Today I am looking at another new BABY print. I am calling this series Looking For Baroque as the actual name is far too long! This series includes 5 dresses (one is non-print), a skirt, a blouse, a few pieces of jewellery and an immense number of hair accessories.
This is the OP. I kind of feel the bodice is slightly frumpy looking and the material looks a bit baggy in places. So I wonder how well it will fit on a real person. I know that puffier sleeves would maybe be too cute for a classic series like this, but I think the sleeves look a bit shapeless and flat. I would have maybe preferred them to be a tiny bit shorter with just the slightest bit more 'puff' to them.
What I do like about the sleeves and the bodice is the use of the red and gold braid to line the edges. It has a really luxurious look to it and I think it gives the series a more 'special' feel. The braid around the sleeves with the thin line of pleats and topped with a small, matching bow really finishes off the sleeves well. The waist is belted and it really helps to nip the waist in and make it more defined. The solid colour and braid helps to break up the busy print too. The waist bow is big, although I think the size suits the dress well and I like how it is positioned to one side as well. The top part of the bow is firm and has a nice shape to it. The bow tails sit nicely on the dress. Once again, I like the use of the braid and the lace one the bow matches up with the neckline, so the dress has continuity. The bodice also has buttons going up the front. The buttons themselves are pretty, but they blend in a bit. I didn't even notice they were there are first glance. The neckline features a line of lace, then braid, then solid colour material and finally, another line of lace. Whilst the solid colour part here matches well with the waist belt, I think I would have been happier with just the one line of lace and the braid for the neckline. It looks a bit too fussy for my liking and the braid by itself would have enough detail to keep the neckline interesting. The neckline is topped with a gorgeous ribbon bow with a beautiful charm in the middle. The bow is a really good match for the braid too.
The back doesn't have any shirring and is relatively plain. However, the back of the skirt has got a chiffon bustle. The chiffon layers are spaced out nicely and sit on the dress quite well. And because chiffon is such a soft material, it will hopefully not add to much bulk to the backside (this is a big deal to bottom heavy people like me!). My only complaint is that I wish the bustle was a bit wider and spread across more of the back of the skirt., as the bustle looks a little narrow to me. The skirt shape looks a bit triangular when puffed out and I think it could have been been a bit better. The skirt is kept clutter free, so the print is displayed well and there is enough detail on the bodice anyway. The bottom hem is then finished off with a very neat pleat and a tulle ruffle.
This is the Long Frill JSK. The bodice looks nicely fitted and is an interesting shape. The waist line looks slightly messy though. The straps are a good width for the dress. I like how the straps are lined with tulle for a much softer finish and also match the skirt. The waist bow is a good size but I think the shape is awful. Even with the gold lace around the edge, the bow looks very basic and looks like it may droop a bit. The bodice has a yoke which has been done very neatly, with a tidy pleat and gold lace around the edge. The lace in the yoke is pretty and interesting. The yoke is topped with 3 tulle ribbon bows which I don't think are really necessary. The bows look a bit too cute and having 3 bows is a bit overcrowded too. I think the dress would look fine without these 3 bows on there at all. The neckline is softened with a line of tulle. The back has a panel of shirring which is covered neatly by a ribbon corset. The skirt shape is... interesting. It seems to lack any real shape and I think the printed part could do with being a bit longer. The tulle layers are very pretty but a bit too overpowering. With more of the print and a few less tulle layers I think it could be a lot better. But although I dislike the execution on this particular dress, I do think the skirt layers are beautiful and maybe could work with a different design.
This is the standard JSK. The bodice is a reasonably interesting shape, although the material looks slightly baggy in some of the pictures. The ribbon straps are very pretty and interesting, they look slightly flimsy.
And at the waist we find more of the pretty braid! It nips in the waist nicely and looks neat. The waist bow is kept small with just a simple ribbon bow, but the dress has a lot of bows and anything bigger would have been bow overkill. The neckline is beautiful. Here we find more braid and a neat pleat. The fake flowers on top are lovely. I would have maybe preferred a more symmetrical arrangement of flowers, but the design used is good. The base of the straps are decorated with more ribbon bows. The bows are beautiful but I think smaller bows would be better, or maybe just with smaller tails. The pearl chains are a lovely finishing touch and the ends are hidden well by the bows.
The back has a panel if shirring which is concealed well by a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt has the potential for a lovely shape. It is quite full and rounded. The print is displayed well, although the ribbon bows near the bottom are maybe a bit distracting because the dress already has quite a few bows. Apart from these extra bows, the bottom is finished off with more pretty braid and 2 ruffles of tulle. The tulle layers are a good width and layered well.
This is the Corset JSK. As the name suggests, the bodice is very well fitted. The bodice is also an interesting shape, although the bottom of the corset at the waist area could have been done a bit neater. The straps are a decent width for the dress and the neckline is beautiful. The neckline has a layer of wide lace which covers up the straps. It gives a real soft and floaty appearance and makes the corset style look less harsh. The neckline is topped with small, gold roses and a soft tulle bow underneath, which is very pretty.
The waist line is lined with lace which compliments the soft neckline. The lines of lace going in a V shape help to draw attention to a smaller waist. However, I am not a fan of the criss-crossed ribbon on either side of the bodice. They look quite flimsy and blend in quite a bit. I think I would have preferred it if the ribbon was shorter and started lower down the bodice. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about the ribbon here looks a bit off.
The back has a panel of shirring, which is concealed by a ribbon corset. The skirt is slightly rounded, although the skirt shape looks slightly strange teamed with the straight waist. The skirt is relatively simple and so the print is displayed well. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with a lint of soft tulle, which goes well with the soft looking bodice.
And here we have part of the print close-up. This print is available in ivory, pink, bright green and black. I am not too fond of the black version but the other 3 seem to work quite well. Thankfully, despite being called "bright" green, it doesn't look too bad in reality. I would say my favourite is probably the ivory though. As for the print, it has a very Juliette et Justine feel to it with all the classical paintings. Although here BABY have chosen a variety of smaller different paintings, which means we are treated to some pretty looking frames. The frames are drawn beautifully with a lot of detail to them. The pictures inside the frames are wonderful and I like the art chosen. The roses in the background are interesting too.
I wouldn't usually be a fan of a series like this but the print teamed with the details on the dress give this series a bit of a special feel. I can see a lot of attention to detail has been put in. Although this wont be going on my wishlist, I think this is quite an appealing series. I predict it is going to do quite well. After a lot of thinking, I decided my top choice would be the Regular JSK in ivory. Although I haven't included them here, I am also very keen on a lot of the hair accessories. They are definitely worth a look!
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