Category: dresses

dresses, review

High-end vs. Low-end fashion

christinahopgood
Recently I had to do an assignment for CIT where I compared two similar garments from a low end and a high end brand.  It so happened that I had two *very* similar dresses, one from Modcloth and one from Review.  I know, I’m predictable.  I almost bought another similar one recently!  Stopped myself just in time.

1. Fireside Glow dress from Modcloth.  Stock photo
Worn.


2. Dress from Review, stock photo.
 
Worn – sorry with a cardigan.

The point of the assignment was to look at construction and fabric of each dress.  Here’s my results.

Modcloth Fireside Glow dress
Price: $49
Fabric: 96% polyester, 4% spandex
Made in: USA
Seams: Overlocked together, 4 sts per cm.
Hems: Folded over 1cm twice
Waist finishes: Bodice joined directly to skirt, pleats at top of skirt to add fullness.
Interfacing: Fusible web interfacing on collar only
Zip: 50cm invisible zip
Lining: No.
Details: Contrasting collar
Comments: Sleeve holes way too big, the whole thing is a bit floppy.

Review dress
Price: $182 (down from 259)
Fabric: Outer: 100% polyester.  Lining: 97% polyester, 3% elastine
Made in: China
Seams: Overlocked raw edges separately, pressed open.  5 sts per cm.
Hems: Enclosed in lining at sleeve, enclosed in contrast fabric at hem.
Waist finishes: Bodice joined directly to skirt
Interfacing: None.
Zip: 60cm invisible zip
Lining: Yes fully lined
Details: Contrasting collar, contrasting bottom band, side belt loops and detachable belt.  Button closure at collar.
Comments: The fabric snags and pulls easily.  Print is an Australian flora design.

So what is my extra $133 paying for in the Review dress?
– one more stitch per cm.
– a tiny belt
– lining
– contrasting fabric at border
– print
– button closure

But I’m still not getting a dress made from natural fibres (or at least a blend), made in Australia, which is what I’d expect from a “high end” Australian brand that charges that much.  I don’t expect that the dressmakers in China are being paid much more than minimum wage, which depending on which province it’s made in, can be very little indeed. Review dresses do generally have a lot of beautiful details (this dress is very plain compared to their other dresses), and probably have a much smaller run than the Modcloth dress.  So perhaps this exclusivity is part of why it costs more.

I’m not making a judgement – I love both of my dresses and I’d have bought them whether or not I knew this stuff at the time.  But it’s worth thinking about in future when buying clothes.  

What do you think?  Are you surprised at the comparison between these dresses?
dress, dresses, OOTD, outfit

A couple of outfits from this weekend

christinahopgood
So you know how I wrote about wanting to make my own Luck be a Lady Dress using my own dress as a pattern? I started unpicking and immediately got way too scared and stopped.  And then I saw the green and purple ones come back into stock on Modcloth, so…
Luck Be A Lady Dress
Cardigan: Can’t remember, Valleygirl maybe?  1000 years old.
Shoes: Big W

 Luck Be A Lady Dress in Violet
Cardigan also from Modcloth but not on the site anymore
Tights for Every Occasion in Mustard

I’m pretty much entirely dressed by Modcloth these days.  It seems like they’re the only dresses I really love and wear all the time, I guess because I agonised over them on the website for weeks before purchasing anything. My dresses that I bought in shops are often really cute in the shop, but then when they’re home I think “Huh. Why did I buy this?”

In this weekend’s Canberra Times, my lovely green Luck Be A Lady dress was in the fashion segment!  I was like “What I’ve only had this dress for ONE DAY and already everyone knows where I got it.” But I love my two new dresses, they fit perfectly and because they’re solids I can wear more interesting accessories with them!

dress, dresses, melche shutilforc, victorian maiden, wishlist

Dresses for the Summer

christinahopgood
Since I’m going to America in their Summer (my Winter), I’ll need some nice cool dresses to wear!  And all the great brands are coming out with new dresses for Summer in Japan!  Here are my two favourite that I’m considering buying:
First is another Melche Shutilforc beauty.  It comes in two colourways, this gorgeous brown X pink, and a cream top X light blue floral skirt.  This was only released today I think!
It also has a detachable halter neck with frills.  Cute!  I also really like the underskirt peeking out.
Which colour would be best on a paleface like me?
And this lovely Victorian Maiden summer dress.  It comes in three colourways: this one (cream and purple flowers), cream and yellow flowers, and black and white gingham.  I think I’d go for the cream and yellow colour.  This is still on reserve, due to come out in May.
I’m not usually a fan of fully shirred items, but this is done very well.  It’s nice and understated.  I like the ruffled neckline.  It looks so cool!  Able to be worn without a blouse for maximum air flow!
One thing these dresses have in common is that they’re quite casual.  I could wear these to the shops, or to a cocktail party, depending on my shoes and how I wear my hair.  I like clothes like that!
To be able to wear them in America for what I’m doing, it’s important to be able to breathe and move easily.  A lot of dresses I’ve bought (thankfully not the expensive ones!) are really pretty but constrict my giant rib cage* and so never get worn.  It’s kind of a shame!  I would like to fix them but don’t want to fail and ruin a lovely dress.  The Melche Shutilforc dress looks a little constricting but the VM one looks amazingly comfy.
I added these two dresses to my Wishlist, because in all honesty, I wish I had them.
classic lolita, dresses, feedback, mary magdalene, melche shutilforc, qutieland, victorian maiden, wishlist

Wishlist

christinahopgood
Everyone seems to have a wishlist on their blog.   I love looking at them, and well, I do have a few wishes myself.  My wishlist is quickly diminishing because the style I like is becoming more and more focussed.  I used to want all the pretty things – now I just like a few things that suit my style.  Let’s get this show on the road!
Click on the pictures to go to the websites!
The number one thing that I want, the thing I’m pining for daily, is this cream coloured jacket from Mary Magdalene.
Sometimes I check their website to see if they’ve re-released it, but never!  They so rarely release anything.  It never comes up on the sales community either.  I guess I could post a Want To Buy!  VM did a similar jacket but it’s just not good enough!!
Next is a dress I tried on when I went to the Victorian Maiden Press Room in 2010, the Dorothy Doll Dress.
I like this burgundy colour.  It has little frill sleeves and a collar part with detachable bow.  The ruffles are full and glorious.  Looks lovely with or without a blouse underneath.
This dress is also sold out.  I have high hopes of them doing a re-release sometime in the future, because this was originally a Beth dress back in like 2008.
Next – a replica of a Victorian Maiden dress by Surface Spell – available through Qutieland.  The reason why I haven’t bought this one is that I don’t know what colour would suit me.  It’s available in heaps of colours!
I like the silhouette of this – it’s not too puffy and you could wear it for a vintage look.
This coat from Melche Shutilforc – a brand that I discovered for the first time a few weeks ago.  I really like all of their stuff, but this coat looks really nice and warm.
It’s got lovely embroidery and a detachable fluffy collar.  And pockets!  I need pockets.
Also really like this skirt from Melche Shutilforc.  I really like that brand now!
It’s really pretty and tasteful, falls nicely and isn’t too fussy.  
That’s all actually.  No other wants!  I expect this post will be added to periodically.
If anyone has any of these things they’d like to sell me, my feedback is here!

brisbane, dresses, percussion, valentino

Brisbane!

christinahopgood

On the weekend, Charles and I flew to Brisbane to go to the Australian Percussion Gathering at the Queensland Conservatorium! We had a great time!

We arrived on Friday afternoon and went straight to a lecture by Sylvio Gualda. Famous guy! He was talking about Iannis Xenakis, who was apparently his personal friend.
We went to about 5 concerts in three days! My favourite performer was Kuniko Kato, who is rad and nice.
On Friday after all the concerts, Charles and myself and most of the Canberra percussion people went out to a tapas restaurant for dessert and drinks. It was super fun! There’s a picture of us there on Charles’ Blog. After that, Charles and I took a taxi to his grandmother’s house, where we stayed for the two nights. She was super lovely to accomodate us!
Saturday was a bit more relaxed! We stayed at home for the morning and had morning tea in the backyard with Charles’ grandmother and auntie. Then his auntie took us in to the city and we had a lovely walk along the river! It’s so nice!
Saturday night was not so awesome. There was a great concert which was rad, but we had not eaten dinner, and it finished at 10pm. LAME. We were super hungry, and our teacher had promised to take us all out for dinner. He took us to the first place he saw, which was this really really noisy gross nightclub. What. We didn’t even order anything, our menus were taken away. Charles and I went down the road to a cafe and had a lovely QUIET dinner together. We went back to the nightclub to try to be sociable, but it was srsly gross.
On Sunday we did the best thing ever – went to see the Valentino Retrospective at the Brisbane Gallery! There were 2 big halls full of beautiful Valentino dresses. I loved it so much!!
Then there was a big gong concert outside near the con. It was ok, a little bit arty and lame. We had to go to the airport halfway through. And then we flew home!
What a nice weekend! I’d like to go to Brisbane more often.