A Very Blue Taobao Haul

It seems that both my need and replace lists have been full of various blue bits for such a long time. I finally got my act together, told myself to stop making up excuses, procrastinate no more, and look for these bits more actively. Even I surprised myself as to how well that actually went, given that I’m pretty specific about cuts and colours. Well, at least it went well in so far as finding the bits via various Chinese brands. Now we’ll see how good they actually are and how well they fulfil my needs.

I forgot to take a picture of it all together before going back to work took all my daylight, so have a collage instead.

It’s pretty blue, isn’t it? And for someone who wears so much blue, from navy to sax and whatever happens in between, it’s surprising that I didn’t have things like these already.  So let’s go through them from smallest to biggest.

The gems actually look even more green on this photo, in real life they are more of a blue-hued aquamarine.

Sadly, the necklace turned out to be a disappointment. It is beautifully made and looks absolutely stunning, it’s simply not the shade of blue I wanted. Looking back at the listing, I’m not sure whether I made a mistake when selecting colours or whether my shopping service got things wrong. On the proof photo they sent me it looked like the right colour, though maybe it was simply shot in poor lighting? It’s very hard to tell at this point. The fact is, the stone I received is turquoise rather than blue, which will sadly not match anything that I own. The necklace is from a shop called Rose of Sharon (沙仑的玫瑰), they have lots of gorgeous jewellery and this particular one is also available with other gem colours, as well as in black pearl beads. You can find it here. It’s a 10/10 for quality, but 0/10 for satisfaction as it’s not what I wanted and won’t match what I have now.

This colour scheme reminds me of the Pompadour OP by Angelic Pretty.

I already own these tights in pink, so I knew what I was getting myself into. Or mostly knew, I was actually after the paler blue, but the listing page was not clear on which were these and which were the paler blue. I probably could’ve asked my shopping service to exchange these, since they sent me a photo and the ones I wanted were in stock, but I couldn’t be bothered. Besides, that way even if these do lose a bit of colour saturation due to stretch, it should still be clear that they’re blue. This one I know is my mistake and to be honest, I’m not that fussed about the colour of these tights since they will still match something. They are from Red Maria, available in a range of colours (though some sell out quickly) and you can purchase them here.

Pretty accurate colour representation here.

The same lace is used all throughout the blouse.

For such a long time I’ve been reading amazing reviews of Yilia Lolita’s blouses, particularly for the price, yet never had the chance to try them. Majority of their designs come only in white, ivory and black, which whilst great for most, is less helpful when you’re searching for a colour. So I was surprised to find the cut and colour combination I needed in their shop and did not hesitate to add it to my order. And I am not disappointed with the quality at all. Although it is 100% polyester, the fabric feels nice to the touch, not plasticky at all, and has a bit of stretch to it. It’s fully opaque and on the slightly thicker side, which will work both with skirts and in colder months. The lace on this is absolutely gorgeous, feels like a cotton or at least a cotton blend, and is pristinely cut. When I tried it on, it fit well in the sleeves, shoulders and bust, though it was a tad tight from the waist down. The extra bit of stretch in the fabric helps ensure it fits and as far as I could tell, the blouse should not gape, though as I ordered size XL, this doesn’t seem the most plus size friendly option. I’m not sure whether Yilia has a custom size option, but if you’re larger than 94cm bust, 80cm waist, and 38cm shoulder, chances are you won’t be able to fit. You can find this blouse here, it’s also available in white, ivory, black and wine red.

Again, pretty good colour representation. And the sparkly dots look like stars on a night sky here!

Just look how pretty they are!

There are two types of lace on this blouse, but for the most part it's the smaller one and ruffling.

Lastly is this Chess Story blouse, which, again, I didn’t expect to find in that particular shop. Somehow I was wary of the quality, which is weird because I’ve actually seen some Chess Story blouses in real life, so really I should have known better already. Still, it can’t hurt to look for extra reviews before buying. So while this model was too new for me to have found reviews specifically of it, I was able to find some other reassuring reviews of the brand overall. Honestly? I am super impressed with this blouse! The polyester chiffon is very soft to the touch, very light and airy, again, doesn’t feel obviously plasticky. The sleeves on this are just gorgeous, I adore how the dots of glittery/metallic thread catch the light and add more depth to the garment. The lace is simple, but well placed and good quality. Because of how this blouse is cut (basically a sack, with only shoulders and neckline being fitted), I wasn’t worried about size or gaping. I can tell that it’s true to size because of where the shoulder seam is, but I still have plenty of room in the bodice. Not only does this mean no gaping or tightness around the waist, it means that if your bust/waist are slightly larger, but you have small shoulders, you should be able to fit too. Depending on how tight you’d be comfortable with this blouse, it could probably squeeze an extra 5-10cm (well, 5cm for sure, 10cm possibly, though likely best for under JSKs only). I regret all my doubts about Chess Story now and I’m actually very excited to wear this dress with something - just not sure with what yet. This particular blouse appears to still be in stock in some sizes on their website and it comes also in white, ivory and black.

Overall I am pleased with my haul. Except for the necklace, it fills in some crucial gaps I’ve had in my wardrobe and I feel able to create more diverse coordinates now. The Chess Story blouse is genuinely my favourite from this haul and while I am gutted about the necklace colour, knowing that Rose of Sharon’s quality is this high, I will order from them again, once I get over this one. To see things in movement as I first saw them them, check out the unboxing video below.