Friday, February 5, 2016

About A Dress: Angelic Pretty's Belle Epoque Rose

I'd like to introduce a small little series of blog posts I'd been thinking about writing. If you're interested in reading my thoughts about a specific piece from my wardrobe, please let me know and I'll put it to the top of the queue. The photos may be a bit of a mix, but here go's it.

Belle Epoque Rose was one of my first purchases last year. I ordered through Tenshi Shop as soon as the first tiny shots showed up in Kera, though I probably didn't need to as it took some hours for it to sell out online. I did score the candle with it too though! And though I couldn't get the post card, my dear friend Lizzy was able to get it for me from the France pop up.

BER is part of AP's lavender label line, and was a bit more expensive than the usual release at ¥32,184. With shopping service fees and EMS postage to Australia, this dress comes second in price in my wardrobe only to Cats Tea Party.


Stock Photo

Print: Belle Epoque Rose
Brand: Angelic Pretty
Colour: Pink
Release Year: 2015
Fabric: Printed Satin (100% polyester)
Condition: New
Arrived: April 2015
Stock Photo Accuracy: You tried


 
A lot of what I like about BER is in it's overall feeling, which is probably a bit sad to say with the section coming below. The print photographs well, has a lovely sweet feeling and is a little bit princess-y. The chiffon bustle back is the perfect detail (and will never require ironing!). Print wise, I love the delicate look of the lace overlay over what would otherwise be bare solid coloured parts of the print.
 


The mix of white lace and cream in the print can make coordinating with either a bit of a nightmare (my usual trick is to just do both together). It photographs best with white, since the cream tone can be easily eliminated, but in person it is definitely there. If you're a purist, you'll want nothing to do with this.

On the bodice there are two rows of ribbon lacing down the seams. If you look carefully you can see one is thinner than the other at the top, causing a small bubble in the fabric. The pink ribbon in the 'lacing', the three satin ribbons on the front are a warm pink, whereas the detachable ribbon atop the bodice is a similar cool pink tone to the prints colour, but is almost wildly fluro compared to it. 

The print. I've read before that people were upset with it's quality. And I have to admit, when I took my dress from it's box, I was a bit too. It's not an easy thing to photograph, and I think it contributes in the end to how well the garment does photograph but, it definitely lacks any crisp feeling. I'm not sure if its a design choice on behalf of AP, but it was a little bit of a let down to start with. In the end though I stopped putting my nose up to the fabric and stood back to appreciate it. I mention this more for anyone considering buying it's sake, as it might be a sore point for some people. I'm pretty unphased by it now though.

Another very small thing is that I think the lace is all rather generic? There's nothing special about the embroidery, which is okay just not very exciting.

 Click to see bigger!

Coordination Suggestions
For simple tastes; pink, white, cream, roses, ribbons, gold.
For something a little more interesting; dark green, mint, navy, black, dark pink. Vintage clocks, rocking horses and perfume bottles feature in the print and could be drawn in as a smaller motif for jewellery, or as an ambitious Marie Antoinette style hair piece for more OTT looks.

More of my Belle Epoque Rose coordinates here.

Care level
Delicate fabric, delicate trims. Take care with sharp jewellery, walks over rougher terrain and unkempt park benches.  I have only hand washed this piece so far. You'll want a clothes airer that you can lay the dress on to dry (in the shade), as hanging by the straps when wet will likely damage the garment.


Final Thoughts
I love this dress. It may seem a little silly given the large negative section above, but I really do. I'm not even upset about what I paid but it's definitely not a dress for everyone!

 

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