Marie Antoinette by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Today I shall be looking at Marie Antoinette by Baby the Stars Shine Bright. This series includes 5 dresses (2 non-print), a skirt, 7 hair accessories, a necklace, socks, 2 blouses, gloves and shoes.

First up is JSK I. The bodice looks well fitted and the shape is lovely. Sometimes V shaped waistlines can go wrong, but I think it has been fairly well executed here. The straps are a decent width and look very supportive. I just wish they had been lined with some thin lace or something, just to add a nice finishing touch. The waist line is topped with a line of pleats. I like that it doesn't add a lot of bulk to the waist line, so the waist is still quite defined. The pleats do have a bit of a Marie Antoinette feel to them too, so they fit in quite nicely. The bodice features 2 lines of pretty lace, creating a V shape which Baby have placed 3 ribbon bows inside. The ribbon used for the bows has a pretty design, but I would have liked them to be a little bit smaller. I also think the ribbon bows would look a lot better without the massive bow on the neckline. This bow is far too big and I am glad that it is detachable. However, the neckline looks a bit plain with the bow detached. I think maybe a small bow or maybe some other detail would have been a better choice than the large neckline bow Baby went with. The neckline features a really wide line of lace and a further line of pleats. I like that the pleats match up with the waist details but I am a little unsure about the lace. The lace has a pretty design, but I feel it is lacking something. Maybe if there had been more layers of lace here it would have looked a bit less flat? The back has a panel of shirring which has been topped really neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt flares outwards quite generously and it has plenty of volume. There is the potential to create a lovely bell shape. The skirt is kept simple, so the print is displayed perfectly. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of lace, which has a gorgeous design to it. I really love this lace!

Here we have JSK II. The bodice seems well fitted but I personally think the bodice shape is a bit simple. There is plenty of detail on the bodice to make it more interesting though. The straps look a good width and very supportive. I really like the line of wide lace running along the neckline and on top of the straps. The lace has a pretty design and looks soft. It sits so well on the dress. The gold lace along the neckline keeps it looking neat. There is a waist bow, which is a bit too large for my liking, but is a nice enough shape. It sits quite well on the dress too. This waist bow is detachable, and I think the dress looks a lot better with it detached. The bodice features 2 lines of pretty lace with a ribbon corset in the middle. The ribbon has a pretty design but it looks a bit too bunched together. It needs to either have thinner ribbon or be spaced out more. The ribbon corset is finished at the top with a bow and there is a further bow on the neckline. I am not sure I like the sizing of these bows. Perhaps the neckline bow could have been smaller. The back has a panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt has plenty of volume and it flares out well. I love the shape of the skirt in the worn photos. It shows it is possible to create a great shape. The front of the skirt features a bustle. I like the width and shape of the bustle and I think it compliments the lines of the bodice. The material used for the bustle are soft too, so it isn't too bulky. The tiers are well spaced out and layered excellently. My only criticism is I think the bottom looks a bit messy. Maybe the bustle should have gone all the way to the very bottom. Despite the bustle, the print is still displayed very well at the sides. The bottom hem is then finished off with a simple ruffle.

This is the OP. The bodice seems well fitted and the shape is interesting. I really like the shape of the arms and they seem to have a decent length to them. The chiffon part of the arms is especially pretty and it matches the details on the front of the bodice too. However, I don't like the way some of the ruffles on the arm have been over-stitched instead of under-stitched. The ribbon bows on the arms are a bit much for me as well, although it does match the bodice. The bodice features many ruffles of lace and chiffon with lots of bows. It is very OTT, but I guess it makes sense for at least one dress to be OTT, seeing as the theme is Marie Antoinette. This dress certainly has a very Marie feel to it. The different layers have been layered well and sit well on top of each other. The design of the bodice seems quite well laid out and you can see a lot of thought has gone in to it. The ribbon used for the bows is also of a nice quality. There are a lot of bows, but in this instance I don't think I would want to get rid of any of them. I would have maybe made some of them just a little bit smaller though. The neckline bow is a good size and shape and it holds its shape well. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is limited. The back has been kept very neat. In fact, it seems to be the only part of the dress not crowded with detail! The stock photos show that the skirt is very full with a lovely rounded shape. It should hold plenty of petticoat. I do wonder if it could have maybe been slightly longer in length though, if the worn photos on Misako are anything to go by. The main part of the skirt is kept simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with a double chiffon ruffle. Although the chiffon looks pretty, it has been over-stitched, which I personally feel looks messier. 

Finally, this is what the print looks like. This series comes in ivory, sax blue, mint and navy blue. All 4 colours seem to match the print really well. I like that Baby have gone for at least one darker colour, and navy blue definitely works better than other dark colours such as black. As for the print itself, it has a really interesting layout. I am actually quite a big fan of the stripy background broken up by lines of roses, so I am disappointed there isn't more of it on the dresses! I personally feel the border print to background ratio is a bit off. However, all the pieces of the print do look really pretty and are very well drawn. I love the detail that has gone in to the gold frames and the roses fit around the frames perfectly. The pictures inside the frame all suit the Marie theme beautifully. Although I like the bows near the bottom of the print, I personally feel they are a bit too big. Overall though, I think it is a pretty print, I am just not too keen on some of the sizing.

So overall this is quite a pretty series, although it may not be one for people who don't like OTT lolita styles. I guess JSK I is relatively simple, but this is a series that I feel works best with lots of detail. The dress designs would certainly not look out of place on Marie Antoinette and the print is pretty enough. I wouldn't say this is one of my favourite Baby series though. So this is a series I probably wouldn't go for personally, but if I owned it I don't think I would feel disappointed either. It certainly looks quite pretty, I just don't think I would go out of my way to get it. My top choice would be JSK II in the mint colour. I absolutely adore the use of colour on the mint version.