Compare Your Wardrobe from Your First Year to Now

As interesting a topic as this is, there really isn’t much to compare in my case. Still, I’ll try to bulk up the post somehow!

Dress Code: Glamour

The second time of me organising a meet and this time I did something a lot more casual and less themed/event-like. Which worked out perfectly!

| AP Crystal Dream Carnival Tiered JSK | offbrand (Dorothy Perkins) cutsew |
offbrand & upcycled cardigan | Meta Lace-up Bouquet OTKs | AP Elegant
Doll boots | Shinku Rose hair clips | Rose Marie Seoir choker | offbrand
necklaces | AP Crystal Dream Carnival pegasus ring | Twinkle Kitty Boutique
star ring | Glasses Lit glasses |

Since the theme was Dress Code: Glamour, or simply whatever makes you feel glamorous, fabulous and simply amazing, I took Crystal Dream Carnival out for a spin. This is a lot more casual than what I’d normally do with this dress, but since the print is simply magical I don’t mind. I actually enjoyed doing a more relaxed coord with this dress – with such an in-your-face border print it’s difficult to tone it down or wear it in a way that you feel you could just throw on and do something ordinary, so I’m glad I managed to achieve something like this whilst still feeling fantastic. And I managed to incorporate so many smaller elements that I haven’t had much opportunity to coord yet or at all even!

The meet was originally meant to be the one where we took a comm photo for the last Tea Party Club Annual, but since we decided to use the photo we took at DMC instead, it opened up the meet to a fewer more options. Which worked in my favour as I’ve had such a mad, hectic September that the 23^rd was the only day I could host – yet this clashed with Thought Bubble, a comic book and comic artist convention that many in my local comm wanted to attend, which would’ve made for a comm photo not reflecting how massive a comm we are! Because I’ve been literally everywhere and doing everything all month, I was very close to calling it quits and calling the meet off, so I could rest, but I didn’t because I knew that once I was there I’d enjoy myself a lot and would’ve regretted not hosting a meet. So the fact that there were only four of us, myself included, helped since it was a very casual, very relaxed meet and I didn’t feel like I had to do anything beyond the usual to remain a good host.

How do I stay a good host?
(Also, check out the chandeliers!)

The theme had actually come down from the exhibition at a local crafts gallery that had the same title. What I didn’t realise until we got there was that this wasn’t much of an exhibition. We wandered round what looked like a museum shop until I asked a staff member where the exhibit was – and she pointed to literally four small display cabinets in the corner! That wasn’t going to fill the time I had allowed for it, it took us maybe ten minutes tops to see what was in the cabinets. The exhibit description suggested something a lot more lavish and bigger than that. Luckily, everyone laughed it off with me and we went to find somewhere that served tea and cake.

Lolitas as you know them.

Lolitas goofing off when you don't look.

This place ended up being Creams in Leeds’ The Core. Honestly, I’ve walked past that place so many times and never even realised what a treasure it hid! Creams had lovely, airy and elegant décor, lots of tea, desserts and even savouries at very affordable prices and more than enough room for all our poof. I’d love to go back there again – it might not be a ‘proper tea house’, but the fond meet memories have now made it one of my favourite places in Leeds! It was great to spend hours chatting, struggling with our giant cake slices (seriously, look at the size of them!) and just having a good time. Of the three attendees, I knew one from before whilst the other two were new to the comm (for one it was her first Lolita meet ever), so I sincerely hope that they’ll attend more and that they felt comfortable and welcome at the meet (they certainly didn’t look like they were keen on running away, which is a good sign).

That cake had me defeated. So much sugar!

After this we had planned a dinner at a local Japanese restaurant with some of the C.L.A.M. Lolitas joining us after their Thought Bubble adventures, but unfortunately they couldn’t make it due to getting stuck in a queue and having to rush to catch their coach home. So we proceeded just on our own to have more food, more chatter and more laughs.

I am so, so glad that I didn’t back out because I would’ve missed out on a very fun meet and probably wouldn’t have met these lovely frillies (or at least not at that time). I came home absolutely shattered, but happy. I won’t be able to make any Leeds meets until the Winter ILD (still going to some other things in the meantime), so it was great to host something small that didn’t require too much planning or energy. As nice as large meets are, small ones are fantastic too!

Difficult Things To Deal With In The Fashion

In the time that I’ve been into and wearing Lolita fashion I was extremely lucky to not have anything majorly unpleasant happen to me. This doesn’t mean that Lolita fashion doesn’t come with its fair share of difficulties and here are some of the biggest ones that I’ve been working through so far. These aren’t things that can simply be wholly overcome and I doubt that this is everything that I’ll face. I had been thinking about writing up a blog post on similar lines, but my ideas haven’t quite clarified yet, so this is perfect timing. It is going to be a serious post and it will discuss topics that some may even find triggering, so if you find topics such as body image or comparing yourself to others triggering, I suggest you give this one a miss.

Wishlist Dress Unboxing: Sweet Cream House

You know that dress that you've seen so many times that you actually started to really want it? This is it for me. But I wasn't willing to go over my budget for it, believing that patience will pay off. And guess what, it has. Very quickly, since this is on of those that everyone has seen by now, either in person or on another YouTube unboxing video - here's what mine is like.

Dream Masquerade Carnival - Haul

We all know that you don't just go to an event and leave empty handed. For one, you usually get a tote bag full of freebies with some tickets. And for the other - how can you resist all these goodies at no extra shipping cost or customs fee? I'll be honest, I wish I had bought more, but that's how the cookie crumbled.

Dream Masquerade Carnival - Day 2

The long Saturday of DMC has passed, as much sleep as was possible to get in a hot and noisy room was had and then preparation for the Sunday DMC tea party began. This is usually your chill day, the time to socialise, take an absurd amount of photos, stuff your face with gorgeous food and tea, catch the special guests in a more relaxed manner and just generally have a good time without having to commit to an awful amount of walking. This will be another long and picture heavy post, so another cuppa is highly recommended, especially if you’re reading the two posts back to back (are you sure that your last cuppa hasn’t gone cold?).

Dream Masquerade Carnival - Day 1

So, Dream Masquerade Carnival happened – which I’m sure you’re already aware of if you’re on Instagram or in the Closet of Frills group on Facebook. This was my second large Lolita event, as well as second and also last Tea Party Club event, as at the tea party they announced that there would be no more, so I can’t exactly say that I’m highly experienced, but expect some comparisons to last year’s Wicked and Whimsy. Also, prepare yourself as this will be a lengthy and picture heavy-ish post – maybe make yourself a cuppa to go with it!

Before you start reading, let me say this: after the initial emotions after the announcement of it being the last TPC event have cooled down, I thought a lot about it from various points of view. I read many Facebook statuses from people involved in organising the event (and involved with TPC across the years), as well as ‘just’ attendees. What you will read below is my honest opinion, but since there won’t be another TPC anniversary event, any concrit is aimed at people organising other Lolita events or thinking about them. These are also my own opinions and experiences and do not reflect those of anyone else.

Baroque x Sakizo Repose of Queen Preorder Unboxing

Pre-orders are such a rollercoaster of emotions. You go from excitement for making the purchase, to daydreaming about your items, to forgetting that you even ordered them as you're distracted by other, more immediate purchases, then remember that it should've been shipped sometime now, getting anxious and asking for updates, then nervously checking the tracking number as often as possible, before either breathing a sigh of relief or screaming in anger at customs and then - finally! - getting excited again because the item is in your hands after months of waiting. I'm patient enough waiting for things to be shipped, but boy, pre-orders are a bit much for me. Still, very happy to finally have this beauty in my hands, yay!

1 Dress 4 Looks Take 14

Very few Taobao releases grab me as strongly as this one did. I was hooked on Resailan’s Jewelry Box from the first print previews and woke up earlier to place the reservation (later turned out that I didn’t have to, although I still missed out on the shoes from that series). Whilst I’m not 100% happy with the high-waisted cut, I’m also not keen on the V-shaped straps in general which were featured on the normal waist cut, which is why I don’t wear this dress as often as it deserves. Nonetheless, I still love the print, it’s one of my favourites and because of this I’m determined to make as many complimenting coordinates for it and find a way to make the high waist work on me.