Enchanted by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Today's series is Enchanted by Baby the Stars Shine Bright. This series includes 3 dresses, a skirt, 2 hair accessories, a blouse and tights.

First up is the Lollipop JSK. The bodice seems reasonably well fitted and the overall bodice shape is simple, but quite cute. I think the straps are a suitable width and look quite supportive. I like that the straps are lined with thin lace on the outsides, although this detail does not really stand out that much. The waistline features a "belt" with gold lace lining either side of it. I would have preferred a solid coloured belt to really help define the waist. I also question the inclusion of the colour gold here, as it doesn't necessarily work with each of the different colours this series comes in. There is a ribbon bow topping the belt. It is a bit big, but I think it works. Sadly, this bow is very basic in design. I probably would have expected something a bit more intricate in design from a well-known brand. This bow is detachable, although I am not sure I like the look of the dress without it, so I would leave it attached. The neckline features a line of lace, which is topped with 3 bows and some dangling pearl chain details. Even though I don't feel crosses fit in to the print theme (it is quite a sweet print, even if it is Halloween themed) I am really liking the cross charm dangling from the chain. I am a bit disappointed it is not being used on a more gothic dress. As for the bows, they are set out fairly well, but the 2 bows on either side are a bit too big. One of the bows uses metallic glittery ribbon and again I have to mention that I don't feel the use of metallic really works (from now on in the post, can we just take it as read that I feel the metallic details only work on some colour ways? I don't want to keep repeating myself!). The back of the dress is fully shirred, so there is lots of size flexibility, but this does mean the shirring is very exposed. I find it interesting that Baby decided to add a detachable bow (which is lined with lace) on top of the waist ties, as the waist ties are not really an area that you immediately think to put detail. Although it is a bit big, I suppose you could use it as an alternative waist bow for the front. I am curious to know why Baby chose to do this and whether this is something we should be expecting to see more of in the future. The stock photos show that the skirt has a good amount of volume and it flares outwards a lot. It should hold more than enough petticoat. The skirt is kept very simple in design, so the print is displayed perfectly. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with a thin line of gold lace on top of a tulle ruffle. There is no tulle anywhere else on the dress, so I do wonder why Baby chose to use tulle here, although in all fairness it has been used neatly.

Here we have the Gelato JSK. The bodice seems to be very well fitted and the bodice shape looks quite cute. I was looking at the straps for a while and wondering if I felt they could have been a little bit wider or not. In the end, I decided they were a good width, that suited the style of the bodice. They are lined very neatly with lace on the outsides too. There is a waist bow, but it looks a bit saggy. In the stock photos you can see it drooping downwards a bit. This bow features some lines of tulle and if it held its shape a bit better, it could have been a decent bow. This waist bow is detachable, and I definitely would detach it. There is enough detail on the bodice so that a waist bow is not necessary. The bodice features a ribbon corset, which is packed in very tightly to a very small area. The ribbon is not exactly too bunched together, but I feel that there is enough room on the bodice for it to be spread out a bit more. This ribbon corset is lined very neatly with gold lace, which looks really smart. My only real complaint with the ribbon corset is it stops halfway up the bodice. We then have a big ribbon bow sat just above the ribbon corset, with another heavily detailed bow sitting just above it on the neckline. Although both bows are well shaped and sit nicely on the dress, I think it is too much to have both of these bows here. At the very least, the bow just above the ribbon corset could have done with being a lot smaller. I would have liked the ribbon corset to go the whole way up the bodice and then discretely hidden the top underneath the neckline details. The neckline features a line of good quality lace, which is further topped with a ruffle of tulle. I think these details have a pretty appearance and the different fabric choices give the neckline a variety of different textures. As I mentioned before, there is a bow on the neckline which I think looks really cute. It is topped with an adorable star charm. The back has a panel of shirring. which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt has a generous amount of volume and it flares outwards wonderfully. I really love the full, rounded bell shape Baby have done in the stock photos. The skirt is again kept simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with an over-stitched tulle ruffle. Usually I would complain about this being over-stitched, but in this instance I actually think it looks quite cute. It adds a nice bit of extra frill to the bottom, which would not have been there if the tulle had been under-stitched.

Next up is the OP. The bodice seems well fitted, but I feel the overall bodice shape could have been cuter. I think it is the sleeves that are contributing to me not being that keen on the bodice. They are quite long and lack any real shape. I think they need to be shorter and a bit puffier. The sleeves also feature these ribbon bows which are not only too big, but they have been tied in a very amateurish way which looks a bit messy. The lace finishing the sleeves is lovely though. There is further ribbon detail on the waist area, with 2 lines of ribbon that are then folded back on themselves and tied in to a bow. This could have looked really cute, but I don't think it has been well executed. The ribbon does not look like it is the best quality and it is slightly shiny. I also feel these ribbon details could have been better placed, as they make the waistline look a bit bulky. Perhaps they could have been placed just slightly closer together and a bit more away from the sides. I don't think it helps that the bows stick out quite a lot, which is probably down to how the bows have been tied and the choice of ribbon. The bodice is mostly kept simple, with some thin lines of lace used to break up the empty space. With the waist bows and neckline details, I think this was a good idea. The neckline is my favourite part of the whole dress. The square neckline is lined with some good quality lace, which sits so perfectly on the dress. There is a line of ribbon too and a bow on top. The bow is again made of shiny ribbon, but this time the bow has a nice shape and it sits nicely on the dress. That cross charm makes a reappearance too. Overall, I find the neckline quite pleasing to look at. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is unfortunately very limited. The stock photos show that the skirt has lots of volume and it flares outwards plenty. This skirt is actually a tiered design, but the tier join has been done so neatly that it doesn't make the overall silhouette look too lumpy. The tier join is topped neatly with a line of metallic lace too. I am not really sure if a tiered skirt design was really that necessary, but at least it has been carried out well. The skirt is still kept quite simple in design, so the print is displayed excellently. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of gold lace on top of a tulle ruffle.

Finally, here is a rough idea of what the print looks like. I apologise, but this was the best picture I could find at the time. If a better picture comes up and I remember, I will edit the post. This series comes in ivory, pink, orange and black. Usually the colour orange making a rare appearance would be celebrated, but I think it looks terrible. In fact, I don't like a single colour way of this dress. The washed-out looking print does not really stand out on any of the colours, not even the black. At times, it almost looks as if somebody has given up colouring in the print halfway through. It is a shame, because when you actually look at the print details, it is a very cute design. I like the sweet take on the Halloween theme. Although it is a trick or treat theme, it gives off a strong Hansel and Gretel vibe. I love the parade of gingerbread monsters marching from house to house and playing together. The houses made out of ice creams and different sweets are well thought out too. Everything is drawn so well, although I did think the owl looked a bit out of place. The candy cane background is simple, but striking. The print is really let down by the colours.

So overall, I feel this series could have been a lot better. The dress designs are generally okay, but I would change some of the details here and there. I think what really lets the dresses down is the way some of the bows look really cheap and poorly done. Sadly, the print is a letdown in my opinion. The colours in the print are way too washed out and it needs more definition. What is the point in doing a print if you can't make out a lot of the details? To make matters worse, Baby then chose 2 very light colours which has no chance of showing off the print and an orange colour, which to me is very unappealing. So I think it is safe to say I would not be buying this series. My top choice would probably be the Gelato JSK. I don't think I could pick a colour, as I dislike all of them equally. If you are going to go for a Halloween print, then I would go for the AatP print over this one.