Vintage Cameo by Metamorphose

Today I shall be taking a look at Vintage Cameo by Metamorphose. This series includes 3 dresses, a blouse, wrist cuffs, tights, socks and 4 hair accessories.

This is the Princess Pinafore Dress. The bodice is an interesting shape, although the bodice looks a bit baggy. The main set of straps are a good width. They are covered neatly with a ruffle of tulle and gold braid, which continues along the neckline as well. The tulle is gathered well and sits nicely on the straps and neckline. The gold braid is a really nice touch too. However, the actual tulle material itself looks a bit cheap and not of a good quality. This dress also has a second set of tulle off-the-shoulder straps. It is an interesting idea, but I worry it looks a bit awkward and will make the shoulder/arm area look a lot wider. It also looks like it could be a bit restrictive and I think if I was wearing this dress the arm straps would get in the way. Thankfully, these off-the-shoulder straps are detachable and that is definitely what I would do if I had this dress. The straps are finished off with 2 big bows at the bases of the main straps. I do feel they could do with being a bit smaller but the shape is very cute. There are 2 lines of pearls dangling between the 2 bows. The pearl chains are a bit long, but they do fill in the plain space on the bodice quite nicely. I'm not sure I like how Meta have placed the bows and pearls in the stock photos, but because they are detachable it is simply a case of adjusting them to the wearer's personal taste. I would definitely leave the bows attached though, as the dress looks a bit plain without them. The bodice has 2 ruffles of tulle running vertically down which helps to make this area look a bit more interesting. I don't know what to make of the waist area of this dress. The detachable waist bow is an okay size and the shape is simple, but nice looking enough. The tulle on the waist bow matches up nicely with the rest of the dress, although it is starting to feel like this dress is overloaded with tulle. But there is something about the waist bow which looks a bit awkward to me and I can't put my finger on what it is. However, when it is detached, I dislike how the tulle ruffle around the waist looks. The tulle creates this awkward panelled look and I feel it looks better with the waist bow attached. It is really good that Meta have made so much of this dress detachable but maybe sometimes there is such a thing as too much choice.

The back is fully shirred, which means the shirring isn't topped with a ribbon corset. With the dark colours used though, you don't really notice the shirring too much. The thing that bugs me about this dress is that random tulle butt flap. I call it a butt flap for lack of a better way to describe it! It is not an apron and it barely counts as a bustle. It just looks really weird! Luckily this is yet another part of the dress which is detachable. Meta, please don't make a habit of making strange butt flaps!

The stock photos show the skirt has a reasonable amount of volume and length to it. The shape is quite pretty considering it is made of 3 tiers. The tiers are layered quite neatly, although it bugs me how the middle tier is over-stitched instead of under-stitched to the top tier. The tiers are nicely proportioned and spaced out well. On the front of the skirt there is a solid coloured bustle. The fabric used looks really lovely. I am assuming this is the Japanese "koshibo chirimen" fabric that Metamorphose mention on the dress listing on the site. The bustle tiers line up very neatly with the tiers of the main part of the skirt, so the spacing looks quite good. The sides of the bustle are lined with yet more tulle, although it does line up very neatly with the tulle on the bodice. The sides of the bodice are also topped with 4 large bows. I find the bows are a bit too OTT here and are not necessary. The bottom hem is then finished off with (you guessed it!) yet more tulle. I honestly can't decide if I love or hate this very heavily detailed OTT dress.

This is the Collared Pinafore JSK. The bodice seems well fitted, although there are a few random little creases in the fabric. The bodice shape is quite pretty and gives off a bit more of a mature vibe. The straps are wide but suit the style of dress. The solid coloured collar has been done neatly and the lace used to line it looks pretty. I feel the collar could do with being just a tiny bit bigger in size though. The front of the bodice has a neat line of 3 pearl buttons. The buttons are quite small and fairly simple in design but they have been spaced out nicely. There is a tidy little ruffle going around the buttons. The ruffle has been gathered well and the fabric used looks of a good quality. I am not personally a fan of the ruffle around the buttons. Thankfully it is detachable. The waist area has a solid coloured belt which nips in the waist area brilliantly. There is also a waist bow, which is a suitable size for the dress. The bow shape is quite simple but looks quite pretty and the bow also sits quite nicely on the dress. The collar on this dress is detachable but I feel the neckline looks too plain with it detached. However, at the same time, I dislike how the collar looks on the back of the dress. I think with collared dresses like this it is nicer to have a full back that goes right up to the collar. But the back of this dress ends halfway down the back and it just looks really strange having this large gap between the back of the dress and the collar. The back of this dress is fully shirred again which means it isn't concealed by anything. The stock photos show there is the potential to create a very pretty shape with the skirt. It has loads of volume and flares outwards beautifully. I love the plump, rounded shape in the stock photos. I think the fuller shape works really nicely teamed with the nipped in waist area. The skirt design is kept quite simple and so the print is displayed very well. The bottom hem is then finished off with a simple solid coloured ruffle, using the same fabric as elsewhere on the dress.

And here we have the High Waist Pinafore JSK. The bodice shape is simple, but quite pretty. The straps are a good width and suit the dress. You wouldn't want them to be any wider with this style of dress. The straps feature a ruffle of tulle on the outside. The tulle here has been shaped brilliantly and it sits really nicely. The subtle hint of gold on the edge of the tulle finishes the tulle off beautifully. The waist area has a wide belt which helps nip in the waist area quite well. I do wish the belt was slightly narrower though. The waist area is finished off with a double layered waist bow. The bow is quite big in size but I suppose it does suit the dress. The bow shapes have been kept simple, but anything too complicated would have looked strange with this double layered design. At first I was really unsure about the waist bow but after seeing the pictures of this dress on the model I have grown to like it. The bodice is completely gathered which gives it a bit of added texture and depth. It stops it looking too plain as well. If the bodice material had been done completely flat with no gathering, I don't think it would have looked so good. The neckline has a line of gold braid and is finished off with a simple ruffle. It helps to make the neckline look a bit softer and the braid helps to keep things looking neat. The back has a panel of shirring but once again, there is no ribbon corset there to help conceal it and give that extra bit of size flexibility for smaller wearers. But the bodice is quite short, so perhaps a ribbon corset wouldn't have achieved that much in this case. The high waisted skirt has a very good amount of length to it. It flares outwards beautifully and has a lovely A-line shape to it. It has plenty of volume too. The main part of the skirt is kept very simple and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with a thin line of ribbon and 2 wide tiers of tulle. The ribbon used is shiny, but because the ribbon is quite thin it isn't that noticeable unless you are purposely looking. The ribbon line is also topped off with some small ribbon bows which add a nice little touch of detail without being too distracting. As for the tulle, I feel Meta could have made more of a feature of the double layer of tulle by making the top layer a bit shorter. You can't immediately spot the second layer of tulle underneath. But I actually do like the bottom hem of this dress. It reminds me slightly of the dramatic tulle bottom hems that Baby like to do. I don't think this bottom hem design is perfect, but it is a good start.

Finally, here we have the print close up. This series is available in black, blue and purple. The black and navy blue look absolutely beautiful. The purple offers a slightly different alternative, but I think I would have preferred something like a nice shade of green instead. As for the print itself, I think it is a really beautiful design for an all-over print. The cameos in the print are very pretty. I love all the little details in the cameo frames such as the pearls and bows. The pictures inside the cameos have been chosen well too. My favourite is of course the Metamorphose swan logo cameo! I love how they have managed to fit that logo in without it being too obvious. The crown and angel cameos are also really nice. The subtle background is a good way to fill in the empty space between the cameos. Nothing really stands out as being "out of place" in the print and everything seems to compliment each other. I do feel the cameos could do with being a bit bigger though, as it feels like there is a lot of background and not enough cameos.

Despite the odd little thing I would change here and there, I think this is quite a good series. The dress designs are varied and interesting, so there is something there for every classic lolita fan. The print itself is very pretty, even though I don't feel there are enough of the cameos. Would I buy this series? Yes, although it wont be going on my wishlist. I would choose the High Waist Pinafore JSK in black. I really like the design of this particular JSK. The Princess dress is a bit too OTT for me!