Hello my lovely bunnies!
Once again it has been quite a while since I last wrote, and I apologize for that ;-;
However I've been recently reading Lace and Lucy, which is the blog written by Dollielulu, who you might know from Instagram! Her blog is just as sweet as she is, and it's inspired me to start writing again! Blogging was something I really loved to do, and I've missed the satisfaction that comes with taking the time to write a blogpost, on whatever sort of topic!
Although I don't have much in mind for what to write, I do have a post which I've been meaning to write for a while... the review of my Ank Rouge 2018 Fukubukuro!
I thought it might be a bit too late to write this post, since I did get the lucky pack in early January, however I asked on my Instagram whether people would be interested-- and the overwhelming majority said yes!
So, I hope this will be useful for those of you considering buying a Ank Rouge Fukubukuro (or any brand, really) in the future!
Let's begin ♡
Firstly, I'll give a bit of introduction to lucky packs/フクブクロ/fukubukuro, if you aren't familiar with the concept!
In Japan, many shops will sell what are called "lucky packs" on January 1st. You pay a set price (generally 10,000 yen, or approximately $100 USD), and receive a selection of items whose value exceeds the price you paid! Typically this is a way for shops to unload their stock from the old year, however a lot of shops have now begun making lucky packs with the contents revealed! Liz Lisa and Swankiss, for example, do this. Ank Rouge had a similar lucky pack, where you received six items-- five of them known, and one unknown.
Their lucky pack cost $10,800 yen including tax, or about $95 USD (now the Yen-USD exchange rate is a bit worse, unfortunately ;-; ) They claim that the contents of the lucky pack exceed 40,000 yen in value, which is quite impressive!
Here are the items from the lucky pack that they revealed-- you could get the item in one of two colour-ways!.
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| The tote bag (that all the items arrive in) |
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| Faux Fur Coat |
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| Sailor Collar One-Piece Dress |
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| Turtleneck Sweater |
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| Lace-up Skirt |
A 'mystery' item is also included, and there were no hints as to what it was (given what I got though, I think it was just old stock!)
Another thing I should mention, is that in order to purchase a lucky pack from Ank Rouge (and the majority of other Japanese brands), you will need a shopping service, since the vast majority of Japanese brands don't ship outside of Japan. Luckily there are many shopping services out there, most of which are fairly easy to use!
I talk about them in my most recent YouTube video, if you would like a brief overview!
Now enough about my rambling-- let me show what I actually received!
(I actually did an unboxing on my YouTube, if you would prefer to watch that! However here I will speak more about the quality-- if you're just curious to see what I got though, feel free to stop reading here~ and sorry if it seems as though I'm over-promoting my YouTube ><)
The first item that I received was the tote bag in the black colour-way~
This tote bag held all items inside, and it's actually a fairly cute design! I wasn't terribly opinionated on which colour-way I wanted, so I was pretty pleased with what I got. The fabric is black with little pink hearts, as well as the brand name written on the front, with a small ruffle on the edge. It's made of a fairly sturdy synthetic material, and has a matte finish. It zips up the top, and is lined as well. Although I haven't found a use for it yet, it's nice to have good quality bags like this! Perhaps I will store fabric in it..?
The next item (which is one of the ones I was most excited about), was the coat!
I received the coat in the black colour-way, which admittedly I was a bit disappointed about because of how darling the pink one was (... it was really similar to one I tried on while on vacation with my family-- however that one was close to $100, which I couldn't justify spending on a coat given that I live in Florida!)
Back from that tangent however-- this coat is surprisingly light-weight! It's made of a very soft faux fabric-- I couldn't quite say that it feels like faux fur, but it's something similar? It's lined as well with a soft and silky material.
The coat closes on snaps, which is certainly more convenient than buttons~
It also comes with a pom-pom brooch, which you can pin on the collar if you would like. I think it's a very cute detail, and it's nice that it's detachable! I do believe this is real fur though... ^^"
My disappointment in receiving the black coat was short-lived, thankfully! I was able to find a sweet girl on the Facebook Larme Sales group who was looking to swap for the black coat, so within a few days I had the pink one instead!
I much prefer the pink version of this coat, it's such a darling shade of dusty pink, and it's much more my style!
It's the perfect sort of coat for Florida winters, I think! It certainly wouldn't keep you warm if you live further up north, however in 50-60 degree cold, I think it's ideal~
Here's a small coordinate I put together with it, I was quite pleased with how it turned out!
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| Sweet Cherry Girl Blouse and Coat: Ank Rouge Skirt: Liz Lisa Tights: AliExpress Shoes: DSW (brand is indigo. rd!) |
I think this is most definitely my favorite item that I received!
The next item I received was the one-piece in the dusty pink colour-way!
Although my above photo doesn't quite accurately show the colour of the dress, it's much less pink than the coat. I would say it's more of a dusty-mauve colour? In certain light it looks taupe, in certain light it looks dusty purple, however it's rarely pink >< It features a sailor collar, which was one of my favorite details on it! It also has a pre-tied bow that you can pin onto the neckline.
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| I would say this photo most accurately portrays the colour of the dress! |
To be completely honest, I was a bit disappointed with this dress... the main fabric of it was on the thin side, and was a bit like a thick t-shirt? The collar itself is quite well made, but on the whole this is definitely not similar to any other Ank Rouge item I received in the past, in terms of the quality. The bow is also a bit stiff, however I suppose that is just to help it keep its shape!
I do like this dress a lot, and I was happy to receive the pink (if it can be called that) colorway, however I don't know how much I'm going to wear it... I'm going to keep it in my wardrobe for a bit, however I might end up selling this.
The next item was the turtleneck, which I knew I would sell before I even received it because this sort of top is usually not very flattering on me. I received it in the black colour-way.
This top was made of a thin knitted fabric, which luckily wasn't scratchy! It had a ruffle mock-turtleneck, with a small black bow adorning it.
On the whole I think this was the least interesting item in the lucky pack... however I suppose it would be a good basic item to have if you just started building up your wardrobe! I'm afraid there isn't much else to say about it ^^"
On the whole I think this was the least interesting item in the lucky pack... however I suppose it would be a good basic item to have if you just started building up your wardrobe! I'm afraid there isn't much else to say about it ^^"
The next item I received is another favourite of mine-- the skirt, in the black colour-way!
This skirt seemed very larme in its style, with its pencil fit, lace-up details, and ruffled straps. It's a bit different from my usual style, however I feel quite cute when I wear it!
One of my favorite points of this skirt is the lace up details on the waist- I think they're so cute! The ribbons stand out more on the pink version, however I don't mind that too much, as this makes it a more wearable piece, in my opinion!
This is made from a similar material to the one piece, however it does have a bit of stretch to it (and seems a bit thicker, too). In addition to that, it had a decent amount of shirring on the back, so it can fit a variety of sizes! Due to the cut, I imagine it would look nice on someone with larger hips, since it would accentuate the figure more!
I don't really have a proper outfit to show with this, but here's a quick try-on photo I took!
I think this is the item I will get the most wear out of-- I was quite surprised by it!
The last item I received was the mystery item, and it was quite... unexpected?
I recall Ank Rouge having this sort of odd grunge collection with teddy-bears and crosses, however I had completely forgotten about it until I received this
This is a black knit sweater, which is actually quite cute, when you disregard the applique!
It's made of a soft black knit, with sleeves that puff out a bit at the bottom. It has a fabric applique sewn onto the front, with the words "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do But you may miss out on future opportunities" written in front of a teddy bear.
Honestly I was quite tempted to keep this piece because of how comfortable it was! However it wasn't my style in the slightest, so I decided to sell it ^^"
Here's a quick try-on I did with it~ I think if it didn't have the applique on the front, I likely would have kept it! It's a good cosy black sweater, perfect for chillier days!
Another quick thing to mention about this top is that it seemed to be of considerably better quality than the other, similar knitted top that I received, which was lucky pack specific. Often brands don't make their items in the LP as high as what they usually make- so please keep that in mind! If you're very familiar with the brand it might be a bit disappointing, and if you're new to the brand, it might set a low first-impression.
Not to say that lucky packs aren't worth it! For under $100 I was able to get five items of clothing (plus a bag!), which is much cheaper than the brand's items usually cost. I was able to sell the two sweaters for about $60 total, so I ended up paying only $40 for four things that I quite like! So, I think it's a bit silly to complain about the quality ^^"
On the whole, I think lucky packs are a great way to get items from brands you like or want to try, at a really cheap price! Although it might seem like a lot to pay (for me at least, paying $100 for things I wasn't sure I would like was a bit scary!), ultimately it ends up quite economical (and you can always sell the items you don't like, if you so choose!)
I think lucky packs are something I will purchase again in the future, especially so if the brand shows what they include!
I hope this little review was helpful for you, and that it maybe helped to answer some questions you have about lucky packs!
Please let me know if there's anything else you are wondering about, and I'll try my best to help!
Thank you for reading through this wordy review, and I'll see you in my next post! ♡
