Agashi by Christina O and i have been meaning to collaborate on a blog review for almost a year now (!) back when i was lusting over almost all of her cage bra designs but life got in the way and our plans fell by the wayside. And then the Seifukus arrived and i melted into a giant puddle of need. Christina O heard my puddle pleas and decided to decimate my brain completely by releasing a line of Sailor Senshi inspired Seifukus, the Ayumi Moon collection. I was raised on Sailor Moon, it had me desperately changing the channel whenever my older brother left the room, so i've got a soft spot for anything the franchise inspires. I don't think i slept properly for a week after the release. I gushed all over the place, in ways only a puddle of goo can gush, and started saving all my money (because clearly i needed Mars, Mercury, Moon, Pluto AND Venus). And then there was a promotion on the sets and in contacting Christina O to enquire about sizing, we re-animated our collaboration conversation and long story short, Ayumi Pluto happened!
Pluto had to be my first foray into the Ayumi Moon collection. My teen-come-adult angst always identified with the destined to be alone and silent Sailor Pluto, who eventually reneges on her post unifying space and time to study physics. Couple that with my eternal sour feelings from having an ugly, non-classically British school uniform and my lazy two colour, black and white, wardrobe and you've got Christina O speaking to me on so many levels.
I was sent the Ayumi Pluto in an XXS which is billed to be suitable for a 30" bust and a 23" waist. My Seifuku arrived in a black mesh bag wrapped in tissue paper. The mesh fabric doesn't wrinkle or crease so this lingerie bag is perfect for storage.
The top measures 22" around the band and stretches up to 33.5". It fits my 27" underbust snugly and surprisingly it also fits nicely on my 30.5" overbust. There's certainly room in the top for a larger overbust and i imagine for those significantly larger there would be some kind of push up effect but the presence of the darts and the front closure makes it really work for the smallest of small busts like mine. The top is so beautifully finished with all the visible seams perfect and a sturdy piece of elastic keeping the shape of the band. The Ayumi top fastens in the front with two hook and eye closures and the bow is free style so you can leave it untied or practice your bow tying skills (and then teach me please). The seams on the cuffs are hidden by black and white detailing that matches the edge of the sailor collar (which is flipped up on one of the cuffs in these photos, my apologies).
The Micro skirt is the right length for me at 12" (it's actually a bit longer than some of my everyday skirts...whoops) although Agashi do offer a longer version at 15" too. The waist on the skirt measures 22" and stretches up to 35", which means it's a nice snug fit on my 24" waist. The finishing on the hem of the skirt is also perfect which is no mean feat with sheer mesh material. One minor niggle is that the elastic of the waistband is not sewed to the gathered mesh (they're free moving) so when you're putting the skirt on, it tends to twist and buckle. It's not an issue if you have the time to adjust it back to lying flat and equally space the gathering but alas, if you're fighting the dying light on a saturday afternoon like me, then it's going to look a bit messy. So i do take part responsibility of this one. If you adjust accordingly the waistband lies flat, looks even and the gathers are spaced nicely.
This hasn't sated my need for almost all of the Ayumi Moon Seifukus, it's just reinforced it by proving that not only is Christina O designing on such a level that she may be my soulmate, but she's also executing her incredible designs to a really high standard of quality. I'm sure by the end of the year i'll have a couple more of these (especially if she releases a Chibi Moon). And hey(!) because Christina O is the greatest, she's offering Of Lambs and Lace readers a 15% discount on her entire store with the code:
LACE15
So there's absolutely no excuse not to indulge your Seifuku needs (and it doesn't expire so how lucky are you?). Or any other needs you have that can only be satisfied by Agashi by Christina O garments. I personally can't live without the Belle Choker, Ayumi Blue Pastel Seifuku or the Ayumi Noir Seifuku for much longer (is it bad taste to use your own discount code to spend your entire paycheck or...?)
*This set was provided free of charge for the purposes of a review. All opinions are mine. The fangirling is mine too