Chained Berry Memoir by Baby

After reading the most recent Kera magazine, I got very excited about the latest Baby the Stars Shine Bright print. I have been waiting patiently for more pictures so I could review it! This is Chained Berry Memoir.

I am a huge strawberry obsessive so I have to admit I can be a bit biased when it comes to strawberry prints! At first glance the print is quite similar to other brand strawberry prints. What I like about this one is the use of ribbon threaded lace as part of the print instead of using the actual lace in its place. It had the potential to look a bit too cartoon-like but I don't think it looks too bad. I love the alternating lines of lace and berries running down the print and I am happy to see some vertical lines. One of my main dreams for 2011 was to see some more vertical lines because they can be very flattering. The strawberries look very plump and juicy. I am not too bothered about the logo but if you love showing off your brand then at least everybody can see what you are wearing!

The set comprises of 2 dresses, a skirt, a bolero, a top, a head bow, a bag and 2 different socks. That is a lot of stuff! This set will be great for people who love to wear an entire set from head to toe because it gives you plenty of options.

Here is the first dress, the Jenny jumperskirt. Whilst I liked the idea of including the ribbon lace as part of the print, I don't think it works well on the dress straps which is what they have done with this dress. I would have just used the stripy part of the fabric. I don't think these straps would give a lot of support. They look a bit flimsy in some of the photos. Baby have used strawberry lace for this dress (what else!) which looks fine running around the edge of the bodice but in my opinion, looks a bit strange on the straps. I love the little crochet strawberries dangling from a little bow. It looks really cute! I don't like having a lot of crochet but I think Baby have got the balance right. The corset detail on the front is very neat and tidy with two lines if a more simpler lace running down either side. I am still undecided about having two corset parts on the bodice but it has been done very neatly on the front.

The back corset does not look as neat but in all fairness, Baby are trying to hide the shirring here. My main concern with this dress is how baggy it looks. Obviously you will be able to tighten the corset parts but there appears to be a lot of fabric which could swamp smaller girls. I would have liked the print on the waist ties to be running vertically instead of horizontally so it matches the dress. The skirt part has a nice shape which is not too bulky. The strawberry lace running along the bottom looks very wide and I don't think it looks as appealing.

Then we have the Maria jumperskirt. The main feature here is the Peter Pan style collar which I have seen about a fair bit so I am assuming it is fashionable right now. It is finished with a cute pink bow. I don't usually like having lots of bows but I think it works well on this dress. Sadly, the shape of the bodice looks very unflattering. This definitely wont suit those with a larger bust. I think it looks a little uncomfortable. Also, I think the waist part sticks out a lot because you have a band of the print running around it horizontally. It looks untidy and it doesn't really help to flatter the waist.

The back part looks very neat and the shirring is tucked away behind a corset which is similar to the one on the front of the first dress. Again, I would have loved the print on the waist ties to be running vertically instead of horizontally. If I had this dress I would be very tempted to wear a cute cropped cardigan and then pull the collar out so it is poking through. The overall shape of the dress is not as good as the first dress. If it nipped in at the waist a bit better, I think it would look a lot prettier. The skirt shape is not as nice as the first dress in my opinion. It looks a little too flat. The lace running along the bottom just has polka dots on it. The more I look at this 2nd dress, the more appealing the 1st dress seems to be! If only the bodices looked a little nicer!

I am a huge fan of the bag! I wish I had the money for it! It shows off the vertical parts of the print very well and it is simple enough that you could wear it with other strawberry dresses by different brands. It is finished of simply at the top as well.

Here is one of the 2 pairs of socks for this series. The other pair looks like a lot of other generic strawberry socks. They look pretty but they are almost identical to lots of other strawberry socks. The ones in the picture are a little different. I think these look very cute. Again there may be a bit of a clash between vertical and horizontal lines if you are wearing the dress but I don't think this detail matters as much with the socks.

Whilst I absolutely adore this print, I feel a little let down by the bodices on both dresses. Maybe the first dress would look better if they had tightened the bodice a bit more on the dummy. My favourite dress is the first one because I am a little bit picky about some of the details on the second dress. I don't think this series is particularly special, especially if you are not as obsessed with strawberries as I am. I wouldn't mind getting pieces from this series but I am not going to go all out, desperately trying to get my hands on these items. Except the bag. I love the bag!