♥DreamV Haul & FromJapan Shopping Service Review♥

 

Hello everybunny! c: ♥ I hope you're well!♪ The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a drag for me, but things are perking up along with the weather, it's so warm today!^^♥ My mum also went to the department store today to reserve the special handbag that her and dad are going to take me to buy this weekend, I'm super happy! ; u ;♥♥ I'll review it, though I'm surprised that I haven't heard the designer's name mentioned more in the "kawaii" fashion community ww

Today I'll be reviewing my haul from DreamV!♪ I'll also be reviewing the shopping service I used, FromJapan. I will also tell you about other ways to purchase super cute DreamV products.^^♪

Once the review is over, I'll write more about DreamV, the brands it stocks and ways to order from there!♥

But an important point to make... why is DreamV super great?

It stocks loads of original designs for really great prices in tons of styles, so instead of picking up that replica from Taobao, have a browse on DreamV! In my experience, the quality is lovely (I bought from here last year) and they release new pieces all the time, so there's a lot of choice across the different brands.♪ (I think now I'm able to order through Tenso I'll be picking up more pieces from here since it's much easier.♥)

 

♥Shopping Service & What I Ordered♥

For my order, I decided to use the shopping service FromJapan, which was recommended to me by a friend. The commission is only 200yen per item, but the service itself gets more and more complicated as you go through the ordering process(or at least, I find parts a little unnecessarily detaily).

Why did I decide to use a shopping service instead of the DreamV Rakuten internation store?  DreamV's international store bases shipping on how much you spend, instead of the weight of the goods. I figured since I ordered so much I'll be making a saving, as well as being able to mark the package down. If you order through the international store, they'll mark the package as the true value.

At the start of the process if you're ordering from Rakuten(Japanese) or another of their recommended stores, you just copy paste the link and all of the information will appear. Then you just need add size and colour details! Pretty simple. (But when ordering, make sure you set money aside for shipping!)

Then you pay and FromJapan will order everything. On the order page you can check if things arrive, but you don't have to stalk the page - they'll email you when things arrive. Once it's arrived you can fill out the shipping details (you have 30 days to do so before they do it for you and send you the bill), but don't do that until everything in the order has arrived(unless you want to seperate things into different packages) because...

After the shipping details are filled out (where there's a neat option to let you mark the value of each item down) only the items with completed details will be put in the same package. If you fill out details of some things before other things arrive, the things you filled out shipping for will be prepared to be sent without waiting for the other things. Once the details are filled out, FromJapan then goes away and puts together your package & shipping bill.

Once you have the shipping bill, you have 3 days to pay. After that, they charge a storage fee of 100yen per item, per day, which is why I said to set shipping money aside! I suppose because they're quite a big company compared to more personal shopping services, they can't hang on to people's stuff. If you don't pay up after 30 days, your things will be disposed of.

Here's how my order went:

• I placed my order on 25th February.♪ I ordered 6 things from DreamV's Rakuten store, which is now closed and replaced with this way neater store.
• On the 28th, I got a refund for one of the items I ordered. For some reason they had waited a few days to order my things, which was disappointing because I was really excited for the cute cardi. ><
• Around the 24th March, four out of my five items finally arrived! Hooray! It took quite a long time, I guess one of the things hadn't been in stock at DreamV and they sent things together?(A lot of things on DreamV seem to be pre-order) I have no idea. From my experience, shipping within Japan has always been really quick. So I wasn't too bothered that it took so long. I assumed the other item was awaiting a restock or something since I ordered one of the last ones.
• I was still waiting for the last item by the 10th April, so I decided to email FromJapan to see where it was.
• They replied the next day with the following message:

"For this item, it would seem that once the items arrived, we found that this was not included and so we contacted the store to explain about this.

They had as such informed us that they cannot send the item and so we would be refunded.

As such, once we receive this refund, we shall send this to you."

From this, it seemed like they knew that the dress wouldn't arrive, but never bothered telling me.. or at least that's the impression I got. Pretty disappointed that they didn't tell me straightaway. :c

• On the 14th I filled out the shipping details for my now four items (OTL) and waited for the shipping quote.
• Then on the 16th I got the quote with different shipping options, it was surprisingly pricy but EMS was somehow only 500yen more than SAL so I chose that since I'd been waiting so long for everything.

• About a week later, everything finally arrived! It was all packaged neatly and securely.♪

So overall, I wasn't particularly overwhelmed by the service. Maybe it's better for auctions. They replied to me quickly, but they were really slow to order everything and they didn't tell me about the dress until I asked. :c Now that I can use Tenso (which I will explain later), I'll definitely be using that instead.♪

 

I honestly never expected a box this huge! I hadn't even ordered much in the end. OTL

 

In discovered that they had kept the shoe boxes, which is kind of cool but explains why they used such a big box and why the shipping was higher than expected.

 

Boot box.♪

Shoe box.♪

 

♥The Products♥

This onepiece is from the DreamV brand "Dear My Love".♪
When I ordered this it was still really cold so I thought the long sleeves would come in handy haha.. ; u ;'' But it's still absolutely gorgeous! So even if it's getting hotter I can always save it for when Autumn appears.♥ The front is really cute!♥ I love that Dear My Love makes "lolita-esque" dresses like this, but are much more gyaru(and actually have measurements that work for me, so they won't drown me ww) and so are great for romagyaru or himegyaru! Of course, please don't wear something like this as lolita as it's far from it due to the length and low cut! The only thing that makes it "lolita-esque" is the shape haha. (It's veeeeery very short, and much too low cut to be worn as a lolita onepiece as you'll see in the outfit photos haha.^^; ) It's lined, and also has an underskirt. The quality is really great!^^

 

The print has roses! ; u ; I don't think I could ever have enough rose print pieces ww.♥

 

This top is also from the Dear My Love brand!♥

After getting the Liz Lisa "butterfly" shape top, I was on the lookout for similar tops! I was so so happy when I found this one.♥ It's a lot lighter as it's made from a printed chiffon, though of course it has a satiny under-layer so you can't see through ww. It also has a cute little collar and tie! It might seem odd when it's not worn, but I love how it looks worn!♥♥ The shaping of the bodice is really lovely, and so is the quality of the garment, I really like how the pattern down the front matches up so well even though there's the bodice detail.

 

Surprise surprise, more roses!♥ I think Dear My Love have also used this print on some other things.

 

The collar has a cute & small lace edging.^^ The buttons are cute too. c:

The shoes are from Dear My Love too! Can you guess my favourite DreamV brand? ww
I decided to just get some simple heels to go with as many things as possible, and I think I chose really well! They have squishy soles, so although they're really tall, they're surprisingly comfy!♥♥ Even though they're heels, they're not wobbly and feel sturdy. I haven't worn them out yet but the quality seems absolutely lovely. Usually I buy shoes that are really supportive, unlike these which have gaps at the sides, because of my pigeon toes. But... I couldn't resist. OTL I doubt I'll wear these out a whole lot because of that, but it's not like I go out much anyway haha.♪ But you never know, they might turn out to be just fine!

 

On the heel, there a super cute lace made with the faux leather. It's a cute little detail.♥♥

 

And hey, look! The lace has roses!♥♥ //shot

And finally... the boots! These are from the DreamV brand "Mary Rose ~eau de parfum~" however, I think that brand is discontinued now, and I think it's been merged between Dear My Love and NewlyMe.

They're really simple faux suede thigh high boots!♪ They also make me crazy tall ww. They're insanely comfy, and have squishy soles like the heels, and are lined with a really soft satiny material.♥ They also came with spare soles, and spare heel.. caps? I'm not sure what they're called but when the little heel parts are worn down, I can replace them!♥ The tops are lined with the faux suede instead of the satiny fabric, so they can be turned over.♪ I'm really impressed by the quality of these! ;v;

 

♥Outfits♥

 

♥Rundown♥

Onepiece, shoes → DreamV

Wig → Bodyline

 Petti → Bobon21

Tights → Taobao

This outfit is so princessy! \(///v///\)♥ In a way, it's kind of nice to have a princessy outfit that isn't pink! It's more of a classic style.♥ Eventually, I think I'd like some brown heels or boots to match this, maybe for Autumn!♪ The dress fits so well, and is only roomy around the usual places (bust & waist) ; v;♥ I only wore my Bobon21 petti, as I thought if I wore anything foofier, it would make the dress too short ww. It's lovely and comfy, but probably a bit too heavy as it's getting warmer & warmer.

 

♥Rundown♥

Shoes → DreamV

Wig → Lockshop

Dress → New Look

Bag → Miss Selfridge

I don't have many clothes like this hah... but I was rummaging through my wardrobe and found this! It's much too big for me OTL but it's pretty cute with the DreamV heels!♥ It would look much much better on someone who fitted the dress properly though. ;v;'' I'm not sure if this sort of style suits me so much either.. but the dress and heels are both so pretty!

 

 

♥Rundown♥

Top, Boots → DreamV

Wig → Lockshop

Bag → Miss Selfridge

Shorts → Taobao

I can't wait to wear this top when I'm on holiday! ; v ; It's so light and airy and flowy so it'll be perfect for the hot weather!♥ The boots are amazing too, they don't feel that high and they're so comfy to walk in!♥♥ They're really soft too. ; v; Though I don't think they'll be as good for the heat as the top ww. I think they'd also look really cute with dresses and even jeans!♪

 

 Makeup!♥ I can't stop using false lashes ww ; u ;♥♥

 

I'm still not used to showing my forehead, but I love this hairstyle! QvQ♥ I also sort of styled my eyebrows.^^

  

♥More About DreamV & How to Buy♥ 

 DreamV is like an online shopping mall that sells ladies' clothes, accessories and makeup (including circle lenses).♪ There are a lot of brands that make up DreamV, I'll explain them briefly:

Dear My Love → Girly & princess inspired! Very doll like.♥ Great for himekaji, himegyaru, or other cute pastel styles. The blouses are loliable, as are a lot of the shoes and bags.

Diable Baiser → Gyaru style!♪ Less cute, and more sexy pieces. Plenty of things that are suitable for rokkugyaru etc.

NewlyMe → I find that this brand doesn't fit any particular "style", though a lot seems to be oneegyaru. There are also some super cute pieces as well as some sexier pieces. I find a lot of it is also really nice and casual.♪

Luity → I haven't looked into this brand particularly, but it seems to stock plenty of things for fashionable OL (office ladies).

PlumPrimo → DreamV's plus size brand!♪ With plus sizes getting more attention in fashion, with "la farfa" magazine becoming pretty popular, DreamV recently released PlumPrimo, which features pieces from every brand but in plus size!

Mon Lily → This one seems a lot more expensive than the other brands, and the pieces suit Aomoji-kei and a cult party kei sort of style.

Iconic Form → Another new brands. I'm not sure what it's about, it seems to be high fashion, and is really really expensive compared to the other brands. The clothing all looks super plain to me though.

PrismStone → DreamV's new teen brand. Cute clothes in teen sizes! I haven't tried these yet but they look super cute! A little pricy though.

Chocolate Monster → A really adorable kid's brand! Also another recently released brand. It's all really bright and street fashion-y. Kind of reminds me of Kurebayashi's and Seto Ayumi's styles, but aimed at kids.♥

Vivogue → I think this is new too! It's basically fancy lingerie ww.



So far, I'm aware of three different ways to buy from the store:

Tenso → This involves shopping on the Japanese site and paying by yourself. The packages then get sent straight to Tenso's warehouse and you just pay a small commission and then the international shipping fee!♪ You need to have ID to use it though (proof of identity as well as proof of address). It wouldn't be great for those who aren't confident with the idea of signing up to a website and paying for goods in Japanese, but personally I think this is the more efficient way(plus you can mark down package value to avoid customs c; ). I'll be doing a review and guide for Tenso very soon (it's almost too convenient & too easy to spend money on nice things from Japan ww)! c:

International Rakuten → DreamV has an international store, but as I explained at the top the shipping is based on your order total rather than the weight. So if you're buying shoes and handbags it works out great! For clothing which is considerably lighter, not so great. And even though you're purchasing through an international site, the confirmation emails that DreamV send you are still in Japanese and back when I ordered this way (I'm not sure if it's changed since last year) it was kind of inconvenient. DreamV will also not mark down packages and doesn't mark them as a gift so chances are unless you just order a t-shirt, you'll be hit by customs.

Shopping service → I think if you have a shopping service you already use regularly, or you're not fond of the idea of having to sign up to the site in Japanese or dealing with the Japanese emails with the International Rakuten, then a shopping service would be best! A more personal service could also assist you in choosing the sizing and advise on release dates.^^ You could also ask them to mark the package as a gift.♪

 

Thank you so so much for reading, and I really hope you've found this post helpful & enjoyed the outfits!♥ Soon I'll be reviewing the Tenso service, and adding a little guide with tips.♥ I'm also planning a post on Taobao Tips, to help you spot when a store sells replicas or if it's selling surplus stock, to help spot original brands and shops selling their own creations, and general tips like reading a shop's ratings.^^ Other than those, I have tons of reviews and outfit posts coming up!♥♥

Have a supersweet day and a dreamy night everybunny.♥

♪hug & chu♪

チュー！♥

Love, Elizabunnii♥♥