This dress seems to be pretty popular on Taobao and on Tumblr. I can see why, it's a very original print and I'm completely in love with it. Which is why a friend and I bought the short red and peacock blue JSKs respectively. I figured I should sit down and do a review because Krad Lanrete is a smaller lolita taobao store and they are also fairly new. I may be wrong but I think the Moazarbic Chant set is their first big release. It's especially striking because they offered three different colorways, a choice between skirt/JSK/long JSK, and a large number of sizes. Here is a link to the item at their store.
I will say before I get started on the review with all of the photos that I've not owned an offbrand dress until I purchased this one. So I might not be great at comparing the JSK to other taobao brands but I can compare it to Japanese lolita brands. If anyone who knows more about taobao brands wants to comment please do so!
I ordered from TaobaoSpree.
They always do an excellent job and this is the second time I've ordered from them directly and the 4th time I've ever ordered from them including GOs. They always package my items very carefully and send pictures before mailing anything to make sure everything is alright. I believe their attention to detail is worth their service fee. The shopping service gets a 5/5
Now we have my JSK! This was taken outside so you can see the true color of the item. The color is very rich and vibrant.
Here is a closer look at the print. Not the best angle but I was trying to keep my dress off the ground. I feel that the dress is exactly like the one shown on the Krad Lanrete Taobao shop. The dress isn't merely screen printed (apart from the gold brand name embossed on the bottom), it's actually woven into the fabric.
The lace is lovely; very good quality. You can also see the stitching is straight.
The edges of the metalic print of the brand name are crisp.
I didn't go into as much detail photographing the red dress because it isn't mine. This is a good look at the waist tie though.
The two side by side.
It might not be apparent but the lining on the dresses is different. The red dress has a more ribbed lining and mine was shiny and flat.
This is true to the style but not the color as it is taken inside. The right side looks a little wonky because my dress form is too fat for my dress (thankfully I am not!)
This was one of the most impressive details. They went out of their way to print match across the seams. As you can see, I snapped a quick photo of my Chess Chocolate dress from AP and you can see how fail most brands are at matching prints.
My opinions on the dress:
This dress is a 5/5 in every way possible. The construction was excellent, the colors of the fabric are bright and vivid, the seams are all straight, and the lace is fabulous. It was more than worth my money. The fabric is 25% wool and 75% polyester. I think this must be some magical, mystical blend because when the items came to me, they had NO WRINKLES from being boxed up for weeks. The fabric is heavy and feels good to the touch without being rough or thick. It feels organic, like a smooth silk, even though most of the dress is polyester.
They were also very EXACT with their measurements. I ordered the small because the sizing was 1cm over on my bust and waist and it fits like a glove without my having to squeeze into the dress. The zipper isn't amazing but does it's job. It sometimes catches near the waistband but I've found this is the case on most of my lolita dresses.
Let's compare to brand!
So I also received a dress from BTSSB this week. I had purchased the Snow Queen OP in sax and it finally arrived! I'm more excited about this dress from Krad Lanrete (KL) than I was with my Baby dress. Frankly, the quality on the one from taobao feels better to me.
KL: fully lined their dress, BTSSB: only lined the skirt
KL: Fabric feels good to the touch, BTSSB: fabric is a bit heavy with a thick weave, not so fun to touch
KL/BTSSB: A few stray threads on the dress when it arrived
KL/BTSSB: Print matches across seams
KL/BTSSB: Both don't create their own lace like AP, they do purchase nice cloth lace though
KL/BTSSB: Both zippers catch a little around the waist seam, the BTSSB zipper is slightly superior
KL: $135 for the dress shipped, BTSS: like ~$400 for the dress shipped
Hell yes I'd rather pay 1/4 of brand cost to get a dress with nice fabric which is fully lined!
← Ctrl ← Alt
Ctrl → Alt →
← Ctrl ← Alt
Ctrl → Alt →