A Late Huge Taobao Haul

Hello everyone!

I am back again and with yet another huge haul, this time from my good old friend Taobao! Rest assured though, I will be having more coming in soon, since you can never get enough of them! :D I decided to hit up Taobao again after getting hit with the Lolita bug and wanting a dress that I had been keeping my eye on since my Hime days. This particular dress is...

La Robe De Cinderella by Chess Story! 

I quickly figured out that I really like prints that has bits of a "princess" element (ex: crowns, pearls, jewelry, roses, gold frames, etc.) and this particular print has enough bits of it that really appeals to me. I had originally wanted this in pink, but they had sold out on that colour-way, which I find kind of funny since I constantly see the blue colour-way being bought by overseas customers. I decided to go for the blue one instead in the only size available (S-M), which is still nice and it has enough pink in the print to make it easier to coordinate with related colours. Though I realized that after obtaining the JSK, the print also has bits of purple mixed in as well.

Taobao to me has always been a pricey shopping service, so to make the shipping costs worth it, why not buy the whole entire dress set as well as some other important items such as bags and petticoats?

Do not mind the wrinkles, as this was just taken straight out of the plastic wrap. I really love this JSK as well as the print as previously mentioned. The material is really light, which is perfect for spring and summer weather, but I am pretty sure that there is a way to make it work for fall and winter as well. I love the details on the top of the bodice and the centre bow is detachable.

Some detailed shots of parts of the JSK, in particular a portion of the print and the bow pin on the bodice.

Like I had mentioned before, since I had decided to get the entire set of this print, I got the matching blouse that comes with the JSK in the only colour and in a larger size (pink - M), which has detachable princess sleeves! xD This blouse has quite the contrast compared to my plain cotton Bodyline short-sleeve blouse, since this blouse definitely blows my other blouse out of the water in terms of fanciness. Of course being made out of chiffon, it would be quite inconvenient to wear this in the winter time, but that is where the magic of layering comes in! Other than the sleeves being detachable (which greatly increases the versatility factor in my opinion), the bow on the neckline is also detachable, which I was quite the pleasant surprise.  

Obtaining this sash or escharpe was a last minute decision, since I don't usually get accessories that I feel that I will not be using much outside of conventions, parties, or photoshoots (if applicable). However, after seeing how they look on the models I couldn't resist! I feel that these really brings an outfit together or at least adds a touch of elegance to the outfit. The bow is detachable and can also be used as a hair accessory.  

These rose clips were not part of the set, but used as "order fillers" to help balance out the shipping. Plus, you can never have enough rose clips! 

This is pretty much everything that I had gotten from Chess Story! Some other items that I had gotten were two different colour petticoats from good old reliable Classical Puppets and a (hopefully) sturdy bag from Loris.

Up until this order, all I had for a petticoat was a cheap one from Bodyline, and (surprise surprise!) it was already starting to deflate. After hearing all the amazing reviews from Classical Puppets, I had decided to place an order for two daily bell petticoats from there in the colours white and pink. I am still intimidated with the idea of wearing a petticoat out in public, so I figured that the daily bell petticoat is the best way to start off small.   

Well I now have a JSK,  blouse, and matching accessories. I now have not one, but two petticoats. So now what? A cheap cute bag from Loris naturally to go with everything else! After doing some intense research, I am quite aware that Loris does not exactly have a perfectly stellar reputation when it comes to bag quality. I have heard that their bags tend to be hit-or-miss in that area, but I dived in and hope for the best anyway, since their cheap prices are worth it. I just have to go for the bags that "looks" sturdy yet look cute and elegant. After days of browsing through the site, I eventually settled on this one in white since it 1) looks sturdy, 2) looks elegant and pretty much is in the aesthetic that I am aiming for, and 3) I have not seen any glaring reviews pertaining to this bag so it would be quite the interesting experiment.     

In addition to all of the stuff that I had ordered above, I had also gotten some free gifts in the form of cute yet cheap rings! 

I really love the cute postcard that Chess Story had sent with the set. I will probably save it for something else later on. 

Overall, I am quite satisfied with my Taobao order and will probably order again, just not anytime soon since the shipping is quite pricy for Taobao in general!