Salon de the Minette by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Today I shall be taking a look at the latest series from Baby. This series is called Salon de the Minette. The series includes 6 dresses (1 is leopard print and another is non-printed), 2 skirt, 2 blouses, a bolero, 8 hair accessories, tights and a few items of jewellery.

This is the Caline JSK. The bodice seems reasonably well fitted. I am not fond of the neckline and general bodice though. There are 2 pairs of thin straps, which overlap each other. I personally would have preferred just one pair of thin straps. The straps look a bit flimsy though and maybe could do with being slightly thicker. The outer set of straps are lined with wide lace, which is maybe not the best choice seeing as it will make the shoulder area look wider. I am also not a fan of the lace used as it reminds me of doilies. I suppose the doily look suits the print, but I still dislike it.

The waist area has a sheer belt which doesn't really contribute much to the design and doesn't do much to nip in the waist area. There is also a waist bow which is an okay size, although could maybe have been smaller. The bow shape is interesting and it sits well on the dress. The bow is a bit wonky in the stock photos, but hopefully it wont be like this in reality. The neckline is lined with a line of gold braid. I dislike the shape of the gold braid line, as I think it looks a bit strange. The gold braid line has a bow in the centre. The bow is made of pretty sheer material and is a good size and shape. The pearl button centre is a lovely touch. I am not sure I like it teamed with the waist bow though. Thankfully both this bow and the waist bow are detachable. I think I would definitely detach the waist bow on this dress. I don't really like the rest of the chest area. Hidden away at the back, there is a panel of diamond tulle which fills in the area between the straps and neckline. But for the most part, this tulle panel is obscured by the wide doily style lace running along the neckline. The lace looks messy and a bit too OTT. The tulle panel underneath is finished off with a line of the solid printed fabric along the top, lace and 3 mini bows. The mini bows are cute, but I don't understand why the bows have little fluffy bits in their centres. I am not saying I dislike it, I just don't understand it! Overall, I feel the chest area on this dress is too overcrowded to truly appreciate all the details going on.

The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed neatly by a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt has a good amount of volume to it and the length seems decent too. I feel the overall skirt shape is a bit lacking though. Perhaps with a better petticoat it will look nicer. The skirt is kept simple and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with matching lace.

Here we have the Macaron JSK. The bodice looks well fitted and the overall shape is quite pretty. The straps are a decent width and look very supportive. The straps and neckline are topped with diamond tulle with wide lace and gold braid layered over the top. Whilst the lace and gold braid look pretty good, I am not a fan of the diamond tulle. I think the tulle ruffles are a bit cheap looking. On the other hand, it does give the straps a really cute fluffy appearance and I suppose the lace does help to cover it up a bit if, like me, you dislike the tulle. The neckline is also topped with a sheer ribbon bow. The ribbon and pearl button used is very pretty. The shape and size is good too. I think on this purple colour way the ribbon could have done with being a lighter shade though. There is also a waist bow, which is an okay size for the dress. The shape is a bit basic but it sits quite well on the dress. Both this bow and the neckline bow are detachable, but because of the large area of bodice which is plain, I don't think I would detach either of them. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed neatly by a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt is quite full with plenty of volume. It flares outwards well. The skirt has a lovely, slightly rounded shape to it as well. The skirt design is kept quite simple and the print is displayed brilliantly. However, I find the bottom hem disappointing. Baby have chosen to over-stitch 2 ruffles of the diamond tulle here. Not only do I think that under-stitching looks nicer, I also dislike the way the tulle looks here. I think this could have been improved if a nicer tulle had been used.

This is the Creme JSK. The bodice fit seems all-right but I think the overall shape is lacking something. The neckline is a bit more interesting though. It is scalloped and although I don't like it myself, I guess it does make the bodice a bit more interesting. It sort of reminds me of cream so goes well with the patisserie theme. The straps are a bit too thin in my opinion. They could do with being just the slightest bit thicker. The straps are decorated very neatly with pleats on the outside, which is a bit different to what we are used to seeing. The pleats have been done very neatly and sit nicely. The waist features a belt design and the material used is pretty and matches up with the neckline bow. It doesn't really nip in the waist area that much, but it does break up the bodice and skirt quite neatly. I also feel the waist needs it there to keep things tidy and add a bit of extra detail. The bodice features 2 lines of vertical lace. I don't think the lace is that attractive, although it blends in to the background a bit anyway and doesn't stand out much. If nothing else, it does help fill in the empty area of the bodice. The bodice features a raised yoke-like panel. The yoke has a neatly scalloped edge. All the scallops are very even and although I personally dislike it, I feel it suits the overall theme. The lines of lace are done neatly and help to fill in the yoke with interesting details. The main focus of the yoke is the bows though. There is a larger sheer, pearl button centred bow at the top which looks pretty. It is a nice shape and size. Underneath this bow, there are 4 smaller bows and the random fluffy centres make another appearance. But the tiny bows are very colourful and spaced quite nicely considering how many there are. The main thing I dislike about the bodice is the line of pleats running along the neckline. Whilst it matches the strap pleats well, I think the neckline pleats is a bit overkill. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt flares out well and has plenty of volume. It will hold a good amount of petticoat and there is the potential to create a really pretty shape. The skirt is kept quite simple and the print is again displayed very well. The bottom hem is finished off in the same way as the Macaron JSK, but with the addition of extra bows on top. My feelings about this bottom hem is the same as the Macaron JSK, but I do feel the bows are a nice added touch.

Here we have the OP. The bodice seems a bit baggy although the overall shape is quite nice. I think the top of the sleeves have a nice amount of puff. However, I really dislike the long cuffs on this dress. I don't think it looks very appealing and would have preferred longer sleeves with short cuffs. The cuffs are decorated in a very pretty way with lots of pearl buttons and the lace has been used well. I just feel the long cuffs are far too much and I don't think it looks attractive with the cute print. The waist area is decorated with 2 ribbon bows on either side. Again the ribbon used is very pretty and although the design is simple, the bows are nicely shaped. However, I am not so fond of where the bows are placed. It makes the waist look a bit bulky and could have been placed better. The OP features a wide collar design made up of a solid part to start with and then a layer of wide lace. The first part of the collar is decorated neatly with the diamond tulle and gold braid. Despite the lace sitting quite nicely on the dress, I think it makes the collar too big. The join between the bodice and sleeves also features more of the doily looking lace which just makes the shoulders look wider. The top of the bodice features a diamond tulle panel and then joins up with a scalloped neckline topped with further lace along the join. The lace doesn't really contribute much here and just seems too fussy. In the middle there is a large bow made up of the diamond tulle material. Not only is the material not the nicest choice looks-wise, but the bow is also a odd shape. Above this bow there are 3 of those mini fuzzy middle bows that appear on some of the other dresses. I don't think the dress really needs anything there at all. The back doesn't have any shirring, so the size flexibility is limited to just the waist ties. The lace on the back also doesn't look too attractive. The stock photos show the skirt is a reasonable length and the volume seems okay too. The overall shape doesn't look too bad, but I think it could do with being a bit cuter seeing as the print is quite sweet. The skirt design is kept quite simple so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of braid and a very subtle ruffle of the diamond tulle. Although it is not as dramatic as some of the other dresses, I think it looks a lot neater.

And finally here we have one part of the print close up...

... and another part. This series is available in ivory, pink, mint, lavender and sax blue. The colours are all very soft and quite demure looking. But all the colours do seem to work with the print. The dresses feature a different part of the print on the bodice to the skirts, with the exception of the Creme JSK, which features the bodice print on the skirt. The close ups shown here are the border part of the print which features on most of the skirts. I am really not a fan of it. There is a massive contrast between the really pretty stacked cups and the rest of the print. The cups are really beautiful with fancy designs on them. Even the cat peeking out of some of the cups is cute. However, the rest of the print is too basic looking. The cakes are far too simple and the background features large empty areas of solid colour. The more detailed parts of the print contrast too much with the simplistic parts. I could draw a better cake than the peach coloured one in this print, and I am dreadful at drawing! The print on the bodice is a bit better. The plates and jars are pretty and nicely decorated. The floral background is more interesting too.

So overall, I am really unimpressed with this series. The print is a bit of a let-down and some of the materials used are a bit questionable. I feel the print on the Creme JSK looks better but it is not my favourite of the dress designs. Some of the dress designs maybe wouldn't look so flattering too. This is not a series I would personally buy. If I was made to I would want the Macaron JSK but the print set up like the Creme JSK. As for the colour, I suppose the dusky pink colour is quite nice. I don't think there is a single part of this series that I find desirable. It is a shame because the cups in the print are really pretty and could have been brilliant in another series.