This is the Repens JSK. The bodice seems reasonably well fitted, although the bodice shape is a bit simple. The straps are very thin and look a bit flimsy, but I don't feel thicker straps would have looked right with the style of dress. I think they could have gotten away with them being a tiny bit thicker though. The straps are finished off with pieces of floaty looking tulle. Whilst I like the material, I feel it has been used in a very messy way here. The waist area features a tulle bow, which is quite a nice size for the dress. With this sort of material, it was inevitably going to be quite floppy in design. In this case, the bow is holding its shape reasonably well. I love the glittery effect on the tulle material too. This bow is detachable if you dislike it, although I personally dislike the look of the waist area with it detached. The neckline features a line of wide lace which has a pretty design, although I don't feel it has been used in the best way. Again, the material looks messy. I think it would have been better if the lace stopped before the armpits so there isn't this excess material hanging to the sides. The 2 bows that sit on top of the lace also contributes to the messy, fussy appearance. The ribbon used for the bows is pretty and the main body of the bows is a cute shape. However, they have been placed very close together and there is 4 ribbon tails seen falling down the bodice. It would have been better if Baby had only placed one bow here or trimmed the bow tails. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed neatly by a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt is fairly full and there is enough room for plenty of petticoat. The skirt shape is pretty and not too OTT. The front of the skirt has a break in the printed fabric to reveal a lace panel underneath. The lace is pretty with an interesting texture and appearance. The edges are lined with frothy looking lace. I like the bows sitting at the bottom of the lace panel, although I think they could have been placed a tiny bit further apart. However, the lace panel does cause the printed fabric to gather strangely near the bottom. In some of the stock photos the printed fabric is quite gathered and it is almost as if the fabric isn't sitting correctly. I used the navy stock photo for this post but I would recommend looking up the stock photo of the orange version of this dress to see what I mean about the printed fabric not looking right. Another little niggle I have with the skirt is the way the print is broken up around the lace panel. I feel the break in the print could have been better positioned, as on one side it cuts in to the castle on the print. The bottom hem is finished off with a line of wide lace, which is very neatly layered underneath.
Here we have the Pratense JSK. The bodice looks reasonably well fitted, but again the bodice shape is quite simple. The straps are very thin and don't look too supportive. I do feel they could have gotten away with the straps being wider and it would have still looked okay with the dress design. The straps feature a double tulle ruffle. The ruffles are well shaped and the layers sit well on top of each other. They have been gathered nicely as well and create a cute shape. The waist area features 2 ribbon bows. The ribbon used for the bows is pretty and interesting in design, although slightly shiny. I think the bows are a suitable size and are fairly well positioned on the dress. They maybe could have been placed a little further apart but I don't they look too bad. The bodice features a yoke made up of layers of lace. The lace used is very pretty in design. I like the way it has been layered as it creates a bit of extra depth and texture. I am not overly fond of the random pearl buttons in the middle of the yoke though. I don't feel the buttons are needed and they are a bit obscured by the lace anyway. The lace yoke is topped with a ribbon bow. The bow is a good size and shape. It sits well on top of the lace as well. Overall though, I feel that the bodice on this dress is missing something. There is quite a lot of plain bodice. Perhaps 2 thin lines of lace running up either side of the bodice could at least have broken up the empty areas a bit? The back features a panel of shirring which is concealed neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt is reasonably full and flares outwards well. It will hold enough petticoat to create a lovely shape. I like the more rounded shape of this skirt as well. The skirt design is kept very simple, so the print is displayed beautifully. The slightly scalloped bottom hem gives it a more interesting look as well. The bottom hem is topped with over-stitched lace and ribbon bows. I am not usually a fan of over-stitching but it doesn't look too bad here. The lace used is a good match for the blouses from this same series. The bows along the bottom hem are a bit big, but I think in this case it makes it look more interesting.
This is the OP. The bodice shape is quite cute, but I feel the sleeves are a bit lacking. The sleeves look a bit droopy and don't have much shape to them. There is also the wide lace and ribbon bows on the ends of the sleeves, which look a bit bulky. I think something a bit more subtle would have been a better option. The waist area has a tulle belt, which helps to give the waist a bit more shape. The material is soft and floaty looking and suits the soft feel of the print. In the centre the belt has a ribbon bow. The ribbon used for the bow is very pretty with just a slight sheen to it. The bow size would usually be a good thing, although I am not convinced it works with the belt. The neckline features this really pretty flower lace material. The material is well shaped and I like how it is layered so the material overlaps. The material is soft and light and doesn't look too overpowering. What I am not so fond of is the bow in the centre front of the neckline. I think it is too big and bulky and the shape of the bow looks strange. It makes the bodice look quite messy. I think a much smaller bow made of ribbon would have been a much simpler way to finish off the neckline. The back of the dress offers no shirring and the only size flexibility is the waist ties. The print lines up quite nicely along the zip line and the zip is well concealed. The stock photos show the high waist skirt has a decent length to it. The skirt has enough volume to create a subtle classic shape. The skirt flares out in a pretty way, which suits the dress. The skirt design is kept simple and the print is displayed brilliantly. The bottom hem is then finished off with 2 lines of lace which are layered neatly. The lace is topped with ribbon bows, which are a reasonably good size and not too distracting. It adds a nice bit of extra detail.
And finally, here we have part of the print close up. This series comes in pink. orange, sax blue, turquoise and navy blue. These colours are pretty typical of what I would expect for a print like this. The sax blue and turquoise look pretty similar to me though. The colour choices are mainly soft, which match up with the dreamy print. As for the print itself, it reminds me of Labyrinth, although I think I prefer this print. The castle is pretty and I love the fairies flying in the sky, leaving a sparkly trail behind them. The floral bottom and trees fill the print up well and there are no gaps in the detail anywhere. I do like how the main floral parts are muted, so the topiary animals stand out from the print and become more of a vocal point. The choice of animals is pretty standard with deer and rabbits. Overall, it may not be an original idea but the print is nice enough.
So overall, I think this series is nice enough and there is enough here to appeal to Baby's fans. I personally prefer this print to Labyrinth, but I can also see why this series may not be a hit for others. The dress designs are a bit hit and miss and I dislike how Baby have made a horrible pair of fairy wings for this series. Would I buy this series? Possibly, but I am not overwhelmed by it. If I did, I would go for the Pratense JSK in pink.
No comments:
Post a Comment