First Lolita comm meet

The Saturday before last, so February 20th, was the first time I attended a meet with my local comm in Leeds. It has definitely been a long game, from finding out about Lolitas in Leeds in mid to late September 2015 (totally randomly spotting some out and about in town), to joining their Facebook group and trying to be as active there as I could (so that I at least had idea of who people were, and so they had an idea of who I was before attending), through a last-minute cancellation on December's meet, to finally making it to one. But boy, was it worth it.

The coord below was actually put together by a fellow Lolita as part of EGL's February Dress Me Up theme, although it's very much something that I had in mind. The only thing I changed from the original suggestion was adding a cardigan, as it was bloody cold and windy that day.

Phto by Rachel Wong
Bodyline Unicorn and Friends JSK and headbow  (navy) |
Magic Tea Party unknown blouse (sax) |
Angelic Pretty Twinkle Carnival OTKs (Ivory) |
Angelic Pretty Twinkle Glitter Knit cardigan (gold) |
Chocomint star clip (gold) | Bodyline S522 tea parties (sax) |
Angelic Pretty Crystal Dream Carnival ring (gold) |
offbrand star and moon drop earrings (multi)

The meet itself was part-Pancake Day and part-Valentines Day celebration, and as it turned out, it attracted Lolitas from all over the place: Sheffield, Manchester, Durham, Middlesborough, even Edinburgh! It was fab to have my first comm meet be a big one as I got to meet all kinds of people: different styles, different levels of OTT-ness, different amounts of time spent in the comm and more. I admit, I was a little worried of being left out amongst people who already knew each other, but that never happened, I was made welcome and included by both newer and older members alike.

It's a bit of a shame that the weather was poor (not that I had high expectations of mid-February), so we were pretty bound to the indoors and couldn't take photos outside. Having said that, since it was a Pancake Day meet, staying indoors was very much what the point was, and our wonderful host kept us entertained with games and complicated-but-cute origami Valentine's cards. (BTW, I adore her style, so if anything, I must attend more regularly in order to learn some tricks of the trade from her.) And at the end, when most people went home, a small group of us stayed behind, extending the fun with some photos (the staff at the cafe we were at were wonderfully patient with us, I must add), lovely conversations and a good few laughs.

In short, my comm made me feel incredibly welcome and that meet reassured me that paying the deposit for the next meet was a spot on decision. I can't wait to hang out with them again, and the fact that I refer to them as my comm tells a lot.

What was your first comm meet like? Or are you still waiting to go?