Sugar Fairy Cake by Angelic Pretty

I am a bit behind with the print discussions at the moment, so it is time to start catching up! Today I will be discussing Sugar Fairy Cake by Angelic Pretty. Because I waited so long, the series is already up and available on their website. This series has 3 dresses, a skirt (apron style), a valletta, a head bow and some ankle socks.

This is the OP. This is more of a set, than a dress (see below). The bodice looks like it has a good overall shape, but in the close-up pictures on the website I didn't think it looked as well fitted. It does have a tidy square neckline, line neatly with pretty thin lace, which is not too itchy or OTT. There is an awkward line of lace running horizontally along the bodice which has the potential to sit funnily on the chest area. At least the vertical lines give the wearer a bit of a slimmer appearance. The material above the lace line has folds in it, which gets a bit lost in the gingham and is not that noticeable. The short sleeves have a cute puffy shape. These are finished with good quality lace and ribbon bows, which are slightly shiny in appearance. There are 2 neck bows which are a bit on the big side, but softens the neckline. The back has a panel of shirring, which is concealed by a ribbon corset. There is also a waist bow, which is huge. It looks really over-sized and sticks out loads. I would definitely detach it! This dress also has a typical maid style apron (not a massive surprise). The apron itself is quite cute. Its edges are lined with the same lace as that used on the main dress and I love the heart pockets. I am not too convinced I like the maid style apron, but at least it distracts from the gingham in the print.

This is what the OP looks like without the apron. Although I dislike the waist ribbon, I think the waist looks a bit plain when the waist bow and apron are gone. It also makes the bows on the neckline look top-heavy and unbalanced. Maybe a nice detailed belt would help balance it out a bit! The skirt shape is nicely flared and rounded. It will hold a decent amount of petticoat underneath. Thankfully, the skirt part does not have that much detail to it so it doesn't overload the busy print. The bottom hem is finished off with cute lace which features little cupcakes and forks.

The OP comes with this valletta and wrist cuffs. Personally, I prefer the head bow over this valletta. The valletta reminds me of the detachable lace on the Wonder Cookie head bow. I am unsure that it works on its own and it does look a bit like a waitress costume headpiece. The cuffs are cute enough, what with the matching lace and flower buttons. Overall, I am not too bothered by these extra items.

This is the halter JSK. The bodice is well-fitted, albeit quite straight and a bit boxy. Again, this dress has the same ridiculously huge waist bow. In fact, it so large it looks like it is about to fall off the dress! Luckily you can detach it, which I would strongly recommend. The main detail on the bodice is the lace running horizontally along the neckline. Although the lace looks like it is good quality, it does look a bit like a doily in appearance. The lace is topped with a small gingham ribbon, which makes the neckline more interesting. The straps are a good width for the dress and I like how they give the dress a retro shape. It is a very sweet print, so this detail makes it look a bit more mature or like a 50's sun dress. The back has a panel of shirring, which is concealed by a ribbon corset, helping to make things look a bit neater. The skirt shape also has a very flared retro shape to it, which is a bit different, but I actually prefer this to the other 2 dresses. The bottom hem has the same cake and fork lace.

This is the tier JSK. The bodice has a nice shape to it. The rounded neckline is also very interesting and a bit different. As you can see, this dress has a lot of bows on the bodice and the giant waist bow is present once again! All of the bows are a bit on the big side, but if you remove the large waist bow, the 3 remaining bows actually look quite good. The 3 bodice bows have a nice sturdy shape to them. The rounded collar is topped with good quality lace both on the edges and in the middle. It sounds like a lot of lace, but it gives it a more frilly feminine appearance without looking OTT. The rounded collar part continues on to make the dress straps, which are a good width and give plenty of support. The back of the dress has no shirring but does have waist ties to make the dress smaller if needed. I don't think the tiered style of skirt works as well with the print when compared to the other 2 dresses. The overall shape is quite flared and slightly rounded and the tiers don't alter the skirt shape that much. Thankfully, the tiers don't look too bumpy or clump the material together strangely, but they don't add much either. However, on the plus side, the tier edges are lined with pretty lace. Another negative about using tiers is that the cake part of the print is not displayed as clearly because of the gathering. The bottom hem is finished off with thinner lace which has small hearts on it. It is a bit more subtle than the cake lace.

And finally, the print close-up. As you can see, it comes in pink, yellow, mint and black. The cakes are cute and I think that this part has a lot of potential. The icing is detailed, as are the cake decorations. However, in my opinion Sugar Fairy Cake suffers from the same problem as Triple Tart did- the gingham. The gingham on this print is a real deal-breaker for me. I am not against gingham, but I really dislike it used with this print. Even a solid background would have worked better. It is a shame, because I really like the cakes! Out of the colours I will pick the mint colour as my favourite because I think the gingham part works a bit better on this colour than the others.

So for me, this is another case of gingham blues. If it wasn't for the gingham, I would probably really like this series. Out of the dresses, I think the halter-neck JSK in mint would be my favourite. If you break up all the different parts of the print, the design is not exactly new or fresh. However, I do think the cakes in the print have been done very well. It is such a shame...