Let me be honest with you, I nearly drooled over this cardigan the first time I saw it. But before committing to get it, I also spent ages on eBay, Etsy, Taobao and AliExpress - not even to find something similar, but only to find a cardigan in gold. There seems to be a big deficiency in that department: all the things I found were either just a darker shade of yellow, or looked very shiny and metallic, which wouldn't work with my Lolita style or wardrobe.
So when payday came, I had to get it. And soon as well, I was all worried about it selling out, though since all colours are still in stock in the online shop, I can see now that this was unnecessary. Still, better to have it sooner rather than later.
Price and shipping
We are talking brand new Angelic Pretty here, so the cardigan didn't come too cheap: at ¥14904 (which according to today's exchange rate is about £87.86) this is the most expensive knitwear I own, gurls. Add to this shipping within Japan to my Tenso address (¥450/£2.65), shipping to the UK by EMS (¥1800/£10.61) and VAT with f&#%*!g Parcelforce charge (£31.50, of which £13.50 is the Parcelforce fee!), this is a serious entry to my Lolidrobe as far as cost is concerned.
As far as shipping is concerned, I cannot fault the Japanese side at all. From the moment of ordering, on January 4th it took:
- 1 day to ship to Tenso and 2 for it to arrive there;
- 1 day for Tenso to send it to the UK;
- 4 days for the parcel to arrive in the UK;
- and finally 10 days for it to go through customs and reach me.
Honestly, Parcelforce is the worst company ever, but with things sent from Japan we have no alternative. The process of finding out whether custom fees needed paying (which should've been clear from looking at the customs declaration on the package), getting it to my local depot, sending me a letter with details of how much to pay and how, and finally getting the parcel, all of which happened in one country, took more time than for the parcel to travel halfway across the globe from whichever Angelic Pretty branch sent it out. Ridiculous! Don't waste your money on the extra fast shipping, people, if you know you won't avoid customs, it's not worth it.
Parcel and item itself
Ok, rant over, now we get to the real juicy parts.
I ordered the Twinkle Glitter cardigan in gold, which only comes in one size. It looks absolutely stunning on the stock photo, regardless of which colour you look at (I was equally tempted by silver and red, both of which would've matched my Lolidrobe).
Inside all the items were loose (though as I said, things were wrapped tight in that outer plastic bag): the cardigan, in another plastic bag, an Angelic Pretty bag, my receipt and spam from Tenso.
When I first took out the cardigan, before even taking it out of the plastic bag, I was surprised as it seemed quite big. I'm accustomed to Lolita things, especially Japanese brands, being and looking small, but this looked at me reassuringly, as if to say that it will fit without any problems.
The material on it - half cotton and half acrylic - is actually a tiny bit stretchy, and softer than I expected. I was worried that the glitter part of it would make it scratchy, and whilst it didn't feel 100% soft against the skin when I tried it on, it didn't bother me. It buttoned up nicely, both around my bust and waist, without gaps or stretching too much. I am genuinely surprised, but given how much I wanted it (and how much I paid) - quite relieved as well.
What I love about it is the details. The glitter shimmers softly instead of assaulting your senses with sparkle, so I can see myself wearing it both with evening and daytime coords. Buttons are cute, even if they may need a bit of wearing so that they do up a little bit more smoothly, and I like how the sleeves aren't cut straight, but have a subtle wave to them. My only negative surprise, as I really can't call that a disappointment, is that I thought the bow at the front would be removable, which it isn't. However, without it the cardigan would lose some of its charm, plus, there's a risk of piercing it too often if you don't attach it straight the first time round, so that's probably a good thing.
Overall:
Price: 4/5 (AP, why didn't you do a winter sale sooner, maybe I'd get it for a little less)
So when payday came, I had to get it. And soon as well, I was all worried about it selling out, though since all colours are still in stock in the online shop, I can see now that this was unnecessary. Still, better to have it sooner rather than later.
Price and shipping
We are talking brand new Angelic Pretty here, so the cardigan didn't come too cheap: at ¥14904 (which according to today's exchange rate is about £87.86) this is the most expensive knitwear I own, gurls. Add to this shipping within Japan to my Tenso address (¥450/£2.65), shipping to the UK by EMS (¥1800/£10.61) and VAT with f&#%*!g Parcelforce charge (£31.50, of which £13.50 is the Parcelforce fee!), this is a serious entry to my Lolidrobe as far as cost is concerned.
As far as shipping is concerned, I cannot fault the Japanese side at all. From the moment of ordering, on January 4th it took:
- 1 day to ship to Tenso and 2 for it to arrive there;
- 1 day for Tenso to send it to the UK;
- 4 days for the parcel to arrive in the UK;
- and finally 10 days for it to go through customs and reach me.
Honestly, Parcelforce is the worst company ever, but with things sent from Japan we have no alternative. The process of finding out whether custom fees needed paying (which should've been clear from looking at the customs declaration on the package), getting it to my local depot, sending me a letter with details of how much to pay and how, and finally getting the parcel, all of which happened in one country, took more time than for the parcel to travel halfway across the globe from whichever Angelic Pretty branch sent it out. Ridiculous! Don't waste your money on the extra fast shipping, people, if you know you won't avoid customs, it's not worth it.
Parcel and item itself
Ok, rant over, now we get to the real juicy parts.
I ordered the Twinkle Glitter cardigan in gold, which only comes in one size. It looks absolutely stunning on the stock photo, regardless of which colour you look at (I was equally tempted by silver and red, both of which would've matched my Lolidrobe).
It arrived wrapped tightly in a sturdy pink plastic bag. While I know that Tenso had to open it to check what's inside and find out the value, they always do a great job of putting things back nicely together. That's Japanese wrapping culture for you.
Inside all the items were loose (though as I said, things were wrapped tight in that outer plastic bag): the cardigan, in another plastic bag, an Angelic Pretty bag, my receipt and spam from Tenso.
When I first took out the cardigan, before even taking it out of the plastic bag, I was surprised as it seemed quite big. I'm accustomed to Lolita things, especially Japanese brands, being and looking small, but this looked at me reassuringly, as if to say that it will fit without any problems.
The material on it - half cotton and half acrylic - is actually a tiny bit stretchy, and softer than I expected. I was worried that the glitter part of it would make it scratchy, and whilst it didn't feel 100% soft against the skin when I tried it on, it didn't bother me. It buttoned up nicely, both around my bust and waist, without gaps or stretching too much. I am genuinely surprised, but given how much I wanted it (and how much I paid) - quite relieved as well.
What I love about it is the details. The glitter shimmers softly instead of assaulting your senses with sparkle, so I can see myself wearing it both with evening and daytime coords. Buttons are cute, even if they may need a bit of wearing so that they do up a little bit more smoothly, and I like how the sleeves aren't cut straight, but have a subtle wave to them. My only negative surprise, as I really can't call that a disappointment, is that I thought the bow at the front would be removable, which it isn't. However, without it the cardigan would lose some of its charm, plus, there's a risk of piercing it too often if you don't attach it straight the first time round, so that's probably a good thing.
 |
| Worn over my normal clothes, as I didn't have the time or the energy to put a Lolita coord. |
Overall:
Price: 4/5 (AP, why didn't you do a winter sale sooner, maybe I'd get it for a little less)
Shipping with Tenso: 5/5 (I never had any problems with them, they're reliable and efficient)
Shipping with
Shipping with
Parcelforce: 1/5 (they're a necessary evil, but the service is still slow and inefficient, totally negates paying extra for shipping, and I will search for alternatives)
Item quality: 5/5 (what else did you expect?)
Item quality: 5/5 (what else did you expect?)
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