Toy Drops by Angelic Pretty

Today I will be looking at Toy Drop by Angelic Pretty. These items are already available on their website. This is quite a small series with just 2 dresses, a skirt (which is thankfully, a little longer in length than other recent releases but it is still probably a bit short) and a valletta.

This is the OP. The bodice is very short and puffy, but it looks cute and I think it has a nice shape. The belt part helps to bring it inwards to give the wearer a better shape. The belt does break up the print but with this style of print, I don't think that is a bad thing. The ribbon used for the belt and waist bow is a bit on the shiny side though. The waist bow is big, but because of the design on the rest of the dress, it doesn't look too out of place and it is the right sort of size. The bow has a good strong shape to it and stands up nicely, not looking at all floppy. At the back, the thin ribbon waist ties blend in well with the belt look on the front. The short sleeves are slightly puffy, which looks cute. They look very stretchy and are finished with a small bow. There are also neck ties, which look pretty.

The neckline has a line of lace topped with a small bow in the middle. I think the lace is a bit unnecessary and it looks a little strange having one little bit of wider lace when the lace on the rest of the dress is thinner.

The back has a panel of shirring which stretches all the way along the back. It has been left very exposed with nothing covering it, but because of the style of print, the shirring blends in well. The skirt shape reminds me of Meta designs. It is a bit straighter than usual but it flares out very widely. But with such a short bodice, you would not want the top part being very rounded anyway as it would not look very flattering. The skirt will hold a very generous amount of petticoat underneath. I think the tiers have been spaced out well and because of the style of print, the tiers do not 'disrupt' the print by breaking it up strangely halfway through the printed part. The tiers are lined with thin lace. Overall, I think the skirt design flows well. It is not too over-crowded and the tiers have been gathered well, giving a lovely floaty ruffle which does not disturb the print too much.

This is the JSK. The bodice looks well fitted but I think the very square neckline looks a little harsh, especially when compared to how delicate and feminine the rest of the dress looks. The JSK does not have a ribbon belt like the OP, but I don't feel the design loses very much by not having it there. The waist bow again looks very perky, with a good shape. The front just has 2 vertical lines of lace running up to the more detailed neckline.

Here is a close-up of the JSK's chest area. I am not a fan of the overall shape but I do love the cute star lace used! The lace contained inside the pink ruffle is a bit more simple and is detachable if you so desire. I actually think this dress looks better with the panel attached because without it, the dress looks bare, as if it is missing something. Plus the panel gives the dress  floaty softer feel. The pink ruffle part continues upwards and forms the straps on this dress, which has the star lace still running up along them. Although the straps are cute, they look a bit flimsy and a bit thin.

The back has a smaller panel of shirring, this time concealed by a ribbon corset. It looks a bit tidier. The skirt shape is a bit more like what I would expect from AP. It is rounder. It still flares out a lot and will hold a decent amount of petticoat. The skirt is laid out almost identically to the OP, but the JSK tiers looked very slightly lumpier in appearance. Despite this, I thought it still has a good overall shape. The bottom hem is finished off with thin lace and then underneath, it has a line of candy lace (like that found on other AP releases such as Candy Treat).

And here we have the print close-up. As you can see from the picture, the print comes in white, pink, red, blue and black. The red and blue colours are especially vibrant. The pink and white colourways would be good choices for those who like a softer look, but the print really "pops" on the blue and red. I think out of the colour options, my favourite is the blue. The black is a safe-house for those who find the red and blue too bold but still want the print to be displayed well. The print itself is quite cute. Some familiar figures and themes appear, such as the bunny and the bear. I think it is clever how all of the sweets have been shaped to spell out Angelic Pretty. I especially like the bunny and peppermint striped sweets. I can't help but think that this print reminds me of past prints released by Metamorphose. On first glance, it definitely looks more like something Meta would release, not Angelic Pretty. I think for me personally, the print is a bit too young and cutesy.

The valletta is relatively simple, but the shape is nice and it looks like the material is sturdy. You can just make out a tiny drop charm dangling from the bottom right. Whilst the valletta is cute, I think it would have been good if this series also had a head bow. It is sometimes nice to keep hair accessories a bit simpler, but I think with vallettas, one is not usually enough! Of course, that would mean spending out more if you wanted multiple vallettas and that usually works out more expensive than a head bow.

So this is a very small series and in all honesty, I can't see this series making a massive impact. I think it is a bit too similar to other AP candy prints and I can't see this one winning as many fans. Unusually for me, I think I prefer the OP over the JSK. Whilst I like the bolder colours, I reckon the white will be the most popular. I think the series could have done with more items in it. There is nothing wrong with doing a small series, but there could have been more options here. To be honest, I prefer Sugar Hearts and Candy Treat over this print. Toy Drops is cute, but not for me. That being said, I will be keeping my eye out for any jewellery released later on because I reckon that some Toy Drops jewellery would look very cute!