Lolita Fashions - Pt. 4 (featuring Alice & the Pirates)

From my last fashion post regarding Baby the Stars Shine Bright, I'll talk about their sub-brand, Alice and the Pirates. Featuring many pirate and nautical motifs, Alice and the Pirates is the inspiration behind the pirate lolita style. Their colorways are much more rich and dark compared to the collections of Baby the Stars Shine Bright. Let's explore some of their most intricate and beautiful prints!

As implied from their brand name, most of the prints have a pirate theme to their prints, or the prints might link to Alice in Wonderland. Common motifs you would see also include roses, crowns and more macabre themes. Don't let that think that's all they have though, because some of their print designs are quite lovely and can cross between kuro-lolita, shiro-lolita and gothic lolita. The prints designs often feature some unique design features such as different silhouettes, cuts and bustle skirts. 

AatP Vampire Requiem JSK

Details of Vampire Requiem

One of their most popular prints is Vampire Requiem. It has been so popular that it was released again earlier this year. The story of this print is that the Vampire Lord has once again gone and capture another innocent victim. You can see the Lord flying away with his victim in the detail picture on the right. I really like the designs of the gates along the skirt and the coffins placed within the gates and along the top of the the print design.

There is an Alice and the Pirates shop in the Laforet in Harajuku, Japan. At the time I was in Japan in October, I didn't see anything I liked in particular in the collection, but the store was very cute and charming. One side is devoted to AatP and the other has Baby the Stars Shine Bright. The 'store' is better described as a large showroom/booth since Laforet is a department store. On that floor they also have many other lolita and gothic brands.

AatP Mid Summer's Night Dream JSK

One of their more lovely prints is the Mid Summer's Night Dream. The silhouette is a bit different than traditional lolitas, since the print motif starts along the hip line rather than the waist. However the window designs are stunning. They feature roses, butterflies and the moon. The fabric on the the bodice also has a unique motif on it also. It's so charming in my opinion, and I think the black colorway is the best. The navy shows the details much better but the waist tie is a lighter blue and it's not that flattering in the overall look.

Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Another very popular print, is Queen's Coach. I really love the use of chiffon in this dress, it makes it look even more delicate. Here is a good example of Alice's asymmetrical designs and it doesn't take away from the over feel of the dress. The bodice is well designed and is complemented by the full skirt. The motif is comprised of small portrait windows that have crowns, roses and the Alice and the Pirates logo integrated into it.

 

AatP Sleeping Beauty JSK

Sleeping Beauty print

Highly sought after is the Sleeping Beauty print! In my opinion I like AatP's version of Sleeping Beauty rather than the BtSSB one. The design itself is similar to other dresses by AatP (such as Scent of Rapunzel), but the illustrated portraits are very beautiful. I really like the thorny roses that run along the hem line. One of the pictures I could not find of the windows is the one where the prince kisses the princess! They didn't release an official photo of it, but there are some owner photos on the web.

AatP Milky Rail Train OP

Part of the autumn collection this year, the Milky Rail Train is really interesting to me. It has some steampunk qualities to it! The dress uses velvet and satin fabrics, which in my opinion is a nightmare to wash and screams "Dry Clean Only"! The bows on the sleeves are a bit much, but I really like the neck line and the buttons details with the chains. It's a bit military, nautical and gothic all at the same time. We see some more asymmetrical lines in this dress as well, accented with the waist belt.

Here are some videos of Alice and the Pirates new collection which is currently coming out on their website. Right now it's reservations only though!

I can't share personal opinions of this brand too much because I don't own anything from it. If it's anything like Baby, I would think it is of great quality and design. Perhaps in the future I shall own something from AatP. Through my research of this brand I find that some of the prints are very familiar to me, and I'll bet it's because I've seen some of them in person in Closet Child or in Laforet! I'll have to pay better attention to this particular brand in the future.

Until next time! ♥