First up today is the Dress OP. The bodice seems well fitted, but I am not too keen on the bodice shape. I am not overly fond of the 'false bolero' style to the bodice and I feel it looks a bit frumpy. If the shoulders and sleeves were removed and straps added, this could have made a really pretty JSK. I do like the neckline shape though. The sleeves are an interesting length with a suitable amount of volume to them. However, I hate the way the cuffs of the sleeves are shaped. The cuffs are otherwise quite nicely finished, and I like the look of the lace and the bows on the cuffs. The waist area has a ribbon bow, which I think is the perfect size and has a really lovely shape. It sits so well on the dress. My only criticism is the ribbon used is very shiny and looks quite cheap. There is also a chiffon over-skirt, which I feel looks beautiful. It is perfectly gathered and sits so well on the dress. I like that the over-skirt finishes before the border print starts, so it doesn't really obscure the print. The bodice features a ribbon corset, which is nicely spaced out and the size is well proportioned with the other details on the dress. The ribbon is shiny again though, and I think there needs to be a bit less ribbon length, so the bow tails don't hang down so far. The bodice also features some very subtle lines of lace, which do blend in to the background a fair bit but help to break up the empty spaces. The neckline is finished with a double layer of lace. The lace is of a good quality and the double layering gives it a frillier, fancier appearance. The choker that comes with this OP looks a bit cheap and tacky in my opinion, but I am not a massive choker fan anyway. The back of the dress has a generous panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. I dislike the lines of gold braid circling the arms on the back of the dress, as I think it looks a bit strange. The stock photos show the skirt has plenty of volume and it flares outwards well. The shape is beautiful and will hold plenty of petticoat. Apart from the over-skirt, which ends at just the right place in my opinion, the skirt design is kept simple. So the print is displayed perfectly. The bottom hem is then finished off with AP logo themed lace. The lace is nice enough, but I was surprised AP didn't choose themed lace to go with the print.
Next is the OP. The bodice is quite well fitted and the shape is very cute. The sleeve length is lovely and they have a suitable amount of puff to them. I like how the sleeves are finished off with just one line of lace and small buttons. I think the simpler sleeve design of this OP works better than the other OP. The lace used is pretty too. There is a ribbon waist bow again, but I am a little unsure I like the size. It looks quite small in comparison to the yoke. I can't work out if it would work out better if the bow was bigger. The ribbon used is again quite shiny, but the bow has got a cute shape and it sits nicely on the dress. The bodice again features some subtle lines of thin lace, although this is mainly obscured by the yoke. I think the yoke is a cute shape and I love the gold braid and ruffle around the edge. However, the yoke is definitely too big in size. The yoke is very detailed with some neat pleats and lace, which sits flat on top of the yoke. The yoke is also topped with a small ribbon corset. The ribbon corset is well spaced out and done very neatly, but I wonder if the ribbon corset is maybe overdoing the detail a little bit. I would be tempted to switch the coloured ribbon for white ribbon, which would blend in. The collar of the dress has a suitable amount of lace. It doesn't look too tight or stuffy. The back offers no shirring, so the size flexibility is a bit limited, especially when the dress doesn't have waist ties either. I really love the shape of the skirt. It flares out beautifully and there is the potential to create a fantastic shape. It has more than enough volume. The skirt design is kept simple and so, the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with the good quality AP logo lace.
Here we have the JSK. The bodice looks fairy well fitted. The shape of the bodice is quite simple, but I think it looks quite cute. I think the straps look quite thin and flimsy but wider straps would look awful with this style of dress. The straps are lined with lace on the outsides, which is well shaped and sits nicely. It adds a bit of interest to the straps as well. The ribbon waist bow is a suitable size for the dress and the shape is lovely. I like that the ribbon looks a bit less shiny this time. It is a shame that the bow is a little bit obscured by the loose material on the bodice. The bodice features loose material, which is then gathered in the centre. I feel the gathering needed to be done a bit better, so that there is less droopy and loose material. It could have worked if it was executed just a bit better. The neckline is lined beautifully with lace. It really compliments the neckline shape and softens it perfectly. The back is fully shirred, which is great for a bit of extra stretch, but it doesn't look too appealing. The stock photos show that the skirt had loads of volume and it has plenty of flare, despite the over-skirt. The skirt is dominated by the chiffon over-skirt, which goes over almost the entire skirt. I like the shape of the over-skirt, but I feel more of the print needs to be visible. This sort of full over-skirt would probably work better on a non-print dress. Luckily, the border print colours are quite bold, so the print does show up quite well underneath the chiffon. But I am still not convinced I like the over-skirt on this dress. The edges of the over-skirt with the lace has been done very neatly though. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with the same AP logo lace.
And finally here we have the print close up. This series comes in white, sax blue, navy blue and black. I think the colour choices are perfect for the print. Even the black version seems to work fairly well with the blue in the print. As for the print itself, I think it is a really neat idea to combine the pegasus with the stained glass window design. The layout of the print works perfectly and the pegasus fits in well among the windows. I like how the pegasus have been drawn, but perhaps they are a little too cartoonish. They do look quite cutesy. I don't think this bothers me too much though. I see AP have done yet another print with crosses in it (it seems to be their current favourite theme!) but the crosses are small and limited to the non-border part of the print. And I feel the crosses actually work out very well and fit in with the print. The stars are cute too. I do feel the constellations just above the arches look a bit out of place though, and I am a little unsure about the inclusion of the swans as well. I like that the Angelic Pretty name is fairly subtle in the print, but like the pegasus, I think the AP banners are drawn a bit too cutesy.
So I am actually quite keen on this series. I really love the print. I am not 100% sold on the dress designs though. I think there are just a few small tweaks I would make to the dresses, but the things I dislike are not bad enough to put me off this series. Would I buy this series? Yes, I think I probably would. It wont be going on my wishlist though. I would probably go for the 2nd OP in either white or possibly the navy blue. I can't quite settle on one colour, as I think both those colours look really pretty!
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