Private Review J.a.m......Review!

Here are two truths about me. 1. I'm not very patient when it comes to certain things, and 2. I love guro lolita.

Seems like a bad combination actually...

With that said, I was browsing the Kera Shop website, specifically the Triple Fortune section so I could sigh wistfully at the bonnets I couldn't have, when I stumbled on this:

I don't think I've ever clicked on something so fast. I needed it. I needed it right that second! I was ready to add to cart, but stopped when I saw this lovely disclaimer:

"This item takes up to 2 months to deliver..."

Two months to deliver??? NOPE! Ain't nobody got time for that! All right, on to the next place I could possibly find in stock Triple Fortune items. Through Enchantlic Enchantilly's facebook page I discovered a reseller shop called Private Review J.a.m. I knew they had some Triple Fortune items, so I decided to check it out. Fortunately, they had both the skirt and the tights I wanted listed. I was a little unsure if this this shop shipped overseas, but they do. It's not advertised heavily on their site though. You can use their cart system, and for the most part there's enough English to get through the buying process without much issue. It also gives instructions to their overseas orders as you go through, so no worries there. Once you put in your order, you'll receive an automatic email, and later you'll receive another email in regards to stock. Sadly, even though the tights were listed on their site, they were actually out of stock. After that email you'll receive another with your invoice through paypal. Once you pay, email them back to let them know. You'll then receive a payment confirmation email, with your shipping tracking number. I believe they only ship EMS.
I put in my order on March 27th, and I just received my package today~ So as far as timeliness goes, it took about a week from order to arrival~ Not bad at all! I was a little worried, because I found out after I placed my order that Private Review J.a.m. is located in Kouchi prefecture...which...is in Shikoku...

Right thar...

This was my first time ordering something from that far south in Japan. Wasn't quite sure what to expect shipping time wise. My tracking wasn't helping either, it was pretty unchanging for a few days. But, it arrived sooner than I thought, so it's all good. And here it is!

Plain bag inside of an EMS envelope. Not very exciting, but gets the job done.

A little more exciting~

Tada!

This is also my first time purchasing anything Triple Fortune. The skirt is surprisingly light. The price wasn't so bad either. I want to say at the current exchange rate it was less than $150. So for the same price as one of their bonnets, you can get a pretty nice skirt~ They're really long too, perfect for tall lolitas. I'm a shorty, so it's a little past mid-calf on me. Either way, I love this print SO MUCH. I can be guro and keep it classy with this skirt. I'd like to get the tights eventually, so maybe I can put up with Kera Shop's ridiculous wait times since I don't need them right away.

Anyway, all in all my experience buying through Private Review J.a.m. was extremely painless. It was fast, and easy. Communication with them is pretty straightforward and impersonal, but that's unimportant really. I like the amount of brands they have in their shop, especially ones that are a little harder to find in stock items. I will definitely be shopping there again~ I hope this review was helpful, happy shopping!

Glass Forest Review~

I recently received my Glass Forest order. This was my first time ordering from them, and was really pleased so I wanted to spread the word.

Glass Forest is a Sendai based second hand shop and indie brand reseller. I first heard about them from Atelier Pierrot's designer Yuko Ashizawa, but forgot about them until recently. I was browsing it again the other day when I saw a Meta dress I used to own some years ago listed. It was such a good price I couldn't pass it up! I figured while I was at it, I'd get another Meta dress I had been stalking since the first time I was on the site that was still there, and some cream Baby socks I could always use for something. The site allows overseas users to order through the cart system or email order. I decided to try out the cart system since I'm always anxious with email ordering. It was amazingly painless, super quick and easy. It's all in Japanese, but pretty straight forward~ They only accept paypal from overseas orders, and everything is shipped EMS.

First of all, I put in my order on the 13th, and they shipped it out on the 13th. I had to do a double take at my email. I was certainly impressed. My package took the usual 6 days to reach me. My other package from Baby had been sent out at the same time, but arrived a day earlier. I'm assuming the extra day was it going from Sendai to Tokyo...either way, it was quick.

I was surprised to see my things didn't come in a box, but in a paper shopping bag! Must have been a ridiculously strong paper bag though, cause there wasn't a single rip in it.

Another surprise, all my Meta came in an Angelic Pretty Bag XD No complaints~

Everything was packed tightly, but neatly inside.

It's sort of hard to describe the feeling of re-buying a dress you had many years ago. It's like being reunited with an old friend. I regretted selling this dress the moment I did, and I'm so happy to finally have it back~ It's a bit wrinkled, but it was wrinkled in the picture on their website, so I knew what I was getting into. The only thing I wonder about it is...when I bought this dress the first time about 5 years ago...the bow was white with black stripes. It's the same colorway though...was this a different release? I have no idea, but still no complaints XD Anyway, I'll give it a good ironing eventually~ It's almost Summer here in the South, so gotta get it ready!

This dress and apron are the furthest from my style as you can possibly get, but...I've been wanting an Alice inspired dress (non-print) for so long! I saw it the first time I had checked out Glass Forest's website, so when I noticed it was still on their site months later, I figured it was meant to be. The dress is apparently so old I couldn't find any measurements for it online. There was shirring on the back, so I just took a gamble. After much binding, I can get it on at least, but the detachable sleeves are a no go. Which is fine, I wanted to wear it in March to Disney when it's a little warmer anyway. This dress also came in considerably wrinkled, but again, it was shown in this state on their website, so still no complaints.

Last item of my order were a plain pair of creme Baby lace top socks. Just something I've been wanting for a while, and couldn't pass them up for only 2300 yen~ That was it for my order, but there was one more thing in my bag...

I received a cute little Chantilly bow as a free gift~ It was completely unexpected, but absolutely appreciated. It goes perfectly with my Chantilly OP!

All in all, my experience buying through Glass Forest was beyond my expectations. Ordering was easy, and shipping was quick. Their prices for second hand brand is very reasonable, as well as their shipping rates. I didn't have a need to contact them for anything, but their manager(?) Hikari Sasaki seems very amicable and accommodating (according to their overseas orders info page, they are also available as a shopping service for other lolita and Japanese goods. Not sure how it works, but looks like it's an option). They use a translation program for their messages, so please be aware that simple English should be used in requests. Lastly, Glass Forest encourages their overseas customers to send photographs of their coords with their purchased items to them so they can put them on their shop blog. Once I put together a coord with my new pieces, I'll be sure to send them some~ I hope this review was helpful, happy shopping!