Innocent World Lucky Pack ^_^

There is a very special time happening for Lolitas everywhere...& that is...FUKUBUKUROU or LUCKY PACKS ^_^

Last year (2011) I managed to get a Metamorphose lucky pack, which was a little over $100 & i got a blouse, skirt & headband ;D  And even though I got some amazing items, I ended up selling the skirt mainly b/c it wasn't a great fit on me :/  

And so...i decided i wouldn't do any Lolita lucky packs this year (2012/2013)...but then...I kept checking the LJ lucky packs thread & I saw that Innocent World started having theirs up for reserve...& that temptation got the better of me & I gave in & got the "cheapest" Happy Pack A, which was still over $300 ;P

I was going to wait until December to purchase it, but i started reading about how one should order early b/c supply is limited...they good stuff will be gone...etc etc...SO, at the end of November, I placed my order...which ended up being the smarter move, since the next week...they took down the reserves saying everything sold O_O

Overall, ordering went pretty smoothly:
Nov 28: placed order online
Dec 5: paid for lucky pack
then, i figured i'd have to wait until Jan for them to start shipping them out...but then...
Dec 26: Lucky pack shipped out XD
Now, everything was going well up to this point, but then...my package got stuck in customs :/
It ended up being a little better than my jetj dress, but I still had to pay the customs fee...
& then the package finally arrived today(Dec 2) ^^

And after coming home & settling down a bit...i quickly opened the box & checked out the loot...& I was NOT DISAPPOINTED ^_^  Now, what everyone waits for...PICTURES XD

 As always, a lovely note from Mai Sakamoto & my receipt ^^

1) High collar blouse...which i thought was black...but after looking it up...i'm pretty sure it's 

the Frill Ribbon Standing Collar blouse in Navy ^^

 http://lolibrary.org/node/9533

2) I believe these are the Dot Ribbon OTK socks in brown/beige...i think ;)

A friend has the black version ^^

3) Rose Panel 2 WAY JSK in Navy...i think...there's no black, so it must be navy ;)

when i first tried this on, it didn't fit that well...but i think i'll try it again before deciding to sell it or not ^^

http://lolibrary.org/node/8863

 4) This one i knew immediately...Acanthus short JSK in black ^_^

I was hoping i would get this print & when i saw it i was sooo happy XD

It's such a beautiful print & I just love the embellishment at the top ^^

 http://lolibrary.org/node/8385

Last but not least, Another black jsk called JSK with a vest...&...i thought the print was polka dots...but...it's actually a TRUMPS PRINT O_O 

OMG! this dress just became a MILLION TIMES MORE AMAZING ^_^

http://lolibrary.org/node/8292

And with that, I got my interestingly Dark themed Lucky Pack XD

Which was the PERFECT pack for me today after listening to vkei all morning & @ work ;) And!  there's no such thing as too much black ;D  I also feel like maybe the IW people must know me...since there's no pink in this either, heh ^_^

Next, I'd like to try & get one of the bigger packs...& hopefully get a bag in it :3

Juliette et Justine/ Rakuten Review ^^

After drooling over the BEAUTIFUL JetJ dresses in vol 45 of the GLB, I decided to splurge & get one(i already wrote about it many times in previous posts ^^)  XD  But, after checking out the website, I couldn't figure out how to register for their site, so I went through Rakuten:

Official site:
http://juliette-et-justine.com/

Rakuten JetJ:
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/juliette/

The dress wasn't quite ready on the main website yet & instead they were taking reservations...so, i put mine in ^^ Then, Rakuten emailed me & JetJ confirming my order & later, i got my invoice. I quickly paid, but b/c it was a reserve, I was notified that the dress wouldn't be shipped out until the end of the next month.  And so, the waiting game began...which went well until it was past the end of the month & going into the next month....I got another email...BUT! It was an email saying that there was a flaw in the printing of the fabric & so it would take even longer for the dress to be shipped out :/

They also gave an option of cancelling the order at that time in case i needed it by a certain date...but i didn't, so i kept waiting... thinking it wouldn't come until the next year...  But then, about a week later, i got the email that said MY DRESS SHIPPED OUT!! I thought, yay! i'll still get it in time for Christmas ^_^ AND THEN, today....I finally got it...& it's waay more beautiful in person...but that seems to be how it is for a lot of brands XD

Anyways, as usual, here's the timeline...& then...what everyone looks for...PICTURES ^_^

Sept 18: Ordered through Rakuten, email sent to me & JetJ
Sept 20: Received email directly from JetJ with notice of invoice sent(through paypal, yay!) & that I have 7 days to pay.
Sept 21: Order confirmation email sent from Rakuten after paying.
Sept 25: Email from JetJ saying when item will ship out & that they'll send tracking info when it does.

Dec 4: Received email from JetJ explaining about delay & giving option to cancel order in case dress won't come it time. (I decided to wait it out...i REALLY wanted the dress...)
Dec 13: Email from JetJ saying order shipped & gave tracking info (EMS).
Dec 18: PACKAGE ARRIVED...BUT! I was charged with a pretty high customs fee...
they DID NOT mark down the cost & kept it at the retail value O_O
~But, it could've been worse, so i'll just accept it...my mom had to pay it though since i was at work, so now i have to pay her back...i'll just make a mental note for next time XD

 Yay! It finally came...unfortunately, with customs charges...

 After having issues taking off the outside wrapping, i came to a simple cardboard box

 & inside, my invoice & a card & sheet showing my item ^^

 And then, the package, which was wrapped so nicely ^^

 Finally...MY DRESS ^_^

 IT'S SOOOO BEAUTIFUL!

 Some pics of details...

 Tag with size

 And the fabric is so gorgeous, soft & lightweight...here's the front

 And the back ^^

 And then, moment of truth...IT FITS! HOORAY!!

It actually fits me REALLY well, which i was so surprised...i actually won't need to "cheat" for this one ;) 

 closeup of print...there's pleating, so some of the design is hidden ;)

And a back view ^^ I HAD to try it on with the matching tights ^_^

Overall, I was super duper excited to order my first JetJ item & now that I know my style is more classic, I may have to invest in more later on ;)  XP And I'm officially in love with all things Bordeux XD Now all I need is a long petticoat ;P

BLOG NEWS: I'm waiting for one more item...& then...WARDROBE POST XD Coming VERY soon ^^

Heart no Kuni ;)

I'm OBSESSED with this series, from first reading the manga to actually playing the game...even though it's imported XD 

And, I managed to get other people into the series as well, so...as a challenge from a friend, I was asked to create Lolita coords based off the chars in the game ;)

So...here's my Lolita Vivaldi ^_^
I started with her b/c I felt it would be the easiest since she's the only female char(besides alice)

And, like a crazy person, I tried using my own items...but i don't have a red dress yet, so i just tried to put together whatever black & red i could find ^_^  

Top & skirt: offbrand

JSK: Bodyline

Sleeves: part of BTSSB blousee

crown: handmade

felt bag: price busters

And then, using google images, I managed to put together an Alice outfit using items from Baby The Stars Shine Bright ^_^

Magical Mystery Tea Party JSK w/ matching headbow

wrist cuffs

Antique Ribbon shoes in black

Along w/ the awesome name & the fact that this dress has an apron...I picked this design b/c in the game, Alice has a blue dress w/ gold design along the border...just like this one XD

I'll keep working on this & hopefully make coords for the other chars ;D

 

 

My Other Hobbies ;)

So...along with being completely obsessed with Lolita fashions...I am also into Cosplaying & with that, manga & anime ^_^

Growing up, I was at first only familiar with the anime series that were shown on tv: cardcaptors, sailor moon, dragon ball, etc...but I really got into anime around 2006 or so when I was in college & I could download all the subbed eps I wanted ^^

After that, I slowly gravitated toward japanese culture, listening to less american music & opting for jpop/anime songs instead XD  I also started slowly building my collection of manga when they started appearing in bookstores ^^  I also went to my first anime convention, Kawaii Kon, which was in it's 2nd year at the Ala Moana hotel.  A classmate & I took the bus after our classes were over & stayed for a few hours & then went back to campus...it was short & super crowded, but I had fun anyways & vowed to keep going every year...if they had it.

Luckily, they eventually moved the convention to a much bigger venue, the Hawaii Convention Center  ^_^  So, the next step? To cosplay, of course XD

The first couple years i went, i didn't cosplay, but i would wear somewhat anime~ish looking outfits & maybe cat ears if anything...but by 2008, after meeting other anime enthusiasts, i wanted to try actually cosplaying ;)

I was taking sewing in college by then, but I still wasn't very confident in my skills...so, I ended up buying one outfit...a VERY well known & popular one...& I partly made/embellished the other 2.

From the super popular series, Naruto, I was Hinata & my friend was Sakura ^^

 My first "made" cosplay: Real Mayer from the anime, Ergo Proxy

And, just an embellished school girl dress I got from Hot Topic ;) 

I guess this was my first attempt at the Lolita trend as well XD

I ended up having LOTS of fun dressing up & it was exciting when people wanted to take pictures of me & my friends XD 

here's a few more pics over the years at Kawaii Kon ;D

 This was my first mini group cosplay with my friend ^^ Me as Lukia & Gina as Mary Weather from the manga, Godchild...& This was my first ALL HANDMADE by me cosplay...I even cut my hair to be like the character ;)

By this time, I also kept experimenting with Lolita items I had bought or found(the white dress was a garage sale find)

Along with dressing up at Kon, I had met a bunch of Photographers through mutual friends & started doing random cosplay & non-cosplay photoshoots ^_^

 The first 2 were from my very first Photoshoot with 2 other models...I was kind of thrown into it by my friends, but it ended up being lots of fun & probably was the start of my "modeling" life ^^

Next, are some pics from the Mass Open Cosplay shoots that I always try to go to ^^ These really helped me to become more comfortable in front of a camera...especially when u have a lot of photographers trying to take ur picture at the same time ;)

I've done a lot of one on one shoots as well, including re-doing shots of older cosplays...my Real Mayer again ;D

And now...I just want to keep cosplaying & doing photoshoots ^_^ Plus, I'm STILL very much into anime & manga...even branching out to games & fashion trends, which of course includes Lolita XD

As always, there IS  a downside & that is that cosplaying can be a VERY expensive hobby...but when the outfit is complete & people actually recognize who you're trying to be...it all makes it worth it ^_^  I've also started thrifting my cosplays & altering outfits to look like the character instead of buying or making ^^ But, I really hope I can keep cosplaying as the years go by & I'd like to one day visit other anime conventions as well ^^ I also hope that i can continue doing more photoshoots...like the one this weekend ;)

Finally, last, but not least...more random pics from various photoshoots/photographers...featuring old & new cosplays, handmade or not, lolita & other fashions ^^