Excentrique: how to order & quality review

Sorry for deserting this community for so long, today I will be doing a review on one of my favourite brands, Excentrique!

Context:

Though they are most famous for their corsets, they also make a lot of beautiful dresses, blouses and skirt suits. They are also one of the more 'size-friendly' classic brands, making both S/M/L (Japanese size 7-11) with very good tailoring and workmanship. As a whole, their prices are on the price-ier end of lolita (closer to Juliette et Justine or Moitie prices) but are well worth the cost.

Site: http://excentrique.shop7.makeshop.jp/
Blog: http://blog.excentrique.biz/
Distributors: http://yaplog.jp/f_l_a_s_c_o/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/excentriqueLtd



1. You require a shopping service to purchase from Excentrique, I personally like to use i-TM4U. Kaoru-san has always been extremely helpful and commuicative, plus she has helped me buy from various indies/otome brands before. You can read my review of her Jane Marple service here I have also listed some common shopping services which I have used as well.

2. To find their less corset-ed items, click on the 'Coordinate Items'. Some of their items will have several sizes, some don't. On the whole, S/M is Japanese size 7-9 while M/L is 9-11.

A standard Japanese mannequin....
size 7 is; bust: 80 waist 62
size 9 is; bust: 84 waist 64 *most common mannequin used/MEDIUM
size 11 is; bust: 88 waist: 66

Please remember these are MANNEQUIN sizes and not normal body sizes. It should be a rough guideline to how the item will fall on you, depending on which size you are closest to.

The sizing listed is the OUTER GARMENT SIZING and not the body size. To find the body size, -4cm (or 2 inches) from the actual size given ie.

GARMENT SIZE - 4CM/2INCHES = BODY SIZE

バスト/bust ：95cm = 91cm
アンダーバスト/underbust: 83.8cm = 79cm
肩巾/Sleeve: 3cm
背肩巾/Back 33.5cm = 28.5cm
着丈/length 97.1cm、
スカート丈/skirt length 59.2cm


This is quite common in classic brands, I believe Victorian Maiden and Innocent World also put Garment Sizes and not body sizes on their website.

3. After you have chosen your item, colour and correct size. Contact your shopping service.

In my case, I would contact i-TM4U Since it is a shopping service item, I would use their Form A You will usually recieve an automatic email to pay, after which Kaoru-san will shop for you.

You can read more about their shopping procedure here: http://www.i-tm4u.biz/system/system.html

In general I like to use their service because it's fast, professional and systematic. Here are some of what I feel about the different services.

Mai

-tends to overcharge (20% commission + added fees) plus as a personal service, she does not always reply on time and is very busy. Also she has purchased the wrong item for me before during a winter sale. Auction service is not real time.

- on the plus side, she is willing to do fukubukuro service and shop for sale items on web-blogs. She also does not have a minimum cost before going to a physical store. I also really like the free gifts that she throws in depending on your order. She also does auctions for Y!J and mbok.

Crescent

- has a very high starting price (12% onwards plus crappy exchange rate) and is only willing to do webshop/telephone orders. They will not go into stores or do fukubukuro/sale service. Will not do mbok auctions. Will not mark down for customs.

- on the plus side, they will combine orders for up to 2 months (pretty much indefinitely lol) and you can use their auction service at the same time. They do not require upfront payment either, so long as you put a deposit. Their auction service is also real-time, so you can increase your bid whenever you please.

Celga

- by far the worst service. Overcharges shipping (8,000y for 4 items), abysmally rude service and miscalculates comission cost. They have also purchased the wrong colour for an item before, and their form is also very unstable. Auction service is not real time.

- plus side, willing to do mbok and y!J auctions combined. Requires payment within a week.

i-TM4U

- will only combine items for up to two weeks, and they only work 4 days a week. (Wed/Sun/Mon = not working days). They will only go to a physical store if your total order is ~25,000jpy or 15,000 for members. Auction service is not real time.

- plus side; they can do Y!J and mbok auctions (and do a combined shipping) as well as mark down customs. System is quick and efficent because of the Form A/B/auction which you just have to fill up. They also do not overcharge shipping and ship in a plastic bag which is much lighter than a cardboard box.

After you have chosen your item and sent your request, what can you expect from an Excentrique item?



Quality&fit review

I requested the chocolate box JSK (cream) from their 2009 A/W Belle Russe collection. Because the M/L sold out, I bought the S/M instead. For reference, I'm bust:90 waist:68 height:160 and I can wear both their S/M and M/L sizes.

Stock Image:



Their website is flash based and doesn't allow right-click save. You can either screencap it, or go look at their blog for a similar image. The stock pic I have is the dress in mauve.

Flat:



This is the closest to the true colour. It's not really a cream or an offwhite, more like ecru? It's more yellow than IW's offwhite, but less yellow than a pure cream. This image was taken in daylight, on a cloudy day (which is why it looks a bit more blue for some reason :x)

* The rest of the photos are taken at NIGHT, which is why the images look so yellow.

Print detail:





The fabric is fairly thick and made of polyester (kinda the same as moitie, but smoother). It has a subtle stripe jacquard woven as texture and the print is not pasty or stuck-on. In general it feels very smooth and silky.

All the ribbon-detailing at the collar, waist and hem is cupra, not gosgrain or satin. I'm not sure how to describe cupra but it is a matte silk-subsituite fabric. It has a very nice weight to it and because it's matte, when I tie the waist ribbon the fabric won't slip and make my ribbon fall apart. You'll see a lot of otome-kei items made of Cupra in late summer/autumn; it's a popular fabric because it has a matte shine to it and wears well. The waist ribbon has been nicely sewn at the edges to prevent fraying as well.

The print is crisp and sharp. There aren't any weird colour bleeds or fuzzy edges despite the detailing. You can read most of the font printed on the dress, and my favourite is the 'Belle Russe' poster with Nijinsky on it lol.

Tag and lining:





Tag is cloth, with 'Excentrique' written in gold script.

The lining is really nice. Nicer than the VM/Beth dress I used to have anyway. I think it's the same lining that JaneMarple/Emily Temple Cute/Innocent World/Mary Magdalene uses. In general, it feels very smooth and light, and not sticky. You know how some lining tends to stick on your skin? It doesn't have a plasticky feel either. I would prefer a cream lining to match with the cream dress, but it's not a big big deal.

The lining is sewn properly as well; all edges are nicely sealed and the lining follows the pleating pattern as well. Here you can see the construction details: princess seamed bodice, pleated box skirt. There's enough give/seam allowance near the zipper so the zipper won't get stuck even at the thickest part of the fabric (usually where the bodice meets waist). So far I've had no problems zipping it up and down even by myself, and I'm a klutz in the morning lol~ it's a nice smooth invisible zip.

dress worn:



*sorry for messy bolero, will try to take a better one next time :x

Fit is great. I like my skirts longer, so I have no problems with their longer-than-usual skirt length. Overall I'm very happy with my purchase, and will buy from Excentrique again. I like their designs and range of sizes, it's classic without being boring(?) I just like prints. It's also rather versatile, without a petticoat and blouse and a simple cardigan it could easily work as a day dress or work dress. You can take the ribbon out at the waist and put a big belt for more cinched modern look. It's fairly comfortable, I basically have no problems with it. Additionally, because it's polyester it doesn't crease and is slightly waterproof.

If you have any other questions, I will do my best to answer them. I will also be posting scans of Excentrique after my exams are over :D

cheers,
tsu