Bodyline Review #2

So, of course I made another order through Bodyline while they had their free EMS shipping on and also because I needed a pair of boots for a Cosplay (I am currently working in Pokemon Trainer Elsa and she wears boots in the picture I am using for inspiration, I am changing the way the Cosplay looks a bit). I have added a picture below of the inspiration for my Pokemon Trainer Elsa. (If anyone knows the artist please let me know so I can credit them) 

So I the boots I decided on we're the perfect shape, they don't have the buckles but they are lace-up and I think they will be a lot better for the way I am now making the Cosplay.

Anywho's, onto my order, I decided to order Shoes276 in White in size 23.5 (http://www.bodyline.co.jp/bodyline/showProduct2.asp?id=7826&pageNumber=1&pageStop=stop_5&noSubType=N) on 23/01/2015.

Product picture

I received the boots on 5/02/15, which was almost two weeks and in my opinion great time and gives me more than enough time to got them painted and ready for Adelaide's Oz Comic Con in April.

Shipping time, I give a 10/10, I got free EMS shipping and they came wishing two weeks with no hassles.

Now some pictures of the packaging.

They came in a big grey packaged bag, which straight away you could see they did not come in a box, so I was sort of worried about the condition of the boots.

However, on opening my boots package i could see the boots were bubble wrapped to keep them nice and safe.

Packaging, I give 9/10, they did come bubble wrapped for protection, however, had they been shipped in a box also it would have provided a lot more protection. 

The boots themselves, came out of the package looking perfect. There was no scratchs or marks in the boots and they had some foam inside to boot to try and hold some shape. 

Last but not least, I got a picture of them on, they fit perfect on my fat calves (from football they are mostly muscle but make wearing boots hard sometimes)

Now for fit and actual product, 10/10, the fit is perfect and they look exactly like the picture on the bodyline website, the only, criticism I could provide is to use different laces as I found these very stiff and a bit challenging to make a nice bow with. 

So overall, once again Bodyline ended up with a great review of, 29/30.

I definitely highly recommend buying shoes from Bodyline as they have always been great quality in my opinion and always lasted quite a while

Bodyline Review

Sorry it's been a while since I posted a review, I wanted to post it after I got everything and tried it on, which took a while which you wil see from the dates :) 

Any who's, so I ordered a pair of shoes, a wig and two costumes from Bdoyline (yes I know the reviews and the reputation Bodyline has, I felt like giving it a go anyways)

So my order consisted of:

Gold Heeled Shoes (shoes255) in 230 (I fit a 6 Aus) - http://www.bodyline.co.jp/bodyline/showProduct2.asp?id=6333&pageNumber=1&pageStop=stop_4&noSubType=N

Anna Wig (w197) - http://www.bodyline.co.jp/bodyline/showAll.asp?type=left&subType1=cos&subType2=Wig

Anna Costume (costume821) in 2L - http://www.bodyline.co.jp/bodyline/showProduct2.asp?id=8990&pageNumber=2&pageStop=stop_3&noSubType=N

Elsa Costume (costume822) in 2L - http://www.bodyline.co.jp/bodyline/showAll.asp?type=left&subType1=cos&subType2=Cos

I made my order on the 2nd Jan 2015, shipping was free, and upgraded free to EMS as per their free international shipping offer at the time.

Full amount was $111USD

I recieved my shipping notification on 3rd Jan 2015. Package arrived on 16th Jan 2015.

So for shipping and packaging of the products, I would have given a 9/10, reason being is there are only very thin layers of packaging and plastic between any of the producs which mean it could have gotten damaged easily, however it's wasn't so it's a 10/10 as it was upgraded to free EMS and arrived within 2 weeks, everything was in good condition and nothing was damaged.

Now for product details and comparison to the product picture on the website.

Gold Shoes (shoes255)

Product picture

Actual product

As you can see they are exactly the same and came in a box. There was no rubbings, scratches or any problems. They are exactly as pictured on the website and the fit is perfect as usual with the Bodyline shoes I have previously bought. 

Shoes review 10/10, exactly as described and pictures and sizing the same as previous shoes in that size. No scratches and held nicely due to the holding sticks and paper in them.

Elsa Costume (costume822) 

Product picture

Actual product

As you can see they look basically the same, the skirt has more glitter on it then I expected. The finishes are actually quite nice, as you can see in the following picture, however I wasn't able to get a picture of this on as as the shoulders/top won't fit my broad shoulds/endowered chest.

So I am giving this a 8/10, this is because it looks exactly the same as the product picture, the finishes are extermerly good, however the fabric on the arms and is very stiff not allowing for anyone with very big arms to actually wear it even though it's a 2L.

Anna Wig (w197) 

Product Picture

Actual product

As you can see this product is exactly as the product picture, super shiney. The plaits are neat the fringe is however not as I had expected if but you can see how it sits in worn pictures below. I am going to try and make it less shiney with fabric softener as per a tutorial I have seen and will do a step by step with before and after pictures when I do.

For this wig I give it a 8/10 because well even though it's super shiney everything looks pretty good when on and the styling is good. It also looks exactly like the produc picture. I will need to re style the wig as I wanna put the whie extension that Anna has in it, plus so I can try the fabric softener technique to make it less shiney. 

Anna Costume (costume821)

Product picture

Actual product

As you can see, they almost look the same, except the sleeves of the Anna dress are more of a light green then white which it looks like in the picture. The only other change is the clasp on the Cape looks a bit different to what's on the product but that's not much of a big deal. I have not taken any pictures of the inside as it's the same quality as the Elsa costume, very good. However, I did take some close up pictures of the details.

I am giving this costume a 10/10, the the costume fits good but is actually loose unlike the Elsa costume. The bottom of the skirt isn't embroiled but still looks good, the bodice is embroiled and looks very effective, with the trims on the bodice working perfectly. The cape and apron are both quality made and exactly as the product picture shows. See some pictures of the Anna costume on below with the wig, no shoes and a petticoat under the costume as that's how I am going to wear it.

Overall the score for my products from this Bodyline review is 36/40, so this was obviously a good experience with body (as my previous ones have been) and the products all looked exactly like the product pictures, every was made with great quality and the shipping time/packaging was great. I would definitely recommend these products to other people. 

Now my plans for these costumes is to make them into sailor scout versions of Anna and Elsa and I will post pictures of them once I have finished plus any progress pictures :)

McCall's Pattern Order Review

I got some money for Christmas from my father and lovely step-mother, so I decided to order some patterns I had had trouble finding in my local Spotlight stores.

So I found the website, and navigated throught it, which was nice and easy. I knew I wanted to buy the Elsa/Anna from Frozen, I also then looked for a few more that could come in handy. 

I ended up ordering the following products:

Frozen: Elsa/Anna costume pattern (M7000) in size Misses - http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m7000-products-48617.php?page_id=915

Sailor scout Disney Princess type costume? (M7101) in size Misses - http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m7101-products-49296.php?page_id=915

Lined and Unlined Cape (M4139) - http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m4139-products-1275.php?page_id=915

I made the order on the 17th December 2014 and I promptly recieved an email confirming this. Then, on the 18th I recieved a shipping notification with a tracking number.

I finally recieved my patterns Monday 5th January 2015.

I rate the contact a 5/5 as there wasn't any extra contact that was needed with McCalls's as they sent the tracking number the next day (they are in America so it would have been sent the day when I probably paid at night). 

As for the shipping time, I give a 5/5 as it came from America to Australia within 20 days of ordering. 

Now for picture of the packaging.

They were sent in a plain envelop that had bubble wrap on the inside (forgot to take a pic of that) and when I pulled them out they had a paper on each side. 

For packaging I would give a 5/5, they were posted in a envelop with bubble wrap to allow no damage.

Now for the contents of the packge ;)

I got the McCalls mini mag and a Butterick one also.

The Elsa and Anna costume pattern

The lined and unlined Cape pattern 

The disney princess sailor scout? Patterns

As you can see there was no damage done to any of the patterns except a slight bend on the bottom right corner, and I believe this would have been due to the post. I give them a 5/5 for producs and can't wait to make these.

So my full and short review on McCalls is a 20/20, their contact was efficient as was their shipping time. Their products came as described.

This is my outfit for work today as I am writing this review :) I am wearing a top I got in the Boxing Day sales, and a Innocent World high waisted skirt with some black flats.

Hope this review helped :) xox 

Second Aliexpress Review

So, after my first experience with Aliexpress, I decided to take the leap and order once again. This time I decided to order the rest of the sailor scout dresses (I have Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon from Living Dead Clothing so I will do comparison).

So, the produc I bought was from seller: International Trade Shops - the items purchased: all of the Sailor Scout dresses except Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon in Free size (link: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Explosion-models-Europe-and-America-Star-Empty-Digital-Printing-Wholesale-Sailor-Moon-Pleated-Dress-Brand-designer/2041320051.html) 

I ordered on the 22nd November 2014, I had gotten a bit excited and hit buy the day before I got paid. I made contact with the seller and advised I would pay on the 23rd, the seller was understanding. I paid on 23rd November 2014 and awaited a shipping confirmation. I still had no shipping confirmation so messaged the seller on 3rd December 2014, the seller shipped my items that day. I recieved my items today (Monday 05/01/2015)

For communication I got the seller 3/5, they did respond to my messages however never let me know why the shipping was "delayed". 

Here's the picture of how I received the package and products

The packaging was pretty good, not only was it super hard to get the tape of the package but each dress was individually wrapped and tied with some ribbon. Nothing got damaged, however it could have. 

I give packaging a 4/5 as some bubble wrap or additional wrapping could stop any possibly damage in the future. 

Now for the review of the products, all the items can be found under the link above so I will just do each sailor scout then a combined review at the bottom. I will compare them all to the Living Dead Clothing Sailor Jupiter skater skirt in M that I have. 

So first I will post the Living Dead Clothing Sailor Mercury skater dress in M.

Front, Side view (as you can see, the point from the back half of the skater matches almost perfect with the front) and back.

Close up details of the collar, bow on the chest and how on the back plus skirt colouring. Plus what the inside stitching/hem/tag looks like.

The fit of the LDC skater is perfect, great length too. The way they have printed the colour and skirt with the darker and lighter lines plus the shading on the skirt has definitely added some depth to a normal skater. The bows are outlined well so you can clearly see the top and bottom, same with the back bow. The bottom is hemmed night with a tag telling size and care instructions.

Aliexpress Sailor Mini Moon

Front, Side view (as you can see, unlike the LDC skater the side points do not match) and back

Now close ups of the front bow, collar, back bow and skirt colouring. Plus the tag, inside sewing and this one had some marks on the inside that are not viewable on the outside.

The Sailor Mini Moon from Aliexpress clearly has a few flaws, one being that the side don't match up with their points, the collar at the back doesn't look anywhere near as good as the LDC collar. The printing on the fabric however is quite good and they did the fading in the skirt just like LDC. The skirt part is not as full as the LDC skirt.

Aliexpress Sailor Mars

Front, Side view (once again the sides do not match up) and back

Now close ups of the front bow, collar, back bow and skirt colouring. Plus the tag, inside sewing.

So the AliExpress Sailor Mars is much like the Mini Moon dress, however the bow at the back of the sailor Mars dress is hardly visible as they did it the same colour as the dress. The printing is quite good apart from the bow again and the collar yet again looks nothing like the nicer collar on the LDC dress. This skirt didn't have any fading, but I believe it looks good with the dark and light. The skirt part is not as full as the LDC skirt.

Aliexpress Sailor Venus

Front, Side view (once again the sides do not match up but it's not as noticanle/bad as the previous dresses) and the back

Now close ups of the front bow, collar, back bow and skirt colouring. Plus the tag, inside sewing.

The Aliexpress Sailor Venus is just like the other two dresses in make and sizing. However the collar on the Sailor Venus dress has the collar a bit different, it's fades from the top (a light orange to a dark orange), which none of the previous dresses have done. The bows are both printed nicely and the skirt has the dark and light much like the Sailor Mars dress. The skirt part is not as full as the LDC skirt.

Aliexpress Sailor Saturn

Front, Side view (the sides on this one almost match up perfectly, definitely the best so far out of the order) and the back

Now close ups of the front bow, collar, back bow and skirt colouring. Plus the tag, inside sewing.

The Aliexpress Sailor Saturn is just like the other dresses in make and sizing. However the collar on the Sailor Venus dress has the collar a bit different, it's fades from the top (a light purple to a dark purple), which none of the previous dresses have done and no white lines at all. The bows are both printed ok, however some more outlining in the bows would have made them pop more as the bow on the bust is a little hard to tell what part is what and the skirt has the dark and light and the fading which is very effective. The skirt part is not as full as the LDC skirt.

Aliexpress Sailor Neptune

Front, Side view (the sides on this one are yet again miss matched) and the back

Now close ups of the front bow, collar, back bow and skirt colouring. Plus the tag, inside sewing.

The Aliexpress Sailor Neptune is just like the other dresses in make and sizing. However the collar on the Sailor Neptune dress, much like the Sailor Saturn has the collar a bit different, it's fades from the top (a light blur/white to a dark) and no white lines at all. The front bow is ok, however some more outlining in the bow would have made them pop more as it is a little hard to tell what part is what, the back bow is almost invisible on the skirt much like the Sailor Mars dress, so outlining would have helped with that. Thethe skirt has the dark and light and the fading which is very effective. The skirt part is not as full as the LDC skirt.

Aliexpress Sailor Pluto

Front, Side view (the sides on this one are almost matching) and the back

Now close ups of the front bow, collar, back bow and skirt colouring. Plus the tag, inside sewing.

The Aliexpress Sailor Pluto is just like the other dresses in make and sizing. However the colour of the Sailor Pluto dress are grey instead of black. The bows are ok, however some more outlining in the bows would have made them pop more as it is a little hard to tell what part is what. The skirt has the dark and light and slight fading which could have been more more effected if there was more black/very dark grey.  The skirt part is not as full as the LDC skirt.

Aliexpress Sailor Uranus 

Front, Side view (the sides on this one are not matching) and the back

Now close ups of the front bow, collar, back bow and skirt colouring. Plus the tag, inside sewing.

The Aliexpress Sailor Uranus is just like the other dresses in make and sizing. However the collar on the Sailor Neptune dress, much like the Previous few has the collar a bit different, it's fades from the top (a light blur/white to a dark) and no white lines at all. The front bows look a lot better on this as they are appropriately outlined. Thethe skirt has the dark and light and the fading which is very effective. The skirt part is not as full as the LDC skirt.

So, my review for quality of the product is a 4/5, I have not given a perfect 5 due to the few bits of printing on bows where an much better outline would have made it pop more. Also the variations of collars was not very good in my opinion as half the dresses had a white bit on the collar and other don't. However the printing of the skirts does look good on all skirts. Also it would have been better if they were hemmed. 

Shipping, my score for shipping would be 3/5 as the seller did not ship until I asked them too and that was 10 days after payment with no notice as to why it had taken so long, and I had to ask them to ship it they didn't just do it and send me the shipping information. I recieved the items over a month after I paid and I believe I would have received it sooner if it had been sent on time.

A round review for this seller is 14/20, I probably would recommend this seller if you don't mind contacting them to ship your products and a nice $7 dress. The product itself was good quality, however I believe I could get better from another seller but for the price this was a fair experience and the quality was better then could have been. 

That's me for this review, after a bad day of work this definitely took my mind of off it and I hope it was helpful :) xox