They say that good things come to those who wait. And that good things are worth the wait. This review will confirm both of those statements to be true as I gush about my L’Esprit de la Noblesse order.
About the Brand
L’Esprit de la Noblesse is a lolita brand based in Moscow, Russia, and ran by one of the most #couplegoals pair I’ve met, Elizabeth and Nicholas. The clothes that they release are truly the clothes that they themselves love, since you will usually see the initial designs modelled by Elizabeth before they are release, while Nicholas creates matching outfits so that they are always a pair, in life and in fashion, although I don’t recall boystyle outfits being sold. For a while their shop operated via Etsy, however, early this year they have started their own website, which includes both updates and a webshop. Though to definitely not miss any updates, you should follow them on Instagram: @lespritdelanoblesse for general brand updates and their individual accounts, @elizabethdaiglere and @nicholasdaiglere, where you may be able to catch sneak peaks as well as gush over both #lifestyleegl goals and #couplegoals.
Order Process
Normally at this point in the review I would go into the whole breakdown with a timeline, to give you an idea of what to expect. However, this was not a regular order process, as it was severely disrupted by Covid-19 and all the delays caused by it on all fronts, both for L’Esprit de la Noblesse and with their suppliers, and for me as a customer. Since none of that was within their means to control, it would be unfair to hold any of that against them, so I decided to not discuss the timelines at all.
What I will mention is that L’Esprit de la Noblesse were fantastic to order with. Because of what I ordered, I had an insight into both the Etsy process and the website one. The dress, which I ordered on a payment plan, I purchased via Etsy, and paid half as deposit, then the second half the next payday. This was how I was able to split the payments and what I suggested, which was ok for them. The original arrangement was that I would collect the dress in Moscow at the Gothic Lolita Festival, however, that didn’t come to be. Literally two months after completing the payment on the dress they released the Le Nuage blouse, which I also had to have. This one I ordered via the online shop, which follows the usual checkout system. Whilst I paid for postage on that one, since I didn’t know if the blouse would be ready in time for April, and it turned out to be a blessing, since that cost could cover the postage for both the blouse and the dress once both were ready. And although the dress was ready much sooner than the blouse, L’Esprit de la Noblesse agreed to hold out and combine postage for me, since I preferred to save on postage than to have one item sooner.
Honestly, the one thing that absolutely must be said is that if you ever want to order anything from them and have any kind of issues or questions, or limitations - message them first. Elizabeth and Nicholas have been very quick to respond and accommodating to requests like payment plans, holding items or arranging pickup at an event. As long as you don’t ask for anything unreasonable, they will work with you to find a solution that works for you both.
What I Got
As I filmed an unboxing for this, I don’t have any of the usual photos of packaging etc. If you really want to know, go to the video at the bottom. All I’ll say here is that everything was packaged securely in individual plastic bags with a logo sticker and inside a sturdy box. It was simple and practical, did the job, and means we can get to the meat of this review straight away.
Starting with the dress, as this is what I ordered first. The La Bibliotheque print had me gushing from the moment I saw the first preview. If you’d have told me a few years back that a painting print would have me gasping with love, I’d have laughed at you, since I used to think that painting prints were lazy and didn’t translate well onto dresses. Colour me wrong because this one is everything. Arguably though, this is not a painting print, but a tapestry one, with the image of The Triumph of Fame at the centre placed over a background of leather bound books.
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| The dress in all its glory! |
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| Can you make out the sparkly metallic threads in this? There are sparkly metallic threads in this! |
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| Not sure if all of the books are French classics, but they seem to be. |
The rich colours and intricacy of the print had me hooked from day one. As is usually the case with prints like this, the more you look, the more details you discover, from realising that all the books are in French and by French authors to spotting the creepiest pair of fish ever. Having never seen the original tapestry, only images of it, the colours on the dress are vibrant, though appear warmer than the image of the real deal where what’s green on the dress is a rich dark turquoise kind of blue on the tapestry. And I think I prefer it being green, it somehow seems more cohesive that way.
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| Compare the dress print... |
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| ... with an image of the original tapestry. (From Wikimedia Commons) |
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| Those green florals that you get in tapestries get me every time, they're *chef's kiss* |
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| Hello, which market did you come from? |
The dress was available to purchase in the original high waist cut or you could ask for a regular waist cut, which is what I did. As each piece was made to measure, I had to provide my measurements and there is no shirring or corset lacing in the dress, so I have to be careful about changing size too much if I want this beauty to fit me for the years to come. Those deciding on the natural waist placement also had the option to either keep the dress regular lolita length (and cut some of the top part of the skirt’s print) or longer (and have it all). I opted for the longer version, having just come off the high of modelling a very long dress for Triple Fortune, but it turned out that at least for me the longer length is just perfect. It hits me only a tiny bit below my knee, which is currently my perfect dress length, so it’s both flattering and I don’t need to worry about getting a new petticoat. Whilst voluminous, I am yet to try how the skirt takes to my hoop skirt, for now I’ve only tried it on with the Malco Modes A-line petticoat. However, the fabric has some weight and stiffness to it, so that the skirt of the JSK flares out beautifully and maintains crisp, clean lines without much help. And although I said that it has some weight, it’s not heavy by any means, so it won’t deflate your super delicate petticoats either.
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| The hairstyle all of us have now, locked in our homes due to pandemic and with no reason to be going outside. |
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| Excuse the storage crease, we're here for the #bookshelfgoals |
Then we come to the Le Nuage blouse. Le nuage means cloud in French and this blouse is exactly that: light and fluffy like a cloud, made with delicate soft mesh and lots of it. It’s available in whopping 28 colours, so definitely something for everyone out there (possibly inducing a headache for those who can only get one). I took a bit of a gamble with the colour of mine, opting for one called “cold dusty rose”. At that time the only colour samples were single layers of the mesh used, which will look different both because of monitor settings and because being semi-sheer, mesh looks different depending on what’s underneath, as well as how many layers of it are overlapping. The single layer swatch looked a little bit lighter, a slightly cooler shade of pink, whereas the blouse that I have is ever so slightly darker and warmer. Having said this, it’s a colour that so far proved impossible to capture accurately, and I’m still very happy with it. Especially since by complete accident it turned out to be a wonderful match for Angelic Pretty’s Flower Garden JSK, a dress that so far I have failed to match.
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| Sadly, I only took one photo, so again, go to the video to see more details. Will I ever manage to photograph it true to colour? We'll never know... |
What makes this blouse so good that as soon as I received this one I ordered another one (yes, I bought another one AND convinced two friends to get them too) is the cut. The sleeves are beautifully dramatic, billowing high and holding that shape with ease, whilst still remaining soft enough to manipulate it to what you need. The sleeves are on the longer side in order to allow the space for that poofiness, but you could easily wear them longer and less poofy if you have long arms or pull them up, amp the volume and still have them be the right length if you have shorter arms. The neckline is pretty deep, which I absolutely love - this is my ideal neckline cut, scooped and keeping the collar area open, but be mindful of this if you’re a bit self conscious. Since it’s mesh, you’re not likely to wear this blouse with a skirt, but if your JSK is cut a little lower too and/or if you’re blessed in the chest, you may have more cleavage than one normally would in lolita. And for people with narrow shoulders, I’d say be careful, since the neckline is deep as well as wide. I’m on the average-to-narrow shoulder width for a European gal, clocking in at 38cm, and the edges of the neckline are exactly where my bra straps are, tethering on falling off my shoulders entirely. The neckline has a little bit of elastic to allow for off-shoulder looks, but whilst someone broader than me would have this sit comfortably, someone narrower might find the blouse slip off without the support of JSK straps, so be mindful of that. Lastly, the waistline is fully elasticated. Whilst the elastics throughout are thin, so I don’t dare to stretch them too much to measure, they are on the comfortable side for someone of my build. The waist one feels comfortable enough to accommodate someone around maybe 100cm waist, and the sleeve elastics are quite stretchy too, with the slight exception of the wrist elastic that only goes so far. The upper arm and elbow ones are of the same stretch level as the waist elastic, nonetheless, this is a one size only blouse. I show a little bit of that stretch in the video, but as I said, I don’t dare keep that stretch sustained for long enough to measure, as the elastic is thin, so if you’re unsure and want this blouse, you can either ask me or the designers.
Considering that I’ve already ordered another Le Nuage blouse and how much I raved about the dress, it’s probably not hard to guess that this is an absolute 10/10 review from me. I have nothing bad to say about L’Esprit de la Noblesse or their clothes. Although I’ve admired them for a while now, it wasn’t until seeing the La Bibliotheque print that I found something I wanted to own. This whole experience has solidified for me that next time they release a design that I like, it’s definitely worth getting and supporting a fantastic company. And in the meantime I will encourage everyone who might enjoy L’Esprit de la Noblesse’s designs to not wait if you find something you like. This is a small indie brand, run entirely by just two people, and everything they produce is limited run, with very high attention paid to quality and standards. I don’t recall seeing their stuff second hand much, people who buy them, buy to keep, so if you like something and don’t want to miss out, buy it during the pre-order, as ready stock is not always guaranteed.
As promised, here is the unboxing video. Headphone users are warned that the video includes squealing.
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