SouffleSong review- Time Godness aka Mucha print [NEUTRAL]

[sanakanami]

Hello everyone! Since I am a huge Mucha fan, I decided to do a review of SouffleSong's print featuring his work. It's a very nice design, but there are several issues which kept it from being an entirely positive review, which I will try to explain in as much detail as I can.



SouffleSong uses this print for a JSK (3 styles) and a skirt (2 styles) in five colors (3 initially, red and black were added due to popular request) There are also two styles of blouses and overdresses available. The JSKs looked a little awkward on the mannequin, and I prefer skirts in general for the flexibility. I didn't much like the bow on the waist of the SK ver. 2, so I went with ver.1.

Timeline:

• April 23 - placed my order for the SK style 1, in blue. Since I ordered during the reservation period I paid less than the current price, so it was a total of $63.49 plus shipping via DHL SouffleSong stated on their website that the item would be in stock at the beginning of June, so I knew full well that I would not receive my item right away.
• June 13 - item arrives at local customs.

(I have blurred out my name for privacy)

Fit:
A bit problematic. I have a 68cm waist, so according to the website measurements I should fit a size S, 66~82cm. When the bag arrived, it said 'M' on the slip of paper, but the sticker said 'S'. The tag inside the skirt also read 'S'. However when I tried it on, I was alarmed when it settled around my hips. I measured the skirt lying flat, and it came out as 14.5 in = 73.66 cm. So going by the tape measure, I really do have an M on my hands. However even for an M, the measurements are a little off (it should be 72~90cm). As it is, it's so loose I don't even stretch out the shirring and although it settles on my hips, I could pull it on without unzipping the skirt- which is probably a bad thing.

To wear it out as a test run, I had to do this:


... yeah, it looks nice, doesn't it. >_> More on that later.

Print quality:
This was the draw of the skirt for me, but it turned out to be... pretty disappointing. Images can be clicked for full size, though my camera is a little grainy to begin with.

 


First off- the color combinations are gorgeous. I have seen IW's and Surface Spell's takes on Mucha, but I personally really love the gold framing and leaves in this version. It just seems so elegant, and all the colors are rich and vibrant, plus the palette makes it easier to coordinate in terms of color if not texture (imo the fabric is a little too elegant for simpler tops) From a distance it is stunning.

However close up it is very, very pixelized. I'm not sure about the other brands' releases, but SouffleSong seem to have used very low resolution images, and combined with the diagonal grain of the fabric it becomes really blurry. There is a huge difference in clarity between the other elements of the print, such as the gold leaves and the background pattern, and the Mucha paintings. There is also an error in the alignment of the print above the paintings- I'm assuming that the paintings are a different block in themselves, and were assembled together with other blocks to create the full print. It is only visible up close, but if you are particular about quality, it might be a major sticking point.

Construction:
Issues. Oh boy.

To put this section in context, I might as well state that I buy from Bodyline. While the clothes are unlined and the fabric used is solid-color, heavy cotton or poly, I am content with their quality because their items are washable, tough, and the seams are securely sewn, if not perfectly straight. The weight of the fabric means that it retains a nice shape despite how ruffly my petti may be, and it is poofy enough for my needs.

Back to SouffleSong.
Pros:

• This skirt is made of a light, smooth fabric with a chiffon frill. There is shirring in the back and a side zip, and it is lined with black polyester. Since I live in the tropics, lighter fabrics are a great plus point; also the skirt is gathered enough to take a large amount of poof (the featured image at the top of my post has two pettis: Classical Puppets Bell-shaped and Victoriangirldress in XXL)

 
 
 
 

 
 

Cons:

• There are white lines in several places on the skirt- thread pulls. The most serious of these is across the front of the skirt as seen in the first two pictures. Crooked seams are not a big deal for me, but thread pulls have the potential to become really big and the fact that this is on the front of the skirt is really frustrating. The shirring at the back is also rather uneven. Since I don't have a lot of fitted shirts I prefer to wear my skirts on top of my blouses- and waist shirring on skirts tends to look really awkward, so I can't wear it back to front.
• The chiffon frill at the bottom isn't very good quality, it's fairly rough chiffon. It shouldn't be touching your skin though, so that can be regarded as a minor issue.
• It arrived stained on the inside. Fortunately the stain isn't visible at the front. I have not yet tried to remove it.
• The seams don't seem very secure. There is some pulling in the thread already, and it may become worse over time as the thread frays.

Accessories:
I was surprised to find that it came with two bows- one with black lace and a clip to go on your head, and one with a long tail and a pin on the back, to pin on the skirt itself or on a blouse. I am not a headbow person (I think they make me look silly xD) but I really liked the long-tailed bow, I thought it was really cute. However... there were problems.


Seems okay, at first. I'd have been happier without the lace on the headbow, but maybe that's just me.



............ what



......... rofl

The headbow came with a plain clip just inserted upside-down through the center rib of the ribbon. The long-tailed bow came with an enormous, perfectly ordinary safety pin just stuck through the rib. Not even the pins with holes in the base like Bodyline uses on their detachable bows- this was just a plain safety pin. The bows are not sewn into place either, which you could take as a pro or con- but I like being able to make one tail longer than the other. It was a nice gesture to include the bows even though they weren't listed on the product page- but rofl at that safety pin, seriously. It is not possible to pin it to a blouse and not have it show- I tried:



dat safety pin, right thar

CONCLUSION:
I think that this release had a huge amount of potential. There were lots of people anticipating this release, and to be fair SouffleSong were responsive to their fans' requests. The design originally came in blue, seafoam green and beige, but after several comments from fans they announced that they were making additional versions in red and black (skirt, JSK 1) and put up the other items featured in their shoots such as the under/overdresses and blouses for sale. They did not email to notify us that they had sent out the items, but it was all according to the schedule (I have long since accepted that my country's mailing system is much slower than those of the rest of the world; fact of life and I'm just happy that this package wasn't valuable enough to sic bribe-hungry customs people on me)

However, the final product is still disappointing. I don't regret my purchase, but if there had been a bit more attention paid to details such as the quality of the images used, print alignment, and fit, it could have been so much better. It is a fairly low price for lolita clothing, especially for a custom print, so I was not expecting the same quality as Krad Lanrete or brand, but it is such a lovely design- I wouldn't mind if SouffleSong raised their prices a little to address those issues, and they would probably gain more fans if the quality improved.

Worn:


Full look on my Tumblr, here

Thank you for reading all this! I hope it was helpful.
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