First today I am looking at Strawberry's Heart Drops by Baby the Stars Shine Bright. This series includes 2 dresses, a salopette, a skirt, a head bow, socks and an umbrella. There is also a matching skirt so you can dress up your Usakumya.
First up is JSK I. The bodice looks well fitted and the overall shape looks lovely. I think the straps are a strong, good supportive width. The bodice features a ribbon corset which is neatly lined with lace on either side. The ribbon is well spaced out and I am pleased to see a matte ribbon has been chosen. I also think the lace is a good choice, as it goes well with the lace that features in the print. There is a bow on the chest area, which is a cute shape but a bit of the big side. The lace on this bow emphasizes the size, but again I feel this lace goes well with the print, so I would leave it. Despite its size, the bow looks very firm and it sits well on the dress. This bow is detachable, and I would detach it. It is a shame though, as I feel the neckline could do with a bow. Maybe a smaller bow could have looked cute. The neckline is finished off with a wide ruffle of lace. This lace is well gathered and really helps to soften that neckline shape. The back has a panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt is nicely rounded with a lot of volume to it. I think the skirt has a lot of potential to look really cute. The skirt is kept simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with a bold line of ribbon and a wide line of reasonable quality lace. I feel this matches the details on the bodice perfectly.
This is JSK II. The bodice looks well fitted, although the very square shape is a bit simple. I do feel that the ruffles and floral lace that top the straps and then run down the bodice help to soften the bodice shape though. I think the ruffles look super cute and sort of mimic the appearance of apron straps, which is obviously a good thing considering there is indeed an apron! The straps look a reasonable width too. There is a waist bow, which I think is a fair size. I think it is a bit too much having both the waist bow and the apron together, although both are detachable. This is ideal, as it means you can adjust the dress to suit your tastes. It is amazing how drastically different this dress looks when the apron and bow are detached. It is a bit more subtle and less cutesy. I am pleased that some effort has been to make the dress look appealing when the apron is removed. The bodice features a small solid coloured yoke. I think the material could have maybe been gathered a bit neater, or maybe even pleated, but it looks acceptable. It is mostly concealed by the neckline bow anyway. This matte ribbon bow is a good size and shape. It doesn't appear to be detachable, although I quite like how this bow looks, especially when the waist bow has been detached. The back has a panel of shirring which is again topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt is very full and flares outwards plenty. It would suggest that the skirt will hold plenty of petticoat. Despite the apron being there, you can still see a fair bit of the border print still. If you detach the apron, the print is displayed wonderfully. The apron itself has a really cute design. I like how it has proper pockets rather than purely decorative 'pockets'. The ruffle around the edge of the apron looks adorable too. Would I wear the apron? Possibly, I suppose it depends how sweet I wanted to look. The bottom hem is finished off neatly with a line of good quality lace.
Finally, here we have the print. This series comes in ivory, pink, blue and black. These are generally pretty typical colour choices for a strawberry print. The blue offers something a little bit different though, and I love that colour paired with the red in the print. As for the print itself, it is quite reminiscent of some past Baby prints. It is giving me slight Chained Berry Memoir vibes (which happens to be one of my favourite ever strawberry prints) but mixed with the lacy appearance of Pastoral in the Grass Green. I happen to really like the lace and berry combo. The lace is drawn beautifully and the berries look fairly realistic. The flowers tie in nicely with the print and I even spy a few cherries in the mix as well. The print is neatly set out and well presented. I like how the non-border part of the print alternates between lines of strawberries and ribbon.
So overall I am really impressed with this series. I appreciate that some people are absolutely sick and tired of strawberry prints. I happen to be somebody who absolutely loves strawberry prints though! Out of all the more recent strawberry prints, I definitely think this series is one of the better ones. The dress designs are well thought out too. There isn't a great deal that I would change about either design. Would I buy this series? Absolutely! In fact, this series is posing me a really tricky dilemma. I told myself that I wasn't going to buy any more strawberry prints, but I really like this design! My top choice would be JSK I in the blue colour. I just can't resist that beautiful blue shade. Unfortunately I am trying to save money at the moment, otherwise I would really be struggling to stop myself from buying this series. Oh well, if it sticks around long enough then I may consider it.
Today I am also looking at Ribbon Berry Bunny by Angelic Pretty. This series includes 2 dresses, a skirt, a head bow, 2 pairs of socks, a necklace, a ring and 2 bags (one berry shaped and one a bunny plushie).
First up is the OP. The bodice looks reasonably well fitted and the overall shape is cute. I like the short sleeves and also the detachable solid coloured long sleeves. They both have a good shape, and I would struggle to decide between short sleeves or long sleeves. I especially like the lace running down the long sleeves, as it stops the solid colour looking too flat and gives extra texture. There is a waist bow, which is a fair size. I think the size suits the dress. It is a cute shape and neatly lined with lace. It sits well on the dress too. This bow does not appear to be detachable though, which is a shame because it is always nice to have the option. The bodice is broken up with some neat lines of cute lace, which really helps to break up the empty space. There is then a solid coloured bib, which features neat pleats and some lovely lines of lace, which sit well on the bib. I really like the lace choices and the daisy shaped buttons are a fantastic finishing touch. The collar is a good shape and size. It doesn't look too stuffy or uncomfortable. There is then a small gingham bow finishing off the collar, which is well shaped and a suitable size. This little bow is detachable, but I would leave it attached. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is very limited. The stock photos show that the skirt is nicely rounded with plenty of volume. I think it will be possible to create a really cute shape. The skirt is kept simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off neatly with some really pretty strawberry themed lace. It looks a different style of strawberry lace than AP have used previously, which makes it a bit more interesting.
The bodice material looks a bit loose and baggy in places, and I am not fond of the bodice shape either. It looks a bit too square in my opinion, despite the neckline being slightly rounded. The straps are a bit thin, but they suit the style of bodice. The details on the straps are gorgeous though and a lot of attention to detail has been put in to the design here. They feature ribbon threaded lace and a cutely shaped ruffle. This same detailing is used along the neckline, which is a good bit of continuity. There is a waist bow, which I think is a bit too big. Its shape is sweet though, and once again it is lined really neatly with lovely lace. Considering its size, it sits well on the dress with no obvious signs of drooping. The bodice features several vertical lines of lace, including more of the ribbon threaded lace running up the middle. It is quite neatly set out, although a bit basic. The lace does sit nicely on the dress though, and I like the lace choices once again. The ribbon threaded lace in the centre is topped with some small gingham bows. These are well spaced out, although I feel as though I would have liked these bows more if the waist bow was detachable. It feels as though this bodice has a lot of bows. There is a small scalloped panel on the neckline, which goes well with the bottom hem shape. The scallops are well shaped. This is finished off with a ribbon bow. Unfortunately the ribbon used is very shiny and I think the bow tails could have been a bit shorter. The back features 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 plenty. It should hold lots of petticoat. I really like the shape created for the stock photos. The skirt is again kept simple in design, so the print is displayed perfectly. The bottom hem is scalloped, with the scallops again being well shaped and a good size. This scalloped hemline is evened out with the use of the strawberry lace. This softens the bottom hem but doesn't detract too much attention away from the scalloping.
Finally, we have the print. This series comes in pink, yellow, red and blue. Like with the Baby series above, AP have also decided to go for a blue option. However, the most unusual colour this time is probably the yellow. I am not 100% convinced about the yellow version of this print. I don't think it helps that AP have decided to team the yellow colour way with sax blue bows. These colours seem to clash a bit. The other colours are a bit more straight-forward and pretty typical berry print colours. As for the print itself, it is really cute but I think it is a bit over-crowded. I like all the different individual elements, but I think they need to be spaced out a bit more. The bunnies are adorable and I like the way they play and frolic in the border. It is nice that they are not simply just sitting down and not really moving. The gingham background is bold, but quite common with berry prints. It always reminds me of picnic blankets, but I can see why it appeals so much. The gingham and lines of strawberries remind me a bit of AP's Strawberry Ribbon print, just with additional bunnies this time around. It's not very original. I suppose your opinion on this series will probably come down to whether you like the rabbits or not. Otherwise, it is a pretty standard berry print. My only major complaint is that I wish the shade of green used for the berry leaves wasn't that mint shade. I feel the green looks a bit washed out.
So I guess I can see why this series sold out so quickly (Have AP decreased their stock amount again? Berry prints tend to do well anyway, but this series sold out very fast). It has all the cute elements that we have come to expect from a berry print. It is not exactly original, but there seems to be enough demand for it. Would I buy this series? No I would not, partly because I feel more drawn to the Baby print above, but also because I find this AP print a bit too cutesy for my tastes. I am looking forward to seeing some adorable outfits with this series though. My top choice would be the OP in blue (I seem to be really in to blue with berry prints at the moment!).
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