Liz Lisa Ribbon pumps - Peachberri's shopping service & Shoppies with Kuraeru's help

*photo heavy post*

結びリボンパンプス
Ribbon pumps -

I REALLY WANTED THESE SHOES. Like REALLY. (Dayre knows well.) I saw them in the in-store releases and loved them in every color. I knew I would have a hard time picking which color to prioritize purchasing.

I had actually seen this photo

from @lizlisashibuya109's instagram the night before the shoes were released on TKL and thought no way would that sale correspond online, especially for a new release shoe. I was wrong. Totally wrong.

I saw them listed on TKL for a little bit during one of the earlier secret sales but it wasn't released for sale yet (unable to buy them but the listing was there), and I impatiently waited for them the next several weeks to be in the new releases. I even woke up at midnight one Friday to check and nada. Ofc, the next week, while I was sleeping, they released and SOLD OUT. I wasn't awake to see it, but according to Berri, who was able to snag a pair in pink, they listed at 10% off (with only a limited number of stock) and probably went to the 3240yen (67% off sale) after most of the pairs had sold out. It's an odd business practice, but I think plausible. Anyway, when I woke up and saw them sold out in all colors at 3240yen, I felt really devastated lol. I would have much rather had shoes at that price than sleep haha. I had a feeling that they would probably restock but not at that extreme sale price ofc. 

HOWEVER, as soon as I had seen that IG photo advertising the shoe sale the night before the online release, I had rushed over to my PC and shot off an email to Nicole (peachberri on tumblr). We had chatted previously about her shopping service through Tumblr asks, so I was familiar with how to contact her, and generally what her fees would be like. But I still had a lot of unknowns: 1. If she was still currently running her ss after the holiday and her move, 2. If she would be able to make it to a store before the sale ended, 3. If the store she was going to would even be running the same sale as the Shibuya 109 location (all shoes for 3000yen+tax), 4. If the shoes would even be in stock in my size at the store. There were a lot of uncertainties, and I didn't want to be presumptuous about anything, but I crossed my fingers, and the next morning, I had received an email response from Nicole saying she would be willing to check out the Ikebukuro store on Sunday. I was quite pleased with this and hopeful.
An hour later that same morning, I finally logged on and looked at TKL to notice the shoes listed and sold out and I was like omgwtfbbq (see above) because, in my mind, I really missed out because I could have gotten the shoes myself at that price and eliminated a lot of the uncertainty. Anyway, now that TKL was out, all my hopes were invested with Nicole's ss. We exchanged a few emails and established a few stipulations prior to her visit to the Ikebukuro store. I mentioned that I only wanted the shoes for the sale price in my size (L) and wanted any/all color(s) available (if all three colors were available, I wanted all three. For that 3240yen price, why not since I liked them all? Lol).
A few days later, Nicole let me know that the shoes were on sale for the 3000yen + tax price, but she was only able to get the blue and navy color in my size. I was still pretty happy about this because the price was great.
Luckily for me, Claire, @kuraeru on Dayre, had found me yet another alternative to get the shoes - there was a someone on a Japanese mobile app called "Shoppies" who was selling the pink ribbon pumps new in my size for 5000yen! I wasn't able to make the purchase myself because I couldn't figure it out, but Claire generously offered to help me purchase them because she had used the app to make a purchase from that particular seller successfully before. I was able to pay for the shoes through points that I could purchase without having to have Claire fork over any of her own money so that ended up working out fantastically. The seller shipped the shoes to my Tenso address so I didn't have to worry about paying Claire back for that either and could take care of it myself.

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Now that that narrative about how I managed to purchase the shoes is over, onto the actual shoes!
I received the blue and navy pumps on Jan 24, and should have had the pink pumps on Jan 29, but I wasn't home to sign, so I didn't have them on hand until Jan 30.

I really like them in every color. When I first saw them back in mid December, I thought I would go for navy because I didn't get a navy shoe last spring and had seen people wearing them in coordinates and thought - hey! that works pretty well actually, so I was determined to get a pair myself at some point, especially since I already have a lot of pink shoes and had just recently purchased the heart suede pumps in pink (in addition to red). Then I saw these photos of the blue color on AKB48 (see all others besides navy featured in front, center) in a tweet from a Liz Lisa shop staff

and decided I was also quite interested in those because they seemed like a nice, neutral, almost silvery grey color, and I definitely didn't have a shoe in that color yet. (It was at this point that I also decided that this shoe was definitely meant to be worn with ankle socks.) Of course, I also just generally liked pink but I felt like I should give other colors a chance every once in awhile lol.
Meanwhile, I tried to collect as many pictures as I could find of Liz Lisa shop staff wearing the shoes with different coordinates to get a feel of how I would style them myself:

 

 

I cannot begin to explain to you how excited I was to try and style all three pairs of these shoes. I had about 17 outfits set on the side for this post lol (16/17 were Liz Lisa haha) with many that could work with more than one color of the shoes! I don't want to make this one too long though (it's already hella long, lbr), so I'm going to split some with the post about the matching bags which I also got in all the colors! Please check that one out for more info about the bags as well for more photos of coordinates for these shoes (with the bags). I gave myself a headache trying to figure out the best way to organize the photos for this post because I figured I could do all 17 coordinates in this one with only shoes and the same 17 coordinates but with the shoes and the bags (so different photos but same clothes + bag) in the bag post, but ahh idk. Lol. I'm still not sure.

Outfit 1a: Liz Lisa faux 2-piece OP with pink ribbon pumps (+ pink bag as backpack)

Outfit 1b: with blue ribbon pumps (+ blue bag as shoulder bag, + Liz Lisa beret) 

Outfit 1c: with navy ribbon pumps + puff short sleeve sailor denim jacket  (+ navy bag as handbag)

I think a white or neutral color dress can easily match with all these shoes. I knew I would want to show that with this dress in particular which I just love.

Outfit 2a: Liz Lisa floral set up with navy pumps ( + pink bag as shoulder bag,+ blue bag as backpack and handbag, + Liz Lisa lace peek cardigan, + off brand cardigan)

Outfit 2b: with pink ribbon pumps + off brand pink cardigan (+ navy bag as handbag and backpack)

Outfit 2c: with blue ribbon pumps (+ navy bag as shoulder bag, + off brand cardigan)

This navy floral set actually has the colors of all three pairs of shoes in the print! The navy is the most obvious but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the pink and blue also matched reasonably well considering this set up was from Summer 2012, and I believe it was a limited item at the HepFive location! One of my favorite things to do is pull a secondary or teriary color out of a print and accessorize/style based on that. It definitely came into play with a number of these coordinates.

Outfit 3: Liz Lisa flower embroidery detail OP with ribbon blue pumps (+ blue bag as handbag and backpack, + organdy puff short sleeve cardigan)

I also feel like a color layered on the same color works well for himekaji, since the style does emphasize matching more than stark contrast much of the time. I used to wear this dress with only white/neutral color shoes or even my dusty pink shoes but I quite like it with the blue ribbon pumps, especially with the white cover up and white socks!

Outfit 4a: Liz Lisa long sleeve tulle dot OP with pink ribbon pumps

Outfit 4b: + Liz Lisa floral overalls snaps OP (+ pink bag as shoulder bag, backpack and handbag)

 

This is one of my only long sleeve dresses (I received it as a gift so I don't have the heart to sell it even though it's not worn very often) and since this shoe is from winter, I thought I'd do a look that's a little more seasonal appropriate lol. You can't go wrong with pink and white :O

Outfit 5a: Liz Lisa Doll uniform set with navy ribbon pumps (+ pink bag as handbag, shoulder bag and backpack)

Outfit 5b: with pink ribbon pumps (+ pink bag as backpack, + navy bag as handbag)

I knew I would want to pair the pink and navy items (shoes and bags) with this set because it features both colors so prevalently. When I've worn this set in the past, I wasn't sure what shoes to pair it with but I quite like it with the navy and the pink is not bad as well. I would have preferred to pair this with a pair of OTK white socks (versus the ankle ones), but I couldn't find them orz.

Outfit 6a: Liz Lisa x My Melody 4th collab OP with blue ribbon pumps (+ pink bag as shoulder bag and handbag, + blue bag as shoulder bag)

 

Outfit 6b: with pink ribbon pumps (+ pink bag as handbag and backpack)

Another occasion where dress that can easily match with two colors of the shoes! I'm partial to the look with the pink pumps, but I surprisingly like it with the blue shoes a fair amount as well. The blues don't match exactly or really obviously, but I kind of like it that way since blue is so prominently featured in the print anyway and the shoes can act as a small accent.

Outfit 7a: Liz Lisa open back check OP with pink ribbon pumps (+ blue bag as shoulder bag and backpack)

Outfit 7b: with blue ribbon pumps (+ blue bag as backpack and handbag, + pink bag as handbag)

Who knew I had so many items that already had this light blue and pink in it?? The blue in the print on this dress is very subtle but in person you can definitely tell. I think with the addition of the pink cardigan, I like it best with the blue shoes and blue bag because the combo of baby pink/baby blue is not so expected but somehow works with the check.

Outfit 8a: Liz Lisa cambric puff sleeve cropped blouse & Liz Lisa lace flared skirt  with navy ribbon pumps (+ navy bag as backpack, shoulder bag and handbag, + pink bag as backpack and shoulder bag)

Outfit 8b: with pink ribbon pumps (+ pink bag as shoulder bag)

This set up with the navy shoes (Outfit 8a) is one of my favorite coordinates from this whole lot so there's a lot of pictures of it lol. I already liked the set up to begin with because I like white and navy together and there's something about this silhouette that I grew to love (thank you Liz Lisa, I would have never thought of it myself), but I just feel like the navy ribbon pump with the ankle socks give it a little oomph. Even though there's quite a lot of navy going on, I still really enjoy it for some reason lol.

Outfit 9a: Liz Lisa ribbon print romper with pink ribbon pumps (+ blue bag as handbag, shoulder bag and backpack, + off brand cardigan)

 

Outfit 9b: with blue ribbon pumps (+ pink bag as backpack and shoulder bag)

Wtf there was some lighting changes near the end here that I might have to re-edit. Lol, somehow got darker and darker or what? Anyway, lots of pictures of this one as well because these are also some of my favorite coordinates overall! I had no idea pink and blue paired together so well (or that they were even featured so much in the Liz Lisa items I purchased wtf). I think adding that pink cardigan is just pulling everything together, and it makes the outfit very overwhelmingly pastel which I'm going to interpret as a good thing lol. Especially love the coordinates with the bag as a backpack!

My plan to buy the shoe in a color other than pink got a bit screwed up when I purchased the matching 3-way bag in pink rather than navy or blue (before the shoes were released online) because I saw that it was selling out quickly on TKL. I was determined to get the shoe and bag in the same color, so I had to dedicate myself to buying the shoe in pink at least due to buying the pink bag. That plan kind of got thrown out the window somewhere around Jan 15th obviously, but I think it still worked out lol. And I have the bag in all three colors in the end anyway... orz. Click here to check out that post with 8 more coordinates with these shoes!

Overall, I'm so happy that I was able to get a pair of these shoes in each color.
[Also Berri and I were having trouble figuring out whether these shoes are considered late Winter 2014 or early Spring 2015. We feel like it should be part of the spring stock as the bag is, but then why was it part of the final winter sale and priced down like that? They were also released in store on 12/20 which makes it seem like winter but why not online until way later?]

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I was very pleased using Nicole's ss so I wanted to write a short review specifically about the service I received.

What you need to know regarding her ss (quote from Nicole in an email) - 

"All payments are made in $US dollars (the bank I currently use with PayPal is a US bank). Yen will be converted based on the current exchange rate.

Shopping service fees -

$20 for all purchases under ¥10,000 (including tax)
20% of the total item cost for all purchases over ¥10,000 (including tax)
$5 ATM fee. There are no transportation fees.
Customer pays all PayPal fees.

Shipping will be EMS only. Items cost will be paid for upfront, with fees and shipping calculated after purchase. In the case one or more of your items is unavailable for purchase you will be refunded. Any novelty items acquired due to your purchase will be sent with your purchase unless requested otherwise.

At this time, I am only doing shopping services for LIZ LISA. My main store is Ikebukuro, but I can sometimes check other locations.

Generally, due to the nature of my work, I can only go to Liz Lisa on Sundays or Mondays. Please keep this in mind if you contact me on a Tuesday and need something ASAP."

Contact information: email - nclberardi@gmail.com

   Communication: 5/5 - Nicole responded to all my emails requiring an answer within 24 hours which was great because I learned about the sale a bit last minute. Her manner was friendly but professional, and we didn't seem to have any communication issues.
  Price: 5/5 - Her rates are what I would consider reasonable for a personal shopping service, and she doesn't charge transportation fees. I didn't have to worry about PayPal fees because I had a balance in my PayPal account and sent the money via the "Friends or Family" option which doesn't have an extra cost associated. As someone in the US, it was easy to send the money in USD, and she asks for the money in the current conversion rate which is great for the USD right now. (PayPal actually gauges you about 3yen more in the rate when you convert.)
  Quality of service: 5/5 - I overwhelmingly appreciate Nicole checking not only one store location but THREE for me to look for the item I really wanted. She was also very accommodating to my specific requests.
  Shipping/Packaging: 4.5/5 - I knocked off half a point because she only ships via EMS, but EMS is the most reliable and fastest shipping option, so that's not actually bad besides the price you pay for it. I'm used to shipping with EMS, so I don't personally find it too limiting, but I know that it's a big consideration for others. Also should note that she used an EMS shipping envelope to send the shoes. This saves a lot on weight and therefore shipping cost, but the downside is that it isn't as protective as a box. For most Liz Lisa items, especially clothes, this doesn't matter much because they're not fragile. She was also kind enough to mark the package as a gift (although at my local customs office that doesn't make the package exempt from fees.)
  Recommend/Would use again?: Yes! I would be happy to use Nicole's ss again for a similar situation (can't get an item online) or maybe purchasing a few things to get an in-store novelty item. She was a pleasure to deal with and I really appreciate the effort she put into trying to get me all the items I wanted. I highly recommend her ss if you want a in-store items.

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Unfortunately, I can't really do a review on Shoppies because I wasn't really able to figure out to how to download it, much less use it. However, if you're interested to know a little more, here are the basic steps for Shoppies as Claire provided them to me: 

Step 1: Potential buyer sends an order request 

Step 2: Seller acknowledges and accepts the request 

Step 3: Buyer will make payment
Step 4: Seller will acknowledge receipt of payment and will probably send a message to the buyer about the shipping of the item
Step 5: Buyer will have to respond or make any requests here
Step 6: When the item had been mailed out, the seller will change the shipping notification on Shoppies to "shipped"
Step 7: After receiving the item, the buyer acknowledges that the item has been received and then proceed to leave a review for the seller

Again, I can't help much more than that because I didn't do anything but make the payment through a link that Claire sent me, but I feel like this might be a good secondhand shopping option for people who can understand this app! I'm sure it's meant just for buyers and sellers within Japan (as with the app's country restriction) but if the seller is willing to a forwarding service address, that's great for us international customers!

 

 

There isn't really a reason to review the individual seller on Shoppies, but here is how the shoes were shipped (to Tenso and then to me). No box (which saved me quite a bit on shipping I'm sure), but they were in plastic, then bubble wrapped with two free items and then all put together in a plastic shopper. You can tell they packed with care but also wanted to keep the cost relatively low. I was pleased with my experience overall, but that's mostly in part to Claire doing most of the work just out of the kindness of her heart lol. Thank you so much!

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This post was probably all kind of confusing because I didn't write this out in a linear manner, especially at the beginning, but this is how it happened in order (in HST) from beginning of this shoe saga to the end:
Dec 15 through Jan 15 - I see the shoes on Liz Lisa's official blog and want them A LOT. (They were released in stores on 12/20), *waits impatiently for them to be listed online, prepares to pay full price, thinks about color preference*
Jan 15 (Thursday) night - I see @lizlisashibuya109's IG post for the shoe sale that seemingly includes the shoes. Email Nicole to inquire about using her ss to purchase the shoes at that sale price.
Jan 16 (Friday) morning - Receive email back from Nicole to confirm that she will take me on as a customer but unsure about stock or sale at Ikebukuro location specifically. I look at TKL website to notice that shoes are sold out at 3240yen and cry on the inside. 
Jan 16 (Friday) night - Nicole confirms that she will visit Ikebukuro location on Sunday (Japan time/Saturday HST). I send her the deposit for 3 pairs of shoes at 3240yen each via PayPal which is the max she would need to purchase the shoes given the stipulations I put in place. She would fully refund the money if she was unsuccessful or a portion if she could only get one or two of the colors. @kuraeru on Dayre comments on my pity-party Dayre post about missing out on getting the shoes that she found a seller on mobile app "Shoppies" that is selling the shoes in pink in my size (L) new for 5000yen. I try to download the app but can't figure it out because it's for Japan. Claire offers to help me purchase it and have it shipped to my Tenso address. I thank her and keep that as an option while I wait for Nicole to check the stores first.
Jan 17 (Saturday) afternoon - (This is Sunday Japan time) I non-stop check my email waiting to hear back from Nicole about how the shopping trip went. Nicole replies that she was able to get the navy and blue in my size at the sale price from the Ikebukuro store. No pink. She offers to check the Harajuku store as well because she is going to an event in the area.
Jan 17 (Saturday) night - Nicole replies that the Harajuku is sold out of the shoe in pink in my size as well and offers to check the Machida 109 location when she travels there for dinner. Nicole replies that Machida 109 location is also sold out in pink. I quickly shoot off an email to Claire to beg for her help to get the pink pair via Shoppies.
Jan 18 (Sunday) morning - Nicole calculates and sends me the amount for her ss fee based on the two pairs of shoes she successfully purchased for me. I send her my address so she can calculate the shipping. Claire replies that she was able to successfully request the shoe purchase on Shoppies and it was accepted by the seller. I pay the for the shoes via Shoppies points through a link sent by Claire.
Jan 18 (Sunday) afternoon/night - Nicole calculates the price for EMS shipping. I pay the remainder of the balance in our transaction. Nicole replies that she has shipped out the package and provides a tracking number. 
Jan 19 (Monday) night - [Blue and navy shoes leave Tokyo!] Claire replies that the Shoppies seller has shipped the shoes within Japan to my Tenso address.
Jan 20 (Tuesday) night - [Blue and navy shoes arrive in Honolulu.] Tenso receives and processes the pink shoes (and 2 unexpected "lifestyle goods"), weighing in at 860yen. I apply for package consolidation with another package already at Tenso. 
Jan 21 (Wednesday) night - Tenso notifies me that the pink shoes are successfully consolidated with my other package at Tenso. I choose and pay for SAL small package shipping.
Jan 22 (Thursday) night - Tenso ships pink shoes/consolidated package.
Jan 24 (Saturday) afternoon - Blue and navy shoes are delivered to my house. (Idk what took so long since I usually receive EMS packages much faster.)
Jan 27 (Tuesday) night - [Pink shoes leave Japan.]
Jan 28 (Wednesday) afternoon - [Pink shoes arrive in Honolulu.]
Jan 29 (Thursday) afternoon - [Pink shoes attempted delivery.]
Jan 30 (Friday) afternoon - I pick up pink shoes package from the post office 

A bit of this was repetitive if you had already read the entire blog post, but I wanted to lay this all out mostly for my own benefit because the 3-day weekend when most of the transactions were happening was a bit like a whirlwind. Amongst all of this, my family was DIY renovating my grandmother's kitchen which was thankfully keeping me occupied most of the time. Tbh I put myself on a bit of an emotional roller coaster with these shoes lol wtf. They're just shoes, and I was being super over-dramatic, but I really wanted them! I'm really happy I was able to obtain all 3 pairs somehow even though I missed out buying from TKL. I am so thankful for Nicole's ss and Claire's generosity to help me get them.

I also decided to make a short video showcasing the shoes and bags -

This is essentially "part 1" which is just an introduction of sorts, I guess, featuring only Outfit 1 (a,b,c) to highlight the different shoes and bags (while putting less emphasis on the clothes). I have now also published "part 2" which shows more of the coordinates!

Please click here to check out the second part to this post with information about the bags and more coordinates!

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.