Weekly Alice

Does anyone still remember Heart E? This lolita brand used to be more well-known during the early 2000s but seems to have sunk back into semi-obscurity with recent times. They're still in business and have an online web-store but only sells some selected pieces through the Kera Angel shopfronts.

Ever since Tim Burton came up with his take on the Alice in Wonderland mythos with his film last year, there was a period when all things Alice including costumes became quite popular in mainstream consciousness. And, somewhat surprisingly, Heart E also came up with their version of the blue dress that Alice wore for when she first appeared on the silver screen.

This film version to be precise

Annnnnd, here we have Heart E's version

I actually did manage to see Heart E's version in OIOI's Kera Angel store outlet last October when there. Needless to say, I did a little double-take when I caught sight of it and did a mini inspection on the spot!

Probably to avoid any potential sticky lawsuits from Disney since Japan does have a Disneyland of its own, the bodice front of the Heart E version has been modified and the curlique design at the dress hem has also been simplified to what looks like random scrawls, with Heart E's own logo emblazoned on it as well.

The Heart E dress is pretty enough in real life but since it's going for a cool retail price of 22890yen, I wouldn't really recommend it as the overall design is too simple to justify the amount and the construction of the dress was only so-so. It's cute as a novelty item and a lolita take on the film dress but otherwise, if one wants to dress up as Burton's Alice, I would say the officially licensed Disney Alice costume makes a better choice.

Disney approves! Retailing for US$49.90 currently