egl_archive

Back in August, I was lucky enough to have been selected as the winner of the Rockin' Retro Contest, and won a fawn fur collar from Miss Lonely Lolita by

idgal! Since I received the collar a little over a week ago, I decided to put together a review.

Apologies in advance for the watermarked photos- this review's been crossposted from my blog. Hopefully they won't be a distraction!

The colorway of the collar was randomly chosen for me. The ribbon is a light pink 1.5" polyester grosgrain, and seems very thick and sturdy.

The ends of the ribbon are slightly ragged, but were sealed to prevent fraying. This one got a little creased in shipping, but it's not particularly noticeable.

In my opinion, the biggest selling point of these collars is that the ribbon closure loops through a pair of grommets, which have been set securely into the front of the collar. This allows you to switch out the provided ribbon with other ribbons or closure methods, which makes the collar extremely versatile. I was grateful for this because, as pretty as it is, I don't have anything that goes with that shade of pink!

The fur used is faux (of course) and incredibly plush. I wasn't informed of which type this collar is made of, but judging by the descriptions on the product listing, I would assume it's the Mocha Brown colorway. The spotted portions of the fur are a rather dusty, neutral brown that fade out at the edges into a warm tan. Overall it looks extremely natural. I'm also impressed by the fact that it doesn't seem to shed at all, unlike cheaper faux furs.

I really appreciate the choice of lining material- a crisp brown satin that coordinates well with the colors of the fur and makes the collar very comfortable to wear.

Here you can see where the collar was stitched up in the back. This is a minor quibble, but I would've preferred for it to be sewn in a matching thread color, rather than black.
The construction and sewing is fairly competent- you can see irregularities in some places along the seams, but I can appreciate how difficult it is to sew satin and fur.

My biggest concern is that the fur along the neckline has a prominent 'part' in it, where the fibers seem to lie outwards and away from each other, exposing the woven material underneath. I'm not sure whether this is a defect of the fur itself, or if it's a byproduct of how it was sewn.

A close-up of the part/bald patch/mystery line. It's somewhat noticeable when worn, but not distracting.

For now, I've put in a black ribbon in the collar, to match the predominant color of my wardrobe. I like to layer lace collars underneath for added interest.

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While I'm pretty pleased with the product itself, obtaining it was kind of an ordeal. According to the contest judges, I was supposed to be contacted by

idgal on August 10th, the day the results were announced. She finally contacted me nine days later to get my shipping address, and was quite friendly and apologetic about the delay. She told me that she would ship the collar out that Friday, once she was finished making it. (Note: I can't give exact dates for any of the communication, since my only points of reference are the messages in my Livejournal inbox. I've provided timeframes to give a general idea of the gaps in contact.)

I received no further communication for over three weeks after that, nor did I receive the collar. Assuming that something might have happened to the package, I asked

idgal if she had put any sort of delivery confirmation or tracking on it, so that we could figure out what was causing the delay. It took several days to get a response, at which point she informed me that the collar had been shipped via USPS Media Mail without tracking. She offered to try to chase it up at her post office, and to send me a new collar if the first one couldn't be located.

After another week without any contact, I messaged her again to ask if she had found out anything about the package's whereabouts. She responded a few days later to say that it was probably lost, and that she would send me a new collar with tracking.

Another week passed without any word from

idgal or any sign of the collar, so I asked again for the tracking information. There was no response that time, nor was there any response when I asked again a week later.

Fortunately, it finally arrived two days after that, on October 8th. The package was postmarked October 1st, and it had been shipped via USPS First Class with tracking, as promised. The collar was enclosed in a USPS standard mailing envelope with no other protection, which was worrying because the envelope had gotten pretty crumpled and scuffed up by the time it arrived, but the collar itself was unharmed.

In summary:

Quality: 4/5
The materials and construction are quite nice, with a few minor flaws.

Communication: 2/5

idgal was generous and pleasant to deal with, but extremely hard to reach.

Packaging: 3/5
The item was shipped unprotected in a flimsy envelope, but arrived unscathed.

Total score: 3/5
Overall, if this were a transaction, I'd rate it a Neutral. While I understand that real life and other commitments can get in the way, the lack of communication is a huge concern, especially considering the problems that arose. However, I would recommend this product based on its quality and versatility.