Fancy in Florida

By now it’s been over a week since I returned from my holiday in Florida. I had a great time enjoying some actual hot weather (I didn’t even mind the humidity that much, although I realise that it’s more bearable in October), visiting all the parks (Harry Potter world!), sleeping in and spending full two weeks with my boyfriend. But amongst these there was another highlight: a reunion with my friend whom I met in Japan and along with another friend, converted to Lolita fashion.

No coord shot because the day was about the both of us.
My outfit: Baroque Repose of Queen Teatime Dress | Cutie Creator hat | Loris bag |
Rose Marie Seoir necklace | offbrand socks, shoes, bracelets and glasses |
My friend is wearing Alice and the Pirates' Rose Back Ribbon JSK.

Since I don’t like packing stuff that I won’t use, I planned the outfit in advance and set some very strict criteria as to what to wear for our frilly reunion. The dress had to be light and have as few layers as possible, since I don’t handle hot weather very well; it had to be out of a fabric that doesn’t wrinkle, because I couldn’t be bother to iron; it had to be something that I could coordinate with things I was already bringing because versatility is awesome; and it had to be one from my least worn dresses list. That pretty much pinpointed it to Baroque’s Repose of Queen OP. The rest of the coord then aimed at practicality rather than fanciness, since I also wanted to tone it down a little bit, so straw hat for extra protection, flats for comfort, minimal makeup and voila! This came to be. It’s not the best outfit that I could’ve done with this dress, but given my strict criteria and the fact that I was more preoccupied with seeing a friend I hadn’t seen in like three and a half years, I really couldn’t care less.

Even though we spent the whole day together, that wasn’t enough, we could easily have been catching up for a week missing out on sleep and still not have had enough! She and her dad picked me up and then we drove to Disney Springs for a little bit. We mostly walked around chatting, browsed the Disney shops a little bit and hid from the scattered showers whilst responding to the positive reactions of people (one person even recognised the fashion although she forgot the name of it). Seeing as I was due to return to Disney Springs with my boyfriend later during the trip, it was good that I saw it a bit first, it allowed me to spend my money a little bit more sensibly (if sensible money spending even exists at Disney Springs).

But the main point of the day was a really fancy afternoon tea. After my friend’s mum joined us, we drove to The Grand Floridian, one of the hotels of the Disney Resort group. A hella fancy hotel! On the outside it looked like a mid-nineteenth century mansion belonging to some very rich family, whilst on the inside it was a late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century hotel for the wealthy of the new world. Whilst it was still a Disney hotel, all the Disney elements were incorporated into the interior design very subtly and skilfully: a little hidden reference mosaic here, a classy monochrome statue on a table there. There was even live music, alternating between a pianist and a band, who at first seemed to play tunes from around the 1920’s or 1930’s, but then you realised that they were the familiar songs from classic Disney films. It was all so beautiful and I feel like much of what was impressive about this hotel was lost on the kids, you had to have the awareness of an adult to appreciate it.

The Garden View tea room was similarly impressive. We were treated with utmost curtesy and both our dresses really fit the bright and airy décor. They also had such an amazing selection of teas! We all picked a different one and then just kept swapping so that we all tried all four kinds we ordered. And the food! As someone living in the afternoon tea’s birthplace I find that most afternoon teas served in the UK are fairly standard and if you want it to be different or unique in some way, you have to go out of your way and pay extra. You just tend to get the same sort of sandwiches, you know there’s going to be a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam and a few mini cakes or desserts, only quality of these will differ. So it was nice to have something truly different whilst still recognisably afternoon tea. And everything was scrumptious, I have no regrets and would be happy to eat that again!

After we were done eating and recovered a little we went for a stroll around the hotel grounds, but ultimately ended up back in the main hall since our primary goal for the day was to just talk and catch up and hang out with each other. At one point we got stopped by the official Disney photographer, who not only took some great photos for us on our own cameras and using hers, but couldn’t compliment us enough on our dresses and seemed genuinely curious about the fashion.

 

I won’t lie, I didn’t want that day to end, it was perfect from start to finish, but unfortunately it had to end sometime. I don’t know when will be the next time I’ll set foot on American soil, but she and her mum have been planning a tour de Europe for quite some time now, so hopefully another reunion won’t be so far off! 

* The selfie and food shots were taken by me. Everything else was taken with my friend's camera by her dad, but downloaded off Facebook, so sorry if the quality suffered as a result.