Monday 16 September 2013

Royal Crown's Tea Package by Alice and the Pirates

Today I am taking a look at a recent release by Alice and the Pirates. This series is called Royal Crown's Tea Package and it includes 3 dresses, a skirt, a blouse, 3 hair accessories, a rosette, a jacket, pants, tights and a pair of socks.



This is JSK I. The bodice is very well fitted and an interesting shape. The straps are a suitable width for the dress. However, I am really not a fan of the neckline with the folded over tartan material. The lines are too straight and something about it looks a bit awkward. I would have been happier if the bodice just had the solid coloured velveteen and I think the end result would have looked smarter. I do like the use of gold braid on the bodice though. It is interestingly shaped. This makes it look a bit different to other 'military' style bodices we have seen in lolita. The braid has been used neatly and the gold matches really well with the print. I also think the buttons are a good choice. They have a nice crown picture on them. The buttons have also been spaced out quite well. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed by a ribbon corset. It would blend in pretty well if it wasn't for the white lace along the edges of the shirring panel. Also, the folded over collar looks bad from the back too. The skirt appears to be a decent length. In the stock photos they seem to have used a flatter petti or none at all. Hopefully in person the skirt flares out well as it looks a bit dull and lifeless in the stock photos. The skirt is kept simple, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with good quality lace.


This is JSK II. Again, the bodice looks well fitted and the shape is interesting. The straps are quite thin and I would have maybe preferred them to be just the slightest bit thicker. They don't look very supportive. I personally think the waist bow is too big for the style of dress. However the shape is pretty and despite its size, it does appear quite perky without showing obvious signs of drooping. I like the use of gold lace on this bow as it ties in with the gold in the print. I wouldn't have used the white lace on this bow as well though, as it just adds to its already bulky appearance. The bodice has a yoke which has been done very neatly. It has a pleated edge, which gives the bodice some extra texture and makes it more interesting. The yoke itself is pleated and also features rose shaped lace, which stops it looking too dull and flat. I am a bit disappointed with the 3 buttons though. I wish they had used the crown printed buttons from the other JSK here as well. The neckline has a line of lace running along it which gives it a softer appearance. The only thing I would change here is to make the neckline a bit straighter. The bases of the straps are covered by 2 ribbon bows. The ribbon used is a bit shiny but the shape is good. However, I personally think these bows look a bit too cute in comparison to the rest of the dress and I would have been just as happy if they were not there. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the potential to get a lovely rounded bell shape with the skirt. It looks full enough to create a pretty classic silhouette. The skirt is free of cluttering details so the print is displayed well. The bottom hem is then finished off with good quality lace.



And here we have a part of the print close-up. This print is available in ivory, pink, green and black. The green and black versions work very well. The ivory also seems to work but is not to my personal taste. The pink looks quite garish to me. As for the print itself, I think the emblems and crowns are drawn beautifully. They have lots of detail to them, especially the emblem with all the floral bits surrounding it. The crown is beautiful. The tartan background teams up brilliantly with the prints features. It definitely has a very regal appearance to it. I am not too fond of the lines of tassels though. There are 2 lines of tassels on this print and I would have stuck to just having the one line at the bottom. But I think the tassels are fairly easy to ignore and overall this is a very lovely print.


Also available is the Royal Crown JSK which is much simpler. I think I would have preferred the printed part along the neckline to be a bit straighter and I think the bit on the skirt that looks like pockets is a bit too cute in comparison to the rest of the dress. The bottom features a crown and some writing but it looks a bit strange having just the one at the bottom by itself. I would have liked to have seen the crown printed more along the bottom. But this dress does at least offer a more mature and simpler option if the other dresses are not to your tastes.

So overall I think the print is very pretty and the dress designs are reasonably well done. There is the odd bit here and there I would change on the dresses but I think that overall, they are quite good. I'm not sure I would choose to buy this print myself, but if I did I would probably go for JSK II in green. The tartan collar on JSK I spoils it a bit too much for me to pick that dress. Overall, I think this is a good series and it is an interesting combination of tartan and royal themes.


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