Monday, July 18, 2011

Malco Modes 580 Petticoat Review

Hello everyone! Today I'm reviewing a malco modes 580 petticoat, as well as the company I bought it from Promenade Dance Shop.

The petticoat itself feels wonderful. Light and fluffy like sitting on a marshmallow! I bought the small, as I wanted a longer petticoat. If you would like a more cupcake/traditional Lolita shape I would go with the petite which is shorter. The petticoat I bought was 21 inches long.

Pros:
  • Chiffon petticoats are more likely to stay poofy.
  • The material is soft and not scratchy like tulle can be
  • I like how there is a pretty lace hem, I can have it peak out on longer dresses.
Cons:

  • The 580 is not as poofy as I thought it would be, I kinda wished I had gotten the poofier model
  • The chiffon really shifts around the waist band. It gets caught between my legs and makes me feel like a man : /
Without Petti

With Petti


 As far as promenade dance shop goes link my experience was meh. It took MONTHS for my petti to come. When I contacted the owner she said they were waiting to have the petti in stock. She was kind, and offered me a refund. But I'm patient and decided to wait. Personally though, I really think promenade shop should have listed the item as out of stock. Its not really fair to those purchasing who have no idea how long they may have to wait for there item.

If you have any questions about this petti, feel free to ask in the comments and I will answer you :)

Here is a picture of me in the petti from this post :
http://alpine-heidi.blogspot.com/2011/07/tennessee-lolita-meetup.html

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Dolly Wink No. 1 Fake Lash Review



Around a month ago I received the Dolly Wink No. 1 fake lash with my contact lens shipments from Honeycolor. I had never worn fake lashes before, and these looked super cute! Which is a given because they are designed by model Tsubasa Masuwaka.


At first I really didn't like them. But later I read that these lashes were made extra long because sometimes gyaru like extra long lashes. Which is good apparently cuz you dont have to add extra length to your fake lash. But for me, my eyes are smaller so I cut some off. Also theres an annoying piece of plastic near the end of the lash that goes near the corner of your eye. I cut that off too. And they were much more comfortable to wear.
Lashes, top are cut bottom ones normal
Up close on my eye
Overall my review consensus on the Dolly Wink No.1 is, a good lash but not perfect for me. I wish they weren't as sparse spaced and less flimsy. But they are a good cute lash.

Bye! Thank you for reading ~*

Tennessee Lolita Meetup

Anyway, a few days ago I arranged a meetup for those in the local area who are interested in j-fashion. The community had been inactive for awhile, but we ended up having a nice small group. Here was my outfit:
 Outfit Rundown
  • JSK-BTSSB
  • Purse-Dooney Bourke
  • Shoes- Nia ?
  • Shrug- Living Doll
We all met at World Cup of Tea in Franklin. It was very nice, more modern that retro though. I had an iced green tea, ham sandwhich on oatmeal bread with cranberryspread, and a peanute butter pretzel truffle.
The sandwich was ok, and everything else quite delicious. I loved how the roasted vegetable soup was put in a tea cup, very cute.
After luch we went to downtown Franklin. It was very fun, except for the fact it was like 100 degrees out! I felt sorry for the girls in black and blouses! I wore a little shrug instead of blouse for that reason. We stopped at Bathos and I got a bath bomb(meadowromp smells like honeysuckles mmmm), we also went to Starbucks for more tea and coffee.

Lots of people told us how "adorable" we looked. Especially elderly ladies. No one was mean at all, though a few thought we were from a costume party XD. Some people asked to take our picture and others secretly took them lol.
The grounds were so pretty there, but the only person that wanted her pic taken was Jaque. She was super cute I loved her dress. But this makes me wonder, why am I so good at taking photos of people who aren't me ;(
Another group pic, the sunlight was funny here.
Anyway, then it was back home for more ~camwhoring~ oppurtunities, since I didnt have enough from the meetup up. There's a beautiful crepe myrtle in bloom in my back yard so I took some photos with it.
Be Prepared for Lots of Pictures!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Simplicity 3877 Review



To show my appreciation to my mom for putting up with my sewing area, and buying me that sewing machine in the 8th grade that I begged for (even though I had no idea what to do with it) I decided to make her a nice new dress. So she picked out a pattern and I made it for her! (what a good daughter I am! maybe she will let me get away with a messing sewing area now heehee)

Pattern Description: This is a threads pattern by simplicity, which I thought which was really cool because I enjoy threads magazine. It has princess seams, different collar options, and 8 godets.
Pattern Sizing:
I believe they make this pattern from 6 to 22, I made the 14. Beware though, this dress has a TON of ease. I had to take it in at the sides later.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes it looked very similar.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes the instructions were well written and easy to follow.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I liked that this pattern gave the option of different bust sizes. This can help seamstresses take less time altering the pattern and more time sewing.
Fabric Used:
I used a floral patterned fabric in what I believe is a cotton Lycra blend, but I don't remember for sure. This was not a recommened fabric though. I think lighter, airy fabrics would probably be more suitable.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Well, its a faux wrap dress. I decided not to insert the ties at the sides because I thought that the fabric would be to thick to tie a bow nicely. In retrospect I should have just shorten the ties to make a sash, not a bow. Lesson learned I guess.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I would recommend this to others, but I don't see myself making it again anytime soon.
Conclusion:
This is a very nice and classy pattern. But I had never made godets before and it was rather time consuming for me!

More Pictures!
Side
Back

How to Cover an Adjustable Dress Form

Dritz dress form before
I have a Dritz adjustable dress form. And to be perfectly honest I find it very ugly!
Its an awful fuchsia color, and I hate how you can see all the adjustable panels. I've been wanting to take picture of clothes on it, but the purple shows through light or thin fabrics. To me it looks very unprofessional. How much nicer so many Etsy listings would be if they did my tutorial, which will take less then an hour!

You Will Need
  • 1 to 1 and half yards stretchy jersey material in a color of your choice. I choose tan, but something like a light floral could be very pretty.
  • scissors
  • a sewing machine or serger
  • pins
  • a bra, or any other paddings you would like to put on the dress form before covering it.
So first put on your padding if you have any. Then wrap you fabric tightly around it, keeping the stretch horizontal rather than vertical. Then pin close to the dress form down the back. When this is finished the seam line will be like the contour of your spine, unlike other covering which are sewn up the sides.
Back Contour

You will also be sewing a seam running along each shoulder, so pin there and cut. Also, leave around 6 inches hanging off the dress form.
pinned shoulder

Then sew or serge it up, cut your seam allowances and flip your excess fabric at the bottom into the inside. You can do this with a Dritz but I'm not sure about other dress forms. Hem, make a casing with draw string, or cut to size if this is not an option for you. I also recovered the pincushion at the top to match.

Tada!  A now professional looking dress form, the ugly paneling and color all hidden :D
I also recovered the pin cushion on the top, but you don't have to do that if you don't want to.