Labyrinth by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Today I am taking a look at Labyrinth by BABY. This series includes 3 dresses, a skirt, 2 blouses, a cape, wrist cuffs, 5 hair accessories, tights, socks and a straw bag.

This is the OP. I thought the bodice material looked a little loose and baggy in places. The sleeves are very long. The chiffon part of the sleeves flares out beautifully and looks so soft. I am very undecided on the use of stripy chiffon though. The lace used on the sleeves is quite wide but it looks pretty and suits the sleeves. It is very soft lace and it drapes nicely too. I wouldn't have bothered with the ribbon bows where the main material meets the chiffon though, as it just adds unnecessary bulk to an already heavily detailed area. I really dislike the waist bow on this dress. I think the overall shape looks a little peculiar and it looks too big. Also, I wish they hadn't used the floral part of the border print for the bow and had instead used the solid colour. It just looks a bit out of place. Thankfully, it is detachable.

The lower part of the bodice is relatively simple, with a line of pretty pearl buttons. But the buttons are alternated with fabric roses, which is a little bit different. The roses/buttons are spaced out well, although I would have maybe had one or two fewer. The wide lace along the top of the sleeves and the heart shaped neckline is beautiful, but I think it makes the shoulder area look wider and it is maybe a bit too fussy for my tastes. In the middle is a ribbon bow. The bow is a nice size and sits nicely on the dress. At first glance, I thought the ribbon was quite plain, but it actually has a rose pattern on it. I really like the lacy panel and collar. The pleats give it a bit more depth, so it doesn't look too flat. The collar doesn't look too stuffy or frumpy looking.

The back has no shirring and is fairly simple. The wide lace from the front continues on the back though, so it is not completely plain. The stock photos show the skirt is very full and will hold loads of petticoat underneath. It has a lovely subtle bell shape to it. Although the printed part of the fabric ends a bit higher than some dresses, you still get a decent amount of the print on the dress. The bottom of the dress has many layers of soft tulle and is topped with ribbon bows. I think the tulle could have been layered a bit better and give it a neater appearance. I also wouldn't have bothered with the very bottom layer of tulle, as there is already plenty. The very bottom line of tulle also looks a bit basic and cheap looking in comparison to the other parts.

This is the Charlotte JSK. The bodice looks quite well fitted and is a pretty shape overall. The straps are a bit on the thin side, but suit the style of dress. Whilst I like the ruffle on the straps, I wish they hadn't used the floral part of the print for the ruffle. The bodice has two ribbon corsets on either side. The ribbon is thankfully spaced out nicely and it sits well on the dress. The ribbon appears to be of a good quality, but it is also very shiny. The ribbon is lined with rose shaped lace, which looks a bit bulky, but also helps neaten the edges. The middle part of the corset is slightly pleated, but with all the detail on top, you barely notice it. The middle has 3 ribbon bows, the top one being slightly larger and using the rose lace. In between the bows, there are also more of those mini fabric roses. I think the bodice is a bit too crowded and I would have just had the top ribbon bow and lose the bottom 2 bows. With the bows gone, I would also not include the fabric roses. The top part of the bodice is gathered, and then the neckline has a simple ruffle. Again, the gathered part of the bodice uses the floral part of the print. I just think it looks very strange having these odd blocks of floral all over the dress, and I am not a fan of it at all. The back has a panel of shirring which is tidily concealed by a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt has plenty of volume and flares out well. It has a lovely, slightly rounded shape to it. The skirt is plain on the front, so the print is displayed beautifully. The back has a chiffon bustle, but again they have used the stripy chiffon, which I am not a fan of. But the bustle tiers are layered neatly and spaced out well. The bottom is then finished off with a line of ribbon, topped with small bows and more of the little fabric roses. I think this is a beautiful way to use these roses and it is definitely a bit different. Underneath the ribbon, the bottom hem is finished off with a line of pretty lace and a wide line of plain looking tulle. I would have made the tulle a bit narrower. The tulle also looks quite cheap in some of the close ups.

Here is the Elaine JSK. The bodice looks fairly well fitted. The shape is simple, but looks pretty. The straps are a bit thin and basic looking. They have used the floral printed fabric for the straps on this dress too, although with the simpler style of straps, it doesn't stand out as much. I think it looks better than the other JSK straps. The waist bow uses the floral part of the print again. Luckily, the bow is on the small side compared to the other dresses, so it is not as obvious. Judging from all the photos, this bow is not detachable. The bodice has a line of rose themed lace going up it. It looks pretty, but it doesn't really stand out, as it is mainly concealed by the bows on top of it. The lace is topped with 3 bows, which uses that rose print ribbon. The bow size seems to suit the style of the dress and they are spaced out reasonably well. The neckline is finished off with a soft ruffle, which matches up perfectly with the bottom of the dress. The back has a panel of shirring, which is concealed well by a ribbon corset. The stock photos show the skirt has plenty of volume. The skirt looks a bit triangular in some of the photos, but with the right petticoat it will look beautiful. The chiffon layers are a massive part of this skirt, but you still get a reasonable amount of the printed fabric too. I think the 2 parts are fairly well balanced. The edge of the printed fabric has large scallops, which are nicely shaped and continues the same around the back as well. The scalloped edge is finished off with its own ruffle of chiffon and is topped with ribbon bows. It has been done very neatly and the end result is beautiful. The bottom has further layers of chiffon, which are neatly layered underneath. The layers sit on top of each other well and the spacing is good. They have used the stripy chiffon again, although I much prefer it being used here, instead of the stripy chiffon sleeves on the OP. The very bottom layer of the dress is a tulle ruffle. For some reason, the tulle seems to work a bit better on this dress than the others.

And here we have the print close up. The print is available in ivory, pink lavender, orange and sax blue. I never thought I would be choosing an orange dress for my favourite colour way, but for this series I can definitely see why orange was the most popular. That sunset like background is stunning. All four colours look wonderful, but orange is by far the best in my opinion. As for the print, I love how it has been drawn so softly and looks like it has been painted, not printed. The floral foreground is so pretty, as is the water with the reflections in it. The girl on the boat and the castle in the background are nice finishing touches too. I do wish BABY would release more prints like this one. The entire print has a romantic feel to it and it matches up well with the slightly more OTT dress designs.

So overall, I am fairly impressed by this series. There are bits I would change about some of the dress designs, but they are more tiny little niggles rather than big issues. The print is beautiful and it just goes to show that orange can work in lolita. Would I buy this series? Yes I would. My top pick would be the Elaine JSK in orange, mainly for the beautiful chiffon part on the skirt. I am not surprised to see this series is proving popular and I am really looking forward to seeing all the beautiful outfits people will come up with for it.