February Collection 2020

Haha, I receive my order today, and several hours later I finally got my shipping notice email from Volks. Little late. USPS told me starting a few days ago to expect a package from CA, though, so I knew it was coming.

Here's Toobs in the mermaid using a normal DDDy bust and wearing some Volks SD16 mary janes in a walking strut pose (I found I had a pair). So if you've got a Towa, it should be OK. Mind the pose (she is arching her back and sticking her chest forward) and keep the tugging the dress to keep from bunching.

The DD suit was well worth the money. Also goes great with the gacha sunglasses I got a while back and haven't yet had the chance to use.

I wanted to see the fit on DDSB but Nines claimed it and I'm not in any hurry to take it off him.

Some points:

-In person it looks way more black than navy to me. I was glad about this because it looked black when I first saw it, but the fact that its called 'navy' made me wary because it was a black suit I wanted all this time. Technically it really is a very, very dark navy but it passes as black to me so eh.

- so volks made.........a very dark suit.........specifically for DD............and didnt...white line any of it..............bruh. Not sure how dangerous the material itself is, but good thing Nines comes with a body stocking!

Ah, I should have picked up 9S as well, but only so I can stick him in a frilly white dress and put 2B in a suit...

33 minutes ago, Monty said:

I wanted to see the fit on DDSB but Nines claimed it and I'm not in any hurry to take it off him.

I have to admit that is pretty awesome.

I ordered that suit and the white tux for SDGrB. Kicking myself for not ordering the bunny slippers when I ordered the dresses. I'm guessing those will be popular when Volks USA has it's lottery.

I'm hoping Volks reacts to how popular the furisodes where, and keeps making more furisodes. The kimono is such a beautiful garment, I am sort of surprised they don't make them more often.

Edited March 6, 2020 by BeyondTime

I got my stuff as well but have only looked at it so far.

54 minutes ago, Monty said:

I wanted to see the fit on DDSB but Nines claimed it and I'm not in any hurry to take it off him.

I'm going to try mine on DDS, later. From your pictures, it appears the sleeves aren't overly long on DDB, so that means they hopefully won't be excessively long on DDS, which is the main thing I'm concerned about not looking right.

54 minutes ago, Monty said:

-In person it looks way more black than navy to me. I was glad about this because it looked black when I first saw it, but the fact that its called 'navy' made me wary because it was a black suit I wanted all this time. Technically it really is a very, very dark navy but it passes as black to me so eh.

Yes, absolutely! I had the same concerns, and the same result. If I didn't know it was blue I'd think it was black. I haven't yet put it side by side with the other two older Volks suits I have (the one I have shown on Luka, and its counterpart that has a skirt) to see if those being actually black brings out the blue in this.

Interestingly, it looks more blue in your pictures than I've seen elsewhere.

54 minutes ago, Monty said:

- so volks made.........a very dark suit.........specifically for DD............and didnt...white line any of it..............bruh. Not sure how dangerous the material itself is, but good thing Nines comes with a body stocking!

Nothing new here; those other two suits I have are also Tenshi-no-Koromo and for DD only (one does also fit some SDs) and no lining there either. The jacket is pretty safe due to having the shirt under it. I used a pair of footless leggings under the pants when I tested with that other suit, but I can say it was safe at least in the short term.

And 9S is just stylin' in the suit with those sunglasses. (I'm laughing, but I think it's awesome.)

If anyone was wondering, as far as I can tell, the white shirt with blue stripes is identical in design and sizing/pattern to the white one included with the suit. I didn't get the black one (yet?) but I'd bet it is the same, though from Volks' pictures that one is missing the pocket.

1 hour ago, lardroom said:

Mind the pose (she is arching her back and sticking her chest forward) [...]

Oh, I bet that's the key part. For a real dress like this, you'd want to be sure you weren't slouching too so that makes a lot of sense even outside the quirks of doll body design.

Edit: I found that the SB-SD-246 black dress shoes are long, compared to the DD foot size. However, they're narrow, pretty pointy-toed, and not bulky looking, so the overall effect doesn't seem to have that clown shoe effect. Do I wish they were a little smaller? Yes, but I think they'll still be usable. They are actually about the same size as those SB-SD-235 boots from a few events ago I've complained about a lot, but those have wide blunt toes and just look a whole lot larger due to that and their overall bulk.

Edited March 6, 2020 by cfx

13 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I'm hoping Volks reacts to how popular the furisodes where, and keeps making more furisodes. The kimono is such a beautiful garment, I am sort of surprised they don't make them more often.

I so wanted one, but Volks didn't rate them for DDDy.

3 minutes ago, lardroom said:

I so wanted one, but Volks didn't rate them for DDDy.

I'll try the one I have on my SD16, if it works on her it should work on a DDDy.

33 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I'm hoping Volks reacts to how popular the furisodes where, and keeps making more furisodes. The kimono is such a beautiful garment, I am sort of surprised they don't make them more often.

To be fair, not all traditional clothing that Volks makes sells out. I've bought a couple of outfits long after the event they were released in was over from Volks USA. The key here was that they used really pretty fabric, so I wanted one even though I don't have Miku or Rin. I do love kimono though, so I agree that I hope they make more like this.

On a related note, I am quite glad that I got the zori, they are quite pretty. On the product page, the fabric used for the straps had both gold and blue flowers. My particular pair has only gold flowers, which I'm actually glad of, because it makes them able to pair with more colors.

Volks Japan has quietly restocked the pink and pale blue pom pom skirts:

https://dollfie.ec.volks.co.jp/item/4518992426006.html

https://dollfie.ec.volks.co.jp/item/4518992426013.html

I've now tried the suit on DDS M bust. Sorry no pics but now that I know how it fits I'll reference this pic @Beani took at Doll Point, as I'm now sure this is on a DDS(B):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/145737472@N03/49576899517/

The pants are of course too long, but they only bunch up a bit at the cuffs and don't look bad. The jacket sleeves just about cover the back of the hand but don't cvoer any part of the fingers as can be seen in the picture. While that's longer than how a suit should fit, it's in line with how 99% of Volks outfits fit on full size DD anyway, so I don't think it's a big deal.

As I haven't tried it on DD yet, I don't know how any other parts of the fit vary, but what I saw on DDS was that fit overall is good. The waist of the pants sticks out a bit over the butt in the rear, like is often the case. The coat is patterned where it's like it has shoulder pads so it fits the shoulders fine. It worked great on the M bust; the shirt is a bit snug already so probably is slightly stretched on L. The shirt material is a bit stretchy.

Some fairly minor gripes:

• Functioning buttons is kinda cool, but I found them difficult to use. Maybe it's because I'm old and handle my dolls with gloves. I did notice by the time I removed the jacket it had gotten a bit easier so maybe they just need to break in a bit.
• What is with the pants closure being on one side? This is now the third time I've seen this from Volks, and I hate it and don't understand it. Here it's just snaps since the pants aren't adjustable but it still makes them fit where there is extra bulk on one side. The usual front closure would be so much better. I won't rant about this here since it's outfits that are OT for this thread, but the other two cases where I've seen this, it's SD pants with extra snaps and loops for hooks, and pulling the pants to one side to tighten them up completely screws up the crotch and makes them look like total crap. Why is Volks doing this? Other pants have elastic in the back to be adjustable and it works far better.
• I'm sure on DDB and DDSB there's no issue, but I'd prefer the shirt didn't have the pocket. Over the bust it just kind of wrinkles up in that area. The white and blue striped shirt has the pocket too but according to the Volks pictures the black shirt is missing it.

Edited March 6, 2020 by cfx

4 hours ago, cfx said:

Maybe it's because I'm old and handle my dolls with gloves.

I have dry skin, so I handle the clothes with cloves. The fabrics have such a delicate weave my skin catches on it and wrecks it.

I know, gross huh? ><;

 

4 hours ago, cfx said:

What is with the pants closure being on one side? This is now the third time I've seen this from Volks, and I hate it and don't understand it. Here it's just snaps since the pants aren't adjustable but it still makes them fit where there is extra bulk on one side.

Imo the snaps on the front, often with a button on top of them, make belts look funky. Closures in the back are a pain with long wigs, but that's true with most tops, so it seems less problematic with pants.

 

The mermaid dress looks perfect on SD16.

Edited March 6, 2020 by BeyondTime

22 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

Imo the snaps on the front, often with a button on top of them, make belts look funky.

That is a good point. I'm not sure these side snaps are a huge improvement there though. These particular pants do not have belt loops. You either use nothing or use the suspenders that come with the suit. I'll have to double check, but I think the other two pair I mentioned don't have belt loops either.

On that subject, the big thick buttons on the shirt interfere with the look and fit of the tie too. Kind of a tradeoff I guess since there isn't the bulk of snaps underneath.

23 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I have dry skin, so I handle the clothes with cloves. The fabrics have such a delicate weave my skin catches on it and wrecks it.

I know, gross huh? ><;

Heh. I'm just anal about skin oils and such getting on anything. I'm not that oily, but I do apparently have something that is mildly caustic or something. You know how stuff like PC mice tend to be painted these days? The paint in areas that my hands touch disappears in a year or probably a lot less of use. That's probably gross too.

I use white cotton gloves when handling the face, and when handling dark fabrics. I've heard horror stories of Volks outfits staining through the dye transfering to the hands.

 I got the SD16B navy suit from the previous collection and working tiny buttons and clasps is annoying when you're fighting that extra layer. I think I'll just change to black food prep gloves that I use when cooking or making cocktails.

25 minutes ago, lardroom said:

I use white cotton gloves when handling the face, and when handling dark fabrics. I've heard horror stories of Volks outfits staining through the dye transfering to the hands.

Yes, that was my first staining experience, and it was really disheartening at the time.

25 minutes ago, lardroom said:

 I got the SD16B navy suit from the previous collection and working tiny buttons and clasps is annoying when you're fighting that extra layer. I think I'll just change to black food prep gloves that I use when cooking or making cocktails.

Something like that is what I'm using; the blue nitrile gloves. I have some of the white cotton ones, but I can't really do anything wearing those because the seams in the fingertips make them far too bulky.

Just look at the gloves from time to time as well; that staining experience I had happened wearing the blue gloves. I looked at them and they had dye all over them too. The black gloves might not be the best choice because of not being able to see.

The cotton pair I tried are still laying here and they are stained pink from handling a red outfit.

Edited March 6, 2020 by cfx

6 hours ago, cfx said:

Just look at the gloves from time to time as well; that staining experience I had happened wearing the blue gloves. I looked at them and they had dye all over them too. The black gloves might not be the best choice because of not being able to see.

I found a box of blue nitrite gloves lying around. I need to find a smaller size for my tiny hands, but they were OK. Black gloves looks so cool when youre making cocktails, but probably not the best for dollies.

I will admit, I felt so baumgartner restoration, when I slipped on the white cotton gloves. It's just working with them is a nightmare.

Edited March 7, 2020 by lardroom

7 hours ago, lardroom said:

I use white cotton gloves when handling the face, and when handling dark fabrics. I've heard horror stories of Volks outfits staining through the dye transfering to the hands.

7 hours ago, cfx said:

Yes, that was my first staining experience, and it was really disheartening at the time.

Fabrics can still pick up the dyes from other fabrics and transfer. My one experience with this was storing my Saber Maid outfit in with my Hatune & Snow Miku defaults. I put them on my Miku's and they got stained everywhere.

Saber maid is an weird spongy synthetic, and I suspect that dust from the fabric in that outfit got onto the Miku outfits.

Edited March 7, 2020 by BeyondTime

Here's normal bust Toobie in the White Fringe Dress in case anyone wants to see it on a DDDy. This dress is so white, it picks up surrounding colors really nicely. The inner dress is slim, zip up in the back with clasp, but not as clingy as the mermaid. The outer fringe is meant to look free and loose. Same general rules as the mermaid in that a dynamic or interesting pose and some dress maintenance will deal with some of the short comings that will occur when a DD tries to put on this obviously SD16 dress. Toobs is too short to replicate the Volks picture with Lady Oscar and I had to make the inner dress an off-the-shoulder dress. I'll also need to restyle the wig instead of leaving it default.

 

I was surprised how nice that white dress looks. Volks store blogs have a couple of pictures on DD (not DDdy) but the poses tend to hide what fit is actually like:

https://www.volks.co.jp/blog_nest/hiroshima/2020/02/21/010684.html

https://www.volks.co.jp/blog_nest/akiba/2020/02/20/010671.html

9 hours ago, cfx said:

I was surprised how nice that white dress looks. Volks store blogs have a couple of pictures on DD (not DDdy) but the poses tend to hide what fit is actually like:

https://www.volks.co.jp/blog_nest/hiroshima/2020/02/21/010684.html

https://www.volks.co.jp/blog_nest/akiba/2020/02/20/010671.html

Here's DDDy normal bust Toobs in a standing pose for the White Fringed Dress, as the sitting pose wont provide all the info. It looked perfect on Oscar but DDs can make it work. I'm really pleased how in some pictures the underdress blends into the fringes. The saddle stand is pushing the back out a bit, causing this dress to be more leggy than it usually is.

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by lardroom

3 minutes ago, lardroom said:

Here's DDDy normal bust Toobs in a standing pose for the White Fringed Dress, as the sitting pose wont provide all the info.

She looks great standing and sitting. I also love the off shoulder idea, I’m going to try that when I try the dress on a DD. I’ll probably try L & M busts for good measure. 

Mermaid dress on SD16

 

Oscar (SD16 S Bust) in the white dress without the frilly overdress.

 

Oscar (SD16 S Bust) in the white dress.

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by BeyondTime

Ahhhhhh. They look so perfect on SD16. I know this is a vinyl doll site, but my next doll is (other than an Arle on the way) going to be a SD16 and I'll get to bring one of those beautiful, delicate creatures home.

Edited March 9, 2020 by lardroom

27 minutes ago, lardroom said:

They look so perfect on SD16. I know this is a vinyl doll site, but my next doll is (other than an Arle on the way) going to be a SD16 and I'll get to bring one of those beautiful, delicate creatures home.

I can recommend SDGr too, they can share most clothing with DD. SDGr tend to have a cuter look to the sculpts, and SD16 have more of a statuesque model look imo. 
 

A nice thing about having an SDGr & 2 SD16s, is that I can buy clothing / shoes sized for DD & Volks resins, and if the fit on my DD isn’t good the money isn’t wasted. It also opens the door to buying dark colored Volks clothing. 
 

Volks resins are works of art, you’ll be amazed by how beautiful they are in person. 

Edited March 9, 2020 by BeyondTime

This is another outfit where the slim DD waist is an issue. There is a huge gap between the cummerbund and her torso, and the shirt won't lie flat. Needs bobby-pins.  I'm going to see if it fits Belldandy, and it will probably fit a DD better than a DDS.