Indie Brand Review: Violet Fane

Violet Fane is a Spanish lolita brand that creates dresses, skirts, tights, and accessories with original illustrations with a whimsical twist. Their prints vary from moody gothic collections to elegant classic and their main pieces have some truly unique designs. 

In late September, Violet Fane opened a pre-order for “A Cult from the Sea”. It was available in a dress and a skirt and Violet Fane also offered matching tights and pins. When I saw it, I knew I had to have it.

Order Up

Ordering through the website was easy. There was a simple cart system that accepted Paypal and credit cards. There were options for first class and express shipping for both the EU and the rest of the world. I hoped it get the dress in time for Halloween, so I opted for express shipping. I received a confirmation email minutes after I placed my order.

 Special Delivery

I placed my order on September 27, 2019. The order was estimated to arrived by the end of October, but in mid November I still had no update on the delivery date. I sent an inquiry via their website and got a response later that same day that the shop had encountered a production error and needed to be reprinted. On December 4, I received a notification from DHL that my package had shipped. On December 6, my package arrived safely on my doorstep. 

 While I understand that production delays happen, I was disappointed that I had to reach out to the shop in order to find out where my package was. I received no email about the delay and I didn’t find any posts on social media.

 Call of Cutethulhu

 The package arrived safely December 6. The box was fairly unassuming and smaller than I expected. The dress was folded tightly and the tights were tucked just under it. There were also two business cards in the box. 

The dress was a size “S-L”. It is a satin-y polyster with a half elastic waist. The dress is lined with a slip printed with a tasteful Violet Fane repeating pattern.

While I love the cotton that brands like Peppermint Fox and Mulberry Chronicles use, the satin was luxurious in a way that cotton doesn’t compare to. 

The print is absolutely stunning. The background color is a deep blue, almost grey or black and colors rich throughout the print.  The print quality is excellent, and its a pleasure to pour over the illustrations, finding subtle, cheeky details. The skirts border is ringed with tenatcles reaching up from the deep as artifacts and statues float down to the depts. The matching tights look slightly darker, although I suspect the colors will be the same when the tights are stretched out on a leg. 

Though I only purchased two pieces from this collection, there were other accessories and a jumperskirt avaliable. The JSK had a particularly unique design, and I’d definitely recommended looking at this brand if you’re interested in unique cuts and features in lolita main pieces. 

Final thoughts

I’m overall pleased with my purchase. The quality of the garments are wonderful and I’d definitely recommend this print to fans of aquatic prints (especially Lovecraft inspired prints). I’d also encourage potential customers to contact the brand about the status of their order if they have questions since it was not immediately clear why my order was delayed. 

Jenna

By day, Jenna is a legal professional living in Los Angeles, California. By night (and weekends), she is a frill wearing monster who loves Innocent World and lolita indie brands. When she isn’t taking mirror selfies of her coordinates, she enjoys reading comic books, playing board games, and snuggling with her pup, Lily. You can see her mirror selfies on her instagram @lovelylaceandlies and contact her at lovelylaceandlies@gmail.com.