Review: WAMH's Ebony Sweets

 

WAMH, or We're All Mad Here, is an Australian indie Lolita brand founded in 2012. The delightful designs of the owner, Eden, cater to the bitter sweet and creepy cute persuasion of Lolita (or as they call it, "Sugar Punks").

I was intrigued by their design "Sugary Bones" when it was first open for reservation early last year. At the time though, I decided against ordering because I wasn't prepared to pay brand prices for an indie brand I knew little about. Then, around my birthday this past February, I came across another WAMH print, Zombie Carnival, being sold secondhand on eBay, and decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did! Upon seeing the dress in person, I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the materials, and found it to be on par with many of my Japanese brand dresses. So when the reservation for Ebony Sweets in May was announced, I happily signed up for one in lavender. Just a few days ago, I received my highly anticipated dress!

Without further ado, here is my review of We're All Mad Here's Ebony Sweets~

Review: Maxicimam Royal Rose JSK

So, a few weeks ago, I decided to order from the Japanese brand Maxicimam. Their MAM Maxicimam line has lately received some buzz for their "lovely size" (ie plus size) line of clothing. I came across several coords with their Royal Rose JSK online, and eventually decided it had to be mine! Lately, I've been adding more color to my wardrobe, but I'm still a sucker for a nice black JSK. I also figured that if I was going to be paying the hefty prices of brand, it would be nice to have something with more wiggle room. Since Tokyo Rebel had sold out, I ordered from CD Japan here.
With shipping, I paid about $240 USD.

It arrived within about 2 weeks. Inside the box, it was neatly wrapped in plastic and on a hanger.

 

Overall, I was thrilled with it's outer appearance. The fabric is sturdy and thick, and has a faint sheen with a flash photo. The details of the lace and rose applique are lovely. The lace is thick and cottony, very high quality.

Unfortunately, the inside is unlined and there were quite a few loose threads. Not exactly the quality I had hoped for, but not a deal breaker either.

It is fairly long, I am 5'6 and it goes just past my knees. The skirt is also very, very full. 

The shirring is quite stiff. If a person who was more towards the maximum measurements tried it on, they might have some difficulty. The stiffness might work itself out in time, though.

To be honest, it is less flattering to my figure than my other brand "straight sized" JSKs (BtSSB's Babydoll JSK, for instance). It is rather bulky on top. Without the waist ties tied tightly, it hangs off me at the waist. The bodice is pretty much cut straight, without princess seams or a similar shaped cut. I would not recommend it to anyone a US size 12 or smaller (unless you are very busty, is which case it can accommodate quite well).
That said, I still like it. It is a beautiful dress, with great details. It's just a bit too big and has some inside imperfections. Overall, I give it a 3.5/5.

Review: Gloomth and The Cult of Melancholy

After teetering on the fence for a couple months, I decided to finally go ahead and make an order with Gloomth, a online Lolita/Goth/Victorian inspired clothing store based in Ontario, Canada. I purchased the Anther JSK.



Communication
I emailed to ask about production speed and got a response from Taeden very quickly, within a few hours. When I placed my order, I received an automated email as well as a personalized email with further information. The same happened when my package shipped.
Communication: 5/5

Shipping
On their website, Gloomth promised North American orders placed before the 20th of October would arrive in time for Halloween (the store is currently make-to-order, in the process of switching to shipping from stock). I made my purchase on October 19th (cutting it close, I know), but it only just arrived today, November 4th. While my order did ship Thursday the 28th, before Halloween, no standard speed package is going to make it from Ontario to Baltimore in two days. Fortunately, I didn't actually need it for Halloween.
Here is how it arrived:





Kitten not included.
I got a kick out of the margarine box, but my goodness, what a rough trip it must have had! There was a hole punched clean through, as you can see. Inside, the dress was wrapped in black paper (with stickers!).



While I understand that the damage up to the post office, I wish it had been wrapped in plastic. With the hole in the box and all, it could have gotten water damage (even without a hole, cardboard isn't great against water).
Shipping: 3/5

Quality




It looks pretty much exactly like the website's photos, except longer. I'm 5'6 and it is knee length (which is good, in my opinion). It is lined with a built in tulle petticoat (and a layer underneath the tulle so it's not scratchy). I inspected the seems and found no flyaway threads or imperfections. I was surprised by how well the dress holds it's shape. The white parts of the fabric have silvery glitter highlights, but they're very subtle and impossible to capture with my camera.
Here I am wearing it:





I wore it to class and it was very comfortable and didn't wrinkle from sitting down. I was also unexpectedly hit with pouring rain on my way home, and the pattern didn't run or bleed at all when drenched.
Quality: 5/5

Overall, I'm really happy with it. The dress is fuller and longer than I expected, and I really love how it fits and looks on me.

Final score: 13/15

The most wonderful time of the year...

Ahhh, Halloween, the most magical holiday of all! The weather is finally cool and department stores carry awesome tights, accessories, and decorations. For some, it's an excuse to wear lolita, but for those like myself, there's a bit of a crisis- How do you dress to be different when what you wear everyday is "different"? At the moment, I'm considering two options- Wear something fancy that I'd save for a meetup or wear something colorful, out of my usual sombre color scheme.

Anyway, my boyfriend and I kicked things off last night with carving pumpkins! Even my kitten, Byron, helped out.




Friday, we're going to my local gothclub, maybe Saturday night too. Sunday, Halloween, I'm hosting a tea party for my local group, so expect plenty photos of spooky goodness!
What are your plans?

In other news, recently, I got a new coat from Chicstar.
I'd recommend it for the price, $79. That might seem steep, but honestly, coats are always expensive. Even Bodyline's winter coats are pricey. Anyway, It fits very well over poofy skirts, has a cute round collar and puff sleeves, and lovely black lace trim on the bottom hem and pockets. My one complaint is that the velvet is on the cheaper side. There's a good amount of spandex in it and thusly it is stretchy, but the silk lining it not stretchy. That doesn't really affect the fit, it's just a little odd.
Expect other clothing reviews soonish, today I just recieved a beautiful burgundy velvet JSK from F+F (haven't had a chance to coordinate it yet), and finally made an order with Gloomth (a JSK and a skirt).
I love velvet, oh yes I do.