"Artka" TaoBao Shop!

Yesterday night I was helping my boyfriend browse for a cheap suit and tie on Taobao.com. And during my browsing, I discovered a really, REALLY cool shop! It's called "Artka" and they have a pretty nice selection of dresses and sweaters. My favorites are mostly the dresses....they have skirts and tops too but really, the dresses are what caught my eye! Here are some of the ones I love the most below.

Tell me which is/are your favorite/s!! :)





I think I might order this lovely red dress. It's the dress that drew my attention to Artka's shop in the first place. :) It reminds me a little of classic lolita and sweet lolita but without too much over-the-top-ness. :D


This blue dress is to die for. Seriously. I love it so much! It definitely reminds me a little of traditional Chinese garb and yet somehow it's also kind of European...like "Gypsy" almost maybe? It comes in white too but blue is my favorite by far!



I am so tempted to buy this dress too. I LOVE sleeves...so unique! And the print with the flowers reminds me of a watercolor painting. :D Here is another shot of it.


Another one on my wishlist for sure...it reminds me a lot of Juliette et Justine or even Millenoirs...both classic/gothic lolita brands. :D I am debating whether to order it or not. My BF said he didn't like the black lace on it. But I adore it. *__*; Apparently this is from their "lolita" collection.


Another one I am positively in love with! It's so lovely...also kind of reminds me of Millenoirs brand. <3 More of a turquoise blue but I still love it! A lot of these remind me of paintings too and I think they were inspired by paintings because if you go to a dress product page it has all sorts of artwork on the top.


A blouse version of one of the blue dress above.


Reminds me a lot of mori girl style! I really want this one but I already own a lot of these colors!! >_<;;


Another one that looks sorta mori/dolly kei.


GORGEOUS black dress! Soooooo much love! <3


Red dress with black accents...reminds me of ethnic garb as well.


I love the belts on this one...I think it might be a little hard for me to pull off though for daily wear.... LOL!


A simple grey and white dress. Reminds me of Juliette et Justine.


I don't think I'd buy this one myself but it's really lovely and worth mentioning. I could see it being used in a really awesome dolly kei coordinate! :D


AWESOME BOOTS. 'nuff said! I REALLY want these but the biggest size they come in is EU39 which is like a US8 ish. I am about a US9 or a EU40/41. =___=;; I think I am going to see if I can get someone who speaks Chinese to ask if they can make them custom for me one size larger. :D These really remind me of Amir's clothing from Bride's Story...I mentioned it a few posts back. It's a manga about a girl living on the Silk Road in the early 1900s! These remind me of her boots. :D Even this model is wearing very similar style boots! I want those too! xD


I really adore this sweater. It's so simple and mori looking and yet has a unique design to it! :)

They have skirts too. Some are long and floaty and some are just...denim!


I really like how they have some basic and casual items which look outdoorsie/mori-like, and then they have CRAZY extravagent looking items...some of which look like they were inspired by Rococo paintings!



The prices seem to range like $40 - $70 US. That's kind of expensive for TaoBao, IMHO, but still cheaper than dresses at, say, Grimoire, or Anthropologie! :) I definitely plan to make an order. I will make another post once I receive my goods with a review of their shop! :)

Oh and unrelated to Artka but my BF found a really cool belt on Taobao that comes in many different colors. He said it reminded him of the Artka stuff. xD How cool!



So tell me what you think, everyone!! Do you like these dresses? Any favorites? I will definitely post pics of whatever I end up getting. I can't get too many because they're not very cheap...so I imagine I will have a very difficult time deciding. >_<;;;

DOLLS!

Innocent World Pullip "Tiphona"...my first ever Pullip doll who I named Evangeline. :)

I'm sure some of you bloggers out there--lolita, gyaru, dolly kei, mori girl, visual kei--or just anyone really, has a penchant for cute things...like DOLLS! :D

I've always wanted a Volks BJD but alas...sooo expensive. ;___; I remember when I lived in Sapporo...I'd walk to the Volks shop to browse the cheaper Obitsu doll bodies and accessories and walk past the amazingly gorgeous, life-like ball jointed dolls and swoon. But $500+ for a doll? No matter how lovely they looked to me, I just could not bring myself to purchase one. I wanted to spend my $ on lolita because I always felt that a doll would just sit on my shelf ...I'm not really into photography (as you might have guessed from my crappy self-pics on this blog!) so I wouldn't even really take that many photos of it...although the doll...he or she...! would be a great photo subject. :3 hehe.

If I ever do get a BJD it will probably be from this site:
Doll in Mind
I love their dolls! :D

Tell me, readers...do you have any dolls? If so, what kinds? What are their names? How do you like to play with them (or not)? Or do you find dolls creepy? I think they're really lovely and I don't see how anyone could find them creepy but it's OK if you do!! :P Also I think lolita x dolls is such a good idea...I feel like they go hand in hand but that's just me. I am not one of those people who thinks all dolls have a soul or whatever, haha, but I won't judge you if you do!

Click below to see my Pullip Wishlist, and the sweet little girl I just ordered! :3



Here is a picture of me and my Pullip Tiphona who I named Evangeline (elegant name!) together in the forest:



So cute! I love how she is wearing the same dress as me (Pompadour by Innocent World!) It's my dream dress by that brand and as soon as I saw a Pullip Doll wearing it, I just had to get the doll to match with me. I got the wig for that matching coordinate too. I am crazy, I know, haha, but at least it was cheap on eBay!

Here are some Pullips on my wishlist. I love Pullips because they're cute without looking too creepy. They look devious/whimsical almost and I love how you can customize their bodies, clothing, hair, and change the eyes positioning. :D They're also wayyy cheaper than a full BJD with clothing, shoes, and face-up. And I am way less paranoid about breaking one because they're not $500 each. @___@;;

Anyway!


Pullip Porte Henri. She is so lovely. I can't get over how pretty her face and outfit are. :3


Pullip Dita. A cute lolita-esque looking Pullip. It looks like she's wearing a perfect Country Lolita type of outfit. :3 So sweet!!



Pullip Cinciallegra. She is sooooo sweet (especially her face-up) and the wig and dress really complete the look. Reminds me of mori girl a bit mixed with Cinderella (before she gets her fancy princess dress, of course!) Also reminds me of dolly kei or something you'd find on a shelf at the Grimoire shop in Japan. ;3


Pullip Clarity....the only Pullip on here who doesn't look like a lolita. xD I love her so much though and I almost bought her today but I got Romantic Alice instead. I think I will need to get her soon because she is so classy and elegant, like a retro starlet. Kind of vintage but so sweet looking. Reminds me of Audrey Hepburn somehow despite the hair color being different. :3


Pullip Nella. She is a collaboration with Alice and the Pirates. I want to preorder her! She won't be in till December though. :( She comes with many cute accessories, I love her face-up, and I especially love the braids in her hair!! So lovely and sweet despite her gothic outfit. :) There's a matching boy Pullip to go with her too.

And second to last.....


J-Doll Loosterweg Noord. J-Dolls aren't Pullips, but I wanted to include her because she took my breath away! I am hesitant to pay her cost because I am not sure about J-Dolls...does anyone own one? How are they? Good quality? She would look so lovely next to my Tiphona, for sure. :3 *swoon!* I think J-Dolls are supposed to be wearing clothing inspired by around the world trends. :3 And they are named after streets.


And finally.....


......Romantic Alice! I just bought her today. I cannot wait to get her in the mail. She is so sweet and will be a good friend to my Pullip Tiphona aka Eva. :)
I want to give my new doll a name! Any suggestions? Or should I just be uncreative and stick with "Alice"? It's hard to rename a doll with a character name already! :3 Especially when she looks just like Alice!! :D

Maybe I should have a naming contest? If I like your name, you win a prize! Haha! I dunno! :)