BtSSB's Kumya's Harvest Festival JSK Showcase

One of the (very, very, very few) upsides of Brexit is that sometimes I get to act as a shopping service for friends. This means that on occasion I get to appreciate first hand a piece that I otherwise either wouldn’t buy or that I considered and couldn’t get for whatever reason. Since they’re with me and friends deserve to get good detail shots before the items are collected/posted, and the lolita community absolutely loves detail shots of dresses, I figured I’d share the ones I took of Kumya’s Harvest Festival JSK I in navy.

First of all, excuse the wrinkled apron. The photos were literally taken to satisfy the curiosity and ease any anxiety of the friend who bought it, plus it was going to get packed pretty much straight after the photos were taken, so there was no point in ironing it for all of 10 minutes. Even with that you immediately get a sense of how exquisitely well made this dress is. As you will see from the various detail photos later, the navy is much brighter than this and I’d even call it a slightly darker royal blue, which I wouldn’t have expected to work so well with the orange tones of the print, but which really pop against it.

Whilst simple, the apron is finished with a selection of trims that take it up a few notches from just your plain white cotton thing. The cotton lace just above the hem ruffle adds another layer of texture, whilst the pockets sport patches of custom Kumya lace as well as bows of slim grosgrain ribbon and the same floral ribbon that features elsewhere in the dress. Altogether they add plenty of charm, so you don’t feel too bad about hiding some of the glorious border print with the apron, without simultaneously overpowering the design, allowing for a simpler look with fewer distractions if that’s what you’re in the mood for.

The same lace that’s on the apron pockets lines the hem of the dress itself, where it’s possible to fully appreciate that it’s a solid cotton design as opposed to net tulle that we typically see custom lace be. Not only does it work better with the overall theme and design of this release, it’s absolutely darling in its own right. The waist ties, which are typical in how they’re unlined and made out of the fabric with the background print, no special features, are attached with a button that looks like a heart-shaped pie. This is also what holds the apron, so you know that it’s attached pretty well to hold the extra weight.

This JSK has a sweetheart neckline with front corset lacing that’s predominantly decorative to add to the other lace and floral ribbon details. The fact that the sweetheart panel of fabric is yet another custom print with a row of Usakumyas and Kumakumyas, which does not directly feature in the border print design, is such a special touch. They could’ve used more of the same fabric as the rest of the background print. They could’ve used more of the custom Kumya lace. But they didn’t. BtSSB created a whole other fabric design with this release in mind just to use in one part of the dress construction. Well, two, actually, as the top part of the waist bow is also made with that - and so perfectly too as you get an Usakumya on one end and a Kumakumya on the other. This is the sort of construction details that got so many people raving about lolita fashion when it first started and which allowed prints to grow into such a popularity, yet so few brands these days bother to include touches like this anymore. Whilst the back is quite standard in construction, a quarter panel shirring and non-adjustable shoulder straps that are part of the bodice, I am enamoured with the attention paid to pattern placement to have those vertical ribbon designs frame the shirring panel and line up with the straps. Again, it’s a small touch in the grand scheme of things, but until you see it you don’t realise how few printed designs do that these days. Baby does. They deserve to be raved about more for that alone.

But enough skirting around the main event (pun intended), let’s get to the border print. Within it are three scenes featuring Usakumya and Kumakumya at said harvest festival that repeat along the skirt. As you’d expect from a Kumya print, the images are crammed full with tiny details that complete the scenes and tell a story instead of merely placing the characters somewhere within empty space. But in this case a picture will say more than a thousand words, so I will shut up for now and let you enjoy these at your leisure. I do recommend zooming in on the pictures as much as you can (open them in a new window maybe) to take in all the teeny tiny elements that make up the border print scenes.

Having had the opportunity to admire all of this in person, to feel the texture of Baby’s cotton Buckingham that they’re so fond of using, to feel the laces and the ribbons, and most importantly: to look those Kumyas in the eye - I am much closer to wanting this print than I was before. Whilst I admired it when it released and the autumn harvest theme appeals to me, especially right now as I seem to be on a bit of a cottagecore kick, I’m not really one for Kumyas and the orange-based warm palette of every colourway felt like a bit too much of a departure from my wardrobe’s current direction. I still wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s going on my wishlist or that I will pounce on it if I ever find it. However, I will be cherishing these detail pictures of the print because the illustrations are utterly adorable and had they been available as prints, I’d very likely cave in for those. But if the acrylic keychains ever make an appearance anywhere…

Hope you enjoyed getting such an up close and personal look at what was one of BtSSB’s absolute hit releases from 2022. Depending on what else might find its way to me through my casual shopping service work, there may be more posts like these happening in the future. And even if this turns out to be the only one, I’m still happy that it got to be with such a charming release that made hunting for the cute details pure fun.