Chocolate Rosette by Angelic Pretty

Yes, I am fully aware I am discussing a print which has already come out and sold out, but my print discussions are all over the place because of my holiday! Anyway, we have hit chocolate lolita print season everybody! Unsurprisingly, AP is the main brand releasing all that chocolatey goodness. So today I will be talking about Chocolate Rosette by Angelic Pretty. This series has 1 dress, a salopette, a skirt, a head bow, a beret, 2 socks, tops and lots of different accessories.

This is the JSK. The bodice looks a good shape and well-fitted. The waist is given the illusion of a belt with the use of the horizontal stripes (it has waist ties at the back) and it helps to define the waist a bit. I also think it gives the dress a very neat and smart appearance. At first I thought the small waist bow was an odd shape. It is very pointy and angular; not the typical bow we are used to seeing. But actually, I have grown to like the bow because it suits the dress. The print is not overly sweet, despite being a chocolate print by AP and a more cutesy style of bow would ruin the overall design. Most of the bodice is quite simple, with just some gold trim running vertically up the bodice. I love the subtle use of gold on the dress because it is a nice finishing touch, but it is not over-powering. I adore the neckline on this dress! The pleats topped with more gold trim really mimic the rosette theme. It all works so well together! The neckline is topped with a detachable thin ribbon bow, which is a lovely finishing touch. There is also the detachable rosette with fancy AP style design, which I adore. The straps are a good width and make good use of the stripy print. They are finished off with gold trim too, so they don't look too plain. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed really well by a ribbon corset. It is lined by gold trim too, so everything has a neat edge to it. The skirt shape is a bit straight considering this AP, but it really suits this series. It is nice to see AP doing a more classic-friendly style now and again. It does look as though the skirt part will flare out quite well and hold a decent amount of petticoat too. The skirt is clutter free and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is finished off with more pleats. Overall, I found it very difficult to find any obvious faults with this dress. Everything just works together.

I don't normally look at salopettes on here (I don't think I will suit them!) but I may as well take a quick look.  The first thing I noticed about this dress was the way that the lines in the print are used. Unlike the JSK, the lines in the print go at all sorts of angles. I love how the top part has the diagonal lines. It is also nice to have the horizontal stripes along the waist bit as it helps to break up the top part from the skirt. The rosette on the waist is a bit simpler in design compared to the JSK one, but this is a good idea as you want less bulk when it is placed near the waist like this. I do wonder if the waist on this salopette is going to be a bit too low for some wearers. It is placed very low and I really hope it wont sit too awkwardly. The large bow on the neckline is very cute, and maybe appeals a bit more to the regular AP fan, as it is sweeter in design than the JSK. The straps are a nice width and I absolutely love the gold buttons used with the crown design on them.

The salopette also has this cute crown lace. I am not too keen on the way it has been used (I think the JSK pleats are far more awesome!) but the lace itself is so pretty. This is definitely one of my favourite AP laces.

And here is the print! As you can see, it comes in ivory, red, brown and navy. Judging from what I have seen online, navy is by far the most popular colour. I have to agree with that! I think it is because I like the slightly more unusual colour combination. I wouldn't have thought to put navy and blue together in this way. I like the stripe pattern as well. It reminds me of school uniforms, albeit a very cute uniform (I wish my school uniform had looked like this!). I really love all the emblems and rosettes. I can see a lot of work has gone in to this print. The rosettes have been drawn so carefully. But my favourite bit is the shield shaped emblem! The chocolate crowns and the bows add a hint of sweet to the print, but it is not overpowering. The classic and sweet elements are balanced well. I am impressed!

I decided to pick out my favourite bit of jewellery from this series, and this is the ring I have selected. I love the melty chocolate look. It reminds me a lot of some jewellery that Q-Pot brought out. But what I really like is how versatile the ring is. You could team it with pretty much any chocolate print and it should work. The majority of jewellery for this series comes in ivory, brown and gold. I personally like the gold best because I think it adds a more sophisticated touch. I think as well that there is already a lot of brown in the print and gold makes a nice change. I love almost all the of the jewellery released as part of this series. The only piece I have doubts about is the chocolate crown ring and necklace because I think the crown looks too chubby. Also, it is a bit too cutesy when compared next to the rest of the series.

Overall, I am very pleased with this series. It doesn't surprise me one bit to see how quickly it sold out (annoyingly, this series came out on my birthday so I didn't get the chance to even attempt to buy it!). As you may have guessed, I would definitely buy from this series. I love the JSK. I am surprised that AP didn't release more dresses, but I do like the heavy focus on matching accessories for this series. The jewellery and matching pieces would work with so many different items. I am really looking forward to seeing some great outfits using this series!