This is the OP. The bodice looks fairly well fitted. The bodice shape is quite pretty, although I feel the design makes the shoulder area look quite wide. The sleeves seem to be a good length, but overall I find them to be very boring and simple. The cuffs are finished neatly with the brand name part of the print and 2 pretty gold buttons, but it feels like the design is missing something here. Perhaps some thin lace would have livened the cuffs up a bit and softened the edges? The waist area has a band of brand name ribbon going around it. The ribbon helps to nip in the waist area. The ribbon design is very bold and matches up perfectly with the print. The waist ribbon is detachable, but I think it helps to tie everything in so I personally would use it. The bodice has 2 lines of very thin lace, which help to line the separate bodice panels and looks very tidy. This dress has a solid coloured collar which has a very pretty and interesting shape. It creates an interesting fake neckline, which I really like. The collar is lined with braid, which keeps the edges looking tidy. The collar itself has a nice folded design, although it looks like it may be a little uncomfortable to wear for long hours. The collar also features a row of gold buttons and further buttons on the folded over parts of the collar. Whilst the button design is pretty and the buttons have been lined up neatly, I feel there are far too many buttons used here. AP could have gotten away with just a few buttons, spaced out further apart. The collar also has a detachable ribbon bow. The bow is a good size and a pretty shape. The ribbon is the same used for the waist belt, and has a good design to it. I also think the bow sits quite nicely on the dress and adds a nice cute touch to the dress. The back has no shirring at all, so size flexibility is limited to just the waist ties. The solid coloured collar has a pretty design and shape on the back of the dress too, and although I doubt many would notice it, it is nice to keep things looking tidy. The stock photos show the skirt has a pretty bell shape to it. It flares outwards well, although I feel the skirt could do with a little more volume and length to it. The skirt design is kept simple and so the print is displayed beautifully. I feel the simpler details on this dress are well balanced, as the print is already very busy. The bottom hem is then finished off with a line of crown themed lace, which is a very good choice for the overall theme.
And here we have the JSK. The bodice looks well fitted. The overall bodice shape is a bit simple but with a print this bold, that may actually be for the best. The straps are a very good width and are lined neatly with thin gold lace. The straps are made up of the pretty AP logo ribbon. The one thing I dislike about the straps though, is the way the design continues all the way down the front of the bodice. I just feel it is a bit too OTT looking when the bodice is already full with lots of bold details. The waist area uses the AP ribbon again, but this time it doesn't appear to be detachable. It does emphasise the waist area brilliantly though. There is a waist bow topping the waist ribbon, but I don't think the shape is that appealing. It looks more like the ribbon has simply been folded over and there isn't really any defined bow shape to it. It also blends in to the waist ribbon a bit too much and I don't think I would have bothered putting a bow here at all. The bodice features a bold military themed design with solid coloured mini panels, topped with buttons. Everything has been spaced out well, although I still feel it would look better without the stripes of ribbon from the straps on either side. The button design is very pretty and the military theme is a good match for the print. The neckline is then lined with a line of thin, simple lace which stops it from looking too plain. The back is fully shirred, so it isn't concealed by anything. However, with the style of print the shirring sort of blends in and doesn't look as obvious anyway. The stock photos show the skirt is very full with a very pretty bell shape to it. It flares outwards really well and has plenty of volume. It still looks as though it may be a bit short in length though. The skirt design is kept simple and the print is again displayed very well. The bottom hem is then finished off with pretty crown lace.
And here we have the print close up. As we can see, the print comes in red, blue, green and brown. All 4 colours work very well with the print. I'm not surprised to see that the red and green are proving to be the most popular colours. I think the blue offers something a little bit different too. However, I am surprised that the brown doesn't seem to be selling as well. I thought AP's chocolate print fans would perhaps take a liking to it, even though the print itself doesn't feature chocolate. As for the print itself, I love the bold combination of rosettes, emblems and the tartan background. For the most part, everything in the print works well together. The only part I really dislike is the part right at the bottom which is made to look like the furry part you see on the bottom of some crowns. That part to me, really sticks out and I would have preferred it if the print just ended with the band of gold. The band of gold is very pretty and would have been a perfect way to end the bottom of the print. The rosettes are drawn beautifully and are a perfect match for the tartan. I love looking at all the different medals and the emblems have lots of pretty details to them. As for the tartan itself, it is a good option for the upcoming fall season.
So overall, I think this is a very strong series. I think there are a few tiny things I would tweak with the dress designs but apart from that they look like very good. The print is also very bold and striking. I am actually glad that the rosette trend hasn't died out yet. It is just a shame that the very bottom of the print doesn't match up with the rest of the print. Would I buy this series? Possibly, but to be honest I think I prefer AP's other rosette print, Chocolate Rosette over this series. If I did go for this series though, I think I would choose the OP in green. I think the simpler dress design of the OP is a good combination with the print. The only other thing I wish AP had done, would be to make actual rosette accessories using the designs in the prints!
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