Listen Flavor 2016 Lucky Pack

Hello Everyone!

I'm not dead. I've just been in a long hiatus due to work and school commitments. I'll be trying to post some things up, but unfortunately can't make any promises. For now I wanted to share with you all my lucky pack from the Japanese clothing brand, Listen Flavor!

For those who don't know what Listen Flavor is it is a sort of a sweet and punk rock mix clothing style. The clothing are just super fun and cute yet has some edge to them depending on how you wear them. They've even done some anime and Hello Kitty collaborations. If anything you can maybe guess what kind of style they are knowing that they're based in Harajuku, Japan.

This is actually my first taste of Listen Flavor (excuse me for the pun ;P) and of course when it comes to Japan's New Year's packs then I couldn't resist! Now lucky packs in Japan are a big thing and are released on New Year's day. Think of of it like Black Friday of Japan, except in my opinion it's even better. One of the appeals is that it's the only time I can afford a lot of the Japanese clothing brands since I can get multiple things for a set price. The items inside a luck pack are worth more than the set price too which is an even better bargain. The only thing is that what's inside is a surprise!

This lucky pack was about $60 (not including international shipping) and I got it from KeraShop. You'll need a shopping service to buy from them and I used Tenso. There are a few other places that were selling them, but Kerashop had it at the exact retailed price in Yen (¥7000) so no mark ups! But honestly even with a markup it was only around $10 more at some other places. Each bag is supposed to consist of five items with an overall worth around $200, so obviously it was a pretty good deal to me!

Now onwards to the surprise!

The Bag! Every year it is different. I was actually surprised since it was kind of small, but when I opened it I saw that each item was wrapped really nicely and packed inside. Each item was individually wrapped in these plastic bags for clothes and had wax paper inserted to protect the prints from any staining or discoloration. Definitely makes packing much more efficient too. Though because of its size I'm not sure if I'll reuse it. I could kind of use it as a purse of some sorts for school. 

First item! This was actually a guaranteed item for all lucky packs. This year I wanted to limit myself to just one lucky pack and when I was looking around of which one I should try I saw pictures of this and immediately went, "YUP, Listen Flavor it is!" Of course the price was also another factor, but THIS SHIRT. I just like cats. 

YES, more cats! I LOVE this one. This is sort of a long light sweater dress, perfect with leggings under it. It's pretty big and long that I only took a picture of half its length. It's super pink too. It reminds of something out of the 80s, which I like.

Picture of the print on the back. Just super cute! 

 This one reminds me of beer bottle designs, especially when it's in black and white. Light hoodies are always nice. 

There's always a dud item in every lucky pack and this one is it for mine. I'm not sure what the designers were thinking, but it reminds me of those cheesy souvenir shirts from Las Vegas. Unless that is what they intended it to be, but my thoughts are just OUCH. I don't even think I can maybe even sell it so it'll be either a shirt I'll keep to sleep in or just lounge around the house in. It's also SUPER HUGE. So yup this and yoga pants for my super lazy days!  

GhostBuster knockoff cat version!!! I dig any shirt with cats on it. 

                                               

View of the print on the back. Sorry for the slightly washed out look, but the color is just like how it looks in the picture above so it's a vibrant dark blue. 

Overall Verdict

I'm pretty happy with this lucky pack. It's very fun and casual even though it may fall into the fairykei genre depending on how you coord them and so on. I would definitely wear them even to school paired with knee highs and shorts. Now the size I got was an M and by looking at the tags and other clothes online they seem to only have sizes M, L or Free. The lucky pack did not give me an option for a size and just came in M, which was better for me. I'm usually a size M in clothes from Japan despite being an XS-S in the States (I have boobs for an asian), but Listen Flavor is intended to be worn loose on those between a S and M. But because they are very loose and much bigger than normal they can fit girls (and boys) from a variety of sizes. I would say all of the shirts/hoodies that I got except for the cat ghostbuster knockoff shirt can even fit girls who are considered an L in US sizes. The cat ghostbuster shirt would fit between those who are S and M, with S being a little loose and M just fitting right. I like my t-shirts a little loose so M was perfect. So overall when it comes to sizes, Listen Flavor is one of the rare ones that will fit girls (and boys) of all sizes since a majority of Japanese clothing sizes tend to only fit girls between an S and M. I definitely highly recommend it for those who are looking for cute styles that can fit a much larger range of sizes! 

Now I can only hope to save up for some of the My Melody and Twin Little Stars collaborations! Until next time! 

DreamV/Yumetenbo Summer Shoe Haul 2014

Hello everyone! This post is dedicated to my summer shoe haul from DreamV. You can look up my first review/haul from them here. I don't want to go into much detail about them as I think there's enough information about them floating online already. In a nutshell though I really love this place for their shoes especially since the shipping is by how much you spend rather than weight. Of course I've been looking for some new shoes, especially heels! Now onto the goodies!

 Pumps

My first pair of pumps from DreamV!  I got these in pink beige though in my picture they're almost a little washed out. The color looks better in person and is more like a cream white with pink undertones. Originally I wanted these to be worn with some lolita outfits, but they're very classy on their own too. Unfortunately while I did get the small (23) they're kind of loose on me. Interestingly if you look carefully at the pictures on the main website they also look a little loose on the models too. So they ended up being those heels that I have to wear socks or tights with them or they look kind of odd with just my bare feet in them. 

Sandals

Sandal platform heels! I got these in flower white. Just love these heels. They're super cute and perfect for both Spring and Summer weather. I've probably worn these the most so far. They fit most of my outfits and make me super tall too! I also love that they have these little cushions at the heel so they make it a little more comfy, but due to the height they do eventually hurt my feet after a while. I also got these in a small (23), but funny thing is that they fit me better than the pumps despite being the same size. 

The most comfortable heels out of the three so far. I love the color even though I actually don't have much to pair it with besides jean shorts and a white top, which is quite cute anyways as it showcases the shoes ;). The size I chose was a 23 and they fit me perfectly. 

Overall Verdict

I love the shoes and prices that DreamV offers. The only thing is that sizes are hit and miss, which is to be expected when buying anything online. Unfortunately these hit and misses include the fact that some shoes are bigger and some smaller despite claiming to be the same size in cm, which I usually find to be more accurate when purchasing shoes online. For example my first DreamV haul consisted of two pairs of boots, one in small and the other in a medium. When I looked at the measurements in cm they both were 23cm and they both fitted perfectly. This time though while they all said 23cm, they all fitted me very differently. Though what did help a lot with these heels were that they had straps for the ankles. The straps were really helpful for the second pair of shoes yet the ones on the third were useless or unnecessary since the rest of the shoes fit me just right. Overall though I still like them and the quality is amazing for what I paid if not worth more than what they were selling for. So in the end I'm still happy and would still be going back for more! 

Thanks for reading and until next time! 

DreamV/Yumetenbo/夢展望 Haul Review

Hey everyone! Can you believe that it's nearly the end of April already? Spring is almost or practically over for those of us in Southern California now. We've been getting high 80's and early 90's degree fahrenheit weather here! Despite the typical warm ups, I can't help but still shop for things that are for colder weather :P. Another thing I can't help is seeing or getting cute things on sale! 

So I'm sure a vast majority of girls into asian fashion have heard of the awesome Japanese website called DreamV. Well I'm one of the late-comers on discovering this awesome site that has a bunch of cute and girly clothing and shoes that are all reasonably priced. First I did some research after constantly reading about them from other blogs and finally decided to take the plunge in making an account with Rakuten to make an order. Second I had to browse through pages and pages and pick out what I wanted! Third I ordered and waited for my order which took exactly a week from the day I ordered to when it arrived on my doorsteps.

Now I'm sort of bargain hunter at certain times as in I browse through things to check what's on sale and compare it to other places and sites. So naturally I just picked out a bunch of things that were on sale, which was pretty neat since DreamV ships by how much you spend rather than by weight! So in the end I got 2 pairs of boots and 3 pairs of shorts! My whole total? Around $55 or 
5674 円. 

Shoes

I've always wanted some knee high boots and sadly never got to own a pair! Well finally I now do :). Honestly I picked these since they were only a whopping 500 円. Since they were on clearance they only had the green and navy colored ones left. I chose the navy since the green reminded me of something that belonged in the toilet (-_-;). 

These boots are really cute and honestly I can't wait to wear them when it's Fall/Winter again! Sometimes I just wish I simply lived in a colder place (Ｔ▽Ｔ). They pretty much look exactly like the pictures. One thing I'm surprised about is how light they were! That makes walking in them easier. The materials are a little strange though. It's like lined with fabric foam though I assume it's to keep them insulated for colder weather. 

Sizing for those who have purchased or stalked other DreamV hauls before will know that they're funky. I got these in a small after checking out the measurement table on the sale's page and they fit beautifully! I was a little worried since according to most other bloggers and comments that their shoe sizes tend to be a size smaller than usual. Luckily I didn't have a problem with these after hours of checking the table, measuring my feet, and measuring other shoes that I got from Asia. 

Alright these ones are my favorite out of the haul <3. First they're exactly the type of knee high boots I've been looking for and have always wanted for years. Second, just like the previous boots, they're really light, easy to walk in, fits me perfectly, and cute to boot! Sorry for that lame pun couldn't help myself heh (　´∀｀).

I got these in the dark brown color. I kind of wanted the camel color, but some reviews for it said it sometimes came out more orange than the pictures. These were only 1500円. For that price I'm extremely happy with them considering that the cheapest I've seen boots like these are around $30 on sale at my local mall. In fact I can't even find some for that price even on Taobao. Unlike the previous boots though I got these in a size medium. Once again I had to take the time to read their measurement table and compare it with what I had. I also used the models' measurements for help since I discovered I was the same size as they were and they were wearing the mediums. 

I was able to wear them out for a day and I love the look of them. The zipper though is a little more prominent than I would like them to be, but they blend in after awhile (or I just got used to them and forgot about it haha). They fit just right and they stay up, though I don't think I can wear them with jeans, but I think they look cuter with shorts or skirts. Unfortunately I have to be careful with what I pair them up with though since according to some of my friends or rather what here in the States tend to call or view knee high boots, Hooker Boots (*￣m￣). 

Clothes/Shorts!!!!

I accidentally bought two pairs of these shorts, same color same size. Luckily they were only 477円 each. This was another item that was on sale hence the cheap ass price too and they only had this one color left. Luckily I liked this color! I also sort of didn't care since all of the colors seemed really cute and flower patterns are in right now  (✿◠‿◠).

The material isn't too bad, same stuff for like any patterned or colored non-jean shorts or pants. I got them in a medium size and they fit perfectly! I find it funny that they jump in sizes for example, S is for those with a waist of 23 (double 00) and medium is a 25 (size 1). I fall in between 24-25 (0-1) depending on brand and style. Now I know that most other shoppers and bloggers recommended a size up anyways for the clothes here, but that's not the case for everything just like the shoes. I'll elaborate more on that in the next piece and my overall verdict! 

                                    

These were like my only item that wasn't on sale or clearance yet at 800円 it was still cheap. Now I got these in a small! At first I almost immediately went to click on the medium, until I decided to also do the same for them as I did for the shoes and look at the measurement table closely. What did I find? Completely different measurements than the other shorts I got! Now the small is a size 24 and a medium is a size 26. 

They also fit me perfectly and despite having the rose pattern in white, they're not see through. The material is extremely light, thin, and stretchy. Now most of you might think that is a bad thing, but actually I don't find it to be made cheaply or anything. I'll now explain in my overall verdict on why :). 

Overall Verdict

DreamV has a lot to choose from, so much that sometimes I got overwhelmed. It's easy to navigate and it's a bonus that they ship internationally! Couple things though or rather tips to remember when shopping through them based on my experience: 

* Make an account through Rakuten's Global site and then use that to sign in on the Japanese version. This is helpful if you want to check out using the Japanese version since I tried to use the Japanese version w/o signing in first and I had trouble trying to check out. The way the Japanese website's shipping address part is set up is for domestic addresses. I'm assuming for those who were able to shop using the Japanese website's cart is when they signed up first through the global website and then signed in on DreamV's afterwards. I'll have to test this out more myself though.

* Be careful and make sure to choose between checking out using the Japanese website or the global rakuten's version, don't use both! This was why I accidentally bought two pairs of shorts as it caused a double checkout etc.

* If you want to check out using the Global version then I suggest looking up what you want through the original site first. The global will track what you looked at previously, which will give you links to add those items to your Global/English cart. Reasons for this is because I noticed not everything shows up on the English page especially items on sale!

* Read the measurement tables! This is super important as I know most other bloggers just say to buy a size up. This is not the case for everything! Read those tables that they provide and know you're own measurements. It's a pain, but in the end I think you'll get more things that will fit and that's satisfying!

* Quality of the clothes are another you get what you pay for sort of thing. Some will be more overpriced than others. One thing to note that not a lot of people talk about or mention is that a majority of clothes from Asia are made for their own weather. The shorts that I got are made perfectly for the hot and humid weather that a majority of East Asia experience during the summer (believe me I lived through it before!). They're super breathable, don't stick to you, and dry fast. Of course there are things that are simply made cheaply and sold cheaply and I admit the zippers and buttons they use are pretty cheap. 

* Clothing care to keep those clothes lasting longer! A thing to note is that a majority of clothes from East Asia are hand wash only or hang dry only. Dryers don't really exist there except in more western areas or they're too expensive. Places are also too small to even have them so most of these clothes are built for a more delicate wash. So if you want to make them last longer I suggest hand washing some of it (/◕ヮ◕)/. 

I really liked my experience and haul. I would say though that it's a place to get shoes more than clothes for me. The shoes are more reasonably priced and since the shipping is based on how much you spend rather than weight makes it an even better reason to shop there for them!  Another awesome thing is that they are always and constantly coming out with new items! They also come out with tons of sales hee hee ^ω^. Have to admit that I'm guilty of always checking them up to see what's new and totally obsessed with buying more shoes! 

Thanks for reading and till next time!