Product Review: Eat Me Ink Me

I'm not going to lie to you: I love offbrand Lolita, specifically handmade items and indie brands. I've been a lone Lolita enthusiast for so long that the connection to someone else means a lot to me. I've also been sewing since I was six, and I appreciate the time and effort that goes into creating a garment. Finally, I've got some serious curves (42-30-48) and the best way to find something that will fit is to make it myself or custom order it; otherwise, I have to get lucky or tailor my clothing.

As a result, I tend to creep on designers on Etsy. I go through every two weeks or so and see what's new in the handmade Lolita world. As a result, I came across Latvian indie brand Eat Me Ink Me fairly quickly, and one of their skirts caught my eye.

This is what I saw:

It's mesmerizing, isn't it? My immediate reaction was to favorably compare it to Lady Sloth's cherubim skirt (which I covet like nobody's business), with the caveat that it is significantly darker in color and a fair bit creepier looking. Just the way I like it. It's a bit odd for a Lolita print, I admit, but that's how I like my prints. And I think it will coordinate quite nicely into Dolly Kei as well.

The price was ninety dollars, not including shipping, but it looked to be worth it. This was what I bought, right after I paid rent, with my paycheck.

I ordered the skirt on August first, and just got it today. I would have received it on Thursday morning, but I was not at the door to pick up the package and could not get to the post office until today. I really respect that turnaround; eight days from Latvia is rather impressive.

You guys. You guys. This skirt. The noise that escaped from my throat when I opened the package sounded like the battle cry of a demon. It's beautiful.

It's eerie looking; some of the faces have these eyes that feel like they're boring into your soul. The color isn't quite the same as I see in the picture; the image from the website looks more teal than green, and even my photograph doesn't capture the way the color actually looks. However, that doesn't bother me a bit. It's so darn colorful that I've got plenty of choices to match it with and plenty of accent colors to play with in my accessories, and having it be more green than teal doesn't change that.

The materials are lovely. The waistband is delightfully velvety; I even caught myself petting it. The chiffon is soft and shifty; the wind caught it after I'd opened the package, and the slight shift of the fabric made it look like the images on the fabric itself were moving and turning to look at me, which is the best effect to have on this sort of trippy looking skirt. The lining is substantial, which lends a nice structure to the chiffon.

The lining has lace trim that is quite nice. The lace is nicely substantial and intricate. It's not as plush as the lace on some of my skirts, but it's certainly not thin and itchy either. I quite like it.

It also had this darling little lace tag to mark it as an Eat Me Ink Me product, which is just the cutest thing ever, isn't it?

The skirt came with a detachable velvet bow that matches the waistband, which is delightfully versatile, and the only critique I have of that inclusion is that the bow's clasp is a safety pin rather than an actual pinback, but that's a minor thing:

A little smooshed from being shipped. Please forgive it.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but I'm a creeper and keep the notes I receive from sellers at EGL comm sales and from Etsy sellers. It makes me feel connected with the community at large when I don't have actual connection to them. It's habit by now, and I always enjoy it when I receive a note with my bits and bobs. This darling little note came with my skirt:

My last name blotted out for teh privacy.

The skirt also came with care instructions (so helpful!) on a handwritten little tag:

I tried the skirt on, and it came just to my knees, exactly the length reported. The skirt has plenty of volume, and the elastic in the back of the waistband stretches to accommodate without feeling uncomfortable as shirring sometimes does.

The rundown:

Brand: Eat Me Ink Me
Type: High Waist Lined Chiffon Skirt with Half-Elastic Waistband
Print: Faces? Fairy Forest? I'm just going to call it "Trippy Awesomeness" and say that's a good summation.
Shipping: 10/ 10
Fit: 10/10
Length: 10/10
Quality: 9/10
Overall Score: 9.75/10

 The final verdict? Buy from Eat Me Ink Me if something catches your eye. The quality is wonderful, the shipping turnaround is great, and I absolutely cannot wait to play around with coordinating this skirt.