Night Fairy Fantasia by Alice and the Pirates

Today I thought I would discuss the new Alice and the Pirates print. It is called Night Fairy Fantasia. This series has 2 dresses, a salopette, a skirt, a double head bow, a necklace, socks, a bag and a barrette.

This is the first JSK and the bolder of the two dresses. I think the bodice on this dress is a little odd. On the right hand side of the above picture it looks like the neckline starts to slope downwards. I was hoping it was just the way the dress had been placed on the dummy but this slope appears in other photos too. Either Baby need to take more care taking their photos or this dress is wonky. Looking beyond the wonky bit, I thought the bodice was pretty. The corset detail on the front looks neat and tidy with some beautiful rose lace running along it. There is a ruffle running along the neckline but it does not look too wide or scratchy. On this ruffle there are 2 bows which are not too big and blend in well. The ribbon used matches the print colour well. There are two sets of straps but they are fairly thin so it does not look too much. It is probably not good for those who like extra support from their straps. Two lines of jewels drape from the two bows on the ruffle which suits the design of the dress.

However, I just can't get past the wonky parts. I hope this dress is nicer in person. I am also a little unsure about the skirt shape and the way it is laid out. The tulle layer sitting over the skirt is very floaty and has little glittery bits on it but I think it looks a little strange. The tulle can be buttoned up and in these pictures the buttons are being used. Hopefully you can undo the buttons too. I also thought the bustle part was a strange shape. The skirt part has too many details. It is like the designers are trying too hard. I also felt the one bow on the front looked a bit limp and lifeless.

By this stage I was hoping the second dress would be better.

And so, I move on to the second JSK. Thankfully I like this dress a lot more. This time the bodice looks like it fits better. The bodice is quite plain apart from a lace bib. Sometimes lace bib details can be very frilly and a bit too fussy. On this dress the bodice design looks flatter. Whilst this may not appeal to some people, I think the flatter design looks neater. It is finished with some simple ribbon threaded through. The lace running along the shoulder straps also looks very tidy and the straps are wider so will give better support. I felt the waist bow was a little big but it is detachable. Its size means it could make a nice head bow if you dislike the double head bow from this series. The back of the dress also looks a lot better than the first dress. There is a panel of shirring partially hidden by some corset ribbon detail. Overall, the design looks more balanced than the first dress. If I was being picky, I would say my only dislike on the bodice is the line of gold ribbon running along the outside of the bib but the gold ribbon still blends in a bit, so it is not too obvious. The skirt part looks spacious. The shape looks strange in the stock photos but I have a feeling it probably looks better in person. The bottom is finished off with a ruffle. Where the main part of the skirt meets the ruffle, there is a line of pretty rose lace. Halfway down the ruffle there is a line of the gold ribbon again. I am a little undecided about that part but it does not look too bad. And the bottom of the ruffle is finished off with some more lace. It helps liven up what could have been a very plain design.

This is the salopette. I don't want to give this a full review because I am still undecided about whether I like salopettes or not. My overview of this one is the shape looks a little flat and looks a little like nightwear. It would probably work best on petite girls. I am yet to be convinced and I definitely prefer something a little fuller at the bottom.

There is one detail on the salopette I do approve of-

Look at the cute star lace! As a girl who likes stars, I want to see more of this in the future.

There were quite a few different pictures of the actual print so I just picked my two favourites. This print will be available in 4 colours- Cloud Sky (the brown/ivory one. See the 2nd dress above), Dreamy Planet (the green version. See the salopette), Milky Way (Navy. See the second print close up below) and Starry Night (black). I think this is a very beautiful print. I love the clusters of stars and the clouds. I think it would have been interesting if this print had a little bit of glitter in it. I don't usually like glitter prints but I think it could work with this particular series.

This is my favourite part of the print. The boat looks so pretty! When I saw the name of the print I thought it reminded me of Disney. The print certainly has a Disney feel to it. The boat reminds me of Peter Pan and the fairy could be Tinkerbell.

And finally, here is the barrette-

This grabbed my attention because it does not look like a barrette. At first I thought Baby had started making glitter stick-on tattoos because this looks more like a transfer than a hair accessory. I think this looks a little cheap and I would not pay 3000yen for it. I would use this item as a brooch rather than a barrette. Baby have not shown what the back of the barrette looks like but hopefully it will have a nice pin which can be used in many different ways.

So would I buy from this series? Yes. As soon as I saw the print I thought it was special. I would not rank this print as highly as some of my dream pieces but given the chance, I would buy the second dress. I think the print looks best in navy. I predict this series will sell well and although I have slated the first dress, I imagine it will be popular.