First is the Long JSK. The bodice seems very well fitted and the shape is very pretty. I think the straps are a suitable width too, although I am a bit unsure about the wide lace used on the outsides of the straps and the neckline. It is of a good quality, but I think it needs to be reined in a bit, as it comes across as a bit messy. The bodice features 2 ribbon corsets on either side. Despite the ribbon being quite bunched together, I am a fan of this detail. The ribbon has a pretty design, albeit a bit shiny, and I think the final look of the ribbon corsets is quite stunning. It reminds me a lot of the bodice of one of the Fragrant Rose Memories JSKs. The ribbon corsets are lined with lace, which keeps the edges looking tidy. There is a line of pearly buttons going up the middle, which are well spaced out. The bodice is roughly divided in to two parts, with the chest area being slightly gathered. This is split with another line of ribbon and a bow. The bow shape is quite simple, but given how busy the rest of the bodice is this may actually work in its favour. It sits nicely on the dress as well. I think the gathering on the chest area has been done okay. Personally, I would have liked more gathering. I really like the ruffle along the neckline though. It is so frilly looking and has an interesting texture. The back has a panel of shirring, which is topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt has a lot of volume and it flares out reasonably well. As the name suggests, this skirt is indeed very long. It has a good amount of length to it and almost reaches Midori's ankles in the model photos. The bottom hem is raised to reveal an under-skirt underneath. I am not sure I like the shape of the line between the main dress and the under-skirt. In some of the photos it looks okay, but in others I think it looks too straight and should curve a bit more. Despite the under-skirt taking up a large proportion of the front of the skirt, the print is still pretty decently displayed. The under-skirt tiers are layered neatly and are well proportioned. I could take or leave the lacy details on the top tiers, but otherwise I think the under-skirt looks amazing. There are some small ribbon bows as well, which is a lovely finishing touch.
Next we have the Princess JSK. The bodice looks well fitted, but I think the bodice shape is a bit weird. It is almost as if the neckline is too high? It makes the dress look a bit stuffy and uncomfortable. I also think the straps look a bit too thin and they are left plain, which is disappointing. The ruffle along the neckline is beautiful though, and helps to soften things a great deal. The bodice is divided up in to panels, which are marked out with lines of thin lace with gold braid threaded through it. I think this looks quite smart, but in comparison to the details on the other JSK it feels a bit underwhelming. There is a vertical panel going up the middle, which is lined neatly with wider lace. This lace is of a good quality and sits well on the dress. At either end of this panel is a ribbon bow. Again, the ribbon used is a bit shiny, but the size of the bows is good. Although the shape of the bows is a bit simple, I think it works well. The back offers a panel of shirring, which is again topped neatly with a ribbon corset. The stock photos show that the skirt is plump with volume and it flares outwards a lot. I really love the full, rounded shape created in the stock photos. There is a bustle on the front of the skirt. I like that the bow at the waist conceals the top of it. The bustle tiers have been well spaced out, although I think the width of the bustle could have been a bit wider. I like the soft chiffon used, but the lace overlay used on the bustle looks really cheap in my opinion. It sadly looks really tacky. Also, some of the tiers have been over-stitched and I think under-stitching would have looked tidier. Despite the bustle being there, you can still see the print pretty clearly at the sides. The bottom hem is then finished off with a chiffon ruffle, which helps to finish off the bustle neatly.
This is the OP. The bodice looks well fitted and the overall bodice shape is very dressy. I sort of feel like the OP is more worthy of the name Princess than the JSK. The neckline could have been a little bit lower, but otherwise I am impressed with the shape. The sleeves are full with the chiffon parts at the bottom having an interesting bell shape. I love the use of lace on the sleeves too. My only complaint about the sleeves is the ribbon bows. There are simply too many of them and I also think they are a bit too big anyway. The bows on the shoulders really need to go. The bodice features a solid coloured opening, which then goes down the skirt with lots of layers near the bottom. On the bodice there is a line of pearl buttons on this part, which are well spaced out. There are also 2 ribbon bows on the waistline on either side of the solid part, which look pretty. I would have probably liked these waist ribbons better though if there were less bows on the sleeves and elsewhere on the dress. There is a large bow on the chest area which is made from the printed fabric. I like that this bow is made from the printed fabric, as that means it blends in to the background a bit more and so the massive size of this bow is less obvious. Despite not being a fan of its size, I do like how this bow has been shaped. It looks very interesting. It is finished off with a fake rose, which I personally feel could have been of a better quality, but it looks passable. The neckline features many lines of lace and chiffon, which are expertly layered. It looks really neat and has the most fantastic texture to it. The back offers no shirring, so size flexibility is very limited. The stock photos show that the skirt has plenty of volume and flares outwards brilliantly. It should hold an ample amount of petticoat. Aside from the opening at the front, there is also a lacy over-skirt which goes about a quarter of the way down the skirt. This lace over-skirt is my absolute favourite thing about this entire dress. It looks stunning. It is really delicate looking and pretty. I also think it compliments the neckline details well. It ends far enough up the skirt so that it doesn't conceal the print at all and it is well shaped. The opening on the skirt again features that cheap looking lace fabric, which is a huge disappointment. Some of the ruffles near the bottom have been over-stitched as well, which I am not a fan of. The chiffon going along the bottom hem is pretty though. Apart from the opening at the front, the print is otherwise displayed very beautifully at the sides. There are then some further ribbon bows near the bottom. In comparison to the bow overload on the bodice and sleeves, I actually don't mind these bows on the skirt.
Finally, here is one part of the print...
... and another shot of the entire print. This series comes in ivory, pink, green and beige. These are all quite soft, delicate colours but given the style of the print I can completely understand why Baby chose them. My only slight criticism is that I think the green is a little too bright and I don't think the grey ribbon with this colour way quite works. As for the print, it is a bit of a jumble. The border is cluttered with loads of photographs in frames and a lot of flowers. The photos and the frames themselves look okay, as do the roses, which are drawn beautifully. But there is also a lot of random clutter going on. There are feathery wings, earrings, ornate bows, small flying animals, more random feathers flying about and single rose petals. It is quite chaotic! It sort of reminds me of when you go to grandma's house or a particularly eccentric charity shop. I am not really a fan of the pearl chains on the non-border part of the print either. These chains look a bit too flat and the addition of diamantes to these chains make them look cheap.
I get the impression that Baby wanted to do a series similar to Fragrant Rose Memories (arguably one of their best ever and most popular prints) but a little bit sweeter. However, there are aspects of this series which slightly miss the mark. I don't think the print is quite as appealing. Also there are aspects to the dress designs which I think have room for improvement. So this is not a series that I personally would buy. My top choice would be the Long JSK in beige. It would have been the OP and that awesome lace over-skirt, but the bows really put me off choosing that dress. Still, I can see this series being somewhat successful. It just doesn't measure up to Fragrant Rose Memories in my opinion.
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