Lucky Pack season is always one of the most hectic times of the lolita calendar year. Until recently, that season was only at the end of the year, when Lucky Packs were offered by Japanese stores than just lolita fashion retailers. This summer, however, that has been far from true–several brands have been releasing Lucky Packs during the summer. BABY, the Stars Shine Bright was the last to offer these secret packages, both online and in their new store in San Francisco, USA.

Lucky Packs have always intrigued me. As a little girl I would often buy a “secret bag” from the Sanrio store–paying a few dollars for a decorated paper shopping bag without knowing what kind of small items I could look forward to. Even now, I get excited about the possible savings to be had from purchasing a Lucky Pack AND the mystery and surprise of not knowing what items will be unwrapped. (A Lucky Pack is a sealed bag full of a certain yen-value of clothing and accessories, purchased at a VASTLY discounted rate because the buyer does not know which items will be in the package!)

Despite how much I love Lucky Packs, Lucky Packs do NOT like me. I purchased a few at the beginning of my involvement in lolita fashion–one from Metamorphose and one from Angelic Pretty.

The Metamorphose pack contained a white short-sleeved blouse, mocha bloomers, and a black velvet skirt. The skirt had an elastic waistband too large for me, and the fabric was SO heavy that it pulled itself right off–even over my petticoat! I kept the blouse, as it was one of the first blouses I owned, but it wasn’t really my style and didn’t really fit properly. The blommers were the one thing I kept–the color doesn’t match anything I own, but they’re super-comfy and have gorgeous mocha lace at the bottom.

I found the Angelic Pretty bag on Yahoo!Japan Auctions. I didn’t worry too much about buying it, because I had seen Lucky Pack contents–which were lovely matching sets of a hairbow, one-piece, socks, and a totebag. I thought I’d be safe…but I wasn’t! My Lucky Pack had a different one-piece in the black x white colorway, two gray tartan hairbows in different styles with different patterns of tartan, and a tan totebag with a pastel blue print. Nothing matched, and nothing really suited me. I ended up giving most items to my little sister; we eventually traded one-pieces and she absolutely ADORES the one she got from me.

Despite this, I found myself really tempted by the Lucky Packs offered by BABY, the Stars Shine Bright. I like the sets they offer, although I worry that my poor luck would strike again, giving me items in a colorway I won’t enjoy wearing. At the same time, there’s a chance to get some really lovely items at a greatly reduced price. I actually have a little bit of spending money again (although I ought to keep saving it up just in case of emergencies), and there’s something so tempting about getting more wardrobe items.