No matter how much you love a brand,
there’s always something you wish they did more of. My favourite is
Angelic Pretty, so there are a few things I wish would feature more with – some are
things that other brands already are doing and some are what I’d like all
brands to take note of.
Bigger size variety
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| A 2017 AP blouse that fits more than one size? Miracle! Photo from Lolibrary.org |
I’d love all brands to have their
items come in different sizes (ideally a range from S to XL). This applies to
all items: JSKs as well as OPs, blouses, cardigans, outerwear, skirts, shoes…
As far as I know Innocent World is the only brand that does that for all
dresses, blouses and outerwear, but not for skirts. I appreciate that this is a
luxury fashion with the main audience still being that of East Asian women
(Japanese and Chinese) who have smaller frames and tend to be smaller in size,
but it irks me so much every time I spot a brand blouse I like that will
inevitably be too small to button up over my chest or waist. Or an OP that only
comes in one size with no shirring to allow for some variety in sizes and body
shapes. Or shoes that will only go up to certain size, more annoyingly for me, often 0.5cm too small for me - just enough so that it'd probably fit, but be very uncomfortable. Provide more shirring, please! And where not possible or seemingly not profitable, maybe MTO’s for bigger sizes?
Low/Just waists
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| Photo from Lolibrary.org |
What I mean by this is what Innocent
World calls “just waist” or the lower waist cuts that AatP did on Sheherazade JSK I or on A Snowy Christmas Eve Mysterious Gift
Napoleon JSK. This cut is very flattering as, at least on me, it hits exactly
where my natural waist is. The standard (i.e. non-babydoll or non-empire waist)
cut on AP is still an inch or so higher than my natural waist and I believe the
same goes for Baby. This is also a cut that would be more flattering for most
plus-size or very busty Lolitas as even after the dress rode up to accommodate
a bigger size, the waist would still sit closer to where their natural one is than to the
chest, emphasizing the smallest point in one’s torso. AP did some low waist
dresses in the past; I don’t know if they were that unpopular since I haven’t seen any recently, but I’d love for them to
feature a bit more in the fashion.
Small in-store events
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| Atelier Deco Sweet Workshop at Angelic Pretty Paris, Feb'17 Photo from AP Paris FB |
From what I’ve glimpsed on the
Angelic Pretty Paris Facebook page, every now and then they close the shop for
an exclusive, but ultimately small event: high tea for Christmas or some crafts
for Valentines. I know that Victorian Maiden organises similar
things in Osaka, but for AP not even their La Foret store does anything similar
(their exclusive events are more oriented at giving the attendees previews of upcoming items and a chance to shop without the crowds/with a discount/place
pre-orders for the exclusively previewed things/all of the above). While I
personally wouldn’t really benefit from that as there are no brand shops in the
UK, I still think that it’d be a great way to engage the local community. AP,
Baby and Innocent World have a branch in pretty much every major city in Japan and some abroad,
why not organise a small after-hours gathering for some popular holiday to do
something else besides shopping (crafts, workshops on doing your waist
ties/hair/accessorising, a mini-concert by a local artist who fits the brand’s
aesthetic, high tea, anything)? It could be good for the business, as well as
bring them closer to the people who are most likely to shop with them.
And that’s all that I can think of.
I’m not desperate for any particular prints or a return of a certain style/era.
What makes brands exciting to me is that they do what they believe is best and the
right direction for them, so I don’t particularly wish to stop that, even if
what they release isn’t something that I like or that I’d buy.
Anything that you’d like to see more
of? Maybe you had the same kinds of ideas as one of the other participating
bloggers, find out by reading their posts:
LINKS TO BE UPDATED SOON
I think the only japanese brand who does in blouses that fits a broad range of sizes as standard is Ateiler Pierrot, all their blouses has shirring. Mam maxicimam does more than onesize too by having their lovely size.
ReplyDeleteOf the two I'd sooner buy Atelier Pierrot blouses, I've enough sweet style ones and I'm generally not that much into MAM Maxicimam.
DeleteMy only nitpick about Ateiler Pierrot is they don't have have ivory as standard offer. I would say I am not into the supersweet mam offers, but they also offer basic stuff like bolero/cape, cutsews, cutsew dresses, bags, jackets/coats in range and variety most brand don't offer.
DeleteHuh, I must look into MAM a bit more then, I don't think I ever looked at anything else besides their dresses and whatever comes up for sale second hand.
DeleteSeconding sizing! I adore AP and while their back shirred stuff fits me around it certainly does not fit me as far as bodice and skirt length goes, which is such a shame. And little in store events would be delightful (not that we have any brand stores in Australia, but still).
ReplyDeleteI think at least with blouses and cutsews all AP ones are short in the torso. I'm 165cm tall and the two AP blouses I have hit me just above the belly button and I've heard other people comment that it's pretty standard. But most of the times I don't wear skirts or wear high-waisted ones, so that doesn't bother me too much, it's just awkward to get used to.
DeleteI wouldn't benefit much from the in-store events either, there aren't any brand or even Lolita-specific shops (I think there might be one shop in Camden, London, which carries some Infanta stuff, but it also has all kinds of other alt fashion). But it's so odd that AP Paris has these things, but none of the other AP branches do - or Baby, or IW, or anyone else apart from Victorian Maiden's HQ in Osaka. It costs next to nothing to organise, so surely the benefits would outweigh the costs/disadvantages?