YesStyle: Spring Haul

May 6, 2020May 6, 2020 / lolitaland / 9 Comments

Happy Spring, everybody! In today’s blog post, we talk about my Spring haul from YesStyle! Remember my first YesStyle haul ever? I completely forgot to claim the free gift that time, but this time, I remembered! On top of any sales going on at the moment, use the code “3PEARLS” to get an additional discount off your entire order! ^_^

The free gift I got were these cute daisy stickers. You can also get them in various designs: different types of flowers, plants, and leaves. I can’t wait to use them to decorate letters and cards to my pen pals after the pandemic!

During this haul, I still got a lot of items in black since black is super easy to coordinate into outfits. My favorite color is red, so I also got a few things in red! And one pink top and one purple top to mix things up. Let’s move onto the reviews for each individual item:

Sheer Long-Sleeved Blouse + Camisole – ★★★★☆ – I got this in the Light Almond colorway in my first YesStyle haul, and I couldn’t resist getting it in black too. The quality is the same as the Light Almond one. Removed one star because I dislike the buttons in the back of the neck (they’re difficult to do and undo).
Tiered Sleeve Off-Shoulder Smocked Top – ★★★★☆ – Love this stylish top! The design is great and the sleeves don’t slip down or ride up. It is comfortable to wear too. I knocked off one star because the sleeves are really long. My arms are already long, so I rarely have this issue.
Gingham Ruched Waist Crop Top – ★★★★☆ – I love gingham! This slightly puff sleeved crop top is really cute. You can wear it off the shoulders, but the neckline will ride up if you lift your arms up. You can also wear it as a scoop neck top. There were a lot of loose threads on it when it came in, but they were easy to trim off.
Cutout-Side Pleated A-Line Skort – ★☆☆☆☆ – The name and description for this item are both incorrect. It is not a skort. It is not a skirt. It did not come with shorts or the leg belt. This is more like a buttcape or an over-layer accessory. You secure it around your waist with the buckle, but you cannot wear it on its own since there are no shorts. It’s a cute item, but I wish the name and description were accurate! If this was listed accurately, I would rate it 3 or 4 stars.

5. Plain Off Shoulder Cropped Long Sleeve Top – ★★★★☆ – I love this top! It’s so stylish and stretchy (comfy to wear). The neckline stays off the shoulders and the sleeves are the perfect length. It’s a very flattering top. There were loose threads I had to trim off, but honestly I don’t mind. I can’t wait to wear this outside after quarantine!

6. Elbow-Sleeve Boat Neck T-Shirt – ★★★★☆ – This is definitely a boat neck t-shirt as the title says. In the photos, it looks like an off-the-shoulder top, but it’s much too tight for me to wear it off-the-shoulder. The fabric is super soft and comfortable to wear.

7. Plaid Cami – ★★★★☆ – This cami is super cute! It’s a stretchy and comfy fabric, and the arm holes aren’t too wide (which is a common problem I have with tank tops). I almost didn’t grab this, but I’m so glad I did.

8. Bell-Sleeve Chiffon Top – ★★★★☆ – I love this top with flared sleeves! I’ve been looking for a top with dramatically flared sleeves are these are perfect. The way they are flared is great because it has the look, but is cut in a way where the sleeves won’t get into your food when you’re eating. I don’t see the point of the zipper in the back though; the neckline is wide enough for you to pull the top on and off without unzipping. The zipper doesn’t add any style to it, but no big deal since I can just ignore it.

9. Ruffle Trim Strappy Cami Cropped Top – ★★★★★ – Wow, wow! This cami is super cute. I was worried that size Small wouldn’t fit me, but it is so stretchy and comfy and fits perfectly. The straps are perfect too, and the arm holes aren’t too big. I really want to get this cami in white too.

What is your favorite item from this haul? I’ve been wearing some of these cute clothes to make Tiktoks and even though I can’t do a proper photoshoot, I self-shot myself wearing some cute outfits using the timer on my cell phone camera. There’s a May Flowers 80% off sale going on right now; use the code “3PEARLS” to get an additional discount off your entire order!

Hope you’re all staying safe & healthy! ❤

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[LBC] Pros & Cons: Keeping To One Style VS Multiple Styles

May 1, 2020 / lolitaland / 6 Comments

This week’s prompt is “Pros & Cons: Keeping To One Style VS Multiple Styles” … and this prompt really speaks to me.

I’ve pondered this question many times, even before I started building my Lolita fashion wardrobe. I’m sure other Lolitas have pondered this as well. I currently have multiple styles and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ll share my personal Lolita wardrobe story first, and then I’ll share a list of Pros and Cons.

Before I even started in the fashion, circa 2008 to 2011, I really wanted to start off in a single style: Gothic Lolita. When I was growing up, I hated the color pink and didn’t really like Sweet Lolita for all its pastels. I loved the Classic Lolita style since I’ve always been a fan of historic clothing, but the prices always seemed much too high. The first piece I ever acquired was a black Bodyline jumperskirt (although it was more punk than gothic). Before that, I only had offbrand things I found at thrift stores, or skirts that my mom and I worked on sewing together.

In 2012, when I started building my Lolita wardrobe, I took a surprising turn: Sweet Lolita! The reason was simple: budget. At the time, I stalked EGL Comm Sales on Livejournal religiously, on the hunt for secondhand deals. For some reason, and I’m not sure why, there were no affordable options for gothic styles that appealed to me. However, I did find a lot of cute Sweet Lolita items that were cheap. As an adult, the color pink didn’t bother me so much anymore. Part of it was probably due to my time reading the Gothic Lolita Bibles and KERA magazines, and starting to like pastel colors as well.

As you can see from my coord to my first-ever lolita meetup in January 2013, I am wearing (gasp!) some pink! I can’t recall the name of the skirt, but it’s from BTSSB. The blouse is just a basic white button-down shirt, and the bolero was a vintage item from a hospice shop. The large bow was hand-sewn, and the two smaller bows were from Forever 21 (and I still use those little bows all the time for coords!).

So, I went down the route of primarily Sweet Lolita, which was a total surprise! The goal was never to stick to one style forever though. I wanted to wear multiple styles. This is a desire I have not just for Lolita fashion, but for my wardrobe outside of Lolita too. I love fashion and being creative with outfits, but I also have different preferences for what to wear during certain times.

Eventually, I started acquiring Gothic Lolita pieces, and my wardrobe was split between the two styles. Below, you can see some of my coords from 2013 and 2014.

From 2015 to 2016, I acquired more Japanese brand pieces (and shifted from primarily shopping on LiveJournal to shopping on Facebook and MBOK for secondhand items). I also collected more basics like blouses, socks/tights, and accessories, and I started collecting a few classic pieces.

In today’s wardrobe, I have a wide variety of styles, and it can be overwhelming sometimes… but I have no regrets. I am not a lifestyle Lolita, but I do see myself as a collector Lolita. I love collecting different pieces! I don’t have much space, so it’s a struggle in a small apartment, but I make it work (even if it means stuffing clothing into vacuum seal bags or stuffing them into plastic bins and duffle bags…). Someday, I hope to have a proper closet where I can store my Lolita collection in one place. In my last LBC post, I shared my top tips for managing a wardrobe.

Now, for the PROS and CONS of Multiple Styles~!

PROS:

Variety of styles to choose from
- Do you want to go goth today? Or channel your inner Victorian lady? Or are you feeling sickeningly sweet and want to be all ice cream sundaes and whipped cream?
Unleash your creative side
- When you have multiple styles, you can also mix some styles together! Do you want to be gothic but lean into classic and look like a Victorian lady in mourning? How about combining some Decora with your Sweet Lolita? Or let’s create some fun Punk / Gothic vibes?

CONS:

Space
- Space? What space? Unless you can afford a larger apartment or to live in a house, you’re not going to have much space with your collection of multiple styles.
Time
- Especially when you’re new, building your wardrobe to accommodate multiple styles will take lots of time, and lots of saving money. Check out my Lolita on a Budget posts here for posts with advice pertaining to being a Lolita on a budget.

If you prefer keeping to one style, I’d love to hear the pros and cons in your experience in the comments.

Check out the other blog posts for the Lolita Blog Carnival!

The Bloody Tea Party // Cupcakes and Unicorns // Rose Sanctuary

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YesStyle: First Haul

March 21, 2020 / lolitaland / 9 Comments

I’m so excited to share my first haul from YesStyle! I’ve checked out this site before but was wary of purchasing from it because there were so many items and I wasn’t even sure where to start. I finally decided to jump in during their spring sale and get a bunch of things at great deals. They offer free shipping if you spend $35 or more (and I hate paying for shipping, so free shipping is something I always look out for). Everyday, they also have Free Gifts you can claim. I totally forgot to claim a free gift during this haul, so I have to claim one next time.

On top of any sales going on at the moment, use the code “3PEARLS” to get an additional discount off your entire order! ^_^

Now, let’s take a look at my haul:

In my day-to-day life, I wear a lot of black… so of course, most of my new wardrobe additions are black too. I just find this color so easy to match! I got four tops in black during this haul.

Short-Sleeve Mock-Neck Knit Top – ★★★☆☆ – This top isn’t the best quality (feels cheaply made, and there were lots of loose threads), but it was less than $10 so I can’t complain. It’s a stretchy fabric and the zipper is fully functional. The size chart was accurate.
Heart Cutout Short-Sleeved T-Shirt – ★★★★☆ – I was worried about sizing for this item, but a size Medium fit me perfectly! The T-shirt’s cotton material was super soft, and the sheer heart cutout inset was surprisingly smooth. The inset wasn’t itchy like I thought it would be. I found this shirt to be higher quality than the first one.
Bell-Sleeve Chiffon Blouse – ★★★★☆ – Love this item! The fabric is so pretty and it drapes well when worn. It’s better quality than I expected; the only thing I dislike about it is the button at the back of the neck. This button was difficult to do and undo (but I tend to have difficulty with buttons when they’re in the back). It’s sheer, so I recommend wearing a camisole with it.
Ruffle Trim Blouse – ★★★☆☆ – This is a very stylish top, but the photos on the website are not accurate. The top I received had smaller ruffles than what is shown on the website stock photos. This isn’t a big deal though; it still looks fine when worn.

Besides my black tops, I also got some clothing pieces in other colors.

Strappy Ruffled Floral Top – ★★★☆☆ – This top is super cute but feels cheaply made. I thought it would be embroidered, but the white floral patterns are printed on. The fabric is very thin, but not see-through. I had to cut off a lot of loose threads.
Sheer Long-Sleeved Blouse + Camisole – ★★★★☆ – This set really impressed me! The quality is great, and both the camisole and the blouse fit me perfectly. The only complaint I have: there are three buttons on the back of the neck… I always have difficulty doing and undoing buttons at the back of the neck, so having 3 to deal with is frustrating for me (and I’m tempted to just… not button the back). If anyone has tips for doing these buttons efficiently, let me know! I have too many black shirts, but I’m tempted to get this in the black colorway as well…
Plaid A-Line Pinafore Dress – ★★★★☆ – This is the priciest item in my haul, but it was still less than $20. I wasn’t sure if Size S or Size M would fit me better, so I chose Medium to be safe. I’m glad I did! It has a loose fit when you first put it on, but you can tighten it around the waist with the attached buckles. There were a few loose threads, and the acrylic blend feels a bit itchy which is why I didn’t rate it 5 stars.

I also couldn’t resist adding a few accessories to my haul…

Faux Leather Heart Buckle Belt – ★★★☆☆ – This belt is super cute!! But the faux leather is… really faux. It feels almost like paper or cardboard. Definitely be gentle with this belt; I’m not sure how long it will last if you’re rough with it. The first photo in this post is a pic of me wearing the belt. It looks great when worn! I wish the quality was nicer, but for less than $5, I can’t complain.
925 Sterling Silver Non-matching Rhinestone Moon Dangle Earrings – ★★★☆☆ – These earrings are so cute! I wish they had metal backings though. The backings they came with are the clear plastic kind, that you sometimes find with hook earrings. They are difficult to put on and remove from stud earrings. The photos on the website are also inaccurate: the chain on the longer mismatched earring is longer in the photos than the one I received.
925 Sterling Silver Petal Hook Earrings – ★★★★☆ – These earrings are so pretty and elegant! I wish they came with backings, but it’s no big deal. I might use the backings on the other pair of earrings with this one, and then share my other stud backings with the mismatching earrings I got. Both sets of earrings are real sterling silver; I have sensitive ears and I didn’t have a reaction to either of these.

If you shop at YesStyle, let me know if you have any of these items!

If you’re going to shop now, check out their Limited Deals for great discounts. Use the code “3PEARLS” to get an additional discount off your entire order when you shop.

Happy Spring Shopping!~ ❀