Antique Beast Bat Headdress Casual Review

Ok, at this point it seems that everyone has these except for people so new to the fashion that they haven’t caught a release. But despite seeing them everywhere, I truly could not appreciate the depth of detail until I received mine. So it’s not a full on review like I usually do, but something halfway between a review and an appreciation post.

Since I ordered via Chibi Tenshi, I won’t go into details about the purchasing process. All that I will say is that this particular drop opened on August 10th, it arrived with her on October 19th and then with me via Airmail on October 29th (though would’ve been sooner if I didn’t have to redeliver). This is pretty true to the advertised 2-month making time that Antique Beast try to stick to, though of course these things vary as every item is handmade.

Here it is in all its glory!

And the quality of craftsmanship is simply superb, chef’s kisses all over! As per my wishlist I ordered the bat/cat-ear headdress in white broadcloth, though seeing @tonblackberry’s success with dyeing hers, I might do something like that in the future. For now all that I can envision myself needing is the white one. It is definitely a pure white one, not off-white or ivory, which should go perfectly with my white Roland coat (am I actually turning into @tonblackberry or just being heavily influenced by her style of gothic?).

The fact that it holds a crease this well is very promising for the level of height that I'll be able to achieve.

The broadcloth fabric is soft to the touch, whilst retaining a bit of stiffness that gives it body. Although the georgette seems to be the standard, I was worried whether the georgette might be too soft and pliable, whereas I wanted my headdress to stand proudly. The broadcloth offers that with ease and after spending however long folded up inside its packaging, its points seem extra pronounced. I look forward to seeing how it will behave after a wash, but even if it softens, it’s nothing that a bit of ironing and starching can’t fix.

Some damn fine ribbon - which will probably never be seen with how I'll wear this.

The ribbon and lace used on it add so much depth to the headdress. The lace is very soft and feels like cotton to me, or something very cotton-like. I guess it has to be something natural since I already know that it can be dyed. On the other hand, the ribbon feels more satiny with a rose and leaves design woven into it. It is oh so beautiful, though as someone who doesn’t like tying things under my chin and for whom tying things at the back of my head doesn’t always work, I am in a bit of a pickle. I don’t want to cut this beautiful ribbon off, but once I sew on some hair clips like I intend to, I definitely won’t need it dangling uselessly at my sides. I guess that’s future Paulina’s problem to figure out.

Incidentally, if Antique Beast ever made their headdresses in this shade of red, I would also enjoy that.

Here you can see the tag in exquisite blood red, as aesthetic as the headdress itself. But what I like even more is how you can see that this is handmade because you can see some of the stitches not being quite straight. This absolutely does not detract from the construction or the look, particularly since these seams would not be visible. Even better, I find these tiny imperfections charming and a quaint reminder that someone talented spent however many hours making this, so that I could wear it. It’s cute and all the more reason to love and support small labels such as Antique Beast.

Behold - a black and white haul of exquisite goodness!

I am beyond words in love with these labels, they're so cute.

As I was already getting one for myself, I offered to host a group order and as a result got to see some other goodies too. I did not unwrap them since they are not mine, but even through the plastic I can feel that the georgette fabric is softer compared to the broadcloth and bends a little bit more easily. I don’t think that this translates into any loss of height, as the stitching looks secure enough to keep the points in place (and we’ve seen enough people wear these to know this to be the case), nonetheless I stick by my choice of fabric. Seeing the black colourway up close, even through the plastic, was also lovely, despite being the same details they read so differently in black than they do in white. And Antique Beast very helpfully (and aesthetically) labelled each headdress, which will make my job of dividing up the group order bits easier.

Holding this headdress in hand it’s so obvious why they’re so popular. The level of craftsmanship is exquisite, precisely the sort that made us fall in love with lolita fashion in the first place. Knowing this I may very well end up being that person who just happens to buy something from Antique Beast every time their shop opens, since they make a variety of accessories (and some clothing) beyond this iconic headdress. I do quite like the look of the lacy Hecate ones. Oh no, I barely got what I wanted and am already tempting myself with more…

The only thing that remains now is to wear it. Thankfully being goth isn’t a seasonal thing (even if it isn’t particularly common for me), so I haven’t missed my opportunity yet, despite mostly missing the Halloween season.

Basically straight out of packaging - and no awkward head angling needed to keep it visible!