Review: Yoybuy, Victoriangirldress and Infanta's Sleeping Beauty!

After almost a year of nothing new in my closet what so ever, I finally have a new addition in my closet! I had almost forgotten that giddy, excited feeling of receiving a pack of goods from the other end of the world!

Usually when people recommend shoppingservices it's personal services (one person who live in japan or china and ships stuff to people) or the very well-known ones, mainly Taobaospree and Taobaonow. For this purchase, I decided to try another one, for two reasons: Yoybuy is a lot cheaper when it comes to shipping, and has a very neat, easy to use shoppingcart system. I read a lot of kind of mixed reviews, but most of them seemed to be positive, so I went for it! And this was my experience:

Yoybuy

Website: ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Their website is easy to navigate and has pretty much all of the information that you need listed exactly where I expected to find it. The search bar that lets you search for a taobao item directly from the Yoybuy website and just put it in your shoppingcart is great- No worries about correctly filling out forms or anything!

It would be even better if you didn't need the exact link to the item, though, but now I'm just being nit picky. 

Making a purchase: ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠♠ 

Very easy and pretty much like any other internet transaction where you check out with a shoppingcart. The only problems I had was that I was unsure what to enter in the price declaration field. It all went smoothly, though, and I didn't have to do anything else!

Communication: ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Communication was my only real issue with these guys, and it was mostly language barrier stuff. The color options on the items when I had to check out did not translate probably ("Furnished appartment? But I'm buying a dress..!") and their english is of course not perfect, but for the most part it is easy enough to understand. You are able to follow the process of your order on their website, from when it is purchased, when it ships from the Taobao store, and when they ship it to you, and you'll receive an automatic e-mail telling you to review your order when it arrives at their warehouse, and before you pay for shipping.

Shipping: ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Shipping is cheap and you have a lot of options to choose from, with all the information you might need about each one. You can choose to get your package insured for a couple of bucks extra, but the price is very reasonable- I chose it, just to be sure. They shipped my package out very quickly after I made my final payment, and I received a tracking number. Everything arrived in a bubblewrap envelope in seperate clear plastic bags. No tears or anything.

All in all, I think Yoybuy deserves 4 big ♠ 's, and I'll definetely use them again the next time I need to spoil myself!

And now for the main event- 

Infanta's Sleeping Beauty JSK

Right out of the bag, without detachable bows!

I ordered the Infanta Sleeping Beauty JSK in the largest possible size (Size XL), and it fits pretty well! The length was the main reason I ordered this size since I'm pretty tall (about 5'9, or 178 cm) and the waist sits almost exactly at my waist, and it reaches my knees exactly. 

The dress is fully lined, except for the back. The lining is smooth, a tad shiny and doesn't rustle. In general, the fabric used in this dress is very smooth. A light and plain cotton(?), I'd say. No extraordinarily interesting texture compared to my only printed brand piece, but nice enough. The lace is not as thick and soft as what I expect from brand, but pretty close.

As you can see from the picture, they have tried to make the print match up as the seams. They've done alright. Only the "gate" really looks off, but it's not noticeable when worn. 

The print is nice and crisp, but very different from the photo, color-wise. The roses are more of a purple-ish color than the warm pink they show in the pictures. The brown details on the dress are also more of a dark chocolate brown. The small detachable bow is cream and not brown but that, to me, is a minor detail. The difference in the print color does, however, mean that the items I was thinking of coordinating this dress with won't match at all, so that will be a bit of a problem.

The waist-ties are attached with beautiful gold and cream heart-shaped buttons! The holes in the ties themselves are too big for the buttons, though. They detach easily. I have to get that fixed somehow.

This is the back of the detachable bow. The bow itself is a teensy bit crooked and one of the needles were sewn on upside-down. I like how the needles are attached at the edges of the bow, though. That way the bow doesn't "flop down" the way it does on a couple of my other offbrand dresses.

I bought the matching bonnet, and it's absolutely gorgeous! I love the stripey ruffles. It is very big, which I like. The ribbon used has a sheen to it, but is not shiny. The lace is lovely, except for the kind of scratchy gold tips around the bonnet, but so little is used that it does not look costumey.

All in all, I rate this dress:

Quality:  ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
It is very, VERY decent. Not brand quality, but definetely better quality than any regular clothing brand.

Construction:  ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Alright, but I'm unable to wear the waist ties at the moment. No other big issues.

Likeness to pictures:  ♠ ♠ ♠ 

The colors are pretty different, and the big bow is a little more.. wonky.

I was actually pretty impressed, and this is definetely not the last Infanta piece that will end up in my closet!

Victoriangirldress Petticoat

I had heard a lot of good things about Victoriangirldress, and they are incredibly cheap, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. And I was very pleasantly surprised! The dress arrived in a clear plastic bag.

And right out of the bag, it was poofy all over the place! The material is not regular, cheap costume tulle from my experience. It is pretty soft and very comfortable to wear. The top fabric part of the petticoat is quite long, but you get a great cupcake shape when you fold that one down and wear it a little below your waist.

It even stands on it's own, haha! I'd say it's even more poofy than my Dear Celine Frothy petticoat, and that's for less than half the price I paid!

My only complaint is one thread that was not sewn in place. I'll just have to cut that one. I don't think the petticoat is gonna fall apart or anything.

I'll rate it:

Quality: ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Pretty good, especially considering the price and that it was not made with a "lolita's needs" in mind!

Poofyness: ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ 

Extraordinary!

I hope you found my review to be useful! I'll update with a worn picture when I get the chance!

(I'll just have to make one. I physically can't wait to wear it all out!)