Another great thing about living in
Yorkshire (and trust me, Yorkshire really is the best, even despite its
weather) is the abundance of nearby Lolita comms that are perfectly accessible
via train or bus. Last Saturday I made my debut at C.L.A.M., the Lolita and
J-fashion comm for the North West (I believe the acronym stands for Cheshire,
Liverpool and Manchester? Not sure of the “C”, to be honest :P) and joined them
for a meet in Manchester.
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| | IW Revival Sweet Teddybear JSK | vintage blouse | BtSSB Heart Marble Chocolate and Sugar Coated Cookies Tiered bolero | AP Dolly Chiffonheadbow | Bodyline shoes | Mufish tights (layered over plain offbrand ones) | Chocomint, Etsy & Risu Rose jewellery | |
This was also a debut for my latest
acquisition in the dream dress department, Innocent World’s Revival Sweet Teddybear JSK. Since the
meet was meant to be leisurely inspired by the by-then-long-gone Valentine’s
Day, I thought that adding reds and hearts was enough on theme for me. The Baby
bolero actually tied this look together pretty well whilst keeping me snug.
The meet had two stages: a little
housewarming party with an indoors picnic at the new flat of one of the Lolitas
and then the cat café. Unfortunately, when they were booking the cat café I wasn’t
even sure if I’d be able to make it, so I wasn’t booked in for that. In
retrospect, given the train ride home and a return to work the following day
that might’ve been for the better but it’s still a shame.
However, I genuinely had a blast at
the housewarming. The initial comm newbie awkwardness ended fairly quickly and
I felt as comfortable as with my own comm. We had a laugh at watching vintage
Bollywood clips, all of which was started by this little gem here (warning! you’re watching that at your own risk):
Almost 10 years now I was massively
into Bollywood. I still like it, but won’t necessarily watch every single thing
just because it was made in India. I’m a bit more selective and know what I
want, yet the knowledge stayed with me and that broke the ice with our lovely
host. The day ended up being strewn with various more or less funny/tacky
Bollywood clips, some of which brought about absolutely tonnes of nostalgia for
me! (And you bet that I’m listening to some of those right now.)
We then proceeded to play Consequences
a little – and as you may remember from my last meet post, this can end up
hysterically funny or disturbingly bad. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos
of the finished ones, but suffice to say that a few times perfectly innocently
started sheets reached me with a magnificent singing penis or the word “dog
tits” written/drawn below the fold. As I say, it’s not really British unless it’s
at least a little rude. ;P
In the end it was quite sad to have
to leave these beautiful, funny people, as well as Manchester itself (because
whatever you might think of it, Manchester is pretty cool – especially compared
to where I am) and board that train back to grey reality. But I had an absolute
blast and enjoyed myself so much. Definitely will be keeping an eye out for
more C.L.A.M. meets I could join!
The jsk looks perfect on you! It's a lovely coord overall :) btw I also used to watch Bollywwod movies :D usually with my mom. They are so funny and cheesy
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! ^^ I love a good Bollywood film, but I'm definitely more into the historical costume dramas than the modern rom coms. :P
DeleteI have only been in Manchester, because of the airport, so sadly I have no impression of the rest. I only have been watching Bollywood movies when I was sick(when there is no better alternative),so I have vaguely memories.
ReplyDeleteSee, at the height of my Bollywood love I boldly claimed that there's a Bollywood film for everyone - because Bollywood is not a genre, it's collective name for the studios, like Hollywood. And I still think that everyone could find an Indian film that they'd like - but if someone heavily into horrors and thrillers tries the blockbuster love story, of course they'll be put off it. So unless you have a friend able to guide you through that maze, you can't just sit down to watch a Bollywood film without doing any research. Again, just like you wouldn't just watch whatever's the biggest Hollywood blockbuster now, when what you really like is totally different genre.
DeleteI'm glad you had such a lovely time, and that you were made to feel so welcome as a newcomer ^_^ Your outfit is sooo cute, and looks lovely on you! That shade of blue is just gorgeous, and I love the way you've brought out the red accents <3
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger I used to try watching Bollywood films whenever they came on TV but they only ever seemed to show the long-winded romances with excessive running times so I never really got into it XD It's cool that you were able to have something in common with the host right off the bat due to your love of Bollywood! I'd be interested in having another go at trying a few different films and genres, because it does seem like a lot of fun!
I keep meaning to get more into world cinema in general. I'd like to watch more Thai films. I've seen a couple and even though they were about different things, they had a charm and warmth to them, plus some truly amazing visuals of the country's terrain that have me interested in seeing more. Are there any other countries whose cinema you're into?
Thank you! Innocent World is amazing at making Sweet prints in more Classic colours, this powder blue is soft enough to look a little more mature, but still fittingly cute. The more I see of Innocent World, the higher up they go on my favourite brands list. <3
DeleteThe excessive running times, unfortunately, go for almost all Bollywood films. This was the main reason I stopped watching them so much, there's simply no time to watch a 3 hour film - especially when compared to other things you could do in those 3 hours. But there definitely is enough variety and genres within Bollywood to find something for everyone. About a year, maybe two ago one of my friends, who isn't into Indian films, but really likes thrillers, told me that after watching one predictable Hollywood flop after another she and her boyfriend tumbled upon a Bollywood thriller that really had them gripped and they very quickly were able to see past the singing and dancing and just get into it. So there really is something for everyone, just need to dig deep.
I've never seen a single Thai film. I tend to watch a little bit of international films, but I haven't found a country which I'd get into a similar phase like I did with Bollywood and India. I've been meaning to watch a few Korean films (namely "The Handmaiden", it seems to have received plenty of amazing reviews and acclaim) and every now and then I'll watch a Polish film when one is received well/talked about well by people I know and trust (but I guess in my case that doesn't necessarily count as international cinema :P). What were the Thai films that you watched? I'd like to look them up :)
I agree! Innocent World has a really nice subdued sweet aesthetic. I find it interesting that Yumi Fujiwara doesn't consider IW to be a lolita brand, and that it's others who labelled it that. Knowing that means that their style makes a bit more sense to me!
DeleteI've been feeling pretty disenchanted with Hollywood as of late so it's good to know that there's so many alternatives that I might not have considered!
Ooh I've not heard of that one before. There's so many films I still need to watch and knowing that is both daunting and exciting haha.
I watched them a while ago but managed to track down the name of one which I'd completely forgotten! It's called Fan Chan (English title is "My Girl") and it's about childhood, essentially. It's a really cute, simple, fun film ^_^
Oh, I didn't know that about Yumi Fujiwara. That's quite interesting. But at the same time, if she doesn't openly challenge people on this, then it means that she accepted that label, so in a way Innocent World became a Lolita brand (if that makes sense).
DeleteI feel you on that. Films have been feeling pretty repetitive recently, both within their own genres and cross-genre. I mainly watch sci-fi and fantasy stuff, so I know that pretty much everything has already been done in that genre and I fully expect that, but it's always nice and refreshing when you find something at least a little different. This is probably why so many people are now obsessed with TV series as opposed to shows - they feel a bit fresher in comparison and because they offer more screen time, the creators have more room to do something unexpected.
Right? The same applies to books: you try to catch up on the ones you've missed, but in the meantime at least 10 new ones creep into your "to watch/read" lists!
Thank you for this, I'll definitely look it up! :)