Tokyo Kawaii Life order 16 - Liz Lisa Sleeveless lace top, Gingham heart cut out OP, Inner shorts, Juge Etta bow back blouse, Tralala quilted flower jacket

First TKL order in 2015! And it was really unintentional lol. I wasn't planning on buying any of these items, but since SALE, why not? [This is an admittedly bad ideology to have when you're supposed to be saving money.]

ノースリカットボウタイトップス (142-2005-0)
Liz Lisa Sleeveless tie front lace top

I was seriously wondering why this top wasn't sold out in any of the colors by the time it made it to the sale venue? It seems like it would coordinate well with a lot of other Liz Lisa items. I thought I was getting a pretty good deal on it, and it's an autumn item but not long sleeve so it was a pretty easy decision for me. I actually prefer a little bit of a sleeve (versus totally sleeveless) for this type of top, but for the price, I wasn't going to be too picky.

I didn't realize from the stock photos but this blouse actually has a bit going on. By which I mean there's quite a few more things going on than I thought. It's not a bad thing - just not something I picked up when I put it in my cart. The ruffle sleeves, collar and tie are a polka dot print lol. It's somewhat subtle but it's definitely there. Not sure why they made that choice. Also the buttons are functional and not fake lol. This is not just a pull over your head top. All the buttons can be completely undone and you can put it on like a vest if you like lol. Sometimes the bow on these kinds of tops is removable/you can pin it on. This one is solidly part of the design and connected to the same material around the collar area. It's also more of a light yellow than white. This is pretty common where Liz Lisa lists the colorway as "white" but the item is not bright white (which can be seen in the stock photos as well). Again, none of these things particularly bother me, but just thought it would be worth noting.
  with Liz Lisa brown shorts from my Happy Winter Tote that I have never worn lol and ankle boots

  with Liz Lisa floral sukapan and Flag J pumps (+ Ank Rouge purse)

  with Liz Lisa key motif skirt and knee high pom pom boots (+ Liz Lisa flower quilted purse)

I think I like it best with the key skirt. Initially, when I saw the color, I was a little worried about how yellow it was, but I don't think it's that bad now. Pairs well with other neutrals and actually matches the yellow in my floral sukapan print pretty well. I thought the busy-ness on top would too much to wear with a print, but from far away, it's not too bad. Simple and girly, can be dressed up or down - a pretty good basic top to have.

ギンガムワンピース (142-6040-0)
Liz Lisa Gingham heart cut out OP

I thought about buying this dress several times during the 57(ish?)% off sales but could never fully commit. I like the heart cut outs in the neckline, and I also like the red check. I have a skirt in the navy version of this fabric so I knew it would be kind of thick but also good quality.

(The white in the right heart in one of the photos is the price tag. I couldn't move it away enough, and I wasn't ready to chop it off yet lol.) Embroidery says "magical girl heartful". (I don't know why they felt the need to add these extra embroidery details on both this OP and the skirt when it's really hard to read on the print and therefore practically useless but whatever lol.) Just for reference, this dress does NOT fit on my mannequin. I was not even close to getting it over the shoulders. There is not enough stretch in the back where there is just minimal shirring. Additionally, the zipper is in the back (not the side) and short - it ends right before the shirring so there was no extra give. That being said, it fits quite nicely on me lol. Hugs my waist in a flattering way - not too tight or loose.
  with Liz Lisa red heart suede pumps

  + Liz Lisa bat wing knit

Lol my shoes are such a bright color, but I love it. All red and white for this look. A neutral shoe could also work easily with this dress, but I was like ehhh, that's a bit boring and I just got this fab red shoe, so I'm going to go for it wtf. Maybe a good dress for CNY coming up in February? I was worried that this dress would be too seasonal, but I don't it reads too heavily into Fall/Winter except that I keep picturing it as a Christmas dress. With a different shoe, it probably makes it more casual. It's well made and the material is good quality but I must admit that the heart cut outs are a little itchy on my skin. If I lived in a colder place, this would be great for layering with a long sleeve white shirt underneath!

バックリボントップス (341-1004-0)
Juge Etta Back ribbon top

I saw this top in pink on Lauren and thought it was super cute on her! She totally sold me on it. I saw it in the sale venue, and this was the last one in white/any color. I don't think I would have purchased it or even taken a second look at the listing if I hadn't seen Lauren wearing it! The back is seriously cute as well.

This top is a bit wider than I anticipated, but that just means it can fit a broader range of people (unlike the OP) which is good! Or maybe it's supposed to be a loose fit idek. #freesize. I usually fit clothes somewhat similarly to that stock photo model but it seems a bit bigger on me than her this time :|. Material is sheer but nice. Needs to be ironed for sure. There is a little bit of lining, but it's also sheer and doesn't extend to the bottom of the front (on purpose) lol. I do like the light/airiness of this top though. Stock photo model was wearing a white tube top under it which I saw but didn't connect the dots about so I thought it would be lined better. I like how it looks with/without a top underneath though and now it's more versatile because it's your choice.
  First thought was to bust out these unused shorts again lol wtf. But I didn't end up liking it too much. Also wearing it off the shoulder here unintentionally but it's definitely an option and I don't mind it.

  Then I remembered these (also unused and also from a happy bag) Liz Lisa floral pants and thought I could style it similarly to the stock photo. Also with Liz Lisa two-strap ribbon pumps and my new Kate Spade New York bag that I got at the outlet for a really decent price.

Turned out not bad I think lol. I was never sure what I'd ever pair these pants with but the top does reasonably nicely even though the base of the pants is a little more beige than white. It has a really casual, almost travel/resort feel I think? Idk if it's just me, but I feel like I've seen Japanese tourists here wear something similar to this lol. (Maybe it just happens in Hawaii in Waikiki. Or maybe I'm just projecting what I want to think haha.) I would have been happier if this top fit a little better on me, but other than that, I like it a lot. I snagged it for literally 16% of the retail price, and I've been meaning to slowly add more Juge Etta to my wardrobe during sales. 

フラワーキルティングブルゾン (632-2223-0)
Tralala quilted flower jacket

Added this to my cart just because of the price lol. I usually don't buy items without having an intended coordinate in mind but ...it was pretty cheap in comparison to the retail price. I also like the quilted design. The only color available was pink but I was okay with that. I was hoping to expand a little on my outers. I wasn't sure about the weight of the jacket, but for the price, was willing to risk it and just go for it.

Weight of the jacket is actually quite reasonable for the average person I think. It's not super lightweight, but not overly thick. I'm not sure how often I'll reach for it since it is a bit thicker than the coverups I usually wear (since the ones I wear are really quite thin), but I think it's a good option for throwing on casually over a white tank and shorts before heading out at night to run a quick errand maybe. It was a little more difficult to find something Liz Lisa to pair it with since a number of the things I have are a bit dressy or don't match color-wise. Here's my quick attempts -
  with Liz Lisa 2013 Royal Rose tote fukubukuro floral ruffle OP, tights and new pink heart suede pumps for a more "winter" look

  uhhh dunno about the shoes so changed them to ankle boots in neutral color

  ehhh still unsure so minus the tights, add lace-up back pumps which match a little better pink-wise

I had some troubles lol. The pink of the jacket and the pink in the dress actually match quite well. For the jacket being Tralala and the OP being Liz Lisa, I think that's not bad. Although the brands are related, the colors don't always translate exactly especially when it comes to something like pink so I think this is the best I could ask for. I think I will likely have to think more about what I want to wear this jacket with...Or just stop trying so hard to force Liz Lisa to only coordinate with Liz Lisa/sister brands. I guess I already knew this jacket would work casually with non-brand basics so I was trying to find what else it would work with but I'm forcing a dressy OP to go with a casual jacket and it's clashing hard lol.

無地インナーパンツ (130-5005-0)
Lisa Lisa Plain inner shorts

Added these to my cart for no good reason. I'm pretty sure these were from one of the 2013 lucky packs? Price was right and I don't have a lot of neutral color under shorts so I thought I might as well. I don't really feel like "safety shorts" are a absolute *must have* personally. They're something that generally taller people consider "good to have" because free size tends to be shorter on them, but if you're shorter or average height and trying to do himekaji on a budget, I personally wouldn't put any money towards things like this (especially more than one) that people never see on purpose. Just hold down your skirt when it's windy and sit nicely. (It's not like if you wear these shorts underneath, you won't do that anyway??? Like if a huge gust of wind comes and you're wearing shorts you're like omg no prob, and let your skirt fly up and hit you in the face exposing everything? Seriously? That's still embarrassing in my book. Or you're going to sit like a lumberjack because people will see the shorts version of underwear but not actually underwear? *rolls eyes*) It's not the equivalent of petticoats in lolita (which are a must have as far as I know) and generally bulkiness is not a plus in himekaji. I mean, own them if you want, by all means obviously, but to say that a wardrobe is not complete without them or that this is one of the pieces you should start with is very odd imo and not putting your resources aka money in the right place even if it's just $10 or so. /rant. Anyway, I digress. These were cheap and although they're not a must have for me, 1 pair wouldn't hurt my budget, and I figured I could also easily switch them to sleep shorts which I could wear all year round too.

They're not as pinky in real life as they seem in the stock photo. I prefer them to be a more eggshell color anyway tbh since they're supposed to be a neutral to go under neutral color clothing. About as sheer as a regular white slip. If you wore, say, red underwear under it, it would definitely still show through but if you wore a neutral color underwear, it'd blend. Actually wore them to sleep twice already and once under a dress just to see how they felt lol.

I wasn't sure how to shoot these into a "coordinate" without it looking like a peep show or something wtf. This is one of my shortest Liz Lisa dress OPs (not including rompers) and it still covers the shorts completely which is A+ in my book. Being 5'4", I wasn't aiming for them to show tbh since I consider these an undergarment akin to a slip. Quite happy with it. Works well for the intended purpose + as very casual sleepwear lol.


  For the total price of this order, I consider the money well spent. Some pieces are not extremely versatile or wow! statement-making, but I think I got a pretty good deal even with the shipping added. I look forward to exploring my options with a few of these a little bit more and expanding/challenging what I typically think of as "my style".
I decided to go with SAL for this order. Tenso sent it to be shipped on Jan 21, and I received it on Jan 24! Wtf is up with that?? It left Tokyo on Jan 23, arrived in Honolulu on Jan 23 (time difference that's why) and was somehow processed and then delivered to my house the very next day. It was even faster than an EMS package I had that shipped Jan 19 and arrived on the same day (Jan 24). And this is why I feel like I may as well pay $13-17 less for SAL lol. That was a bargain! Yeah, this was probably some sort of anomaly/outlier/fluke since most times SAL packages take around 7-9 days to get to my door, but still! I was pleased lol. The possible speed of EMS for 60% of the price? I'll take it!

As a small reminder (and I'm sure those of you who actually read my posts are tired of reading these blurbs, but I am constantly getting blamed for not warning people of this, so here I go again) - I am extremely uncomfortable with my personal photos being used for the profit of others especially without a simple source link. In general, I would prefer for my photos not to be reposted without my permission at all, but if you feel the extreme need to do so, I simply ask that you just include a simple link back to my original post. Regardless of whether I watermark every single photo, I do still own the copyright to these pictures and you finding them on Google Image does not mean I do not own them anymore?? (There has been some confusion on that front apparently. And to be clear, Google does even warn you when you click on a photo that the image may be subject to copyright, and Google does not sever the photos from their original pages, so it's easy to find their source if you choose.) I do not blog and post these photos so that others can sell their products that are not associated with me in the slightest. And the response I get when I just ask for my photos to be sourced really discourages me from sharing and continuing to blog. I mean this in the least aggressive way possible, but I'm not just going to throw 80 smiley emojis in this to "soften the tone" because I am serious, and I honestly feel like you should be able to read a paragraph like this without emoticons and not be offended by its message.