Metamorphose Brick House JSK Showcase

Cupcake Kamisama’s Shopping Service once again got to buy something pretty for someone else that we can now appreciate in detail together. This time we are admiring Metamorphose’s Brick House JSK in brown.

Whilst I was familiar with this print, I never paid it much attention. So I didn’t question this cut - a pretty standard JSK cut for Meta - until I tried to find it on Lolibrary and came up empty. There are no signs of this being altered anywhere and the original Mercari listing mentions buying it, so it must be a lucky pack version that is not recorded on Lolibrary, nonetheless it still gave me a little fright. I’m presuming that the lucky pack came out within a year of the original release, so this has to be either 2015 or 2016. If anyone knows more, please, do share!

Yet even for such a standard JSK cut it’s full of some lovely details. The sweetheart shape of the bodice is one that I would personally like to see more of in lolita fashion. Fully shirred back with Meta’s usual double buttons for straps is such a nice thing to have because you just know that this will be a comfortable dress. And I am a little enamoured with the straps. The ruffle sewed over them gives great textural detail without making the design too busy or too flouncy. It was also probably a really good way of using long scraps in a visually effective way. The satin ribbon for the waist is just that, nothing more or less, and at least it has some loops to hold it in place. Nice to have it, easily replaceable if you happen to lose it, and nothing super special if you’re not into them, though without it the bodice area probably is a little bit too plain.

On the opposite end, that is the hem, we have two non-detachable bows at the front. This is quite unusual for Meta, who are usually the kings of Everything Detachable, though I still support that choice. Those bows have a great shape to them and are tacked on very securely, so there is no worry of unflattering drooping or accidentally losing or ripping one off. And right at the very bottom the skirt hem is adorned with small scalloped lace with the letter “M” running in the middle of each scallop. This is the only lace used throughout the dress design, so everywhere there is lace it is that one. In my opinion, the simplicity of it works well with what is a relatively busy print: adds charm without overpowering the overall design or skewing it towards a totally different vibe.

That is all that can be said about the construction as such. Since it is a simple cut, the focus is (as it should be) entirely on the print. Which, having never paid attention to it or seen it before, I didn’t realise features cats and dogs in each of these windows. Moreover, almost every window manages to sneak in the brand name somewhere, so you know that these four legged friendos are all brand whores, which just makes the whole thing even better. So let’s not dawdle any longer and enjoy seeing what cute friends Meta has brought is in its Brick House.

It will sound so odd to say, but my favourite feature of this whole dress design is the shade of green on those windows and how it complements the shade of brown of the main body of the print. Don’t get me wrong, I love the pets, especially the cats, and the whole idea for the print is just darling. But beyond wanting to try out a coordinate with this JSK with light green I don’t feel the siren calls of adding this to my wishlist now. Which is all the better for me. Being able to gave such an up-close and personal look at a dress that I otherwise definitely never would’ve gotten is a great privilege and it makes me very seriously consider becoming a shopping service more often, just so that I could get these insights.