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.
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. After I changed into flat shoes. |
As usual, let me start with my outfit. My theme was to be a
walking milkshake, something which came to be right after the Wicked and Whimsy
tea party and somehow not only survived as an idea, but actually came to
fruition. I slightly regret not taking an outfit shot when I still had my Meta
heels on, but my feet got quite tired pretty quickly (which is odd as I walked
in the same Meta heels just for shopping in my own town and I was fine, and
that was before I put in the gel insoles too) and I was grateful for the pair
of offbrand flats I originally bought to go with this outfit. This is the most
pastel and most Sweet coord that I have ever done and I must say that I enjoyed
it and felt good in it, so this may have opened the doors to more pastel
outfits (and who knows, maybe they’ll even be pink, shock horror!).
This year the main guest were Maki and Asuka from Angelic
Pretty, accompanied by Babi and Kaie from Triple Fortune, Ayumi Watanabe from
Rose Marie Seoir and Imai Kira. There were also Kunika, a kawaii cake
decorator, now based in London, and Risa Nakamura, although she was only in the
fashion shows. For AP alone I had to get a gold ticket, which I was really
lucky to get. Unfortunately, this meant an early start (and I don’t like waking
up early) and as I was chosen to model in the fashion show, I had to get up
even earlier to make it to the 8:30am rehearsal. So up at 6am I got up, got
ready and went.
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
The gold ticket entry was when I first noticed that the
event had more glitches than Wicked and Whimsy last year. The door opened late
and as we approached the front desk, people were only just assembling the
goodie bags, instead of having them ready and waiting. As a result, some things
got placed in by mistake and some were left out by mistake, which not everyone
got the memo about (I didn’t know about the missing stuff until it was too late
on Saturday). Although kudos for fewer flyers, business cards and paper ads in
general inside the bags – I’d much rather pick those up as I shop and know
whether someone’s stock is of interest to me.
Once we got past the front desk, there was no clear sign
where to go, as gold ticket holders were meant to have breakfast with the
guests, but luckily one of the organisers came out to point us in the right
direction. Based on last year (and previous years, from what my friends told
me), I expected the breakfast to be a sit down event with no shopping until the
breakfast was over, but instead there was a buffet with pastries, cakes and
drinks that everyone was welcome to help themselves to, while Maki and Asuka
were already taking photos with the gold ticket holders and the attendees
flooded the AP shop. Since I wasn’t desperate for anything from AP, I headed
back to Triple Fortune to get myself a dream bonnet and then came back for the
photo and to impress Maki and Asuka with my giant handmade straw. Still,
without a sit down breakfast I felt like the whole point of gold tickets, which
is to spend a bit more time with the guests, was gone and Maki and Asuka aren’t
like Haenuli in terms of mixing with the crowd and leaving their posts just to
wander and/or socialise with others, so I probably would’ve gotten just as much
interaction with them had I bought silver.
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
As far as the gold ticket perks went, there were only two
left: a game with Maki and Asuka and a ride in a horse drawn carriage. The game
involved passing round a couple of small prizes, while one person read a story
and on cue we had to change direction in which the prizes travelled. It was
quite fun, kind of musical chairs in style but without walking, and if you knew
the people in the story (all of whom were the event organisers and their friends)
then the story was a laugh too. But it stopped just as another girl and I both
had out hands on the prize! Stupidly, instead of agreeing to split it (it was a
towel and a necklace), I got greedy and risked it in a game of rock paper
scissors – and lost. Shortly after there was more rock paper scissors over the
carriage rides with the guests, but I never even came close to winning,
however, the carriage ride was just as fun without the invited guests and in
all fairness, I’m not sure how they managed to fit four people on top of Maki
and Asuka – there were four of us in my carriage and I felt like we’ve taken up
all the room!
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
By this point silver ticket holders were starting to enter
and as I had my first volunteering slot at 12, this is when I’ve done the bulk
of my shopping. I ended up mostly supporting the UK indie brands ran by people
I know – not to say that the others didn’t bring anything good, but somehow my
Sweet Lolita coord influenced my shopping and I bought more Sweet bits than
Classic (which I later regretted as I wanted to bring home some Classic
jewellery). I feel like the remote vendor rooms could have been bigger or
better laid out, as I missed plenty of things that I genuinely wanted to buy,
like the Puvithel necklaces, Atelier Pierrot or Baroque stuff or the Wunderwelt
lucky packs (or their stall in general). Whilst I appreciate that these were
the only available rooms left, so queues and crowds were pretty much
unavoidable, this could’ve been compensated for by clearer signing outside the doors
so that you didn’t have to squeeze past people to see what was on which table.
On the flipside, the idea of listing remote vendor and Bring and Buy stock in
advance was great, that helped establish whether you actually wanted something
from someone or not and how quick you had to be based on how many of each items
were available. But time really flew by and before I knew it I was with Ayumi
at RMS stall for my first round of volunteering with her, missing the welcome
speech and the AP Q&A as a result, and then dashed for my carriage ride and
some lunch.
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
Photo by our carriage driver from my phone. |
As you may have already gathered, the event was absolutely
packed with things to do. They really went all for it to create the most epic
event yet, with many unusual parts, such as the Frilly Feuds or Kunika’s Cookie
Challenge, but I missed those as well due to either volunteering or changing
for modelling. Thankfully, these were live streamed by Nadina, one of the
official event photographers, so I had a chance over the evenings and weekend
to see how they went.
Photo by Jatzu of Freefal Creation. |
Photo by Jatzu of Freefal Creation. |
However, let me tell you, modelling was exactly what I had
hoped it would be! This was a dream come true and the girls I was modelling
with were absolutely amazing! Team Lady Sloth was incredible and when we came
to take a photo with the designer herself, she gave us all thank you goodie
bags – which included a 10% discount code for her shop. If wearing the dresses
wasn’t a good enough incentive to support the brand and buy something, then the
care and thought Lady Sloth showered us with as her models was. Now I just need
to decide what to buy! And Team Baroque was fabulous too, although we had a few
issues behind the scenes that stressed us out – everything worked out in the
end (big shoutout and thank you to Rebecca who was modelling for Long Ears and
Sharp Ears and helped us a lot, both when getting ready and to keep us all
calm). I think this experience made us grow quite close in a very short amount
of time and I hope that the other Baroque models have managed to enjoy the rest
of the event and shake off the stress and negativity of the things that
happened to them. You girls smashed it and I hope to meet you again soon!
Photo by Colleen Andrews. |
Photo by Emily Valentine Photography. |
At that point, after the fashion show, I was finally able to
put on the glittery makeup I really wanted and after a short second round of
volunteering, I went for the Fashion Fix, which again was top notch. It’s
difficult to describe what Fashion Fix actually is to those who have never seen
it without underselling it, but what you need to know is this: people strut
down the runway in their event coords and two of the organisers, this year
joined by Babi and Kaie, had to guess who had the oldest item on them (usually
it’s whose outfit was the least expensive, but as the theme of DMC was that it
was TPC’s 10th anniversary, they changed it accordingly). But that’s just the
basics. What really makes Fashion Fix special is that you strut your stuff down
to the music of your choice and you can flaunt your outfit in whatever way you
see fit. Remember the catwalk or dancing you used to do in front of the mirror
as a kid, imagining yourself to be a supermodel or an idol? That is what
Fashion Fix is and what it feels like. It’s so much fun to do and you might
surprise yourself just how far you’re willing to push your Most Embarrassing Behaviour.
As a reward for taking part in the Fashion Fix we also got to kabedon with Babi
and Kaie – and that was worth absolutely everything!
After the Fashion Fix I had a bit of a crisis: whether to go
do some more shopping, which by this point I realised that I had wanted some
more Classic bits, or to stay and watch the 10 Years of Lolita Fashion with
Angelic Pretty. I opted for the latter and while it was a nice fashion show
(finally seeing Cats Tea Party in real life counts for something), I was hoping
that it would be more than just a fashion show. Some of the dresses chosen for
certain years were quite surprising choices from a Western Lolita’s point of
view, for example the distinct lack of Sugary Carnival in the mix, so I would
have appreciated a bit of background and story to accompany the runway – at the
very least what the dress is (since not everyone’s obliged to know every single
AP release) and why have Maki and Asuka chosen this one to represent a given
year. I felt similarly about the 10 Years of TPC segment, which also felt quite
speedy and lacking in the storytelling. I had expected some funny stories from
the events (one or two got an honourable mention, but not much more) or more
photos submitted by others, but instead it was mostly kept to group photos from
the events/meets that the TPC has done and the focus was on how it grew from
the very first meet for something like five people to an event with major brand
guests for three hundred. It was an enjoyable glimpse into TPC’s history, but I
wanted more than just a couple of photos and numbers.
By that point it was already past 6pm – usually these events
are done by about 5pm, so you can see how much they packed in to keep it going
for this much longer. It wasn’t actually over until well after 7pm, as there
was still the group photos and the raffle left. And again, something somewhere
along the line didn’t work out to plan: there was a delay in schedule and then
it turned out that the raffle tickets got mixed up from two separate booklets
and many ticket numbers from the original booklet weren’t even in the bag to
draw them from. Given that it has been ages since many people ate lunch and
everyone was generally quite tired, it ended up being more of an annoyance than
it should have been, although at least it got resolved within a reasonable
amount of time.
So, let’s sum all of this up!
DMC positives:
- The goodie bags were great once you got them (mugs, colouring book, Long Ears and Sharp Ears accessories).
- The carriage ride as a gold ticket perk.
- The special photo set (even if I didn’t get a photo on my own in front of it).
- The fashion show and the Fashion Fix.
- The variety in the event program (I like it when events do something that’s not common).
- The opportunity to meet people I have so far only followed online – having AP as guests attracted people who otherwise maybe wouldn’t have come.
- Triple Fortune! ♥
Areas for improvement:
- There was too much packed into one day, more breaks felt necessary and enforcing a shop closure would help people actually take that break. Or just stick to usual event length.
- In an attempt to go big and selling extra tickets, the event felt too packed for my liking, which particularly affected smaller vending rooms and the photo set where the queues were long.
- The organisation and running had more glitches compared to Wicked and Whimsy (goodie bags being assembled as people were entering and missing items/having extra items, the raffle ticket confusion).
- Some of the event segments, like the 10 Years of… felt like the ideas weren’t executed fully and could’ve been elaborated on.
- I regret not going for another round of shopping because of fear of missing out since the event was this packed with things to do.
Neutral comments/observations:
- Some guests interacted more than others. Ayumi is a TPC veteran, so managed to interact quite a lot from behind her stall, and Triple Fortune were very keen on interacting with people, whereas I didn’t see Maki and Asuka except for the gold ticket photos in the morning and when they were required on stage. Imai Kira seemed to be stuck at her shop (I don’t know whether this was her choice or not) and Risa Nakamura only appeared for the fashion show, which I know disappointed some of her fans who may have wanted an autograph or a photo. This was a big change of pace after Haenuli and her mum, who were enthusiastic as if they were ticket holders, and quite a discrepancy within the guest lineup, although this was more noticeable at the tea party than the main event.
- I personally would’ve spent more time socialising and less time shopping had I known that this would be the last TPC event. Whilst I understand why this wasn’t announced beforehand, I have regrets because I know that I would’ve acted differently if we were informed. It’s easy to fall into the “I’ll do it next year” mentality and therefore not make the most of your time there.
- Given that the event was a lot longer than usual, having at least one vendor on site selling food and drinks would’ve helped avoid the tiredness and overworking yourself out of fear of missing out. When you feel like you might miss out on buying something, going quite far back to get the free refreshments (which were either sweets, alcoholic drinks or soft drinks and I think the sweets and the soft drinks ran out fairly quickly) is easy to put off, let alone having to go outside to a Pret-a-Manger or something. A vendor with bottled drinks and maybe a range of sweet and healthier snacks, possibly Japanese food, would’ve promoted taking a break a little bit better.
Overall, despite the glitches, I did enjoy myself on
Saturday, although as I said, I would’ve done things differently had I known
that this was the last TPC event. I was absolutely shattered afterwards and my
feet hurt, but I had enough life in me to go out for ramen with some friends
and then simply crashed into bed once I got back to the hostel. At least the
tea party started later, which offered a possibility of catching more sleep.
Did you go to DMC this year? Was it your first time or one
of many? What did you think? So far I have found there to be a mix of opinions
on DMC, so I’m very interested to see how it looked from someone else’s point
of view.
I agree with you in all the critics, even if the event overall was amazing! I think it is impossible to make everything perfect, they already had to consider sooo many things!
ReplyDeleteI never think that an event has too much program because then everyone can choose what they like, however it is hard when you want to watch everything but at the same time you don't want to spend the whole day sitting in the same room. So I missed the things I really wanted to see (Fashion Fix and the Lolita game) because I wanted to walk around at the wrong time haha!
Btw your outfit was awesome and the straw was a really unique idea! I wanted to say hello but I didn't found the right opportunity to say so ^^'''
True, people will always find something to pick at, even if the event was seemingly perfect. It's important to distinguish what's objectively gone wrong from what is just your own personal opinion. I can objectively say that some of the organising was chaotic, because we saw it in the goodie bags and raffle, but the fact that the event was too packed/needed more strictly enforced breaks is just my opinion (because I did want to attend everything - although in hindsight, maybe a short explanation of what each part of the programme was would've helped establish what I really wanted to see and e.g. let me know that I won't me too interested in the 10 Years of... parts).
DeleteFrom my experience of sci-fi cons in Poland, I know that how you prefer your programme depends on how long you've been in the scene for. At those I always preferred the programme to be too full, because I was going for the programme and to enrich myself, whereas my parents preferred it to be emptier because they were mainly going to socialise with friends and most of the programme they've either already seen somewhere else or weren't interested in. And it seems to work quite similarly here: fuller is better for people who don't feel the need to shop or socialise that much on the day, but emptier works better for those who want to spend time with friends without missing on something from the program as well. (I hope that makes sense :P) And as I keep saying, had I known that this was the last TPC event, I would've only done one shift of volunteering, so that at least I had the morning or the afternoon to chill with people.
Thank you so much! I realise that me being everywhere and constantly having to go somewhere didn't make me appear like the most approachable person and I would've loved to say hello to you too (I was so everywhere that I think I only saw you somewhere in the crowd on Saturday once, it was packed :P).
I very much agree with some of your criticisms of the event with regards to aspects of the day feeling very chaotic, disorganised, or last-minute in places. Of course, it is super hard to create an event on this scale and for everything to go off without a hitch so honestly, these sorts of things don't bother me too much, especially having seen actual disaster events in the past by other groups! These hiccups here and there really didn't impact my enjoyment of the day. My favourite gift from the goodie bags (I had Silver) was the mug for sure!
ReplyDeleteMy experience as a vendor was a bit different as a lot of my day was focused on being at my stall or getting my models ready. For me, I would have liked more information on what the day would entail, as I had no idea I would need to be away from my stall as much as I was, and was lucky my friends were attending and were happy to take over when I needed breaks for model dressing, actually getting to have a walk round the event briefly, and using the loo! I didn't get a chance to meet the guests or see the stage events also, so that was kind of sad lol, but I knew what I signed up for! I think shop closure (different rooms being closed at different times would have been awesome as different vendors would get a chance to enjoy the day as a regular attendee, too) is an excellent idea.
That portrait photo of you is absolutely stunning, and perfectly captures just how sweet and incredibly well coordinated you looked on that day. Again, I am so glad we got to meet!
I'm pleased that modelling was such a great experience for you! You absolutely killed it on the catwalk, and I felt so proud watching you!
I ended up giving away my raffle tickets because I was literally too tired to stick around beyond 7pm!
I find that I keep thinking back on the event because I enjoyed it so much! <3
I've never been to an event that would've been a total disaster, at least not a Lolita one, though I agree: I'd take minor inconveniences or blips any day over a whole day of major disasters and mishaps. And I love the mug! It's getting so much use (everyone I know who has one is the same). Although I really do love the colouring book too! I got quite into colouring books, but the adult ones are too detailed for me, so this is more up my street. Though I'm going to photocopy the pages and colour that instead, to keep a neat memento (as well as if I decide to do the same page more than once). :P
DeleteI haven't even thought about how this would affect vendors, but you're right. Only main guests and remote vendors had volunteers assigned to man the stalls and I know a few people had organised something amongst themselves, but if you hadn't or couldn't, then even basic things like bathroom breaks or getting lunch would be difficult to do. All this on top of not getting to see other parts of the event. Closing different rooms at different times would've really helped the vendors to take part a bit more without having to compromise on their own sales (I know there was a live stream of some of the event parts, but it'd just be annoying to watch the live stream, when a couple of seconds earlier you hear the real deal from couple of doors down), as well as ensure that everyone really got a break.
Thank you so much! Emily is such a talented photographer, even I'm surprised at how much detail you can see on that one photo. And I'm incredibly happy to have met you too! <3
Aww, thank you! I think because of where you were, you got to see my favourite part when I thought "well, most people are now looking at Jo behind me, let's give some sass". I think you're the only one who captured that as well, since most of the photographers were closer to the stage, so thank you for that photo. <3
I don't think that there were that many winners in the raffle and most were either 400 or 100 numbers, so probably not a major loss.
Same here! It's been a magical weekend, just like you'd expect from Tea Party Club, but because I know that that's it for a while, I try to cherish it all the more and keep the memory of it as close to me as I can, reminding myself of it with little things where possible.