This is the OP. The waist area looks well fitted but overall the bodice has a very frumpy appearance. The shoulder area gives the illusion of being wider than it actually is. The detachable collar doesn't help either. The collar is far too big and the chiffon just adds to the bulk.
The sleeves don't help matters either. There is just far too much detail on them. Before we even get down to the bell shaped part, there is a line of chiffon ruffle running down the sleeves which makes the shoulders look wider and also looks far too OTT. There are then another 2 rows of chiffon ruffle just before the bell part starts. Although the bell shaped sleeves are a bit wide, it's not that which offends me the most about them. The thing I don't understand is why half the bell part is the print fabric and half is chiffon (you can see this is the first picture above). I personally would have made the whole of the bell part chiffon. That way the sleeves would be softer and maybe a bit less OTT. Also, I think the half and half design of the bells looks ugly. I don't understand what Meta were thinking...
The front of the bodice has a ribbon corset. The ribbon is at least non-shiny and the spacing is good, without looking too bunched up. Underneath the detachable collar, the neckline is quite straight edged with harsh lines and even the chiffon ruffle along the neckline doesn't seem to soften it that much. The back is fully shirred, which is good for size flexibility but doesn't look very appealing. The skirt is slightly rounded and flares outwards quite far. It should be able to hold a decent amount of petticoat underneath. However, the skirt length looks a bit short. I think the printed fabric could do with being a bit longer because the border print is almost up at the waist area. The bottom of the print looks too high up. If there was a bit more length of the printed fabric and the top chiffon ruffle was narrower I think the spacing would look better. The chiffon at the bottom helps to soften the skirt a bit and does match up well with the outer half of the sleeves. If I am being honest, I am finding it hard to say anything nice about this dress.
This is the Chiffon Pinafore JSK. The bodice looks well fitted but I am unsure I like the shape. The straps look a bit bulky. Maybe they wouldn't look so bad if the chiffon ruffles along the straps was thinner. The fake corset style does help to nip in the waist area. I think it would look better if the chiffon ruffle at the bottom of the bodice wasn't there though because then the silhouette would have looked smoother. Also, without that ruffle it would give the illusion of the skirt being longer. The fake corset is topped with criss-crossed ribbon. The ribbon isn't shiny but I think the spacing is off, because it looks very bunched together. The chiffon panel at the top of the bodice is interesting. I am unsure I like the way it looks overall, but I suppose it does add a bit of shape to the chest area for more flat chested wearers. Looking at the pictures on Meta's website it does appear that the bodice looks better on the model than it does the mannequin. I'm still not convinced though. The neckline is finished with a printed fabric bow. I think the bow is a bit on the big side. However, it's got a good shape and it doesn't appear to droop. The back has a panel of shirring which is concealed very neatly by a ribbon corset. The skirt shape is nicely rounded and flares out well. It's a shame that it looks a bit short length-wise. I think a longer skirt would vastly improve this dress. The border part of the print again sits quite high up. The bottom hem is then finished with two chiffon ruffles. The chiffon ruffles are a good width, are layered nicely and compliment the bodice.
This is the Shirring Pinafore JSK. As the bodice is fully shirred, it is a bit lumpy looking. On the positive side, it will give a wider ranges of sizes. I just don't think it is very attractive looking. The straps are an okay width, maybe Meta could have gotten away with them being a bit narrower. The braid along the strap edges is very pretty though. The waist bow is a good size for the dress. It has a good shape to it and looks very perky. I'm not sure I like both the bows on the bodice teamed together and I think a belt would have looked quite nice. Thankfully, the waist bow and ribbon brooch are detachable so you can wear them whichever way you think is best. I really like the ribbon brooch on the neckline. It is a good size and doesn't look too bulky. The shape is interesting and it sits nicely on the dress. This brooch is also decorated very nicely with gold braid, which I think looks quite pretty. As this dress is fully shirred, that means the back shirring is also left open and exposed. Finally, one of the dresses has a decent skirt length. The border part of the print doesn't sit too highly up the dress. The skirt shape maybe could have been nicer, but at least it flares outwards a fair bit. It will hold a decent amount of petticoat. The skirt has no cluttering details, so the print is displayed well too. The bottom hem is then finished off with a simple ruffle.
And here we have part of the print close-up. This print is available in dusty rose, blue/grey and green. Both the dusty rose and the green colours look hideous in my opinion. Those colours are both dull and the green looks like sludge. The blue/grey version is an improvement on the other two but I am not amazed by that colour either. So, a lot of people know I think ducks are the cutest thing ever so surely I must love this print, right? Well, I don't. I do think the ducklings in the print are very cute and the swans are pretty too. I also think the frames around the swans are drawn well too. But apart from that, I hate everything else about it. I don't see how the stripy/floral background really fits in with the print. I think my main problem with the print is the spacing. The frames seem quite small and as we can see on the dresses, there is a lot of that ugly background, which seems to dominate and take emphasis away from the frames. I think a print based on the Ugly Duckling is an interesting idea, but Meta have gone about it all wrong. This theme could have had a lot more potential. Think of Meta's Swan Lake print and how well-liked that is... I think that Meta should have gone down a similar route with this Ugly Duckling print.
So this series is not looking that promising in my opinion. It does not appeal at all. The colours, the dress designs and even the print could have been done a lot better. I'm a bit disappointed because I know Meta is capable of releasing beautiful series. I think it is pretty obvious I wouldn't buy from this series but if I had to, I would go for the Shirring Pinafore JSK in blue/grey (and wear a bolero to cover up the full shirring). The skirt could possibly look a bit better but the pictures were not up at time of writing.
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