[Review] My very first Taobao dress

Hello everyone,

Today I have decided to post about my recent shopping experience. It was the very first time I have ever gotten a dress made by a chinese company via taobao.

There's only one reason why I did not do it earlier which is Portuguese customs. I tried (a very long time ago) to order a very small package, i think it was like 5 pairs of tights which came to the total of 30ish euros. Because of such a small amount and the issues customs posed it ended up with me sending papers twice and the items still not arriving to my home. I just gave up and never saw the things I paid for ever. That made me completely ignore everything taobao related and just admire the pieces from afar.

But, lately, I've been in a facebook group for a spanish community in which people just talk about new taobao based releases and one of my greatest friends, miss Christina, is a very active member of it. I then decided to ask her if she could add a dress to one of her orders and she said yes. So unfortunately I have nothing to say about the purchase process.

When the dress arrived it was folded and inside a transparent plastic bag, the sort that makes a lot of noise when touched. 

The first thing i noticed was the fabric. It was decent but since I'm used to the light chiffonesque fabric used by japanese brands, usually Moitié I must admit I was a bit disappointed... and then I remembered the price tag and it went away.

The other thing I notices was the store tag, it was simple and thin like the sort you'd get when you buy clothes in a regular chinese store here. Then I remembered it'll be detached from the item and it was ok.

After that seeing it layed down on the bed it looks fabulous. The dress is well made, the cut is perfect and the whole thing has two layers and therefore lining. 

Dress out of the package,

The actual print is very good, perfect and no issues with it at all. Might be a bit harsh for those who are not into macabre stuff though.

As you can see it is double layered because the part where the print is places is a bit see through.

Seams. The outside ones look perfect the inside do look like they need some work, loose threads etc. But it looks sturdy enough.

Back shirring, the shirring stretches a lot and looks sturdy, i am not a big fan of the ribbon type chosen but that can be replaced if one wants to.

lining on the bodice, it looks very well made. no issues there.

The store tags, the placement is good, the tag is easy to detach and keep. Of course the tag design isn't the most good looking and the paper tag is thin but that's ok, its all about the dress right?

Overall I am happy with my purchase. There are only 2 things that I am not as happy with which are:
- the thickness of the fabric -
Because it is very light and since i'm bulky and well plus sized when worn if i tie the back as I want to, the bodice does not stay straight like a thicker or corseted top would, it just lets you see every single bump and imperfection of one's body so I do not recommend it for plus sized girls who might have an issue with that.

- the durability -
I had an incident with this dress. I wore it for some shots which i'll share next and took it off fine. When i was pulling up the zipper to hang it, it got slightly stuck in the fabric which is rare but happens. I pulled it up more while holding the fabric which is the only thing one can do... it left not only a hole but also the color went from black to white meaning that the fabric quality is not the best, as we expected of course. So now my dress is ruined and needs mending. Not what I was wanting from a new piece regardless of who made it and the price tag.

Outfit info:

Half bonnet: triple fortune

Headbow: Moi-même-Moitié

Shirt: Mille Fleurs

Jsk: Taobao (Dark Box)

Socks: Primark

Shoes: C&A

Accessories: Claire's, taobao, Moi-même-Moitié

That's it for today, I hope you liked reading about my experience and that it was somehow helpful. I am not very good at writing reviews I suppose.

Love,

Jo