My Little Red Riding Hood by BABY

Today I will be taking a look at the new series from Baby the Stars Shine Bright. This series is called My Little Red Riding Hood. This series has 2 dresses, a skirt, a hood, a blouse, socks, a head bow, a bag and some various bits of jewellery.

This is the Polka Dot Ribbon JSK. The bodice looks very well fitted and a nice shape. The dominant feature here would be the 3 large bows running down the front. The bows have a sturdy shape to them and they look like they have been constructed well. The bows have lines of polka dot ribbon sewn on them. The use of polka dot ribbon is interesting because it is not something I would usually associate with Red Riding Hood. I think it is brilliant that Baby have chosen something a little different and I do think the polka dots work well with the dress. It is really refreshing compared to the typical gingham you usually see with this sort of themed print (speaking of which, see the next dress). I like how the lower down bows are a bit smaller. Some may say that the 3 bows are too much, but I actually like them. The top bow near the neckline is removable but I think the dress looks better with it on. The bodice has a raised panel which is mainly concealed by the top bow. It is lined with thin good quality lace, which is not overly distracting, and there is a line of polka dot lace running horizontally all the way across. Whilst the panel is pretty, as I said before, I think it looks better with the detachable bow left on. The waist area looks plain, but perhaps the dress would look too overcrowded if there was some detailing here. The straps are a decent width but I think the strap's edges look a bit rough. The back has a panel of shirring concealed well by a ribbon corset. On the darker colours, the ribbon blends in very well. Unfortunately, the waist ties only have the print on one side, which is a little disappointing. The skirt has a lovely subtle bell shape to it and it will hold a decent amount of petticoat. I like how the skirt part has been kept simple and the gathering is not overdone because it means the print is displayed really nicely. There is a line of polka dot ribbon along the bottom hem, which is a good idea because it really helps to balance out the polka dots and helps to finish off the bottom well. The bottom hem is then finished with some good quality lace.

This is the Gingham JSK. Sometimes dresses in the same series can look too similar, so I think it is interesting that this time the dresses do look different. The bodice has a nice shape to it, but I don't find it as appealing as the other dress. Unsurprisingly, Baby did include gingham somewhere in this series. I suppose for some people, going for a more obvious choice in design can be a good thing, but I like the polka dot ribbon idea better!

I think the bodice on this dress is suffering from 'gingham overload'. Whilst all the bodice details probably sound good on paper, I dislike all of the details used together. There is the large waist bow which looks like it has a good shape. But judging by some of the photos, the waist bow might be prone to drooping a bit. I do like the criss-crossed ribbon running up the bodice and the rose lace is pretty. This then meets the gingham panel along the neckline. The scalloped edge makes it look interesting and the rose lace running across it help to tie in the rose lace used elsewhere on the dress. This panel is topped by a cute bow, which I think looks a lot better than the waist bow. So overall, I am generally positive about the bodice details but I do think that one of the gingham bits should be removed. It is difficult to say which one to remove though. The straps are cute, although they do have an apron-like appearance. Personally, that doesn't bother me too much though. The back has a panel of shirring concealed by a ribbon corset. Again, this area looks very tidy and it blends in well. Thankfully on this dress, the gingham waist ties are double sided. Yay! The skirt has a wonderful bell shape to it and I think this is more appealing than the skirt shape on the other dress. Again, the print is displayed well because the skirt is free of cluttering details. The bottom hem has a gingham ruffle. It looks pretty, but I think it could have been gathered a bit more so it looks a little less flat.

And here is part of the print close-up. This print is available in ivory, pink, mint, red and black. I think the deeper red and black colour ways work best with this print. The other colours are also pretty, but the print doesn't stand out as much. I think the print is very cute. I love the house and the apple trees, especially the way there are also cute bows attached to the tree. I do find the objects floating around in the background a little strange. I can't help but wonder what a pair of scissors have to do with Little Red Riding Hood. I must have missed/forgotten that part of the story! They do however, help to fill out any gaps in the print. My favourite part of the print is the cute little bunnies. However, I dislike the non-border part of the print with the random straight lines.

 Out of all of the jewellery pieces my favourite is the double ring. It has one of Baby's usual bows (which I think are cute) and the apple is really sweet too. I think it looks interesting and a little bit different.

I am unsure I like the bag that is part of this series. For starters, every time I look at it I think it looks like the bag has a surprised face! I also think that there are other house shaped bags out there that perhaps have a bit more structure to them. This bag looks a bit slouchy. I personally wouldn't buy this bag because I know I could find nicer bags out there or I could go down the stereotypical Red Riding Hood route and find a nice country style straw basket to carry.

Whilst I like this print, I don't see this as a "must-have" for my wardrobe. It is just not to my personal tastes. I do know that an older Baby Red Riding Hood series has its fans though, so maybe this series will be a success. I would definitely go for the polka dot JSK. It is a bit different and is not overly crowded design-wise. For me, this series is all about the deep red colour-way, although maybe that is a little too obvious considering the print theme! So I would consider the black too. Once again, Baby have come up with some lovely jewellery too. I predict this series will sell fairly well, but wont be as popular as the older Red Riding Hood series Baby released.