Crimson Reflections

It’s getting cold outside again, and Angelic Pretty is bringing out their winter line, which is usually full of rich reds and blues that are right up my ally. But so far, their winter line has fallen really flat IMHO.

First up is Dreaming Present (Kera Images are from Natalie Ito on Lolita Updates)

Coord in Photo:

• プレゼント Bear べレー (Present Bear Beret) – TBA
• Cinema Doll ネックレス (Necklace) – 4,200 yen
• Cuteリボンタートルニット (Cute Ribbon Turtle Knit) – 10,800 yen
• 夢見ろプレゼントジャンパースカート (Dreaming Present JSK) – 23,800 yen
• Cinema Dollリング (Ring) – 2,500 yen
• トゥシューズ風オーバーニー (Toe Shoe Style OTKs) – 2,200 yen
• Bunny Tail ブーツ (Boots) – 18,800 yen

AP does scatter prints like this periodically, and they are kind of hit or miss. Florals and stars work well for them, Holy Lantern hit it out of the park… this is more of a fail IMHO. Bears are a hard thing to get right; just ask Innocent World. This is a weak scatter print, and it’s a bad subject matter for a scatter print. I come away from it thinking “Wow, that’s really cute for mass-market quilting fabric.” It’s one of those prints that if I was new, and I was set on making my own dress, I’d buy this fabric at JoAnne’s to make it, and it would be one of those utterly forgettable handmade dresses that just lacks a focal point.

I think the sad bit about this is that the print actually has some nice artwork in it. As a border print it might not have been super strong, but it would have been stronger than this, IMHO.

 

Next up is Chandelier Holic (Kera Images are from Natalie Ito on Lolita Updates)

 

Known colorways are Red, Sax and Black, and known pieces are as follows:

• Chandelier Holic Dress – 32,800 yen
• Chandelier Holic ジャンパースカート (JSK) – 26,000 yen.
• Chandelier Holic カチューシャ (Headbow)
• Chandelier Holic ヘッドドレス (Headdress) – 3,900 yen
• Chandelier Holic Tights – 4,000 yen

Lots of glow and gradient on this one, very busy pattern. The glow turns the candles and the middle of the chandelier into a blob, which makes the lighter colorway look slightly like it’s underwater, and the darker colorway has contrast up to 11, but is still a little blurry. People have mentioned it looks a little like what we are seeing from some of the Chinese indie brands who don’t have as much textile design experience and I have to agree. The glow really cheapens the look of the artwork to me. I’m just not a fan of this one.

Lastly (for now), we have Rosette Collection (Kera Images are from Natalie Ito on Lolita Updates)

Known colors are black, green, red and ivory. Known items are as follows:

• Rosette Collection ワンピース (OP) – 26,800 yen
• Rosette Collection ジャンパースカート (JSK) – 25,800 yen
• Rosette Collection スカート (Skirt) – 16,800 yen
• Rosette Collection べレー (Beret) – 6,900 yen
• Rosette Collection オーバーニー (OTKs) – 2,300 yen

This could be so good, but I just really don’t like it. Something about the muted dark melon red with brownish tan gold and muted jungle green just isn’t working for me. The stripe on the black is overly harsh, and the criss-cross braid illustration above the tassels feels awkward to me. It’s a strong concept, but weak execution.

Final verdict? I’m just not impressed