And now back to today's post, which is quite appropriately, a Meta print discussion! Today's series is Musical Cat. This series includes 3 dresses, a skirt, an apron, 4 hair accessories, a blouse and socks.
This is the OP. The overall bodice shape is a bit plain looking. I think it may be because the sleeves lack any real puff. I also feel the sleeves could do with being a bit shorter in length as well. I do like the rose lace used to line the sleeves but that alone isn't enough to make the sleeves look fancy and I'm unsure if a rose theme fits the rest of the dress. The sleeves also feature a button up design, although the buttons are also simple in design. I think gold cat head shaped buttons could have looked really cute here. The main bodice is fully shirred on the front, giving it a slightly lumpy appearance. However, due to the style of print, the shirring does blend in a bit. I am curious to know why Meta chose the front to be fully shirred but not the back. Perhaps it was to give the front a bit of extra depth and make it more interesting. The collar on this dress is quite big, although I do feel it suits the dress. The collar has this little bit of pleated detail to it, which has been executed quite neatly. The collar is lined neatly with the same rose lace. The collar is then topped off with 2 small bows, which I think are a nice cute touch. The bows are a simple, but cute shape and a good size. Judging by the stock photos, they are detachable if you don't like them. The waist area features a ribbon belt. The belt looks a bit simple in design and the ribbon is a little shiny. Overall, the belt looks very simple and a bit cheap. However, it does help to emphasise the waist area quite nicely. As mentioned, the back doesn't have any shirring and just has a zip running up the middle. The zip is very well concealed and the collar looks okay from the back as well. The stock photos show the skirt is very full with the potential to flare outwards well. The length looks generous as well. I think it could do with having a slightly more rounded shape, although I do feel the overall skirt shape does suit the bodice style. The skirt is tiered. The tier join has been done reasonably neatly and is topped with lace, although I am not keen on the way the tiers have been spaced out. In fact, it probably doesn't really need to be tiered at all as it doesn't really contribute much to the design. Aside from the tiers and gathering, the print is displayed fairly well. The bottom hem is then finished off with a ruffle of the stripy fabric which is a bit simple, does at least it matches up.
This is the Bustle Pinafore JSK. The bodice looks very well fitted and the shape is quite interesting. The straps underneath the collar are a good width and look very supportive. There is a waist bow, which is a bit big. I would have preferred a slightly smaller bow here. However, the bow shape is cute and lined neatly with lace. It sits really well on the dress and looks quite perky. It is detachable as well, and in the stock photos Meta have even suggested using it pinned to a blouse as a neck bow. The bodice features 4 lines of vertical lace; 2 on either side and 2 rows close together in the centre. I am not too keen on the choice of lace, but overall I think it has been placed well. Inside the 2 middle lines of lace, there is alternating buttons and bows. The ribbon used for the bows is quite shiny, but apart from that I think they are a good size and shape. Meta have chosen golden rose shaped buttons and again, I am unsure how a rose theme fits with the series, but I do think the buttons are very pretty. The bows and buttons have been spaced out well and don't look too overcrowded. Then we get to the collar, which has a bit of a peculiar shape to it. It has sort of been shaped to look a bit like a bow on one of the sides. I can see what Meta were aiming for, but it doesn't quite work. The end result looks like somebody has taken a random chunk out of the collar. It would have probably been better to have just had a normal shaped collar. Apart from that little strange part, the collar is actually quite a nice shape and size, and the ruffle is a good way to finish off the edge. Thankfully, the collar is detachable and although the neckline underneath is a bit simple, I would definitely detach the collar if I owned this dress.
Here we can see what the back of the dress and the bustle look like. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed by a ribbon corset. I really dislike the way the collar looks from the back. I just feel it is a little odd teaming this sort of collar with a dress that sits quite low down the back. It makes me appreciate the fact that the collar is detachable a lot more. As for the bustle, the material used looks nice, although it looks quite full and voluminous, so maybe not a great choice if you are conscious about the size of your backside. Apart from that, I think the bustle has been done fairly well. The tiers are spread out evenly and the layers sit okay on top of each other.
The stock photos show the skirt is super full and it flares outwards beautifully. I love the very rounded shape. There is the potential to create a really pretty OTT shape with this dress. The skirt features the same line of lace that the OP has and again, I'm not too fussed about it being there. Apart from that, the skirt is kept quite simple on the front and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is finished off with a tulle ruffle, which works well teamed with the bustle at the back.
And this is the pinafore Cummerbund JSK. The bodice seems well fitted but the overall shape is a bit plain with harsh straight lines. It just feels a bit too basic. The straps underneath the collar are a suitable width for the dress but are very plain with no detail to them at all. The detachable collar itself is a very odd shape. I don't feel the square shape really works or is very flattering. The collar is very full of detail though, with pleats, a ribbon running around the edge, lace and buttons. The lace is very pretty, as do the musical themed shaped buttons (I am a little confused why the other dresses don't have buttons which match the print theme). The pleats add a bit of added texture and despite the ribbon being shiny, I think it looks quite smart. If it wasn't for the collar shape, it would be quite pretty. The cummerbund is an interesting idea. It certainly nips the waist area in well. However, I feel it would have looked nicer with solid coloured material instead of the stripy material. Also, whilst the lace along the edges of the cummerbund gives the cummerbund a softer appearance, I think more subtle, narrower lace could have looked better. The bodice has 2 lines of lace running up it, but overall the bodice is kept quite plain, probably to make more of a feature of the collar. Which is great, if you like the collar, but if you choose to detach it then the dress looks very plain. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed neatly by a ribbon corset. Like the other JSK there is a gap between the back of the dress and the collar and I still dislike the way it looks. The stock photos show the skirt has a very pretty rounded shape to it. It has plenty of volume and flares out beautifully. The skirt design is kept simple and so the print is displayed brilliantly. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of ribbon and a stripy ruffle.
And finally, here is part of the print close up. This series is available in black, pink and green. The colour choices are very interesting and offer a maturer take on sweet lolita. I think the non-pastel colour choices work well with the print. As for the print itself, it is a very cute offering. I think the cats are adorable! The instruments are well drawn. The placement of the items in the print is good too and well spaced out. The musical note themed ribbon is a good way to break up the border print and the stripy part. The stripy part is quite bold and actually works quite nicely with the border part of the print. I love that there are trails of cat prints and music notes floating amongst the stripes.
So overall I think this is a very cute print, although at times the dress designs let it down a bit. I do wonder if Meta have deliberately kept the dress designs simple because they are trying to encourage people to team them with the matching apron from this series. I have to admit that the apron does work very well with the dresses. It works especially well with the OP and gives it a very cute look. Would I buy this series? Possibly. I think that with the collar detached, the Pinafore Bustle JSK is a very pretty dress. I would probably go for the green or black colour. It is not a perfect series, but I think with the right styling it has a lot of potential.
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