Frills!
So, after reading a spate of negative reviews of Milanoo.com, I... placed an order with them. And I'm delighted.
Wholesale Disclaimer: Some people are shocked by the idea of ordering from Chinese wholesalers. If you're honestly the type of person who only buys thrifted or American-made items (I know a few people who do), then I laud your moral willpower. However, most people gleefully shop at Target, but act shocked by the idea of buying from China. Um...
Design Disclaimer: The site replicates designs; it does an approximation of others' designs from photos. That is, for me, morally-artistically grey, if not downright bad. However, at this point, there are few companies who don't (coughcoughLipServicecoughcough) and I am, as a tall 2X, really sick of not having any clothes to wear. (My experience with commissions has been dreadful at best.) If you take an ethical issue on this front, I can only humbly agree that I am morally failing here due to my utter fashion exhaustion.
Gothic Disclaimer: Please remember, I am goth. I enjoy lolita influences, but goth. Goth goth goth.
OKAY!
.... uh, wait, I guess that's just a mass of black. (And wow, I have gotten chubby!) Hold on...
Boom. Oh, it is such a lovely dress. It's lovely, lovely, lovely. It's a nice garment-weight cotton, the seams are nicely finished on par with a retail garment, the lace is soft, and it's fitted perfectly; again, I would compare the quality to Lip Service. It honestly reminds me a lot of a late 90s Lip Service (retail line) dress I had and adored.
This is the listing I ordered.
Now, the lolitas abhor this company -- but, ah, any subculture largely made up of teenage girls will likely not have the best reasoning skills; from the research I did, I got the impression that many people ordering expected the manufacturers to basically be a Lolita Company, with full knowledge of the subculture's elaborate rules, or indeed, any of their rules. ("They'll have to use better lace if they want to impress us," etc.) The thing that most people can realize is that a producer has no desire to impress anyone; they desire profits. I think the business likely does as good a job at producing the designs as they know how, and from reading older and newer reviews, they seem to be improving.
There is some question of odd customer service, but I can't speak to other people's experiences on that. I contacted them to make sure they recorded my height and they were quite helpful. There were also complaints that production and shipping times were too long during the Halloween-through-Christmas season... to that, I just sigh and roll my eyes.
And the issue of lace -- it isn't cotton lace. Again, I'm goth, so I don't care; I'm growing a bit sick of seeing the same cluny everywhere... but it's very soft.
All in all, I'm beyond thrilled with the entire experience. While I've been studying and improving my skills, I still abhor sewing; this is wonderful. I want to run out and order twelve more dresses -- oh, but I'm losing weight, aren't I? I suppose that will keep me financially prudent for now, alas. (On the issue of this dress, which is so lovely; if my measurements do eventually drop to the point where it doesn't hang correctly, well, I'll order another.) I also got a similarly tucked skirt, but it has an elastic waist, and fit won't be a problem. I didn't take a picture of the skirt, but it's also gorgeous and ruffly and squee.
I also ordered a pinafore from Gency's Exit (ha ha, Disgaea pun) on Etsy:
Bwaaaaaaaaa!
This is a lovely heavy twill with nicely done seams. And is just... adorable. These two pieces are basically the outfit of my dreams.
Annnnnnnd...
A bat clip from Bugs and Monsters on Etsy. Also gorgeous construction: the wings are very sturdily stitched for such a delicate-looking little batty.
I'm not normally one to fawn over everything -- (don't we all hate those blogs where everything reviewed is super great? probably because they want more free things?) -- particularly since a lot of the time, well, handmade items are not so hot and handmade revolution blah blah blah. (They're good, but they're Good Keeping In Mind It's Handmade.) But I highly recommend both of those Etsy shops, and, at the other side of the consumer spectrum, Milanoo, provided you can be a wary adult consumer about it.
And now, I must go and bask in my pink-haired black frilliness.
Wholesale Disclaimer: Some people are shocked by the idea of ordering from Chinese wholesalers. If you're honestly the type of person who only buys thrifted or American-made items (I know a few people who do), then I laud your moral willpower. However, most people gleefully shop at Target, but act shocked by the idea of buying from China. Um...
Design Disclaimer: The site replicates designs; it does an approximation of others' designs from photos. That is, for me, morally-artistically grey, if not downright bad. However, at this point, there are few companies who don't (coughcoughLipServicecoughcough) and I am, as a tall 2X, really sick of not having any clothes to wear. (My experience with commissions has been dreadful at best.) If you take an ethical issue on this front, I can only humbly agree that I am morally failing here due to my utter fashion exhaustion.
Gothic Disclaimer: Please remember, I am goth. I enjoy lolita influences, but goth. Goth goth goth.
OKAY!
.... uh, wait, I guess that's just a mass of black. (And wow, I have gotten chubby!) Hold on...
Boom. Oh, it is such a lovely dress. It's lovely, lovely, lovely. It's a nice garment-weight cotton, the seams are nicely finished on par with a retail garment, the lace is soft, and it's fitted perfectly; again, I would compare the quality to Lip Service. It honestly reminds me a lot of a late 90s Lip Service (retail line) dress I had and adored.
This is the listing I ordered.
Now, the lolitas abhor this company -- but, ah, any subculture largely made up of teenage girls will likely not have the best reasoning skills; from the research I did, I got the impression that many people ordering expected the manufacturers to basically be a Lolita Company, with full knowledge of the subculture's elaborate rules, or indeed, any of their rules. ("They'll have to use better lace if they want to impress us," etc.) The thing that most people can realize is that a producer has no desire to impress anyone; they desire profits. I think the business likely does as good a job at producing the designs as they know how, and from reading older and newer reviews, they seem to be improving.
There is some question of odd customer service, but I can't speak to other people's experiences on that. I contacted them to make sure they recorded my height and they were quite helpful. There were also complaints that production and shipping times were too long during the Halloween-through-Christmas season... to that, I just sigh and roll my eyes.
And the issue of lace -- it isn't cotton lace. Again, I'm goth, so I don't care; I'm growing a bit sick of seeing the same cluny everywhere... but it's very soft.
All in all, I'm beyond thrilled with the entire experience. While I've been studying and improving my skills, I still abhor sewing; this is wonderful. I want to run out and order twelve more dresses -- oh, but I'm losing weight, aren't I? I suppose that will keep me financially prudent for now, alas. (On the issue of this dress, which is so lovely; if my measurements do eventually drop to the point where it doesn't hang correctly, well, I'll order another.) I also got a similarly tucked skirt, but it has an elastic waist, and fit won't be a problem. I didn't take a picture of the skirt, but it's also gorgeous and ruffly and squee.
I also ordered a pinafore from Gency's Exit (ha ha, Disgaea pun) on Etsy:
Bwaaaaaaaaa!
This is a lovely heavy twill with nicely done seams. And is just... adorable. These two pieces are basically the outfit of my dreams.
Annnnnnnd...
A bat clip from Bugs and Monsters on Etsy. Also gorgeous construction: the wings are very sturdily stitched for such a delicate-looking little batty.
I'm not normally one to fawn over everything -- (don't we all hate those blogs where everything reviewed is super great? probably because they want more free things?) -- particularly since a lot of the time, well, handmade items are not so hot and handmade revolution blah blah blah. (They're good, but they're Good Keeping In Mind It's Handmade.) But I highly recommend both of those Etsy shops, and, at the other side of the consumer spectrum, Milanoo, provided you can be a wary adult consumer about it.
And now, I must go and bask in my pink-haired black frilliness.