Clobba and KittyWood review

So recently I ordered some socks from Clobba online and I had such a terrible experience I decided I would write a review. The other review is for an Etsy seller Kittywood Designs that advertises on EGL and I thought people might like to know a little about her stuff.

So on to the REVIEWS!

Clobba online.

I ordered three pairs of socks January 1st, thinking that if I shipped them EMS there was a chance I would get them by Friday to use in the Taiyou fashion show. I ordered some sax blue with pink hearts, the Milky Chan replica socks and the black socks with unicorns.

Her first email to me was this...

Thank you. EMS shipping is going to cost $19(can order up to 5 pairs). I can have the socks sent out on Monday. :)

second email on Jan 1st...
Thank you. Payment received~

I will send the package out next Monday and send you an email. You will be able to receive it either by next Friday or the Monday after. :)

Now, because the first email said Monday, I assumed this email also meant the next Monday, meaning the following Monday, Jan 3rd. When I didn't get the socks in time I thought, damn I must have just missed getting them, but I didn't get them Saturday or Monday either. Then I got this email on Jan 11th

Hi Diana,

Sorry for not emailing you sooner.

Package sent.

I was REALLY hoping that she was REALLY late emailing me, but no, she had just sent them Monday an entire week later. Now that I didn't need them I was in no real rush to get them and was kind of bothered I had spent the shipping cost.

Now here comes the really weird and SHADY part.
When I tracked my package it just kept saying it was "delivered" to South Carolina. I thought this meant that it was delivered to their post office and it was then going to be sent to me. But after the 12th it just sat there....and sat there. I sent an email to Clobba on the 19th saying...

"I Just wanted to let you know I haven't received my socks yet, I feel like I paid expedited shipping to wait 2 and a half weeks to get them. According to the post office they are just sitting in South Carolina and were expected to be delivered by Jan 15th, but they still weren't here today. Should I be worried?"

She said this....

Hi Diana,

I just checked the address on the package, it's the same as in the Order Form. It should be fine.

At this time, Express/EMS shipping won't be any faster than Registered Airmail shipping because of the holiday. :)


Now, there are many things wrong with this statement. First she didn't say she was sorry it was taking so long when I'm OBVIOUSLY angry about it. Then she pretty much said, well I made you pay for EMS even though I knew it was going to take the same amount of time as airmail. And, I have no idea what holiday she is talking about....MLK day? It's already in the U.S. BUT this was a LIE, I now know the real reason this took so long because I finally got the package today, a full 21 days after I ordered the damn socks.

Here is pictures to accompany the story. I checked my mailbox and found THIS...

When I first saw this I was like, what is this? I have not ordered anything from South Carolina...HMMMMMMMMMMM...then...an epiphany...SOCKS! However this package came from a personal address in South Carolina. Why? Oh wait, Clobba sent my socks to a third party for WHATEVER reason, and then that person was supposed to send them to me? But instead they sat on them for a week then mailed them first class. Nice, I am livid about this. How is EMS effective if you don't even send the package to ACTUAL person it's supposed to go to. WHY DID I pay $19 shipping for this?

I opened the gray bag and here are the socks in various undress...

Now, while the socks are quite nice and even very stretchy for my bigger calves, I will never order ANYTHING from them again. I feel cheated and stolen from and worst of all, taken advantage of and then lied to. I feel you all should know this too. It's not a big deal to order from them if you do regular airmail, but DON'T PAY FOR EMS and expect to get your package in any decent amount of time. I won't recommend them during panels either. I am really big on customer service, I love it when sellers go through the trouble to write a note and let me know what's going on. I always send my items with hand written notes, because it just makes people feel special. When a company treats me poorly, I am a person that will go out of my way to avoid doing business with them ever again, really.


On to a much more positive review! Kitty Wood Designs

I bought 2 necklaces and a lucky pack. I am lazy sometimes and since I am sewing a lot, I don't often make myself accessories just for me. So I saw some things I REALLY liked and grabbed them up.

First off, Ice Cream Hello Kitty necklace.

This was about $15 and I guess that's fairly priced. The chain is very sturday and long but still has a clasp so I can put it around my giant lolita hair, and BEST OF ALL...

It's SQUISSHHHY.

Next up, the purple lollipop necklace.

This is really well made and super cute, I didn't notice any flaws with it. The sprinkle crystals do tend to fall off when scraped, but I will just avoid doing that :)

It has a clip on the back to put it in your hair and I definitely think I can put it in my wigs, but definitely not my real hair- it's too heavy. But I love it anyway, and at $15 that's a great price.

I also grabbed up the lucky pack for $15 that came with a phone charm, necklace, earrings, hair clips and ring. It came in a cute bag...

Here's what I got...

pretty cute, I can wear the ring with Milky Chan and green IS my favorite color.

She also sent me a free phont charm that is a squishy doughnut...

alrighty then, Hope you had fun looking at stuffs!

xoxox
Mikki

Lolita vs lifestyle

So a while back I had the chance to run across someone on Etsy who had a trouble mixing her love of lolita with her religion and culture. She wasn't allowed to wear skirts higher than ankle length, but she loved lolita so much. She came to me asking for advice and if I could help her. I sketched up some ideas for her that were a nice mix, especially because she really liked classic, which is a style that can be longer then knee length anyway. But for those of you who think that lolita only means knee length and your lifestyle kicks you out of it, you're wrong. Brands even make longer dresses...let's look shall we?

Baby the Stars Shine Bright (AatP)

Moi Meme Moitie

Victorian Maiden

Victorian Maiden

Now, I remember the lady saying she was afraid of looking reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie in these long skirts. But honestly, it's the corodinates that matter. First of all, you need a long petti- Candi Violet has some goo long pettis for this purpose.
Now you also need to accessorize. Cardigans, boleros, fitted jackets with tails for a more Victorian style, high necked blouses, and dressage hats! I love riding hats with this style...

This style may be a little hard for a beginner lolita to figure out, but that's why you should never be scared to ask for help. Look around and do a little research and then ask for resources you may not have thought of, or what other people have done. Lolita has so many different styles that can lend itself to each person's identity with just a little effort. Anyone willing to put forth that effort can make lolita work for them in a way that is positive and fulfilling.

For most of the people I know, lolita has been a way for them to feel beautiful, in a world where beauty means taking off more clothes. Lolita lets us feel this way by keeping them on. Now other people may find us weird, but whatever, we're rebels...in our frills and lace.

Sweet Lolita...too over the top?

So, those of you who know me, know that I'm a sweet lolita-meaning I wear lots of pastels and cute things and have giant hair most of the time. I am always kind of weirded out that this is my favorite style, considering I'm almost thirty...but hey...do what you love right? So while sweet is my favorite style it has undergone a major transformation from its beginnings. Sweet used to look more like this...

or this...

and it can still look like that today, and it is still considered sweet because it follows the guidelines of the sweet style. However, sweet lately has started to look more and more like this...

and this...

eventually the style starts to run into decora and fairy kei lolita, when more accessories are involved. So, now there is kind of this major fluctuation in the amount of "sweetness" you can have in your sweet outfit. So the people who really liked the pink pink hair and frilly, fuzzy brooches and lacy wrist cuffs all in the same outfit, were deemed OOT sweet or "over the top" sweet for obvious reasons. This is my favorite style and I honestly think it takes the most "balls" to wear in public, because it is also the one that stands out most (of the main categories of lolita anyway). This is why I generally don't wear it to work or anything, the man doesn't allow my pastel blend giant wig on the property unless it's crazy hair day. Although I am often able to sneak my jumper skirts to work during the summer, and get lots of compliments. But it's just not the same without all the extras.
Extras make the outfit, remember that.

On a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOTE we have a fashion show this friday! Hooray, it will be at Taiyou Con in Mesa www.taiyoucon.com and we will have 8 outfits...2 pirate, 1 sailor, 3 sweet, 1 classic and 1 kodona. I am very excited because I put so much effort into these outfits and the girls modeling them are amazing AS ALWAYS. Friday night at 6:30. Passes for Friday night are $20 or you can buy an all weekend pass for only $35. Come down and see us and the other local designers on the runway.


xoxo
Mikki