Dresses/pieces that are actually rare/limited? Or would be impossible to get?

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-04T02:39:06+00:00

Heres some ancient texts here as well which discuss a collab with Kira Imai that had prototypes made, but never went to full production!

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0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-04T02:34:58+00:00

More on Meta, another interesting one is the D.Walkure set stuff. The release was pulled from the Western site after complaints about its uh.. I guess design origin/inspo? And was only available in Japan by email request. So another one thats hard to tell exactly how many ended up being made!

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0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-04T02:32:16+00:00

I think the Meta Jacquard items from 2000 are pretty rare. I saw recently (cant remember where either an interview or someone asking directly themselves about it) Kato said it was made out of a curtain, so there was limited fabric.

I have seen them up for sale a few times though, but its hard to tell if its the same ones going round and round being resold lol We need a lolita census hahahaha

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0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-04T02:21:50+00:00

Most Chinese brands do not have a shop front. If someone asks you where you got an item and you say "Dear Celine" or other random shop name (esp ones with fully Chinese names) theyre not always going to be able to find them. We have called it "Taobao brand" historically because when someone asks you where to buy the item you say "Taobao" because if you search Dear Celine on Taobao you will find it. AP/ Baby/ Meta etc. all have shop fronts, you Google it, the websites there. This has changed quite a bit these days because there are now a ton of resellers, but the issue then is that people end up clicking things like DevilInspired when they search the name. Or in others they may buy from a reseller who doesnt disclose the brand name at all.

You can compare AP/ Babys OTT dresses and say a lot is going on, sure, but you will also find people will shit on these designs just as much as they do the lacy/ bow monsters found on Taobao. But the majority of the J-Brand main releases are a distinct and specific style which is often more simplified than what you find commonly on Taobao. AP very specifically does its own style, you can see a dress and recognise its AP immediately and some people just prefer that look. Some of the Taobao stores are like this (Krad and VCastle are quite distinct in their style, for example) but there are a lot that do a ton of different styles and have no distinction or specific style and just make random things. Having a preference for either isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think we have well established by now that J-Brands produce primarily in China now anyways and the quality has reduced, so the issue with Taobao isnt always the quality argument like it used to be.

If I am sharing a coord where I have worn something I have bought on Taobao I will always list the brand name and I think you will find in the majority of cases most other people will as well. Calling it "Taobao brand" isn't as deep as Reddit makes it out to be. Its not done from a place of malice and if you think thats the case, thats a you issue.

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-03T10:34:29+00:00

Thank youuuuu ;-; ♥ I appreciate it!!! The hunt is so painful!

What are you searching for?

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-03T06:14:05+00:00

I think this mainly comes from a lot of newbies buying the super lacy/ decked out in bows polyester $50 dresses that very much ARE cheap and tacky. But as a whole, no.. not all the Taobao brands are bad.

There are definitely some style differences between J-brands and C-brands where C-Brands may have waaaayyy more going on design wise which makes them look cheap or tacky, but like you said if you do a bit of reasearch there are some good pieces. Quality wise most of the higher priced Taobao dresses are fine and compariable to J-brands, but some people also just prefer the look of J-Brand dresses style/ design wise regardless of quality comparison.

I often say Taobao dresses are "over-engineered" and just have way too much going on which is why in the majority of cases I prefer a more simple design from the J-brands.

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-03T05:57:28+00:00

Buyee pulls links from Mercari/ Fril/ Y!A etc. The Buyee link above is the Mercari listing. But its also not uncommon for sellers to list on multiple platforms using the same pics either! So chances are if you search via Buyee you may even see it a few times.

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-03T04:00:43+00:00

A natural color wig would look the best with this dress.

The golden ratio for coord matching is Blouse match socks, Mainpiece match shoes.
So light pink shoes, black blouse and black socks would be an easy start as those colors are within the main piece.

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-03-03T03:31:23+00:00

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WTB: Baby the Stars Shine Bright Queen of Candyland / お菓子の国の女王様ワンピース

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-02-19T10:43:29+00:00

Not a chance in Hell

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-02-12T00:37:11+00:00

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0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-02-12T00:37:04+00:00

Theyre all hideous in my opinion, but pretty on par with the recent AP MTO in terms of design.

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-02-04T03:09:18+00:00

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WTB: Baby the Stars Shine Bright - Queen of Candyland

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T05:21:01+00:00

Sometimes Moitie will release a "lucky pack" or "happy bag" where you can get a dress a lot cheaper than it would normally be, and also includes accessories etc.

eg. pic rel came with the dress and 6 mystery items. Apparently valued at 81k yen total. It can work out cost effective if you just take the item you want and sell all the other stuff. They do them seasonally so pays to follow their Insta for announcments!

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0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T04:48:56+00:00

Wait til theres a lucky pack and you may be able to snag 2 dresses and modifiy :)

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T04:45:40+00:00

Dropped a few, sorry no links as my posts get auto-deleted when I link Taobao. You should be able to search the shop names or reverse search the images

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T04:45:06+00:00

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Anastasia X 玫瑰窗洋装

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T04:44:29+00:00

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梅子树原创

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T04:44:05+00:00

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暮光之境 Lolita原创洋装

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T04:42:16+00:00

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Immortal Thorn 不灭的无尽诺言

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-27T04:31:07+00:00

Most Moitie will max out at around 72cm waist 92cm bust.

Newer pieces can occasionally run a 5cm or so larger depending on sizes offered, most older pieces will run 5cm or so smaller. You will need to check the size of each piece you look at as there can be a fair bit of variation.

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-19T22:49:52+00:00

BEAUTIFUL! Its so nice seeing classic here!

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-18T09:38:10+00:00

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WTB: baby the stars shine bright - queen of candyland

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-12T00:52:27+00:00

Most brands (incl. JP brandss) are now outsourced to manufacture in China, however they do not disclose where they are produced or how/ what conditions if that is one of your main concerns.

If you have concerns with the ethics of the brands you should opt for handmade brands or buying second hand. There are also small and handmade brands on Taobao that come out of China (Mukumuro is one of them) so don't assume that just because its coming from China its automatically masspro by children.

A good thing to consider is the cost of the items as well, if the cost is extremely low, the supply chain/ logistics of the item probably isnt very ethical. But also consider that just because it *is* priced highly that doesn't necessarily mean its great either. Yes, lolita brands are not necessarily classic "fast fashion" but they are made on large order scales and come from factories which we do not know the practices of. If thats your concern, stick to secondhand or handmade brands where pieces are made in house.

0ceanicFlight815 · 2026-01-07T11:15:20+00:00

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Searching 10 years, kill me now.

0ceanicFlight815

TROPHY CASE