Why, Brands?
Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve been looking
forward to a release (brand or otherwise), admired the print, either saved up
for it or were mentally preparing yourself to spend that kind of money… and
then that release is not quite right? I feel like this is me right now.
I consider myself to be in a lucky position of being able to
buy Lolita on a monthly basis. Thanks to living at home my expenses have been
significantly reduced, leaving the majority of my earnings to myself. However,
recently I’ve been rather disappointed with what the Japanese brands have been
bringing out – not because the releases themselves are bad, but because every one
that I’ve been looking forward to turned out to have something small, yet
important not quite to my liking, which meant that I had to pass on it.
It first happened with Alice and the Pirates’ A Snowy Christmas Eve Mysterious Gift
series. I fell in love with the print since I first laid my eyes on a preview.
It’s so lavishly Christmassy, but in a classy rather than cutesy way. The print
reminds me a lot of the Nutcracker (if it isn’t actual scenes from the
Nutcracker, which is also set during Christmas too – it all fits!) and every
colourway does the print justice, as well as fits my wardrobe (except for
black) with all the gold and red background details. Yet even though there were
previews of the cuts, when the reservation page was opened I felt let down with
what was on offer: none of the cuts would suit me and the only thing I like the
shape of is the headbow. The Ribbon JSK, whilst I like the ribbon detail at the
top, is too boxy and I doubt that the empire waist would flatter my figure,
whereas the Napoleon JSK is cut a little too low at the neck, a little too low
at the waist (although Sheherazade
seems to be of a similar cut and looks alright) and that bow at the back is
totally out of place and would just create a bulge under any outerwear. The
skirt is alright, but the only skirts I wear with Lolita are highwaisted, plus
I don’t have even the slightest chance of fitting this one based on the listed
measurements. I don’t want to settle for a JSK cut which I don’t particularly
like, so it’s only sensible that I pass on this one, but I still feel a little
cheated. I wanted to throw my money at you, Alice and the Pirates, why did you
have to do this to me?
Just when I thought that this was a one off – boom! Angelic
Pretty has done pretty much the same thing to me with Museum Rose. This was another print that I was eyeing for quite a
while: I’m still on a lookout for a nice floral JSK and as much as I’d like to
get something like Romantic Rose Letter,
the chances are slim. But since AP tends to release fairly similar prints, I
knew that my chance would come at some point and Museum Rose was meant to be that chance. Yet when they announced
that this is going on sale, once again I faced disappointment. This time I love
both JSK cuts (and both would fit me), it’s the colourways that (grudgingly) put
me off it. I was hoping for a sax version, which didn’t happen. Instead there
is ivory, pink, mint and lavender – of which pink I don’t wear, mint version I
don’t like at all (it looks quite washed out to me compared to the other ones),
ivory is still too pink limiting my coording options… That leaves me with the
lavender one, which I like most of all of these (probably because there’s no
pink in sight, although I think the amount of lavender would nicely balance the
pink), which I can’t justify as it’s not a colour that features in my wardrobe
at all. Yes, on stock photos it looks a very bluey lavender, but there were AP
releases where stock photos didn’t accurately portray the colour and people
ended up with something different in real life than what they expected. And
that is a risk I can’t take, considering how already I’d have to buy a lot more
things to match and they would only match this one dress. I can pray for a
special set in sax, although then a lot would depend on the cut, as I really
like the cuts of both the tiered and the regular JSKs – a special set would
have to come pretty close for me to get it.
Given what’s happened here, I’m almost scared to look
forward to any release now. Having to miss on these isn’t a big a deal as such,
I’d much prefer to keep my money for something that ticks all the boxes rather
than settle for something that I don’t love 100%. At the same time, for someone
who falls in love with prints, missing out on two that I really liked a lot
because the brand didn’t deliver what I had hoped they would is a bummer. I’m
not entirely sure what else is in store before the end of the year, but I simultaneously
look forward to it (because at the end of the day they’re still brands bringing
out inspiring new series) and am scared to know (what if the same thing happens
again – or worse, after an nth one like this I do indulge in an impulse buy
which I really shouldn’t get?).
How have you been finding the recent releases? Do you like
any of them? Did you get anything or are you getting something soon? Or have
you found in a similar situation to mine where you’ve felt let down by a detail
which was important to you? Let’s share our disappointments and have a little
group therapy in the comments.
Yeah, nothing lately has really wowed me. I'm really hanging out for the Christmas/New Years special sets, to be honest (because the Aussie dollar is doing so bad against the yen right now) and I am 100% expecting to be faced with these same issues; "It's nice, but...".
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can imagine. I'm sort of curious what the special sets will be and I have some actual yens on my PayPal account, but I might just spend it on some nice basics in the winter/New Year's sales rather than on sets. But we'll wait and see, maybe they'll do something nice...
DeleteI liked the attp print as well, but I was too dissapointed by the cuts. The only thing I liked was skirt, wich I can't fit. But maybe it is more because of the tassel trims...
ReplyDeleteRight? I have no chance of fitting the skirt either, but it's the only cut that looks alright. I would've loved to see this print in a classic JSK cut, that would really suit the print.
DeleteI like the look of giftbox-style jsk, but it is a little odd choice to such a classic print! But as you I would not look good in it. But also there is rerelease of Meta Dim light, but I am a bit iffy about it. The medium length jsk is square cut, but has full shirred back! But stil listing says 88cm in the bust...
DeleteI know what you mean. If that ribbon JSK wasn't high waist I'd probably buy it, even if the ribbon is a little too sweet for a predominantly classic print, at least it gives off the right Christmassy vibe. I don't like how Meta lists their measurements. It's always something like 88cm~, which suggests that this is the bottom measurement, but why not give the top one? Even if it's only an estimate it'd still give a better idea. Though having said that, I think Meta's shirting tends to be pretty generous and most Lolitas in my comm who are plus size fit into it comfortably.
DeleteSounds great.
Delete