The new
Musee du Chocolat series was released last week from Angelic Pretty, and I was lucky enough to be one of the first in line for their dresses buying for some lovely shopping service customers. They were kind enough to let me take photos of their dresses which means you can all see these new designs close up.
First up, we have their one piece. The basic design looks very good. It's not too busy and has a conservative elegance about it. Let's break down the basics.
Price - 29190 yen
Material - 100% Polyester (original print)
Colours Available - Brown, Ivory, Pink, Mint
Size - Length: approx. 89cm
Shoulder Width: approx. 37cm
Bust: approx. 93cm
Waist: approx. 76cm
Sleeve Length: approx. 32cm + Lace: 7cm
Width of Cuff: 26cm
This dress features a light satiny fabric in the upper half with a collar that, I would say, harks towards the Edwardian era. The sleeves also tend more towards that era with their light yet reserved design.
The main fabric is a heavier polyester, a little stiff and prone to wrinkling in transport, but of course, the stiffness is excellent for maintaining fullness. The print itself features crowns, carousel horses, teddy bear, chandeliers, cakes and of course chocolates. What would Musee du Chocolat be without the chocolate? The print is nice. It's not a game-changer by any means and it doesn't stand out particularly amongst Angelic Pretty's releases, but it's safe, pleasing to the eye and runs no fashion risks, which makes it an overall pleasing dress.
The bottom of the dress has to be my favourite part of the print which features rich, chocolate squares offset by a pretty ruched hem once again in the lighter satin-like material.
Gold brocade is a lovely addition to this dress. It's been used nicely to accent each part including the bottom hem as well as the waist bow, and the division between the main print and the blouse. The teardrop gold accents are also a nice addition although the plastic look of them close up is a little cheap.
I'm undecided on the use of the trimming on the chest bow.
. It definitely works for the back bow which I love, and having it on the chest bow is a welcome break-up of the solid brown, but I feel it may look better as a more subtle trim. However, it can be taken away easily (detachable by a gold safety pin), so it isn't a problem in the end, and of course, it's a matter of personal taste.
The corset lacing at the front is a nice touch. I'd rather like it if the waist bow was also detachable since I'm a minimalist by nature, and I like to have the choice of lavish vs. plain.
Ok, enough about the One Piece. Let's look at the JSK. This one is in mint, so you can get a taste of this print in a different colour. There are four versions of this JSK - Regular with full shirring back, Regular with corset back, the Switchover JSK (my rough translation from Japanese) and the Low-Waist version.
Full-shirring/Corset Back  | Switchover JSK 
|
Low Waist JSK  |
I don't know about you, but I am definitely not a fan of the Switchover JSK. The regular JSK looks like something a foreign princess would wear to a royal outing. The Switchover looks like that princess had a car crash with a waiter. As far as I can tell the tuxedo front does not come off. The only removable parts are the brocade rope around the waist and the waist bow. Interestingly, this is the one that has completely sold out online. Are people a big fan of this one? The low waist JSK is more demure. The tuxedo from on it is also nothing spectacular, but I believe it is detachable giving this dress a lot of flexibility when it comes to coordinates.
I'm going to take a closer look at the full-shirring JSK in mint since this is the one I had in my possession. Here are the basics for the JSK (full shirring version):
Price - \27090
Material - 100% Polyester (original print)
Colours Available - Brown, Ivory, Pink, Mint
Size - Length: approx. 85cm + Lace 3cm
Bust: approx. 88cm - 108cm
Waist: approx. 69cm - 96cm
There isn't much more to say on the design. Similarly to the one piece it has gold accents although it misses the gold hem at the bottom of the dress and instead features gold trim on the bust area. Definitely, the most stunning accent is the gold chain. It drapes
across the front in just the right way. Not too much, not too little,
just right.
A small sash/ribbon hangs on the front of the dress. I could take or leave this part myself (which you literally can do if you want since it's detachable by a
safety pin), but it does add a nice demure accent.
The back shirring makes this dress very flexible for many sizes, and the straps can be changed from straight to crossover style if desired.
Overall, the Musee du Chocolat is delicious. I wouldn't say the print itself is a turn-your-head feature, but the whole design has a demureness and subtlety which carries its own loveliness in a Keira Knightley from Pirates of the Caribbean sort of way (*drool* That
dress! - ლ(´ڡ`ლ)) with just a hint of royalty.Having seen them in the boutique, ivory was the definite winner as a colour. The gold just complimented it perfectly, yet it contrasted just enough with the brown for an stunningly rich, warm look overall.
The gold brocading is a definite plus point as well as the corset feature and the back bow which both bring a sense of extravagance to the dresses. The chocolate-like hem is also a great feature. The disadvantage is not being able to move the lower bow, and the print itself is nothing to write home about since it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. I expect love for this design, but not all-out craziness as demonstrated for other prints, but then, this is just one girl's opinion. Feel free to disagree. o (◡‿◡✿)
Overall Score for Musee du Chocolat:
Print: 4/5
- Pleasant, hits all the right spots, but nothing new.
Design: 3.5/5 - Some parts are perfect, some are too much. Overall, most of the pieces look good. Minus 2 points for the tuxedo dresses and certain overdone/cheaper-looking parts.
What do you think of this series? Do you want me to review something else?
Feel free to leave a comment below.
The corset lacing at the front is a nice touch. I'd rather like it if the waist bow was also detachable since I'm a minimalist by nature, and I like to have the choice of lavish vs. plain.
A small sash/ribbon hangs on the front of the dress. I could take or leave this part myself (which you literally can do if you want since it's detachable by a 
Overall, the Musee du Chocolat is delicious. I wouldn't say the print itself is a turn-your-head feature, but the whole design has a demureness and subtlety which carries its own loveliness in a Keira Knightley from Pirates of the Caribbean sort of way (*drool* That dress! - ლ(´ڡ`ლ)) with just a hint of royalty.Having seen them in the boutique, ivory was the definite winner as a colour. The gold just complimented it perfectly, yet it contrasted just enough with the brown for an stunningly rich, warm look overall.
