Category Archives: Reviews

Milkribbon: Cute and Sassy Lolita Pins

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Milkribbon

Milkribbon is a new indie brand from Germany that currently specializes in cut wooden pins. Per their website they “are inspired by folkloric European myths, traditions and a modern Marie Antoinette attitude”. 

A bit ago they held a contest where they offered two of their “Misako” Brooches in pink; one for the winner and one for their “partner in crime” so to speak. Everyone was invited to tell a story about how they and a friend got up to “most embarrassing behaviors”. The winners were picked randomly, and I was super surprised to find out that I had won a set!

milkribbonThey have a matte finish and are beautifully detailed. The artwork perfectly mimics a metallic sheen on the ribbon edging, thought it’s actually solid print. The sides are stained a darker shade of brown, and the backs are raw wood with a pin. There is no chemical or ink scent to them; they actually have the very faintest scent of wood, which is really refreshing. There is a slight wood texture under the printing, which gives even more depth to the image.

The pins are much smaller than an actual rosette, though certainly large enough to stand out! They retail for €16.99 and come in three colors; the dusty rose shade I won in the contest, a black with blue shading and a white with red, burgundy and gold shading.

 

There are a number of other brooches in their shop right now, though some of them are not yet available or sold out already. The bottle says “Boy’s Tears” on it and is especially cute. The Boy’s Tears bottles will be on sale for a final preorder starting on Saturday May 13th.


mushroom  forkspoon  caat
combo  bisk  boys tears

According to their Facebook, a number of their brooches will be restocking early this month, so be sure to follow @milkribbonshop on facebook to catch the release dates if you are interested!

Girlism: A Chinese Lolita Fashion Magazine

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Girlism Volume 6

I’ve been “reading” Girlism since they started publication (I say “reading” because I can’t read a single word of Chinese, so it’s more of just a picture book to me), and it’s quickly becomes one of my favorite lolita fashion publications. I just picked up volume 6, shown above.

Each issue comes with gifts, and I’m not talking just a post card (though they do often include those!). This particular issue came with a heavy duty screen print canvas tote bag from Yolanda…

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this set of post-card sized prints from Yolanda in a sheer envelope,
two cute postcards from the Japanese otome brand, Leur Getter,
…and a big double sided poster!
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Here are the front and back covers of the latest issue. One thing I will note is that shipping inside of China is a little rough. Some of the issues (including this one) have gotten to my shopping service with busted corners. One of the earlier issues came with a clear file that got shattered in the mail. It’s definitely happening before it gets to my shopping service or at the office of my shopping service though, as they are putting them in the middle of a package full of lace for their trip overseas.
Overall, the photo quality in Girlism is really high, as is the print quality. It’s nicer, IMHO, than Kera or the GLB. Here is a quick flip through of the latest issue. It features Japanese brands like Angelic Pretty, Innocent World, Baby and Meta, as well as the best of Chinese lolita brands.

Each issue is 80 yuan + 10 yuan shipping inside of China, which comes out to about $13 USD. Some of the nicer gifts are limited to the first x-number sold though, so to get the most for your money, order early! Some of the past gifts I’ve gotten included a peel-off lip stain, a Berry-Q heart shaped pouchette, Baby the Stars Shine Bright Clear files and a ton of post cards and stationary.

Review: Their Story by HaeNuLi Shin

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HaeNuLi Shin is best known in the lolita world for her self-titled lolita fashion brand, Haenuli. I first learned abut Haenuli’s fashion brand at a lolita convention in Georgia called “Frill”. It was the first year of the convention, which was pretty small, and so it was held in like a club house type building, and there was room which had been transformed into a little shop. And when you went in the entrance near the front door, there were a few tables and then there was this mannequin, and on the mannequin was a sample of Haenuli’s sleeping beauty print in black. And, I remember, I asked to buy it and was told it wasn’t for sale yet. I ended up buying it in two colors and I’ve been following her brand ever since.

Recently, she published an artbook called Their Story.

Their Story: The Story You Don't Know Haenuli comic

Their Story follows two main characters; a girl and a skeleton. Both figures are symbolic; the girl can be interpreted as the reader, or an embodiment of human emotion, of life, or as a girl friend in a couple. The skeleton can be interpreted as depression or death, or a boyfriend / ex-boyfriend, friend or lost love, or as the hard-to-describe feeling of safety and familiarity that lurks under the surface of depression. The story resonates on a deeply personal level, and I think it’s one of those things where it can really be interpreted in many different ways. Make no mistake though; it is not a light story. It has a weight to it.

For those who have been following the facebook photo posts, I can say it’s a little different; it’s not just a series of single images, the actual book (Their Story: The Story You Don’t Know) has a plot and a momentum to it. It’s a cyclical story, and it’s one of those books that really leaves you with an almost tactile feeling of needing to sit, and think on the depth and meaning of the story for a bit after reading it.

I strongly recommend reading it at least twice, as an additional layer of understanding is added to the story the second time around.

The hard cover comes with a full color cover and dust jacket with holographic printing for the title. The pages are thick, and there are a couple velum pages as well which give a unique movement and interaction to the book.

Today doodle : Reason why Death hide every books "A Game of thrones" #doodle

A post shared by Haenuli/Nunu (@haenulishop) on

The free lavender colored book that comes with it, which is similar titled “Their Story: Story You Don’t Know”, is soft cover and staple bound. It’s a total of 12 pages long, also on thick quality paper. This mini-book is much more lighthearted, and casts “them” (the skeleton) more firmly as death. It includes things like the above exchange where the girl asks Them about the deaths in Romeo and Juliette, to which Them is forced to reply that it’s not really their fault; it’s Shakespear’s! It’s a delightful splash of fun after the more serious tone of the main book, and makes for a lovely bonus.

The book is sold out in hardcover, but there is a softcover version that is still available, along with prints and teeshirts. You can get them from Haenuli Shop.


sc print shirt