Today's print is Fantastic Carnival by Angelic Pretty. This series includes 2 dresses, a salopette, socks and a head bow.
First up is the OP. The bodice looks well fitted and the overall shape is very cute. I think the sleeves are the perfect length and have a suitable amount of puff to them. The sleeves are finished off very neatly with lace and topped with bows. The bows here are a cute shape, but I feel they could have been a little bit smaller and I don't like how shiny the ribbon used is. The waist bow is a bit large, but I think the size suits the dress. It has got a really good shape to it and it is formed so well. It looks so perky with no obvious signs of drooping. The bodice has a yoke and a collar, both of which have a cute shape and a nice size. At first I thought the lace lining the yoke was a bit too wide, but on reflection I think it has nice continuity with the lace on the sleeves. The lace used has a pretty design to it too. My main complaint about the yoke and collar is that I really dislike the use of rik-rak, even if it has been used in quite a subtle way. I don't think it is needed at all. The yoke is topped with lace and a line of buttons, as well as the rik-rak. The lace is pretty and the buttons are well spaced out, but I feel the choice of button is a bit boring. Instead of having the lines of rik-rak on the yoke, I would have had pleats instead. The bottom half of the bodice has 2 thin lines of lace, which helps to break up the bodice nicely, without drawing much attention. The back of the dress offers no shirring, so the size flexibility is very limited. The print lines up fairly well along the zip line, but I am not overly fond of the way the collar and yoke look from the back. I think the yoke should have been kept to just the front. The stock photos show the skirt has a very full, bell shape to it. There is plenty of volume for petticoats and the skirt flares outwards beautifully. The skirt design is kept simple, so the print is displayed excellently. The bottom hem is then finished off with some cute, candy themed lace, which matches the floating candy in the print.
Here is the JSK. The bodice looks very well fitted. I think the overall bodice shape is a bit simple, but it has been well executed. The straps are a suitable width and look very supportive without appearing too bulky. The insides of the straps are lined with lace, which continues on down the bodice until it meets the belt. I think the lace is a cute choice and it creates a suitably frilly look. The lace sits nicely on the dress too. The waist area has a solid coloured belt, which I think is the perfect choice. It nips in the waist area really well and the solid colour breaks up the print. The bow topping the belt is also very cute and I think it is the perfect shape and size. The material used for this belt and bow has a slight sheen to it, but I don't feel it looks too bad. I like how well the waist bow sits on the dress too. The bodice has 6 star shaped buttons dotted on the front of the bodice. The buttons are well spaced out, but I feel they look a bit plain just by themselves. Perhaps AP could have done what they did with Daydream Carnival and have little chains running between the star buttons. The buttons would at least look a bit less sparse then. The neckline is topped with a solid coloured bow, which has a fantastic shape to it and is well formed. It stands out well and sits well on the dress. I do wonder if the bow could do with being a bit smaller though. I am not sure if the size of the neckline bow works teamed with the size of the waist bow. The back has a panel of shirring, which is topped with a ribbon corset. However, the lace from the straps continues down the back and the sides of this shirring panel. I feel the lace draws attention to the shirring. The stock photos show that again, the skirt has loads of volume and flares outwards loads. There is the potential to create a really cute shape. The skirt design is kept simple and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with the same cute candy themed lace.
And finally here is the print. This series comes in pink, sax blue, mint and lavender. All of the colours work with the print. I like that for this carnival print AP have offered a mint version, as this is a bit different to their previous carnival prints. As for the print, I have very mixed feelings about it. The print is set out very neatly and I love the non-border part of the print, especially the fluffy clouds. I love the swirls of gold throughout the print. I am just not feeling the border part of the print. It is certainly interesting having the different animals for the carnival ride, but I think certain animals work better in the print than others. I love the bunny, but I think the cat could have been drawn cuter and the colours of the deer stick out. What I do like is the little details added to the animals, like the colourful seats and decorations dangling from them. I love the fluffy clouds behind the animals but the bunting, floating candy, balloons and banners makes the background far too crowded. They could have gotten away with just having the clouds, perhaps with the odd balloon here and there. So there are bits I like and bits I am not so keen on.
So in summary, I feel this is quite a cute series but I am not completely sold on the print. Also, I was a bit surprised that AP didn't offer one slightly more OTT dress. I like that the simpler dress designs help balance out the OTT print, but at the same time I would have liked to have seen one dressier option. Would I buy this series? No, I wouldn't, and I am quite happy to stick with Daydream Carnival! The print just doesn't work for me. If I had to, I would go for the JSK in lavender.
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