Alice and thePirates; Scent of Rapunzel (Reserve)

Scent of Rapunzel reserve went up recently, slated to start on 2/25/2011 Which would be... probably just enough time for me to decide whether I want to go for it or not. Because... AatP is quickly becoming my favorite brand for prints (Mary Magdalene will remain forever stylistically, my favorite). I love fairy tales, and I love fairy tale inspired prints. I passed on Cinderella Jewelry because it was a little too sweet, Scent of Rapunzel, barring the slightly OT name is a nice balance.


It's definitely got it's roots in Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella Jewelry that was released last year. An interesting design twist is the braid running along the bottom, I think it's a really excellent detail.


I'm in love with this JSK design. The side lacing, the ribbons, the cut- it's gorgeous. The only thing that has me wavering about this is the colorway. My top picks would be ivory or black, but in general all the colorways are a little ehh. Something is just a tad off about them.



I do have to say though, the scissor accessories are gorgeous! If I pass on the print itself, I still might have to get the earrings.

Vampire Forest (Alice and the Pirates)

Print post! The much talked about Vampire Forest samples out and... well, there are very mixed reactions. From what I've seen, the majority (of lolitas in the english speaking community) don't care for it much. There were a few things working against it.



1. It's an all over print. As you can see from the close up, it has some lovely art. But the composition is wrecked by putting it all over.
2. Dress designs are... meh. Not to mention all the samples are in the 'purple' colorway. I might feel different about the red, navy, or black (actually I like the black the best) but now there is no way to tell.



3. The name works against it a bit, because it's apparently an unofficial successor to Vampire Requiem, which remains as one of AatP's most sought after and valued prints. It also happens to be a border print and have very nice dress designs, so there's a lot of overshadowing going on.

What I do appreciate:
1. The bustle skirt design. It's very elegant and I can see it working well in the red colorway as a dramatic gothic piece.
2. The socks. I might actually get those. They are absolutely gorgeous.

In a perfect world I would have... The bustle skirt in black. Oh and the socks. The socks are awesome.

Midsummer's Night Dream Coord

Skirt: AatP
Blouse: Anna House
Everything else: Offbrand

This was my outfit (+ a very unlolita blazer, but I love it) for my ballroom club's social dance. I got a ton of compliments on the print~ It's also a pretty casual affair, so it probably didn't tip most of them off as "whoa this chick's got an odd fashion hobby"

Which I totally do, but go figure.

St. Mephisto Cathedrale Print

So this reserve is long gone, but that doesn't mean we can't wish it weren't. I've been really busy in between my move and becoming a mad interior decorator (not a very good one mind) but Baby's / AatP cathedral print is something I wanted to post about. In the black OP, with a all over pattern cross motif, it comes across as a very sweetxgothic print. Other brands have done cathdrals, perhaps most famously Moitie.

But if one isn't quite gothic enough to wear Moitie, Baby's take on it is a nice, softer alternative. The design itself is balanced out with book and musical score motifs. I have to admit the iris colorway is very striking, and unsurprisingly completely sold out. It's a more mature take on lavender colorways in sweet lolita, creating a more jewel tone hue than pastel. It also complements the color of the print. In ivory, the print disappears and the pink is a little too harsh. Definitely black and iris will be the most popular colorways.

In a perfect world I would have... the iris JSK, despite not having anything in that tone in my wardrobe.

Dream of a Midsummer's Night Print Details

The dream in a midsummer night skirt (AatP)

The skirt sample is up and I think I'm sold on this print. It is just really too gorgeous to pass up. Especially in ivory. Hopefully I'll be able to snag a reservation.

Midsummer's Night Dream Reserve (AatP)

I can't breathe because this print is so gorgeous.It's a new reserve from Alice and the Pirates, available here From the close up of the print, it is intricately detailed and probably my favorite AatP print to date.

I really don't mind that it is about as inspired by the play as Disney's adaptation of The Little Mermaid (aka very loosely), this print is gorgeous. It has 2 JSK designs and 1 skirt (no sample pictures) and comes in black, navy, and ivory. The windows and the butterflies are absolutely love.

I'm not a huge fan of this JSK design, but that is just my prejudice against bows. The first one luckily only suffers one, and is relatively small. I can see that in ivory being a beautiful classico-gothic affair. Or just gothic, no one ever said it always had to be black. I really wish they had a sample of the skirt up, because I would be severely tempted. If I wasn't going to Otakon and then moving next month... Yeah yeah, cue stereotypical expense woes. But budgeting is a fact of life, and who knows, maybe it will show up on y!j or closet child in a year or so (sob).

The reservation starts on 7/16, I suppose I have till then to contemplate.

In a perfect world I would have the 1 bow JSK in ivory