So first up is Celestial Harmonia by Baby the Stars Shine Bright. This series includes 6 dresses (2 non-print), a skirt, 4 blouses, a petticoat, 5 hair accessories, socks, a re-released sceptre and several items of jewellery.
First up is the Spica JSK. The bodice material looks a bit loose in places and I think the shape is quite messy. I think the neckline looks really uneven in some of the stock photos. The straps are a good width for the dress but I think they could have been just a little bit thicker. The straps are lined neatly with a gathering of lace on the outsides but it is spoilt a bit by the additional bows on the shoulders. Despite being made of soft material, the bows add extra bulk to the shoulders and also look very messy. There is a large waist bow. I don't feel the material of the bow is the right choice and the bow is so poorly formed. The bow has been tied so casually and the shape is too simple. Also, the bow sits really strangely on the dress. Unfortunately, the bow doesn't seem to be detachable (or at least isn't shown to be on the dress listing). The bodice features some gathering around the chest area. There is also some random lace underneath the chest area and also creating a sharp heart shaped neckline. It looks confusing and messy. It just feels really disorganised and chaotic. There is a little triangle of material which creates a straight neckline, and this is topped with a bow. The ribbon used for the bow has a very pretty design to it, but the bow looks too big and again the bow doesn't seem to have been shaped well. The star charm dangling from the centre of this bow is cute, but the bow lets it down. This bow is detachable, which is good because it looks a bit too much with the waist bow. However, I would much rather get rid of the waist bow. The back of the dress is fully shirred, which means the shirring is quite exposed and not that attractive to look at. The stock photos show the skirt has a good amount of length to it and it has a suitable amount of volume to it. I am not overly fond of how the skirt shape looks in the stock photos though. The skirt is quite simple in design so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem features multiple ruffles of tulle. This could have looked pretty but in my opinion it sticks out at an odd angle. It flares out in a weird way towards the bottom. The tulle is also over-stitched instead of under-stitched which I don't think looks that appealing.
Next we have the Polaris JSK. The bodice looks well fitted. The shape is quite simple but looks nice enough. The only thing I am a little unsure of is the pointed waistline, as it looks a bit wonky in some of the stock photos. The straps are a bit thin and I think they could have gotten away with them being a bit thicker. The straps are also very plain with no detail to them. The bodice and waistline feature gold lace. The gold lace is pretty and it helps break up the bodice in to neat panels. Overall I find the bodice a bit plain, although the detailed neckline makes up for it a little bit. The neckline features a ruffle of tulle which looks a bit squished flat by the details on top of it. I also feel the line of tulle needs to taper off at the sides instead of having a fussy looking armpit area. The tulle is topped with 3 bows. The bows are a cute shape but again, quite simple in design. I feel the 2 bows at the bases of the straps need to be a little smaller and the bow in the centre needs to be slightly bigger. The ribbon used for the centre bow has a pretty design and I do like the star charm in the centre of this bow. The back has a panel of shirring which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt has plenty of volume and it flares outwards plenty enough. I am a bit unsure if I like the shape of the skirt though. There is something about how it looks in the stock photos that puts me off. The skirt design is kept simple and the print is displayed excellently. The bottom hem has then been finished off with a thin line of gold lace and a ruffle of tulle, which looks very neatly done.
This is the Vega JSK. I feel the bodice looks quite shapeless and is lacking something. The neckline is a cute shape though. The straps are a suitable width and look very supportive. The thin ruffle of the printed material going along the outside of the straps is nicely shaped and adds a bit of interest. I am a little unsure if I like how this ruffle looks when it reaches the armpit area though. The neckline also features a ruffle of the printed fabric and unlike the ruffle on the straps, I feel this neckline ruffle has been well shaped. At least there is a bit of continuity with the design. There is a waist bow which I suppose is an okay size for the dress. The shape of the bow is a bit simple but well formed. I don't think the waist bow really works with this dress design though, and it feels like it has been placed there just for the sake of having some detail on the waist area. I think a gold tulle belt which ties in to a bow to one side could have been an interesting idea for this dress instead. This waist bow is detachable, and I probably would detach it and add my own belt if I owned this dress. The bodice is kept quite simple and I feel this only adds to the dull and flat look that the bodice seems to have. The neckline is at least topped with a cute bow with star charm. I also like how the neckline is lined with a thin line of gold lace which continues along the straps, as it looks very neat and adds a little bit of interest. The back has a generous looking panel of shirring which is again topped with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt has enough volume and flares outwards plenty. Despite the dodgy editing in the stock photo, I feel the skirt is quite a cute shape. The skirt is once again kept simple, so the print is displayed well. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with lace, which is of a good quality, but doesn't really fit in with the design of the rest of the dress.
And this is the OP. The bodice underneath the built-in cape is quite well fitted. I really dislike the shape the cape creates though. The cape drapes down nicely and the collar on the cape is cute, but I think the cape is far too bulky looking. The edges of the cape are lined very neatly with gold lace and I think if the cape had been solid coloured instead it may have looked a bit less OTT. Overall though, I am very unimpressed that you can't detach the cape. The organza bow in the middle front of the cape is also very big and the bow looks very poorly shaped. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is a bit limited. The zip is well concealed but the print lines up along the zip line very poorly. The stock photos show the skirt has enough volume and it flares outwards a fair bit. If it wasn't for the bulky bodice, the skirt shape would look quite pretty. The skirt is again kept simple and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off in the same way as the Spica JSK, although the layers don't appear to stick outwards quite as harshly and the layers sit well on top of each other. I still think it is a pity that the tulle is over-stitched though.
And here we can see one bit of the print close up...
... and here is another bit. I feel these 2 pictures give a good idea of what the print is like. This series is available in pink, sax blue, emerald and navy blue. The emerald is quite a peculiar shade of green, but the other 3 shades seem nice enough. Some of the print details look a bit radioactive in colour in some of the colour ways and it looks a bit bizarre. As for the print itself, I can't make any sense of it. The circles in the print are placed haphazardly and some areas of the print look more cluttered than other parts. Some of the items included in the print also feel a bit random. The style of the artwork also seems to be different in some places. The constellation and space themed background is really pretty though. It is a shame that this print is too busy, as that background could have worked as part of another print. I also felt some of the drawings in the print looked a bit blurry and are not as crisp as some bits of the print. Overall, it is cluttered and chaotic.
I get the impression Baby are expecting this to be a big hit, but I am not that impressed. I really dislike the print and there are parts of the dress designs which are dreadful. I don't think there is a single dress design I like. So this is not a series I would personally go for. If I was forced to, I would go for the Spica JSK in navy and the first thing I would do is get rid of that waist bow and the shoulder bows. I do like 2 of the blouses though.
Next up today is Cherry Marguerite by Angelic Pretty. This series includes 2 dresses, a skirt, 2 hair accessories, 2 pairs of socks, a bag and wrist cuffs.
Here we have the OP. The bodice looks well fitted and the shape looks okay. I think the sleeves could have been shorter though and I am not that keen on the square neckline. The sleeves are lined neatly with some pretty cherry themed lace and then further topped with some small gingham bows. Although the bows are an okay size, I am not overly fond of the use of gingham. With the print, the bold check fabric and so much lace, I feel adding gingham on top of that is too much. The waist bow is a cute shape and sits really nicely but I think it could have been just slightly smaller. I do think it is otherwise well executed though, and the lace lining the bow adds a bit of interest. The bodice features multiple lines of tulle ruffles, lace and gingham. These lines are all neatly set out and sit well on the dress. I think there may be a bit too much going on and the bodice looks a bit crowded. Again, I wouldn't have used gingham here. The gingham is also used for some small bows on the shoulders, which I don't feel are needed. There is also a little line of lace along the neckline using the cherry lace again, and further topped by a small gingham bow. The bow is a cute shape and nice size. If all the gingham bits had just been solid coloured instead, I probably would like this bodice a lot more. The back has a generous looking panel of shirring which is topped neatly by a ribbon corset. However, I feel the lace that is on the shoulders and continues on to the back of the dress draws attention to the shirring panel. The stock photos show the skirt flares outwards loads and there is plenty of petticoat room underneath. I love the full, rounded shape. The skirt design is kept simple, so the print is well displayed. The bottom hem is then finished off with more of the adorable looking cherry lace. The lace has such a lovely design. The cherries on the lace almost look like hearts when you glance quickly at it.
This is the JSK. The bodice looks very well fitted. The shape of the bodice is quite simple but also cute. I think the straps are a bit too thin and don't look that supportive. However, the ruffle on the straps is very cute and this ruffle matches up perfectly with the neckline, so perhaps thicker straps would have looked too bulky. The ruffle is well gathered and shaped. This ruffle is then topped with a further line of lace, which sits really neatly on top of the ruffle and doesn't look too distracting. The lace is a nice finishing touch. There is no waist bow or other waist detail but with this dress I don't feel much detail is needed here anyway. The bodice features 2 lines of lace with ribbon threaded through it. The ribbon used is slightly shiny, but is barely noticeable unless you are really looking up close. The lace used is pretty and sits well on the dress. The neckline features a ruffle that matches the ruffles on the straps. It gives the neckline a softer, frillier appearance and stops the neckline looking too straight. The neckline is then topped with a bow which has a lace jabot underneath. The bow is quite big for this area, but because there is no waist bow it doesn't look too OTT. The bow is a nice shape and neatly lined. I am a little unsure about the way the bow sits on the dress though. I also feel that the lace underneath the bow is not really needed. The back has a panel of shirring which is well concealed with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that again, the skirt is very full and rounded. It will hold more than enough petticoat and it has plenty of flare to it. The skirt is kept simple in design so once again the print is displayed brilliantly. The bottom hem is then finished off with the cute cherry lace.
And finally, here we can see the print. This series comes in pink, lavender, mint and red. These are pretty standard berry print colours. The lavender perhaps offers a slightly more quirky option. At first I was a little surprised AP didn't do a black version, but on further reflection I don't think it would have worked as well. As for the print itself, those fruit look good enough to eat! If I would change one thing it would be to make the cherries and strawberries alternating instead of just having the odd strawberry bunch here and there. Strawberries and cherries have both been used quite frequently for prints, but we rarely see them together, so I think this is a nice touch. The daisy hearts are also a cute addition and work quite well with the berries. At first I was really unsure about the check background, as I thought it was overdoing it a bit. However, I feel the squares are big enough that it sort of works. The only thing I would remove from the print would be the daisy shaped crosses. I don't understand AP's current obsession with adding crosses to everything. They are really not needed with everything else going on in the print already. However, I do accept this is just a small part of the print and your attention is not drawn to the crosses straight away.
So overall I would say this is quite a nice berry print with some lovely colour options. The dress designs are both quite pleasant to look at. Would I buy this series? Possibly, although there are a lot of berry prints out there to choose from! I personally would go for the JSK in either mint or red. The bodice on the OP is just slightly too fussy for me and I hate the use of gingham. I think I could put up with the daisy crosses in the print, even though I don't like them. This is the sort of print that looks fantastic worn on a sunny day and I am not surprised this series sold out so quickly.
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