Friday, September 30, 2016

Holley Tea Time Review




Holley Tea Time has been on my radar of brands to try out for quite some time now. I found a sale a few months ago and decided to put the "Magical Fairy Time" print skirt in the rainbow sunset color on pre-order. I also picked up a set of buttons in lavender because I need more lavender accessories. Read more under the cut for the details!


Timeline
June 19 - Order placed and payment sent.
August 16 - It had been over 8 weeks now since I placed my order with no updates so I sent an email inquiring about the status. It turns out my skirt was misprinted, so HTT ordered a new one from their manufacturer. The new estimate was that it would take an additional 3 weeks to ship out.
September 3 - Package ships out
September 5 - Package arrives

Speed: 2.5/5
The estimated time period for production was 4-8 weeks. My skirt took 11 full weeks because the material of the first skirt was damaged and it had to be remade. HTT offered me the option of accepting the damaged one with a partial refund, but I decided to wait for the new one in perfect condition. I was hoping to get the skirt for a specific event but it sadly didn't arrive in time.

Communication: 3.5/5
After 8 weeks and no communication I began to worry that something was wrong with my order, and unfortunately I was right. I emailed HTT about the status to figure out what was going on and my skirt arrived to her damaged. She had to reorder it for me so I could have one in perfect condition. She had already ordered it before I emailed her asking what was going on. If I hadn't emailed her I don't know if she would have informed me of the situation and the delay. Once I reached out she did reply quickly and politely.

Quality: 5/5
Shipping was very reasonable because HTT offers first class shipping which is cheaper than priority but still includes a tracking number. It only took 2 days to arrive! The items were sealed in a plastic bag, and then mailed in one of those grey plastic envelopes made out of the same material as bodyline's envelopes. I always forget to take pictures at this step, but everything arrived safely.

The skirt itself is nice quality. It is made from a lightweight, stretchy fabric that is very similar to what some athletic wear is made out of. The print is vibrant and accurate to the stock photos. The sizing chart is accurate too. The skirt can accommodate a (somewhat deflated) Angelic Pretty cupcake petticoat or a Malo Modes A-line petticoat which offers some variety on how it can be styled. There were no flaws with the skirt when it arrived. The pins are your usual button style pins. HTT included two extra pins plus stickers for free which was a nice touch.


The waistband is fully elastic.

The stickers that were included are adorable.


The 4 lavender pins were the ones I picked out and the 2 on the right were the ones I got for free.

Total:3.67/5
Aside from having to wait an extra 3 weeks for my items, everything went pretty smooth. There were no problems with placing my order, payment, or shipping. If you aren't in a rush planning a coord for a specific event Holley Tea Time can be a good place to pick up some fairy kei pieces.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Peggy! I always read your blog! I'd like to ask, if it doesn't bother you, what kind of petticoat are you wearing under your star mille-feuille dress? I bought mine a while ago and I don't know what type should I buy, because the fabric does look a little bit heavy. I hope this question doesn't bother you, great blog, read you soon!

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    1. Hi Cian! Thank you so much for reading my blog! It is never a bother to ask questions like that. I actually wear 3 petticoats under my star mille-feuille dress, and all of my other dresses too for maximum poof. I use an Angelic Pretty bell shaped petticoat as my main one, layer an offbrand, thin petticoat on top, and a Malco-Modes A-line petticoat underneath those two. The Malco-Modes petticoat I have to roll up around the waist to make it have more of a bell shape. The fabric is very heavy in the dress because there are so many layers and it does tend to weigh down the petticoats quite a bit! That's why I personally like to wear extra. I think any bell shaped petticoat should work well, including regular brands and taobao brands. Which colorway did you get? I would love to hear all about your coordinate ideas! :)

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    2. Another idea I forgot to mention in my original reply is wearing a cage skirt! I personally have no experience with them, so I wouldn't know what brands to recommend, but the structure would be perfect to wear with heavier dresses.

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  2. Thank you for your answer! I bought the Blue×Yellow×Cream version.
    I don't have many things to coord it yet (I'm new to te fashion) but I'm still very happy because it was a Dream Dress. Again, thank you for your reply, have a nice day!

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    1. Ooh that is such a pretty colorway! I hope you get to wear it soon. :D

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