A Small Life/Blog Update and Little Red Riding Hood ~ Tales of the Marchen Forest by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

So I randomly disappeared on Thursday and I just wanted to give a quick update on what is going on. I am very unwell at the moment, and I have been burying my head in the sand about how unwell I am and ignoring the warning signs. As a result, I have been pushing people away and neglecting the emotional needs of myself and my loved ones. I also got told a lot of home truths about myself, which I did need to hear (and I do owe somebody an apology. If they happen to be reading this right now, I am not emotionally ready to deliver it yet). If this is all sounding a bit scary, I think I am over the worst. I had an emergency doctor's appointment and we had a long talk about how best to proceed. Overall, I am feeling optimistic. But with regards to this blog, I am unsure how well I am going to be able to stick to my current Monday/Thursday publishing schedule, especially in the short term as I attend appointments. It could be that I miss a post here and there, or I may dig up old posts that I have been stockpiling (quality may vary). I imposed internet restrictions on myself and have not been online as much, so there has not been much opportunity for me to write new content. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading my posts as and when they get published and rest assured that behind the scenes I am taking steps to not only look after myself in the short-term, but also tackle the long-term problems with the hope that I can improve my quality of life and just be a better person in general. And now, on to a print discussion post-

Today I am looking at Little Red Riding Hood by Baby the Stars Shine Bright. This series includes 3 dresses, a skirt, 2 hair accessories, socks, a blouse and an apron.

First up is the Dirndl JSK. The bodice seems okay fitting, but could be better. I also feel the bodice shape could have been improved upon, maybe with a less straight neckline. The straps are a decent width though, and look quite supportive. There is this wide lace used along the outsides of the straps, along the neckline and along the join separating the chest panel and bottom half of the bodice. This lace looks okay going along the straps, and stops them looking too plain, but overall the lace looks a bit messy. I think the lace needed to be reigned in a bit along the neckline and the line going across the middle of the bodice, perhaps shaped a bit better or with a different choice of lace altogether. The waistline is in a V shape, which works nicely with the ribbon corset on the bottom half of the bodice. The ribbon is well spaced out and I like how the sides of the ribbon corset have been very neatly lined with lace. I am not a fan of the chest panel though. I don't think the shape of this panel is particularly appealing, or how Baby have used the book part of the print for this panel. Also, as I already mentioned, the wide lace looks a bit messy around the panel. There is a big bow sat on top of the panel, along with 2 smaller bows at the bases of the straps. I really love the folksy print used for these bows, which looks really cute. However, I think all 3 bows are a bit on the big side and with all the bodice details, the bows are a bit too much. Thankfully, the larger bow is detachable and I think the dress looks much better with it detached. The back has a panel of shirring, which is topped very neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt has a good amount of volume and it flares outwards plenty. I really like the rounded shape created in the stock photos. The skirt is kept simple in design, so the print is displayed brilliantly. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of gold braid and some more wide lace.

Here we have the Corset JSK. The bodice looks quite well fitted and the bodice shape is lovely. The straps look a very supportive width, without being too wide. I really like how the straps and neckline are topped with gold braid and this really pretty lace. The lace sits really well on the neckline and I think the choice of lace fits the overall feel of the series. There is a ribbon corset on the bodice, which in actual fact appears to be laced up with gold braid in place of ribbon. I personally think ribbon would have looked better, but the braid doesn't look too bad. The braid is well spaced out, and the sides of this corset are lined really neatly with this pretty floral shaped lace. The neckline is then topped off with a folksy ribbon, which I think finishes off the bodice perfectly. It is a cute shape and size. This bow is detachable, but I would leave it attached. I think the dress looks too plain with it detached. The back offers a panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt is very full and will hold lots of petticoat. I think there is a lot of potential to create a lovely shape with this skirt. The skirt is again kept simple in design, so the print is displayed wonderfully. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with some wide lace, although I wish they had used the same ace from the bodice for the bottom hem as well. I just think that bodice lace looks better.

This is the OP. The bodice seems fairly well fitted. I am really not sure what to make of the overall bodice shape though. The off-the-shoulder 'straps' look slouchy and will add extra bulk and width to the wearer. It doesn't help that there are additional bows added to this area. The bottom part of the sleeves is detachable, but I personally think the result looks absolutely terrible. I don't like a single thing about the sleeves. Not even the folk patterned ribbon for the bows and on the cuffs can save the sleeves. It is a shame, because I think the cuffs look cute. The rest of the sleeves are an absolute abomination in my opinion. There is something about the bodice details which seem to make the overall bodice look a bit 'off' as well. I think it might be the shape of the yoke and the use of lace to line the yoke. It just looks awkward. I even think the ribbon for the ribbon corset on the bottom half of the bodice looks too bunched together. Overall the spacing looks 'off', which is a shame, because I think a yoke and ribbon corset bodice design could of had a lot of potential combined with the folk patterned ribbon. There is also a large waist bow, which I don't like the shape of. The odd shape of this bow is only further emphasised by the lace lining it, and I also dislike that they have used the book part of the print for the bow. This bow is thankfully detachable, which is a small blessing. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is very limited. I am very pleased to see that the zip is very well concealed though. The stock photos show that the skirt has a good amount of volume to it and it flares out well. It should hold more than enough petticoat. The skirt is once again kept simple, so the print is displayed excellently, although if you leave the waist bow attached it does unfortunately reach the print. The bottom hem is then finished off beautifully with a line of braid and this lovely floral tulle ruffle. Such a shame this is the only part of the entire dress that I like.

Finally, here is the print. This series comes in ivory, red, green and black. I am personally not a fan of the ivory, but the colour choices generally seem to work well with the print. As for the print itself, I want to start of by saying I hate the way the print is spaced out on the dresses. It feels as though the book part of the print, which is denser than the alphabet blocks, should be the border part of the print. The print also takes up most of the skirt space, rather than being the typical border print we are used to seeing. On the Corset JSK there is even 2 rows of the book part of the print, which looks weird. I feel as though this picture of the print is misleading, and you need to look at how it looks on the dresses. I personally would have preferred the books to be a lot smaller and for there to be more of the simple striped background (a part of the print which I actually really like). If you ignore the sizing, the books look pretty, with some gorgeous illustrations. I especially like how Little Red Riding Hood has popped out of the book and is actually roaming in the print. I am not so fond of the blocks though, and I don't feel they are needed at all. They make the print look unnecessarily childish.

Sadly, the way the print is spaced out and distributed on the dresses is enough to make me not like this series. I think the folk theme paired with Red Riding Hood could have been a fantastic idea, but I don't like the dress designs. The only dress design I really like is the Corset JSK, but I don't like the way the print has been used on that dress. My top choice would have been the red colour. There are some good ideas here, but the end result has left me feeling a bit sad.