Monday 29 September 2014

Queen of Snow "Forever" by Baby the Stars Shine Bright

Today I shall be taking a look at a new series from Baby the Stars Shine Bright. It is called Queen of Snow and reminds me of a similar Snow Queen series that Baby put out last year. This series contains 3 dresses, a skirt, a blouse, 3 hair accessories, socks, a necklace and wrist cuffs.


First up is JSK I. The bodice is a nice shape, although the material looks a bit baggy in some of the stock photos. The straps are a bit thin, although the delicate, detailed straps do fit in well with the rest of the dress. The straps are topped with beautiful snowflake themed lace, which sits nicely on the straps and compliments the neckline. The waist is nipped in well by what looks like a line of ribbon but on closer inspection seems to be a line of cleverly placed lace (it is really hard to tell from the photos what is actually there). The waist line also has a ribbon bow. The striped, sheer ribbon is such a pretty choice and I wish Baby had released lace socks which matched this style of ribbon as part of this series. The waist bow is a good size but I would have maybe made the ribbon tails shorter, as I am not keen on how it looks teamed with the ribbon tails from the neckline bow dangling down. The bow does sit well on the dress though. The neckline is topped with wider snowflake lace. The lace is so beautiful and gives the neckline a really soft, fluffy look. The end result is to pretty. The neckline is finished off with 3 ribbon bows, which uses the same ribbon as the waist bow. There are 2 bows at the bases of the straps and one in the centre. The bows blend in well with the lace and are not too distracting. The bows are well placed and a good size. The middle bow has the addition of a gold Baby logo charm, which is a really pretty way to finish things off. The back of the dress is fully shirred, so there is nothing there to conceal it and it doesn't look too appealing. It also means that wearers can only adjust the dress size using the waist ties. The stock photos show the skirt has a good amount of volume and flares out well. It will hold plenty of petticoat. The bell shape is very pretty. The skirt design is kept simple and the print is displayed beautifully. The bottom hem is then finished off with 2 ruffles of tulle, which are over-stitched and topped with gold braid. I generally like the fluffy appearance of the bottom hem, I just wish the tulle had been under-stitched. I also feel that the snowflake themed lace could have been used somewhere on the bottom hem.


This is JSK II. The bodice shape is simple, but pretty. It seems well fitted, although the material does look a bit loose and baggy in some of the stock photos. The straps are a bit thin and I think they could do with being a bit thicker. The straps are lined with lace on the outside and whilst the lace is pretty, I don't think the straps have been executed as well as they were on JSK I. The waist area has a massive bow which I feel is far too big. The waist bow is also lined with lace, which only emphasises how large it is. I also don't feel the waist bow shape is that attractive and the bow appears droopy. Overall, the bow just appears messy and I would expect a lot better. I am so glad the waist bow is detachable because the dress looks really pretty without it attached. The neckline is topped with 2 layers of lace. The lace is pretty and a good width. However, I am not too keen on how the lace sits on the dress. It seems to puff outwards. I much prefer the softer neckline on JSK I. The neckline is finished off with a pretty ribbon bow, which uses the same stripy sheer ribbon as JSK I. The bow is a good size and shape, and sits really nicely on the neckline. 


Here we can see what the back of JSK II looks like and the bustle. The back of the bodice has a panel of shirring which is topped neatly by a ribbon corset. As for the bustle, I feel it could do with being a bit wider and spreading across more of the back of the skirt. But apart from that, I think the tiers are well spaced out and layered neatly. The material is very soft looking and doesn't look too bulky.

The stock photos show the skirt is very full and has lots of volume. It flares outwards quite a bit. I do feel the overall skirt shape needs to be a little bit more rounded though. On the front of the skirt the design is kept very simple, so the print is displayed well. The bottom hem is then finished off with cute snowflake themed lace.


This is the OP. The bodice seems well fitted, although I'm not so keen on the sleeve shape. The printed fabric part of the sleeves is a bit too long in length and although I can see a little bit of puff, I don't think the shape is that good. I also feel the elastic on the sleeves is very obvious. The detachable chiffon part of the sleeves is very pretty in design, but I dislike the way they attach to the shorter sleeves. I feel the elasticated part contributes to the strange shape too. Overall, I feel the sleeves look very strange. The dress looks a little better with the chiffon parts detached, but I am really not impressed. 



The dress has a very square neckline but the wide lace lining it really helps to soften it. The wide lace has a pretty design and sits very delicately on the dress. I like the use of ribbon bows on the bodice. The bows are a bit big and OTT but I think they help to liven up the bodice. The ribbon used for the bows is very pretty. The bows are also spaced out reasonably well. What I am not so keen on is the chiffon panel the bows are placed on top of. From a distance it doesn't look too bad but I am not so fond of is how it looks like up close. It just looks very wrinkly and I dislike the line of thin gold braid running right down the centre as well. However, I do feel the lace lining the panel is pretty and the overall shape of the panel is nice. I just feel the panel between the lace could have been so much prettier.

The back of the dress offers no shirring and so the dress is lacking for size flexibility. The stock photos show the skirt is very full and it flares outwards beautifully. There is the potential to create a very dramatic, rounded shape. The front of the skirt features a bustle, but it is very narrow and I feel it could do with being a bit wider and spreading across more of the front of the skirt. That aside, the tiers are spaced out well. I think the tiers are layered on top of each other well but also look a bit flat. Maybe they need a bit more material so they could be gathered a bit more. The edges of the bustle are lined with gold braid, which gives it a neat finish. Apart from the bustle, the skirt is kept simple elsewhere, and the print is displayed well here. The bottom hem is then finished off with a tulle ruffle topped with snowflake lace. This bottom hem is very pretty and matches up well with the bustle. I think the OP has my favourite bottom hem.


And finally, here we have a part of the print close up. This series is available in pink, sax blue, lavender and navy. I think all 4 colours work well with the print, although the sugary pink is a bit sickly sweet. I imagine both the blue colour options are going to be popular. As for the print itself, I think it is beautifully drawn. I love the detail that has gone in to the snowflakes. They look so crisp and pretty. The snow globes are also beautiful and are arranged well. There are plenty of different features to each snow globe to keep the entire print looking interesting and not too repetitive. I especially love the snow globe with the castle in the globe and topped with a crown. The scenes inside the globes are cute and fit in well with the rest of the print. I also like the frozen roses at the bottom of the print and love how Baby even managed to put the Northern Lights in the print. The only part of the print I am not fond of is the dolls and bunny toys. I think they stick out a bit and are not really needed.

Overall, I am quite impressed with this series. The print is beautiful, as are some of the dress designs. However, I do feel the Snow Queen series that Baby put out last year may be slightly better than this one. I guess it is also a bit predictable to release another print that is so similar. But if you ignore last year's print, this series is also a pretty good offering. Would I buy this series? Possibly. I do like the print and JSK I is a very pretty dress. I don't think I like it enough for it to go on my wishlist though. I am also very torn between the sax blue and navy blue colours, as they are both very pretty in their own special ways. The sax blue offers that ice-cold look that fits the snow theme, but the print really pops against the background on the navy blue. I personally would prefer to buy the Snow Queen series from 2013 though.

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