A Print Double

Today I am looking at 2 different series. So scroll down further for Meta's Grapy Sweetie Fox Cub.

First up though, is Sweet Cream Princess by Angelic Pretty. This series includes 2 dresses, a blouse, a headdress, wrist cuffs and tights.

First up is the OP. The bodice material looks a bit loose and baggy in places. The overall bodice shape is quite cute though. I like that the sleeves are suitably puffy and the neckline shape is softened by the details around it. The lace on the sleeves is pretty, but I think the bows on the sleeves are a bit big, which is kind of distracting. There is a waist bow, which is quite a reasonable size. This bow is only slightly bigger than the row of bows going up the middle of the bodice. I like the stripy material used for all of these bows and how they are lined with gold lace. However, I feel the bodice bows could do with being just a little bit smaller, and I don't like the heart charms that top these bows. I think the hearts look a bit cheap. The bodice bows are detachable, although I can't make up my mind if the dress looks better with them attached or not. The panel underneath the bodice bows is filled with lace, which is layered nicely. I like the bow lace used here, although you could argue that there maybe could have been other lace choices which match the print theme better. The neckline is topped with a line of lace and some material which has been gathered to look like a row of sweets. I feel these 'sweets' look a bit shapeless and are not well defined. It could have been a suitable detail, but AP don't quite pull it off in my opinion. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is very limited. The stock photos show that the skirt is very full with plenty of volume. It will hold lots of petticoat. The front of the skirt is opened up, revealing a solid coloured panel. This panel features some lines of lace shaped in a scalloped pattern. I admit that it does mimic the appearance of the icing in the print, but I am really not a fan of this detail! It feels a bit too OTT for me, but I can imagine there are some who probably really love this design detail. Panel aside, the print is displayed really well. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of bow themed lace layered over a tulle ruffle. This bottom hem looks soft and fluffy, although again I think a more suitable on-theme lace design could have been used. There are also a couple of bows at the bottom of the panel, which finishes off the sides nicely.

Here we have the JSK. The bodice looks well fitted and the overall shape is interesting. I think the scalloped edges of the straps is interesting. It is a very bold design choice. I don't think I like it, but I can appreciate it matches the scalloping used elsewhere in the design. There is a waist bow, which is massive. I don't think the shape is particularly cute either. In my opinion, something about the waist bow shape looks a bit 'flat' and basic. The bodice is simply broken up with a few thin lines of lace, which gives the bodice a nice paneled appearance. These simple bodice details means that the attention is on the raised scalloped panel on the chest area. The scallops are well shaped and overall I think the panel looks really cute. This panel is finished with a line of ribbon threaded ladder lace and a couple of pearls. I don't think these details add much to the design, but they are a nice little finishing touch. This panel is topped with a stripy ribbon bow. This bow is at least a bit more reasonable in size, but I don't think the stripy material works quite as well this time. Maybe it is because there is less of this stripy material on the JSK, so it looks a bit less balanced? 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 with a lovely rounded shape. I think the skirt looks like it has a lot of potential. The skirt is generally kept simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with a scalloped hemline, which works amazingly well with the print. This is then finished off with a line of wide lace layered over a tulle ruffle. I think this lace choice is quite appropriate for the print.

Finally, this is the print. This series comes in beige, pink, mint and brown. These are pretty standard colour choices for a patisserie themed print, so they all work well, although there isn't much originality. I am a bit disappointed with the shade of brown used in the print behind the cakes though. I think a darker, richer brown would have looked better here. As for the print, it is very cute and nicely set out. The cakes and macarons are drawn beautifully. I especially love that macaron dessert. It looks delicious! The background with the smaller cakes is a bit busy though. I kind of feel as though this print lacks originality. There are some interesting points to the dress designs, but the print is giving me a bit of a deja-vu feel. It reminds me of a lot of past prints.

So I think with this series that AP are trying to recapture the glory of previous similar prints. But this could work against them and I can't see this series being a big seller. It is a shame because the print is really pretty, but there is nothing new or exciting about it. If you love these kind of prints, then you will probably love this series as well. I think the dress designs are more interesting, although these experimental designs are not going to appeal to everybody. Would I buy this series? No, but I would love it if AP did some home wares, like cushions, with the print! My top choice would be the JSK in mint.

Today I am also looking at Grapy Sweetie Fox Cub by Metamorphose. This series includes 3 dresses, 2 hair accessories, tights and a few pieces of jewelry.

First up is the Babydoll JSK. The bodice looks quite well fitted, although the bodice shape is a bit simple. It looks like a basic sundress. The straps are a bit on the thin side, but suit the style of bodice. They are topped with some shiny ribbon bows, which look a bit fussy. I would have left the bows off the straps. The bodice is shaped in a way that lives up to its babydoll name. The bust-hugging 'waistline' and neckline are lined neatly with metallic lace. I am not really sure that metallic was a good choice here. It doesn't really seem to fit in with the overall 'fell' of the series. The bodice is then finished off with a large ribbon bow. This bow is very basic in shape and the ribbon used is too shiny for my liking. However, the folded ends and teardrop beads adds a bit of interest to it. There is also a pretty grape charm dangling from the middle. The back is fully shirred, which means lots of size flexibility, but also that the unattractive looking shirring has nothing covering it. The stock photos show that the skirt is really full and flares outwards plenty. I would be careful about over-stuffing the skirt, as I think that makes the waistline look a bit strange, but it is good to know the skirt has more than enough volume. The skirt is kept very simple in design, so the print is displayed excellently. The bottom hem is then finished off with a neat line of metallic lace and a simple ruffle.

Here we have the Ribbon Shirred JSK. The bodice looks well fitted, but I don't like the simple shape. I think the neckline is far too straight and it makes the bodice look a bit 'boxy'. The straps are an okay width and look quite supportive. They are topped with a ruffle, which continues down the bodice to the waistline. I think this works quite well with the other ruffles on the bodice. In some of the stock photos, the ruffle was sitting a bit strangely on the bodice, but a simple going over with an iron should hopefully fix that. There is a waist bow, which it quite modest in size. I would almost say that it is a bit too small. It is also very plain. The shape is very basic and there are no adornments or trims to decorate it, apart from a small grape shaped charm. It is a shame that this charm doesn't stand out a bit more, as it is the only part of this bow which is remotely interesting. As mentioned, there are more ruffles going up the middle of the bodice. These ruffles sit either side of a line of lace and a set of bows running up the bodice. The details are set out quite nicely, with the lace looking of a fairly good quality and the bows being well spaced out. However, I do again have to question why Meta have chosen a metallic colour for the bows and used a line of metallic line of lace along the neckline. It just doesn't make sense to me! The back is fully shirred, so again there is lots of size flexibility but it also means the shirring is left exposed. The stock photos show that the skirt is really full and flares outwards lots. I really like the full, rounded shape created in the stock photos. The skirt is again kept simple, so the print is displayed perfectly. The bottom hem is finished off with a line of metallic lace and a ruffle, but this time the line of lace is topped with some small ribbon bows. This detail looks really cute.

This is the OP. The bodice looks well fitted, although the overall bodice shape is a bit 'old-school' looking. Maybe that is why Meta decided to bring back the old favourite, the detachable collar, to go with this dress. I really don't like the collar teamed with this dress. It looks really bulky and I don't think it works well paired with this particular neckline shape. It looks like the collar has just been thrown on carelessly, like an after-thought. The bows on the collar make it look very OTT too. So I think it is safe to say I would wear this dress without the collar! Ignoring the collar, the bodice shape is okay, if a bit old-fashioned, like I already mentioned. I do think the neckline shape and sleeve style give the illusion that the shoulder area is wider than it actually is though. As I have wide shoulders myself, this would put me off this dress design. I like how puffy the sleeves are though, and I think they are a good length. It is good how they are kept simple as well, with just a line of lace to finish them off. There is a waist bow, which is an okay size. Once again, the shape of this bow looks a bit simple. There doesn't appear to be a grape charm on this bow either, which is unusual. This waist bow is detachable, but because it isn't absolutely massive, I would probably leave the waist bow attached. The bodice features some cris-crossed ribbon and lines set out in a way which again I feel is a bit of a throw-back to past lolita bodice designs. These details are at least set out neatly, although it is bugging me that the ribbon is shiny again! The back offers a panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset (hooray! Finally!). The stock photos show that the skirt has a decent amount of volume and it flares outwards generously. If the stock photos are anything to go by, I think the skirt shape has a lot of potential. Once again, the skirt is quite simple in design, so the print is displayed wonderfully. The bottom hem is then finished off with a simple ruffle and some shiny ribbon bows, which feature some lines of pearls. I don't think the pearls really add anything to the bows, but I suppose you could argue they sort of mimic the round grapes in the print. They will also be a good match for the jewelry released as part of this series, which uses a lot of rounded beads.

Finally, here we have the print. I will get a better picture if able. This series comes in deep blue and off-white (sort of grey shade). It is a bit disappointing that this print only comes in 2 colours. I personally think the off-white colour is a bit dull, but the deep blue offers a lovely solid background colour, which really helps to make the print stand out. As for the print itself, the foxes are adorable. I love their bushy tails! It is really sweet how they are frolicking among the grapes too. The use of grapes is also a slightly new take on the overdone fruit prints we see every single Spring. I think a bit of 'shine' could have been added to the grapes to make them look a bit less flat and more realistic. I also think the print is a bit sparse. The completely plain background makes the print look a bit flat too. It is a cute print, but the simplicity makes it almost look as though it is unfinished.

So overall I think there are some cute ideas here, but the print falls a bit flat. I also question the use of metallic details throughout the dress designs. I don't get why they have been used. The dress designs also feel a bit simplistic in places. So I wouldn't buy this series personally. It is a shame, because I think those foxes are so cute! My top choice would be the Ribbon Shirring JSK in deep blue. I am disappointed there are only 2 colour choices. This series could have had a lot of potential, but it fails to meet my expectations.