Review: Closet Child!
I ordered quite a few things off CC two weeks ago, and wanted to share my very pleasant first order with them. (:
I'm normally used to ordering with Fairy Angel or Fururun, so I wanted to try them out (even though I'd know about CC for a loooong time)!
Since I had my order sent to my friend's house while I was moving, the box is currently in his garage taking up copious amounts of space, so I don't have pictures of it!
It was a typical Japanese-company-order box with customs declaration and address taped to the top.
I have to say before I continue that I actually placed two orders and CC were nice enough to hold my first order for up to a week so I could find other things I might like to save on shipping. They replied to me very quickly, and I was worried they wouldn't allow it - but they did! It DID mean I lost more money in the end on pretty things, but oh well! I've been a victim to pretty (mostly) pink things!
I ordered the following items:
1x Angelic Pretty Fancy Melody bag in red - 4,060Y
1x Innocent World Royal Crown bag (goldxred) - 7,800Y
1x BtSSB plastic card headband in pink - 1,400Y
1x BtSSB plastic bow headband in pink - 1,800Y
1x Angelic Pretty strawberry headband in pink - 3,800Y
1x Angelic Pretty hairclip corsage in whitexpink - 1,260Y
Shipping: 3,200Y
Total w/ shipping: 23,320 (this came to a total of AUD$290, which was a bit of a purse-stomper, but I guess this just isn't the best time to buy from Japan in large lumps, haha).
I'll go through them one by one! :D
1.) Fancy Melody shoulder/hand/clutch bag - bought for 4,060Y. Retails for: can't find it anywhere. D:
I'm so glad I decided to pull out my camera, I rediscovered candy I had floating in my camera bag. Score!
This bag isn't in the best state, but it definitely isn't in terrible condition, I wouldn't even call it bad condition. It has a few scratches here and there, but it's perfectly useable. It can hold a LOT of stuff (which really surprised me) and despite me not owning anything from the series, it comes in handy with other coords! For 4,060Y, I consider this a steal (seeing as I've seen this float on the comm_sales for about $100+ recently).
Rating for this product (taking into consideration its condition for price) x/5: ★★★★★
2.) Innocent World Royal Crown bag goldxred - bought for 7,800. Retails for: 10,290Y.
I've been wanting this bag ever since I saw another Lolita wearing it as part of her coord. Even though I currently have nothing to do with this (yet), I thought of it as a challenge and bought it since it's at a darn good price! It's in almost immaculate condition. The only faults I could find were a couple of tiny dents and scratches at the back of the bag, but that's also to be expected, as well as one of the fake diamonds on the front are misalligned, but that's not CC's fault, haha. It came with two straps, one so you can use the bag as a handbag, and the other for using it as a shoulder bag. They both came wrapped in cardboard and sticky tape (much like the bag above), but I've since removed them.
Rating for this product (taking into consideration its condition for price) x/5: ★★★★★
Link to product: http://hellolace.net/wardrobe/innocent-world/type/bags-and-wallets/item/1/
3.) BtSSB plastic headbands.
a.) Card suit - bought for 1,400Y. Retails for unknown.
b.) Bow headband - bought for 1,800Y. Retails for unknown.
Sorry for the crappy pictures. My boyfriend had changed the settings on the camera recently and it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do, haha.
I've recently fallen inlove with plastic jewellery, so I wasted no time snatching these up! Despite me owning practically nothing pink, I thought I'd take a risk and see if I can eventually match these up. I've since worn the card suit headband with another headbow crammed on my head and it has worked out very well! I've been inlove with the card suit plastic headbands for a while, but even though I would've loved the black one - this one is good too. I can see no immediate faults with either of these pieces, and am very happy with them. If you possibly look closely under artificial light, some scratches may be apparent - but hey, it's plastic!
A: Rating for this product (taking into consideration its condition for price) x/5: ★★★★★
B: Rating for this product (taking into consideration its condition for price) x/5: ★★★★★
4.) Angelic Pretty accessories
a.) strawberry headband, bought for 3,800Y, retails for 4,095Y.
b.) bow hairclip corsage/thing, bought for 1,260Y, retails for 2,730Y.
Considering how much these two items retailed for, I think they're an amazing deal. The second-hand non-Japanese resellers I have seen mark up their item's prices because the items are ~rare~ and not easily found, so I think I got a really nice deal for my money!
I can't see much wrong with either of these, besides a couple of obvious scratches on the plastic of the strawberry. No stains, rips, tears or smears. Perfect!
A: Rating for this product (taking into consideration its condition for price) x/5: ★★★★★
http://hellolace.net/wardrobe/angelic-pretty/type/headwear/item/295/
B: Rating for this product (taking into consideration its condition for price) x/5: ★★★★★
http://hellolace.net/wardrobe/angelic-pretty/type/headwear/item/135/
Closet Child were very quick to pass over a tracking number after I'd ordered. I received the package five days after I paid, and they all came individually wrapped to make sure one item doesn't damage the other (especially considering most of my pieces were made entirely of plastic).
Needless to say, I would definitely order from Closet Child again. They're always restocking their items (and have some AMAZING prices for their products), so it's always a good idea to head that way if you're in need of a quick and beautiful outfit on a budget.
If you have any questions, I believe the staff are more than happy to answer them. They were very kind in every email, and they never pestered about paying right at the moment of ordering. They gave me a week to pay before my order was in trouble of being cancelled, and they didn't seem to be the kind to not understand if something were to come up and I wouldn't be able to pay (as I've heard Baby isn't too fond of).
All in all, Closet Child really are value for money. There are other places like Fururun (but they tend to sell out MUCH quicker), so Closet Child is always a good place to find whatever you're looking for. (:
I hope this has helped anybody who has been on the fence for a while - one of the best experiences I've had with second hand shops!