(Sorry, for the lack of proper tags, I've been fighting with live journal all day to try and let me place tags in the tag selector. >_<;)
A little background on me, skip if you wish. I own multiple dresses/blouses/skirts from various sources from vintage to custom made to indie brands (Infanta, Rose Melody, Bodyline, Anna House, etc) to brand (Alice and the Pirates, Metamorphosis). I cannot sew for the life of me, so my knowledge of the process is limited to sewing on buttons, fixing seams, etc.
On to the review!
Warning: All photos have a slight yellow tint due to the lighting in my house. I will try to grab a more natural light photo to compare to!
Communication: 4.7/5
After debating to go with DOL or Oo jia to get one of my dream skirts in my size since I'm just a tad over the max size ;_;, I decided to go with OoJia since I saw the photos of her test dress/skirt on her facebook group and compared them to DOL's. Shall we say, it looked better. XD I emailed her about my skirt on August 25th and paid the invoice on the August 26th. She wanted to make it the original size of the skirt but I told her that it just need to be a tad bigger. She was friendly in communication and very sweet. She'll customize your dress/skirt to your heart's content!
[Said photo, THIS is what it truly looks like without my silly lighting)
On September 1st, Oo jia placed a photo of my skirt set to her facebook group. And on September my skirt arrived! I however was unable to go home until the 7th of October due to school. I did not receive my shipping code for some reason from her but, if you ask her for your code via facebook message or email, she will happily respond as long as you provide your paypal address and date you paid.
On to what you really want, the skirt!
I adore it, I truly do.
Quality/Construction:
Skirt: 5/5
[Overall! Excuse the rug]
[Front:]
[Back!]
To rate it to my other dresses/skirts. It's a thick texturized fabric much like brand, but not on the same level. It's just a tad smoother than brand.
The print it's self, I can find no flaws and it is not blurry. The only difference between the two (I do not own the true Vampire Requiem) is that this is not as deep a wine color as the original, it is more of a cherry red, which I liked about it. It is hard for me to tell though. Excuse the wrinkles, trust me they look like the print from what I can tell!
[Top lace]
[Bottom of skirt lace]
The lace quality rivals brand in feel, and is gorgeous. It has little roses on it. :D It however does not look like the original.
The ribbon to lace up is thick and texturious (not sure if word LOL) as well, not cheap at all! It rivals brand in quality.
The sewing on the inside is top notice, strong and without flaws as far as I can tell and I looked everywhere. No loose threads or torn insides.
The inside has a thin smooth black liner that also rivals brand, it's very comfortable.
Bag: 4.5/5
When I ordered from Oo jia, she was running a special where you got a free tote bag!
There is a small flaw on inside of my bag which is a slight tear in the fabric on the inside of the bag after the seam, but other than that it's lovely. I wouldn't recommend carrying something super heavy in it, but I will have to test it out in the field to see how it stands up to every day abuse.
Headbow: 4/5
The bow it's self has some of that lovely lace and is made of the same fabric as the skirt however, it is just on a cheap head-digging headband. I would recommend lolitas who plan on using her headbows to attach a hair pin to it or just slide it on a new headband.
Exactness to Original: 2.5/5
The skirt is very different to the original skirt and lace' design. To call it a Vampire Requiem skirt from AATP would be a long shot. It is not that lovely wine color but a cherry red (personally which I like). The quality of the material is similar to brand. If you are looking for an exact replica with the exact lace, this is not your skirt. I personally like the differences from the original but that is just me.
Fit: 5/5
I sadly do not have a good worn picture currently, so I will update it as soon as I can throw a co-ord together. It fits like a dream, I gave Oo jia my exact measurements even though I have heard she can be off at times. And since it stretches, I can have it at a more relaxed fit with a heavy blouse or a tighter fit with a thinner one. And the plastic boning doesn't poke me! I hope to order from her again, I have my eye on the blue version of the long jumperkirt!
Price: 5/5
For a custom made skirt with a bunch of free stuff, it was worth the 75 USD, not including paypal fees. I adore it and cannot wait to wear it out!
Her prices for a jumperskirt is 100 USD and 110 USD for a one piece. There is a 10 USD fee if you are over a 110 cm bust or a 90 cm waist.
You can order from Oo jia via her facebook page or her store. She offers more things than mere replicas such as blouses, skirts, one pieces, jumperskirts, etc.
TDLR: Skirt feels like near brand/brand in quality, does not look like original with differences in lace, and color. However the print looks like the original based on what I can see and is not blurry.
I cannot compare it to the DOL replica or the original for I have not seen either one in real life. Hopefully someday I can! Thank you for reading my first review :D !