Saturday, March 14, 2015

Twin Meetup + Sweet Mildred Review

Last weekend, the Portland/Oregon Tea & Cake Society held a twin meetup! Everyone was encouraged to dress up with a "twin" (or triplet) in the same print/dress.

My friend Holly and I twinned in Angelic Pretty's Petit Patisserie print!



Photos by Tom Good

One of my favorite photos of the night was taken while our photographer, Tom, was testing the lighting - the best photos are usually the unplanned ones, since that's when you feel more comfortable in front of the camera!


I wore my new Lockshop Sweetheart wig for this meetup for the first time. I really like it, but it's not as nice as my other Lockshop wig (Sylph), to be honest. It's still one of my nicest wigs, though!


Coordinate Rundown:
Beret - handmade by my friend Paige
Barrette - Angelic Pretty
Other hair accessories - KOKOkim
Cutsew - DreamV
Jumperskirt - Angelic Pretty
Socks - Tutuanna
Shoes - Secret Shop
Bag - SWIMMER


Sweet Mildred Review

Next weekend, my husband and I are flying to Colorado for a party to celebrate our marriage. We didn't want a full-blown wedding, so we decided on this party instead!
I've been collecting pieces for my coordinate for this party and decided to order a custom headdress from Sweet Mildred to go along with it.

Timeline
November 29th - First contacted Millie about a custom order
December 4th - Millie first responds - we go back and forth for a few days about details
December 10th - I purchase the listing
February 5th - I contact her, as I have heard nothing regarding my order
February 11th - She responds, says she will send photos on Tuesday
February 26th - I contact her again, noting my concern about timing
February 28th - She finally sends WIP photos
March 4th - Order is completed
March 10th - Order is shipped
March 12th - I receive the order

As you can see, I had a lot of trouble with communication and timeliness. Regardless of the final product (which I will review in a moment), 3 months between ordering and shipment is not acceptable, particularly without any communication at all for two months.
I was very, very disappointed in this lack of professionalism. It put a lot of pressure on me to automatically ok the WIP photos, as I was quickly running out of time, regardless of whether I liked what I saw or not.
Had Millie contacted me and let me know if she was having issues, I could have searched for an alternative just in case (I had no idea if the final product would actually work until I received it, after all). However, I only received my order a mere 8 days before my flight - not even close to enough time to find a replacement if necessary.

The Product

Here is the end result.
Despite the headache with timing, I'm overall pleased with what I received. It is well-made and fits the specifications I provided and will match my coordinate well.


However, I'm not a huge fan of the fronds - I didn't like them much on the WIP photos either, but again, was reluctant to suggest any changes due to how long it took to even receive those photos in the first place.
I may cut them off myself - I haven't decided yet.


It's difficult to see in photos, but they're covered in a large grain silver glitter, which comes across as rather cheap, in my opinion.


The underside of the headband.


Millie also included a free gift of a headbow, which I appreciated.

Conclusion
While the product was absolutely worth what I paid and beautifully made, I don't think I can recommend Sweet Mildred (or at least custom orders), simply for the lack of communication and timeliness. Planning a wedding reception is a lot of work and very stressful - I shouldn't have needed to stress so much about one tiny aspect of my outfit.
Up until recently, I had only heard positive things about this shop, so it was quite a disappointment for me to experience. In the end, I was very lucky that it did end up matching well, as you can never know with a long-distance commission if it will.


With that being said, stay tuned for photos from our party!!