Taobao Now SS / Dear Celine Review
Taobao Buying Review
I usually use qcute for any of my Chinese shopping needs. However, at the time of my purchase the two items that I wanted were not listed for sale on Qcute's page. So, I did a bit of searching and found Taobao Buying. I highly recommend Taobao Buying for anyone wishing to purchase from Taobao, but don't wish to pay the markup fees you get with buying through store sellers. Apparently the whole staff is named after characters from the cartoon Popeye, which is cute and a little silly. I have to admit this did give me a little bit of a pause at first, I mean how serious can a shopping service be with staff named after cartoon characters?
Anyway I submitted my initial order on April 18th through their website, and not even an hour later I got a confirmation and detailed invoice from Popeye. (For an accurate view on the timeline I wanted to note that both items that I ordered had custom measurements.) He answered all of my annoying questions quickly, and put up with me removing an item from my first order without any issues. Everything was paid for on the same day and I didn't hear from him again until May 6th when he sent me an email stating that all of my items were ready for shipment. Shipping costs $29 for a skirt and a shirt and included the 50% off shipping rate, which is about how much most EMS shipping costs anyway. The item was mailed out on May 7th I received it today May 13th.
I have to admit this was the quickest Taobao order I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Now this might have been because I ordered from the same company and not from three or four different places. Even when I ordered one custom dress from Dear Celine through Qcute it would take 2 months minimum to get to me. I'm very impressed with this company and will continue to use them for all of my Taobao orders from this point on.
Wrap Up
Contact: 5 out of 5
Price: 5 out of 5
Shipping Time: 5 out of 5
Service: 5 out of 5
Dear Celine Review
This is probably the third time I have ordered from Dear Celine, and due to that I was already confident in their abilities to make exactly what I wanted. I believe this is the first order I've had from them where everything fit so perfectly. Not sure if that's due to me using another shopping service, or maybe I just finally got my measurements right for a change.
Chandelier Butterfly Skirt
Stock Photo:
My Photo:
This skirt came out much better then I expected. The fabric is a light cotton and is perfect for summer wearing. It is fully lined underneath, so no worries about sunlight showing your bloomers. The lace lining the bottom is a very beautiful soft (not scratchy) cotton. I wouldn't use the top portion as a waist reducing corset since the boning feels plastic, but it does work well for a slight tightening if you have a bit of a belly. There was some loose threads hanging around the skirt, but nothing a good lint brush and a few snip of the scissors couldn't take care of.
It is a tiny bit long on me and this 100% my fault. When I sent in my measurements for the skirt length I was thinking JSK skirt length and gave them what I normally would give for a custom dress. That being said the final result is a long skirt, however I can't say that I'm disappointed by the length. On one hand I kind of like it that long. It makes the dress look elegant, almost leaning towards a Gothic feel if It wasn't so brightly colored. I'm debating whether I will eventually have it shortened by a seamstress or not. Zipper area is a little difficulty to pull up or down on one spot, but I have this issue with nearly all of my new dresses, including my new BTSSB skirt.
I would recommend this skirt, it is adorable and very well made.
Wrap Up:
Quality: 5 out of 5
Sizing: 5 out of 5 (the skirt length is my fault)
Comparable to Brand: On par with brand, in some instances almost better.
Blouse
Stock Photo:
My Photo:
I have ordered quite a few blouses in the past. A lot of them with custom measurements, and they almost never come out fitting perfectly. There's always something wrong, like sleeves to short or too tight. This blouse fits just right, which is very surprising to me. I guess it helps that the blouse is also short sleeved. However, it's not too tight around my upper arms, and it fits my bust nicely so that when I button it up I don't have peek-a-boo holes (I like to call them that).
There is elastic in the arms which makes it a good blouse for anyone who might have larger upper arms then I do. The buttons are sewed on tightly and the blouse comes with an extra one just in case. Again there were a few loose strings, and again they were easily dealt with. The blouse is made out of light cotton, so again it's perfect for summer weather.
Wrap Up:
Quality: 5 out of 5
Sizing: 5 out of 5
Comparable to Brand: It's okay, I wouldn't call it brand quality, but it's definitely not cheap looking either.
Final Look:
I am super happy with my latest purchase and can't wait to wear this outfit out. If I keep it long I have to buy a new longer petticoat, but I was in need of a new petticoat anyway.