S U B C O U T U R E | Release Review

Hooray, it's Subcouture weekend, completely one of my favourite times - limited clothing without the pressure of needing to decide what you want to buy in just a few seconds! These are generally a solid release in the Plaza bringing fun new styles for us to enjoy, some of my all time favourite and most worn pieces are from this brand, so lets see what this Summer release brings us this time:

One first thing to note is the lack of a timer on the store - so I'm not quite sure how long this release will hang around for, so if you're thinking about a certain piece, I would get it while you have the chance! The collection has 2 floors and a total of 9 looks, including 2 for guys (with quite a few pieces to choose from I might add, would have loved the Turtleneck Top Man for the girls too, love the colour and style!), which I think seems about right. And there's a pretty good mix of styles and designs available, but I know a lot of things won't be to everyones tastes as these pieces are all pretty current trend styles and designs. So first up accessories, where there is a relatively good selection to choose from. In the shoe category there is so much choice, the first pair that catch my attention are the Chain Harness Shoes, I love the mule style with the square toe and heel along with the gold chain detail. They're a great Summer/Autumn shoe I think and I'm really excited to style them! I also quite like the YSL Heels, but they do seem a little out of place in this collection, I don't know, something about them just doesn't fit - but they're a nice pair of shoes, I like the strap design and the gold 'YSL' logo detailing. The Flower Sandals are a pretty cute pair of shoes, the design is definitely unique and while I love the colour, I know it's one I'll find difficult to style, in something pastel and they would be perfect for the Spring^ And the last pair to mention are the Tartan Slings, I love a slingback style a lot, and the mix of tartan colours makes them something a little different, I quite like them. There are two bags in the release, and by far the most popular piece of the collection is one of them, the LBB Bag which is a classic black Prada design, it's so recognisable and versatile, I can completely see why it's popular! I'm also a little tempted by the second bag, the Nylon Green Pouch, I don't really have anything similar in colour or design. There's something about it that makes me want to give it a chance - I've not really seen it being styled yet, so maybe seeing someone wearing it will sway me to purchase it! The jewellery items in this collection I'm not so much a fan of, nor so much the sunglasses (which may be surprising as I love sunglasses!) - I love them in the stylings where they're featured below, but just not on my doll! However with the other accessory items that I like, I think there's enough in this collection for me on that front!

And for the clothing, which at first I'll admit, I wasn't really loving, it still doesn't seem like a cohesive collection to me, but after some thought and seeing some stylings, that's really helped me pick out some pieces that I like. The vibes of the clothing are a bit on the younger side for me - I'm not such a fan of these teeny tiny string-like tops or bottoms with a low-slung waist, so whilst I think the colours and design ideas of pieces like the Green Chain Top and Mirror Top, these aren't such wearable pieces on a regular basis for me. I also think they're quite expensive for what they are too. I'm also not a fan of the jeans on offer, I like that there are a real selection of washes and designs, with the likes of the Bow Tie Jeans and their cute ankle detail, and the two-tone denim of the Flower Jeans, but ultimately, these aren't items that you can wear in every outfit that you want to wear jeans in. On the other hand, I think the Heart Top is super cute, sure it's not a piece for everyday, but it's something quite special and unique. I like the bustier-style design and the puffed sleeves, and I do think the colour is great, but it may be a little tricky to find pieces to match it well. The Butterfly Sleeve Jacket is quite stunning, and I think this will be quite popular, the oversized shoulders and the perfect fit to the body are real selling points. With this one, I think it'll be all about the accessories and the piece will speak for itself in terms of clothing in a look - and without any specific colour accents, any colour of accessories will work pretty well =) And perhaps I'm leaving the best until last - which surprises me as I didn't like this colour combination in the first place, but I really love the Tartan Open Jacket! The matching Tartan Skirt not so much, but if it was a smaller size on the doll, I would have also bought it. There's just something about the colours that shouldn't work, but does - the tan colouring is quite close to my dolls skin tone, so I think that swayed me a little towards buying it. I think it's an interesting piece, and I don't have a lot of jackets in this length, it fits the doll well and so far I haven't seen any people styling it up, so I think I like that challenge of giving it a chance!

T S L T O P T H R E E

LBB Bag | Tartan Open Jacket | Chain Harness Shoes

I was quite expecting to choose only accessories for my top 3 from this release, but this jacket has really grown on me, I loved styling it up which you can check out below, and I actually think it has a lot of potential, hopefully it can become as popular as the other pieces features in these picks^

F E A T U R E S

First up for the features is Bianca.Vos wearing the Butterfly Sleeve Jacket and showing off the layering versatility that this piece has! The piece looks amazing with the focus all on the sleeves, this ruffled skirting looks amazing with it, such a cool idea. I love the chunky belting added, it brings a little silver to the look which is furthered in the sparkly top layered underneath (another fabulous idea^) and the earrings which are super fun for the look =)

Next up we have Fergaysson styling the Bow Tie Jeans and Gray Sunglasses in such a cool style-combination^ The colour of the two pieces work well and is highlighted by the use of the black tops, the netted sleeves are great here, I think they add a lot of balance to the look. The satin boots are a great pale colour to add, and I love all the silver used in the accessories and jewellery, it's so fun to see that this old LE bag still has some life, and it fits perfectly!

Upcoming are a few looks with a focus on the Mouth Baggy Shorts, and first up we have GeraKowall who also adds the Tartan Slings to the look which is just so super cool - so much colour in comparison to the first two stylings, it really wakes you up! The colours on the shorts give a lot of options to add in the styling, and I think it's possible that they've all been added here - the mixed colour furry coat is so fun, and the colours are perfect for those on the shoes; and I love the printed sweater which somehow manages to still stand out in the styling. The creativity is great here^

Also in the Mouth Baggy Shorts, this time adding the LBB Bag and the Chain Harness Shoes, is Sarah_1980 who brings such a different vibe to the piece! It's fun that both of these looks add a headscarf, it's a piece I never think about wearing, but both colours of it are great with this piece. The orange hoodie is a great way to highlight the more orange/yellow tones in the piece and I still think it looks good against the blues. I also like the smartness added with the use of the white shirt and choosing a less-casual shoe and tights combination, just so much fun =)

And the final look for the Mouth Baggy Shorts is jualvesdoll who also adds the LBB Bag and the Black Transparent Tights, again in such a different styling - who would have thought how versatile this piece could be?! This is probably how I would lean to styling it, choosing a black base and letting all those colours pop. The leather of the jacket and boots balances very nicely, and I think that cropped length is really perfect to highlight the design feature on the tights =) And the bag finishes off the styling very nicely too^

Next up is Vinicius who wears the Chain Harness Shoes and the Bella's Dress, which is the free item awarded if you top up SD's for the release, the dress completely speaks for itself, the lack of additional clothing items used is quite perfect for it^ The added tattoos make a great detail within the neckline of the dress and look fab, and I love the added golden headpiece it's really a beautiful fit with the gold details of the dress!

Styling up both the Green Chain Top and the Square Sunglasses is neon.swift in this super cool street-style look, it would fit right in at any fashion week for sure! The top really pops in the styling against the trousers, I think the styles of the pieces is very nice together. Love the sandals and the belt bag, I think the dark colour of the bag works very nicely in the mix. Simple yet effective =)

And the final styling from ayselevi wearing the Mirror Top, LBB Bag, Flower Necklace and Round Chain Belt and really making this top piece seem incredibly wearable, I love it! The layering under the top is great, it's super fitting and highlights some flexibility for the top. The belting flows well from the top and really ties things together with the top. The necklace on the bag is a super cute detail as well^

S T Y L I N G S

And last but not least, my looks! First up the Tartan Open Jacket which I found worked very nicely with both blue and red tones, I love it with this blue blouse for starters^ The beige tones in the tartan make it easy to include those in the styling, love getting to use these wide legged trousers and some of my favourite neutral accessories - I think it all works very nicely and I think there will be plenty of options for styling this piece =) Secondly styling the LBB Bag which was very easy to work with, I think it will go with almost anything. I was feeling the checks as a running theme so decided to include them in these trousers, which are a pretty fun piece themselves, and the black of the bag pops nicely against the red and the checks. A simple clothing choice and black accents in the accessories makes for a solid styling with this piece^ And the final item, the Tartan Slings, which were the piece I had most trouble styling, they took sooo long! In the end I opted for a blue focus (after trying both green and red), but I think white pieces should also work out nicely. There's a mix of shades of blue, with the dress working with the lighter tones and the bag playing with the darker one - it's not a bad combination I think, but I think there will be something more perfect out there for these shoes, watch this space!