and this was made in 2006. And the stitching! When you examine the garment you can see that a lot of time and effort went into making the piece. The attention to detail is incredible.

Lace Up Hearts Pockets Jsk

 Inner stitching

 A zipper that's practically invisible.

Attention to detail. Use of high quality ribbon that barely frays!

Full satin lining.

Small built-in petticoat to give a little bit of poof.

2. Brand whores. There are so many people, not just lolitas, that are obsessed with labels, whether it be something fairly unknown to most of the world (like Angelic Pretty) or a brand that EVERYBODY has heard of (like Chanel or Louis Vuitton). High end brands have always been sought after. Maybe it makes the person feel special. Or perhaps they saw a celebrity with a particular item and decide that they have to have it. Or maybe they are simply trying to fit in with a certain crowd or make someone else jealous. Regardless of the reason, brand whores will always be out there.

3. Luxury. For many, buying lolita is a luxury and they want it to feel like one. 

4. Original prints and trend setting. Companies like Angelic Pretty and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright are held in high regard because of some of their products and must have prints. AP started a huge trend with the release of Sugary Carnival. Even though this print was released in 2009 and re-released in 2011, it's still a dream print for many lolitas. Bodyline even made their own carousel print which has become very popular as well.

5. Treating yourself. Sometimes, you just want to do something nice for yourself... and buying a brand item is your way of doing that.

So, I'm not saying that you have to wear brand to be considered a lolita or anything like that. But it is nice to have a few brand pieces in your wardrobe. I know it can be expensive but always keep your eye out for a deal. The JSK pictured above is from Angelic Pretty and I only paid $50 (second hand obviously) for it because it was slightly damaged.

Don't ever let anyone make you feel like less of a lolita just because you aren't wearing brand. It takes time to build up your wardrobe and if you WANT a brand name piece, save up, and in time you will have the wardrobe of your dreams.

Bodyline review (Image heavy)

Over the past few months I've made a few purchases from Bodyline and have finally decided to review them for you all.

Bodyline's website is very easy to navigate and ordering is simple. I chose the cheaper of the two shipping methods and received both packages in less than 10 days. If you only order shoes, they will be shipped in a shoe box. But if you order shoes with other items they will be wrapped in tissue paper and shipped in a plastic bag... thing. Anyway, onto the fun stuff!

I bought this lovely one piece in white.

Here is my photo of the dress:

 I was very pleased with the overall quality. It's well stitched and the material is soft. It comes with detachable waist ties and a detachable bow which I really liked because the ties were thick and looked a bit odd when I tried to tie them :/ The bow was a bit to small to use as a traditional headbow, but that's ok. It's still cute. The thing I cannot stand about this dress however...

THE LACE! 

The lace is just plain bad. It looks okay but it is very poor quality. It itches like you wouldn't believe. After I wore this my arm were red and raw from the lace. In my opinion, the lace is worth replacing.

  There is shirring on both the front and back of the dress. It give a decent amount of stretch but it was a bit snug in the bust area. My bust measurement is about 38 inches, so I don't recommend this dress if you are busty.

 And here are a few pictures of the detail on the dress. Very cute.

I am happy with this dress, especially for the price.

The next item I purchased was the Squirrel Party dress in blue (sax).

My photos:

This dress is soooo cute. I fell in love with the print as soon as I laid eyes on it. After going back and forth trying to decide between blue and lavender I finally decided on this one <3

The material used for this dress is soft and it's slightly stretchy, but it stretches length wise, not width wise so it won't make any difference in sizing. It's also very difficult to get the wrinkles out of this dress. I spent the better part of an hour trying to iron it and still didn't get rid of all the wrinkles. 

The waist ties are not detachable and they are rather bulky, which made me mad when I was trying to tie them nicely.

The bow is detachable so I turned it into a headbow. There is plenty of room to slide in a small headband. There were three pearls sewn to each side of the bow. I thought they were a bit tacky so I cut them off.

The lace on this dress is a little bit better than the other dress I bough. It's not as itchy and didn't irritate my skin nearly as bad, but it was still uncomfortable. (The bows on the front are a bit crooked.)

There is shirring on the back. There was more than enough room in the bust and waist, so you could probably get a fair amount of stretch :D

Now, onto shoes!

I bought these shoes in white. (I couldn't find the white ones on the site anymore.)

My photos:

I love these shoes. They are actually quite comfortable. I got them in size 24.5 and I wish that I had gotten them half size smaller, but I wanted to make sure that I had enough room. I can always stuff the toes with a bit of tissue paper to make them fit better :3 These get scuffed easily so be sure to keep them clean and polished.

One thing that I really liked was the snap! It looks like the shoes have traditional buckles, but it's actually a snap which is super convenient because buckles are a pain. 

And lastly, I purchased a pair of black shoes.

My photo:

These are nice a comfy. I ordered these in size 24.0 and they fit much better. 

I really likes the hearts that go all the way around the shoe. Super cute.

The weird fluffy balls ARE detachable. They have a small elastic band so you can slide them on and off the straps of the shoes. I personally don't think they look right on the shoes, so I'm going to find some other use for them.

I hope this helped you all!

<3 Aina