Monday 5 October 2015

Pastoral in the Grass Green by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Today I shall be taking a look at Pastoral in the Grass Green by Baby the Stars Shine Bright. This series includes 4 dresses (one non-print), a skirt, 2 blouses, socks and 5 hair accessories.




First up is the Firomera JSK. The bodice seems fairly well fitted and although the bodice shape is simple, I think it works great. I think the straps are a decent width and look very supportive. I feel the bows on the shoulders is a bit too much though, and just adds unnecessary bulk. The flower lace on the insides of the straps is of a good quality and it is interesting to look at, but I don't really like it on this particular dress. I also feel it is a little strange how the flower lace switches to a thinner, simpler lace style at the chest area. I would have much preferred just having the thinner lace the whole way up the bodice and along the straps. There is a waist bow, which is a bit big in size but I feel the larger style of bow works on this particular dress. The shape is interesting and well formed. This bow is detachable, but I would leave it on or maybe place it just a tiny bit higher up than Baby have done for the stock photos. The bodice features a ribbon corset layered over a lace panel. The ribbon is very well spaced out and the loops holding the ribbon in place are quite well hidden. The panel underneath looks good too. There is then a semi-circle area at the chest, which has a gathered lace panel. The lace seems of a good quality and the gathering gives the area a bit of extra movement and depth. There is then a strip of the printed fabric running on top of this lacy area, which is then topped with a printed bow. I am a little unsure if I like this printed fabric here or not, as I think it maybe pushes the bodice details a little bit too far. I do love the bow though, and the ribbon used for this bow is beautiful. The back of the bodice features a panel of shirring which has been topped very neatly with a ribbon corset. The back generally looks very tidy, although I don't like how the flower lace on the straps continues a little bit down the back. I don't like the way the lace comes to a sudden stop. The stock photos show the skirt has a fair amount of volume that would suit a classic shape. It flares outwards fairly well but doesn't look too OTT. The skirt design is kept simple, so the print is displayed perfectly. The bottom hem is then finished off with an even more detailed line of flower lace, which looks very pretty. 




Here we have the Frantiska JSK. The bodice looks well fitted, but I think the shape is a bit too basic. The straps are a reasonable width and I love the double layer of lace along the outsides of the straps. The lace is gathered so well and it creates a very cute shape. There is a large waist bow which doesn't look that well shaped. The bow is also a bit droopy and I fear it makes the waist area look bulky. This waist bow is detachable, and I feel the dress looks a lot better without it. There is a belt of the printed material at the waist area, which is lined with a line of lace at the top and bottom. I personally dislike the lace used here, because I feel it sticks out at an awkward angle. For some reason, I also feel that this dress has weird proportions and maybe the band of fabric at the waist needs to be a bit wider and end a bit higher. But in all honesty, I would have loved it if this had been a high-waisted skirt instead of a dress, as I am not overly keen on the bodice of this dress anyway. There is a lacy yoke on the bodice. The yoke is a good shape and I do love the way the lace has been layered inside the yoke. However, what I am not so keen on is the flower shaped lace around the edge of the yoke and also the bow sitting underneath it. I am disappointed that this bow doesn't seem to be detachable, as I think it would have looked a lot better sat on the neckline instead. The flower lace around the edge of the yoke is somewhat concealed by the voluminous lace inside the yoke too. The back has a panel of shirring, which has been topped neatly with a ribbon corset. I like that the waist ties of the dress have an over-lay of lace on them, which is a nice finishing touch. The stock photos show the skirt has a decent amount of volume and it flares out very well. There is the potential to create a lovely shape. The skirt is quite simple in design, so the print is displayed beautifully. At the sides, there are little raised bits filled with lace, which gives the bottom of the print a more interesting shape. The lace here is layered quite neatly. The bottom hem is then finished off with 2 layered lines of lace. This lace is also lined neatly, although it doesn't seem that the lace is of the best quality. 




This is the OP. The bodice material looks a bit baggy in places and I am not too keen on the overall bodice shape. The neckline shape looks a bit strange to me and a bit too simple. I really hate the sleeves. The sleeves seem to be different lengths in the stock photos (here is hoping the actual dresses wont be wonky too!). The sleeves also have a bit of a weird shape to them and look a bit slouchy. I also dislike the strip of the print going across the sleeves in this way. Basically, I hate everything about the sleeves and think this dress would have looked a lot better as a JSK! There is a large waist bow, but it has been done in a similar way to the one on the Firomera JSK, and I feel it works quite well. The waist bow is detachable, but I would definitely leave it on. There is also a band of the print running horizontally across the waist area and unfortunately this hasn't been done that neatly and it sits weirdly. I do love the line of ribbon threaded lace that tops the waist line though. The lace has a really pretty design to it with lots of detail and the ribbon threaded through it adds an interesting burst of colour. This ribbon threaded through lace detail is continued on the rest of the bodice as well, with a line running up the bodice, another line on the neckline and also the neckline bow. These details make the bodice look a lot more interesting and adds a bit of added texture and detail. Inside the neckline, there is a lacy panel. This keeps the neckline quite modest. The only thing I don't like about this part is the ribbon threaded through the lace and then tied in to a bow. Even though it is only a thin bow, I feel it is one bow too many. The back offers no shirring, which means the size flexibility is a bit limited. The waist ties are also quite thin, so they probably wont do much to affect the sizing. The zip is quite well concealed. The stock photos show the skirt has a generous amount of volume and it flares out well. The silhouette is a bit lumpy though, which can be explained by the details on the side of the skirt.




Here we can see a side view of the skirt details on the OP. There is a line of flower shaped lace which runs down the sides of the skirt and then along the bottom hem. This line of lace is then further topped with some ribbon bows. This is a very interesting idea, but I don't think it has been executed that well. The style of lace used means it could stick out awkwardly and not sit flatly on the dress. I also feel the ribbon bows are too large and look a bit bulky. The bottom hem is then finished off with a further line of wide lace, which has been done neatly, but from the front view I think the bottom looks a bit lace-heavy.




And finally, here we can see a part of the print close up...




... and this picture shows what the bottom of the print looks like. This series comes in red, green, navy and brown. I think that all 4 colour choices work well with the print, but the brown colour looks a little bit dull. I feel the combination of colours on the green version, and especially on the navy version, are very bold and striking. As for the print itself, it is all set out very neatly with a tidy pattern. I really love the floral panels. The flowers have been drawn so well with lots of detail. I like the combination of the flowers with fruit too. The lace also looks beautiful and has lovely details to it. The print has a very folk feel to it which works well with classic lolita. Everything works together.

So overall I feel this is a fantastic print, but I am not completely sold on the dress designs. I am especially disappointed by the OP. But at least there is also a skirt available. Would I buy this series? Possibly, but it wont be going on my wishlist. My choice would be the Firomera JSK in navy. The navy blue colour is just stunning and I am thinking up all sorts of outfits that would make use of all the colours. Judging by the site listings, it seems people agree with me about the navy blue being the best colour!

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