Thursday, January 11, 2018

Restyle Haul + Review

I'm taking time off from playing Poland's gaming pride and joy and one of the greatest video games ever made, The Witcher 3, to review one of Poland's goth brands.

So, I always liked the style of this brand, but they have the least search-engine-optimized name ever. People would post that they are wearing Restyle, and I'd search "Restyle" or "Restyle clothing" or "Restyle goth brand" and would get all these random pages and give up. Thanks to Lurid Fashion for finally posting a direct link: Restyle.pl



The above is what I ordered. A necklace, ankle bracelets, leggings, and a dress. This is my first order with them.

Moon Ankle bracelets/boot cuffs/whatever you want to call them: I love the idea of these because I HATE (aside from New Rock) goth brand shoes. They are always made of cheap plastic and don't last long. What's with the pleather? Honestly, if they were just made out of canvas, I'd buy them--much greener, cheaper, and lasts about as long.



These ankle bracelets are of course made of pleather, but I was hoping that that they won't look so cheap next to my everyday Frye Erin combat boots. I like that I can go full goth when I want to but still wear the same boots I love--plus it saves space. I'd wear these with a very minimalist outfit, lest I look too mall goth. 

Next up is the Velvet Strap Leggings, which were on sale. These are a good cotton 95%/elastane 5% blend, opaque (except for the sheer panels), and unfortunately too big. The website suggested that you order a size up since there were manufacturing issues and the sizes ran small--usually good advice. However, I think I should have ordered my true size, as these are a bit too loose. I am wearing a medium--I always buy size small.  

My trick to fix leggings that are too big is to extend the bottom hems over the heels like a sock--that works if the waistband is tight enough, otherwise they slide off your butt! Due to the frigid temperatures, I haven't worn these for a full day, so not sure if that solution will work. These were manufactured in India.

Next up is the Coven Tunic: it's a dress. It's actually a high-low dress, subtle enough it looks like a mistake. I liked the sleeves and the lines and hardware. I'm not really a fan of the gathering--I feel like it's too girly for a bondage/fetish influenced medieval goth--lol ok stylistically it's all over the place, but I like it, which is why I got it!


This also ran large--you can see the shoulder seam isn't on my shoulder and the neckline sits loose around my neck. There's a side zipper that I didn't need to use because it slipped over my head just fine. The fabric is 100% cotton according to the label. Sure, Jan. There's definitely some spandex in this--and the pleather and sleeves, that ain't cotton. This was made in China.

The neckline is kind of outdated--most people are wearing long necklaces or thin chokers, and this is somewhere between too low and not low enough. I styled it with a snug chainmail necklace, which works well, I think. The giant choker the model wears also works.

The Demon Sigil Necklace is a cool design. I really wish they made their stuff not out of mystery metals. There are a few funny videos on YouTube about Restyle used cadmium and how people tried to save their pieces by putting clear nail polish on them. I don't know if that works. I'd blogged about toxic metals before and very very buy anything unless I know what the material is made of. Sterling sliver, gold, brass, wood, bone, cotton, leather are all ok for me to wear. If cheap jewelry is covered with paint, as I had hoped this necklace was, that would still make me nervous, but I'd feel slightly better. 


This is unfortunately black mystery metal. I'd worn this with a colored top so you can see it...black on black is hard to photograph. I actually have this exact mockneck top in black, and this is pretty much how I intend to wear it--turtlenecks, mocknecks, and collared shirts--so that none of the metal actually touches my skin. Mystery metal aside, I love the design.

Overall, I mostly like this, but the sizing issues bugged me. Nothing ran true to size--not the seller's advice to order a size up nor ordering in my actual size. I was pleased with the fabric used in this price point--including the sheer stuff, which has the potential to be very, very cheap feeling. Usually in this price point, the fabrics are atrocious. Where were the corners cut? Labor probably. 

Have you gotten anything from Restyle? What are your thoughts?

7 comments:

  1. Are you satisfied with the quality of your items? Because we in Poland have this conspiracy theory that Restyle ships their better quality stuff to international buyers, and everything that's slightly off gets shipped to us lol. That's because A LOT of reviews from Poland are very negative, both when it comes to clothing and accessories, while you'd have to look hard to find a negative review in English (also, it doesn't help that they delete negative comments from their website...). Usually in international reviews it's just 'it's good for their price range', which I understand there were some flaws, but it was cheap, so it's ok. For us, though, it's 'it's bad for the price range' because their items are actually on the expensive side, yet they are cheaply made. So, I'm curious.

    I've read a lot of Polish reviews, so I tend not to buy from them, no matter how popular they are (I also couldn't care less about their newer designs). I especially stay the hell away from their bags and clothes, because I've seen too much shit when it comes to these. I do own maybe 5 items from them, two of which I bought secondhand. It's a lottery, basically - two of them are fine, one had a minor flaw, and two were screwed up (they were printed. Yep, their prints are also better to avoid.).

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    1. haha if that was a scam it would be a good one. but I don't think so, because the items I received were typical fast-fashion made-in-china quality, maybe slightly worse because of the sizing issues. Usually at HM or whatever, you'll know what a small will look like on you--their own website mentioned the sizing problems (which is why I ordered a size up, which I shouldn't have done). when the fit's wrong, that's the surest marker of low quality. I don't think the materials are awful--they are better than forever 21 or the stuff at romwe/sheinside/etc (I don't even know if those are around anymore)--fast-fashion "chiffon" fabric feels like sandpaper to me and I'd never wear it. but when it comes down to it it's about what you would pay for a similarly embellished item in a fast fashion store in the USA, and it's about the same quality--pretty much what I expected. Maybe our clothing is more expensive here? Sounds like you can get some good clothing in Poland for cheap.

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  2. Got a restyle bag. Didnt even last a year and it started to fall apart. I did put too many books in it at one point!

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    1. I've heard terrible things about their bags on youtube!

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    2. Yeah its sad. It was so pretty. Ita the one with the skull rib cage on the front.

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  3. I have never bought anything from Restyle, I have thought about it but now I feel like I won't haha!

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