Monday 12 May 2014

Wonder Marine Treasure of Alice by Alice and the Pirates

Today I am taking a look at Wonder Marine Treasure of Alice by Alice and the Pirates. This series includes 2 dresses, a skirt, a blouse, 4 hair accessories, socks and a bag.


This is the JSK. The bodice looks fairly well fitted and the shape is simple, but cute. The straps are a good width and look very supportive. The strap design is a bit simple, but the stripy design helps to liven them up a little. I don't think adding lace or extra detail would work with this particular dress anyway. There is a small waist bow. The size of the bow is good, although I think the shape could have been executed a bit better. It looks a bit sloppily done. The heart buckle used is cute though. The bodice features 4 large buttons. The buttons are spaced out well but I think they would have looked better in a different colour. They sort of blend in to the background of the dress. The button design picked is a bit simple, but I don't think fancier buttons would have worked as well. The neckline has a folded over collar, which is lined neatly with lace. The stripe on the collar really fits in well with the nautical theme and the bow in the centre looks very cute. However, I do feel the collar is too big and bulky looking. It would have looked nicer if there was less material. The back has a panel of shirring which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The waist ties use the stripy material too, which keeps that style running nicely throughout the dress. The stock photos show the skirt is very full with the potential to flare out quite a lot. The skirt has a lovely rounded shape to it. The skirt is kept simple, so the print is displayed very well. The bottom hem is then finished off with some simple, but cute lace. This helps to finish off the dress neatly but without being too much of a distraction.


And here we have the OP. The bodice looks quite well fitted and the shape is nice. I do feel the sleeves could have been a bit shorter with maybe just slightly more puff to them. They look a bit flat and lifeless as they are. I do like the sailor style hem on the sleeves though. I adore the sailor collar. It is a good size and shape. The ruffled edge is so cute and the bow finishes things off nicely. The bow doesn't look to be too shiny and it is a good shape and size. I am usually a little unsure about aprons but I think the one that comes with this dress is a good effort. The striped pockets are adorable and the ruffled edge matches up perfectly with the collar. The dress does look a little more mature without the apron and I do worry that adding a maid style element on top of things is maybe a bit too much. I think I would wear it without the apron, but maybe use the apron for when I wanted a more elaborate outfit. The front of the bodice has a line of buttons. The buttons are spaced out nicely and there is a line of lace either side, which is kept neat and tidy. At first I found the buttons a bit boring, but on closer inspection I think they fit the dress well. They have a nice bit of detailing to them.


This picture shows what the back of the sailor collar looks like. It is so cute! It is a lovely shape and the bow on top is a nice finishing touch. It's a shame that the apron straps did not have a stripe of ribbon to liven them up though, like it does on the front. They do look slightly plain in comparison to the rest of the dress. As we can also see, this dress does not have any shirring, so it a bit limited size-wise.

The stock photos show the skirt has the potential to flare outwards beautifully and there is plenty of volume. The rounded shape is very cute and works well with the cute elements on the dress. With the apron removed, the skirt is pretty simple, and the print is displayed well. The apron does obscure the top of the print slightly, although I wouldn't change the size or shape of the apron. The bottom hem is finished off with a simple ruffle. Whilst the ruffle looks cute, it may not have been the best option considering the stripes are obviously misaligned. I don't think it looks too bad, but perhaps they should have done the ruffle differently or chosen a different way to finish the bottom.


And here we have one part of the print close-up. This series is available in ivory/bordeaux, sax blue/navy, navy/red and black/navy. All 4 colours work beautifully with the print but I think my personal favourite is navy/red. I love the contrast of the darker and lighter colours on that particular colour-way. As for the print, the stripes are very dominant. My eyes were more drawn to the stripes more than the actual Alice part of the print. I adore the bows and semi-circles of chains. A lot of detail has gone in to them. I also like the way the brand name has been put in the print but without looking too obvious. The Alice part of the print is very typical of AatP so it isn't really pushing any new ground. It has been drawn well though and it is nice to see other characters such as the dodo making an appearance. Overall, I think for a lot of people, the stripes will be the deciding factor with this series.

So I do think this is an interesting take on an overdone theme. I personally am more interested in the sailor theme than I am the Alice theme. But the Alice parts of the print are nice enough too. Would I buy this series? Possibly. It definitely wont be going on my wishlist but it looks nice enough. If I wanted to do sailor style though, this probably wouldn't be my top choice. If I did go for this series I would choose the navy/red JSK.


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