Puppet Circus replica vs. the real thing.

The red one is a real AP's Puppet Circus to compare with the Oo Jia replica.

A while ago I realized Oo Jia was making a replica of AP's Puppet Circus, my eternal dream dress that probably is eternally out of both my size- and price range. I then read the wonderful review by Halktia and after some due consideration decided to jump for it. This week I finally got my hands on the parcel (always remember Chinese New Year when ordering from China, always!) and so it's time for another Oo Jia Puppet Circus replica review, this time about the onepiece.

Upon arrival. Please disregard that the impatient recipient tore into the parcel right the moment she walked out of the post office. There definitely were no huge gaping holes when I received the parcel, no.

Inside the dress is wrapped in a simple plastic bag.

Here it is. It's looking rather good now, although there are already some things that I noticed were a little bit iffy. All photos can be clicked larger by the way, also note the dress isn't quite this shiny IRL.

The collar bit is fine and well-made. It's slightly tall though, or perhaps I have a cavewomanish neck.

Some randomness is going on at the cuffs. I can easily fix the strings hanging off and all the buttons might need re-sewing, but there's nothing I can do to the uneven placement of buttons on the other cuff.

Here's one of my biggest grievances, the cheap-looking lace. You see, until now in all the reviews I had previously seen of Oo Jia's PC replicas the lace had been agreeable. Mine - not so. I'm sure I can change the lace, but it does dampen the mood a little.

However, the print itself is not bad at all! In fact I'd say it's high quality and very detailed. The gold colour isn't "sparkly" in my dress as some have mentioned theirs to be, but rather matte. The fabric of the dress is shinier than the original, but this I knew to expect because I was asked in advance if I would mind that, and I said no. It wasn't a problem to me but just in case it's a problem to anyone who'd like to order this I advice to bear it in mind.

I'm lucky to own a real PC skirt so naturally it's now time for some side-to-side comparisons.  This is also a good way of seeing the actual difference between the fabrics used.

Very accurate! The fabric in the white dress is still a bit wrinkly.

In fact I was floored with how good the replica's print looked like. AP's is still a little bit sharper but you really have to have the real one next to the replica before you see any differences, and even then they are minimal.

Here's something I've heard people complain about before, the way the print is cut. I don't mind the seams as much as the hem (and the lace, but maybe I'm done bawwing about that by now).

Then there's this. It's the bow to the front of the dress. It's made of rather thin cotton and has no way of attaching it so I initially thought it was meant to be tied around the collar.

No problem with this lace here! No complaints at all! :3

Apologies for my stern face. I was getting sun in the eye.

The front looks very good. The shape is wonderful and the sleeves give enough room for moving my arms freely. The dress itself has a sturdy feel to it, a built-in petticoat (I'm wearing it over a petticoat of my own, however) and a lining. All very good work.

However, for some reason the back of the dress has less fabric than the front, which is obvious when looking at how tightly ruffled the skirt is at the waist. Therefore the backside does not flare out as nicely as the front. Sorry about the rather simplistic hairstyle, I just clipped it up so you get an idea of how tall the collar is. 

Then for tying the bow - except wait what?

The tie is not long enough to be tied nicely and it's nowhere near long enough to look the same as in the original.

However, now the ends would land almost where they should... I guess I'll make myself a new tie as well.

Ok, one more thing: the bows on the sleeves are uneven and already falling out. Again, nothing I couldn't fix myself but still a little bit disappointing.

To wrap it up in the way of the sales comm feedback:

Type of feedback: Positive

Communication: 5/5

Accuracy of item: 4/5 for the lace, cut and the neck tie. However, even together they don't trouble me too much (although I understand well that standards vary according to a person).

Was the item shipped when agreed upon: There was a delay due to the Chinese New Year. However, I was informed about this.

Packaging: 3/5

Overall experience: 4/5