A Print Double

Today I am looking at 2 different prints. So scroll down further to see Alice with the Lost Pieces by Metamorphose.

First up today though, is Memorial Library by Angelic Pretty. This series includes 2 dresses, a beret, socks and a blouse. There is also a British Bear themed book bag.

First up is the OP. The bodice seems quite well fitted and the overall shape is cute. It has a sweet, yet mature look about it. The arms look as though they have a fair amount of length to them and I like the way the cuffs have been set out. The cuffs have 3 emblem themed buttons, a line of gold braid and are finished neatly with a line of lace. These details have been set out well and I feel the cuffs go well with the collar. There is a belt, which helps to define the waist area nicely. The belt matches the rest of the dress and I love how bold the gold buckle is. The bodice is broken up with some thin lines of gold lace and some emblem themed buttons. I was going to say that the buttons are quite well positioned, but with the collar ribbon bow attached you can barely see any of them. However, the collar bow offers an interesting pop of colour. I also think the bow is a cute shape and size, although the ribbon used is a bit shiny. So I am very undecided about whether I would want to leave this bow attached or not. I guess it is down to personal preference. The collar is a very striking shape and lined really neatly with gold braid and lace. This matches up with the details on the cuffs. I was initially unsure about the collar shape, but it has grown on me. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is very limited. The back is very neatly set out. What I love is how the edges of the waist ties have been shaped so it follows the tassel part of the print. I thought this was a nice touch. The stock photos show that the skirt is very full and flares outwards generously. I really like the full, rounded shape created in the stock photos. The skirt is kept simple in design, so the print is displayed wonderfully. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with a wide pleated ruffle. I think the pleated ruffled is very smart and goes well with the overall 'feel' of the dress. Lace here would have maybe looked a bit too cutesy.

Here we have the JSK. The bodice seems quite well fitted and the shape is simple, but lovely. I am not keen on the straps though. I don't like the way they appear to be slanting outwards slightly (maybe this is just how it looks in the stock photos) and I feel they could have been just a little bit wider. Despite being lined with gold lace, the straps also look a bit plain. This dress features the same belt design, which again I feel works really well. The main part of the bodice is also set out in a similar style with the gold lace and buttons. I personally feel the buttons look a bit too close together, but maybe it is because the bodice looks quite crowded anyway that it gives off this impression. The neckline features 2 folded down flaps and a 'tie'. I personally think the tie looks awful and I am not fond of the shape of the flaps on the neckline either. I was very relieved to discover the tie part was detachable, although I still don't like the look of the bodice even with it detached. The back offers a panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt has a lot of volume and flares out well. There is a lot of potential to create a great shape. The skirt is once again kept simple in design, which means the print is displayed excellently. The bottom hem is finished off with the same pleated ruffle as the OP. Again, I feel the decision to use pleats here is wise.

And this is what the print looks like. This series is available in pink, wine, navy blue and black. I personally don't like the combination of black with brown, so I dislike the black version. There is something about the pink version that doesn't look quite right to me too. So for me, the best colour is a choice between the wine and navy blue. As for the print itself, I like that it offers a slightly sweeter alternative to the library prints we see classic brands offer a lot. The books are well stacked and Shy Bear fits in well with the print. The chess pieces are well drawn, but feel a bit random in my opinion. I feel that if AP wanted to include chess elements with the print they should have included a chess board somewhere to make it a bit more balanced. But I personally wouldn't have bothered including chess pieces at all. Considering this is AP, the background for the print is surprisingly subtle. I really like it. My main concern with this print though, is the sizing. If you look at the size of the print on the actual dresses, something about it looks a bit 'off'. It's almost as if the print is too big.

So overall I can't imagine this series being a bit hit. I do feel the balance of cute and more mature features has generally been handled well, with the exception of that awful tie on the JSK. I am not overly impressed with the print though, especially the way it has been sized. So this is not a series that I would personally want. My top choice would be the OP in wine. I suppose this series does offer a slight alternative to the more classic styled library prints though, which tend to look quite similar to one another.

Today I am also looking at Alice with the Lost Pieces by Metamorphose. This series includes 3 dresses, a corset, tights and 2 hair accessories.

First up is the Ribbon Dress. The bodice material looks just slightly baggy and loose. I also feel some of the bodice lines could have been softer, giving the bodice a nicer overall shape. The straps are a reasonable width. Despite being lined with lace though, the strap and neckline area looks rather bare. I feel this area is lacking something. There is a ribbon belt, which nips in the waist area nicely. However, the ribbon used looks really cheap and shiny. It looks like cheap ribbon you can find in any craft store and I am really unimpressed. The bodice features several ruffles. These ruffles are well gathered and are layered neatly. It creates a cute frothy appearance. There are then a few small ribbon bows running up the middle. These bows are a cute shape and size, although once again the super shiny ribbon has been used for them. The back is fully shirred, which means lots of size flexibility but also that the unattractive looking shirring has nothing to cover it. The stock photos show that the skirt is very full and has plenty of flare. I think the rounded shape in the stock photos looks very cute. The skirt is kept simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with a thin line of lace and a neat ruffle of the main dress fabric.

Here we have the Bustle Dress. The bodice looks quite well fitted but the overall bodice shape is a bit plain and uninspiring. I especially don't like that really boxy looking neckline. The straps look a good width though, and very supportive. The straps and neckline are lined with a thin line of lace. Again, it feels like this area is lacking something. Perhaps a small bow could have adorned the neckline at least? There is a waist bow, which is made out of ribbon. Unfortunately the super shiny ribbon has been used again for this bow. I also think the shape of the bow is very basic. There is a small clock charm dangling from this bow, but it doesn't really add much to the bow and is barely noticeable. The bodice features several lines of lace and a row of card suit shaped buttons running up the middle. This is all really neatly set out, but also looks a bit boring. I do like the use of the shaped buttons though. The back offers a panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt is very full and flares outwards well. There is the potential to create a great shape. The skirt is again kept simple in design at the front, so the print is displayed perfectly. As the name suggests, there is a bustle on the back of the skirt. Sadly, it is not the most attractive of shapes and I personally think the bustle looks really awkward. It is such a shame. The dress would have looked a lot better if there was no bustle at all, albeit a bit simple. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with a line of thin lace.

This is the A-Line Dress. The bodice is quite short, and I do worry how that waistline is going to sit on anybody who is even slightly busty. I also feel the sleeve length is a bit odd and looks a bit frumpy. I think shorter sleeves would have looked much cuter. The sleeves are finished off with just a thin line of lace, which I think is appropriate. Any more detail here would have probably looked too OTT. There is a waist bow which is made of the main dress fabric and then topped with a line of ribbon. I don't think the ribbon looks particularly attractive or really adds anything to this bow. The bow is a good shape and size though. I think the collar has a really interesting shape to it. It is a good size and is neatly lined with lace too. Underneath the collar there is a tiny yoke. I don't think the yoke adds anything to the design and it is mostly obscured by the collar anyway. I wouldn't have bothered putting a yoke there, just so that all the attention was on the collar. The yoke just makes it look a bit fussy. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is very limited. I think the back is set out quite neatly. The stock photos show that the skirt has a good amount of volume to it. I don't think this is the most flattering of skirt shapes, but at least it looks as though there is enough room to experiment with petticoats until you get a shape you are happy with. The skirt is again kept simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with a line of lace.

Finally, here we have the print. If I manage to find a better picture of the print I will edit the post. This series comes in black, off-white and Alice blue. I feel that a lot of the details are lost on the off-white (both the print details and some of the details in the dress designs). The Alice blue (basically sax blue) is very typical for an Alice series and I like how the print details show up well on the black version. As for the print itself, I think it is an interesting take on what is a very overdone theme. I really like the idea of having puzzle pieces in the background. It helps to fill in the empty spaces in the background without looking too OTT. The heart shaped rose bush is beautiful too. All the elements of the print have been well drawn. It is generally a nice looking print.

So I guess your feelings towards this series will depend on how much you like the Alice in Wonderland theme in lolita. I personally think the dress designs let the print down a bit. There is so much more that could have been done with the dresses and I think Meta could have chosen better materials, especially for the ribbon. I also feel that off-white was a really bad idea for a colour way and that the print details wont show up that well. Who knows, maybe it looks better in person. Would I buy this series? No, I would not. My top choice would be the Ribbon JSK in Alice Blue, but that is only because I dislike that dress design the least, rather than me actually liking the dress. I would have quite liked to see a skirt released for this series, especially when I feel so uninspired by the dress designs.