IREGL Myths of Our Own in Dublin

This is the one you’ve all been waiting for: the post about Myths of Our Own in Dublin. Let’s get straight to it! Warning: this will be a lengthy one, so make yourself a drink and maybe grab a snack. It could also end up a touch photo heavy, although I’ll try not to overload it.

| Angelic Pretty Royal Unicorn switching JSK and necklace  | Millefleurs Georgette blouse | Innocent World Rose Lace
Millefeuille bolero | Innocent World Union Flag Lame OTKs | Antaina heels | Peacockalorum underskirt | Alice and the
Pirates Sheherazade ~ One Thousand and One Nights ~ headdress | Wicked and Whimsy ring | offbrand ring, necklace, belt
and brooch | handmade sash |

Closeup shot where you can actually see some of those jewellery details, as well as the epic lace on the Millefleurs blouse!

Selfie showcasing my very basic makeup and fresh off the rollers curls (after I choked myself
to death with hairspray which helped them last that whole day!)

For practical reasons I stuck with one coord for the whole day. Modelling at the event meant both a little less time to change and having to bring more shoes in my small suitcase – there was no space for another coord in there! Besides, I exerted all my creative energy to come up with this one, which was on theme as well, and I couldn’t come up with another one at all. This outfit was inspired by the unicorn tapestry and was so layered that I’m glad Mana-sama listened to my prayers and brought about some slightly cooler weather, so that I neither overheated nor froze. It’s definitely up there with the outfits I’m most proud of, although I’ll be the first to admit how odd it felt to not have the extra height. I could get behind the rectangle headdresses with more casual coords, maybe a simple and slim one, but for bigger events I’ll probably stick to volume and height that bonnets and stacked accessories give. Also, massive props to Holly, who convinced me to go full-natural with my hair, i.e. to skip the faux fringe. My forehead might be the last battle towards self-acceptance and I’m glad that I let my friend encourage me to try something outside of my comfort zone for the event.

Myths of Our Own was split into two parts during Saturday August 25^th: morning (or day) and evening. I was actually in Dublin since Wednesday that week for some sightseeing and catching up with another friend, so I managed to get used to the city and find my way around there. (Which was actually pretty easy, Dublin is travelling on easy mode thanks to the many landmarks with which to orientate yourself and the city being on the smaller side, compared to places like London.) For the weekend I shared an apartment with some of my friends very near the first venue (and the original second venue, before the Pope kicked us out of that), which gave us that little bit extra time in the morning to get ready.

The first part was what 2-day events would have on the Sunday: a chilled out brunch instead of a typical afternoon tea party. This was a chance to catch up with friends from further away, have something to eat, relax, make new friends, take loads of photos etc. There was also a quiz, a raffle and a best dresser competition, the prize for which was a portrait drawn by Nunu, the main guest. We even had a harpist playing throughout the whole day-part (she was incredibly talented, so it’s a shame a lot of her music was just background to our chatter and excitement).

Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

This part of Myths worked absolutely wonderfully! As much as I love sweets, it was fabulous to have more satiating food in the form of brunch – and it was really tasty food as well. Granted, I believe the venue/caterers messed up the vegan option, to which one of the organisers rushed out to the nearest shop to buy something for the vegan guests, but I don’t recall any other glitches that morning. The venue, Smock Alley Theatre, was also fantastically big. I believe there were around 120 attendees in total and thanks to how large a space we got, we didn’t feel cramped, had tonnes of room to wander around, chat and take photos without bothering other attendees and still we could appreciate how large an event this was. The very high ceilings and high windows also provided plenty of natural light, in turn making for better outfit shots, which, let’s be honest, we’re all here for. Compared to the Royal Horseguards in London, which was dark in décor and low in natural light, this was a dream!

Typical shocked lolita pose!

The Irish cuties - I hope to see you both again soon! <3 

The foxiest fox!

Leeds, Leeds, Leeds!

The Poverty-Chan apartment photo. I have this photo as my phone lock screen and it honestly looks like we're about to
drop the hottest album of the year. Misako better watch out!

For once I had also remembered to take more photos with other people. It’s still not as many as I would’ve wanted, but it’s certainly more than in past years and I have some great snaps to remind me of the good memories and lovely people I met there. The Irish comm (IREGL) may have been outnumbered by the non-Irish attendees, but they were all the loveliest of hosts and welcomed us as their own. In the process we probably assimilated them into our comms too (Comms of the North, so Yorkshire, North-West England and Scotland, certainly represented at Myths). Also, I’m glad that I was able to take as many photos with people as I did in that first part, because I certainly lacked both time and energy for this in the second part.

We got a compact mirror amongst our freebies - very useful thing to give to lolitas!

The other gifts - more will be shown in the upcoming haul video!

Leeds comm photo - the nice one.
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

Leeds comm photo - the true one.
I love my comm so much!
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

In principle, the idea of doing an event over the course of a whole day with a long break in the middle seems good. In practice, this was pretty tiring, especially with the second venue, The Alex Hotel, being a good 20 minute walk away from the first and the Pope’s visit ruining Dublin’s already poor public transport. Dream Masquerade Carnival’s day 1 last year was a long and packed event, which also ran over and ended around 7pm. Part 2 of Myths was scheduled to finish at 9:30pm and ran over by something like 45 minutes to an hour. If you attended part 1, which started at 11am, walked everywhere (which you probably did because no public transport) and woke up early to get ready – that’s a lot of time spent on your feet. The organisers felt it too, they were probably even more shattered as they had to run it and not just enjoy it, so I’m sure they’ve learnt from this experience for the future.

The true first reactions of the First Coordinate Competition winners at their portraits. They were stunning portraits and all
three of you looked wonderful!
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

As I modelled, I was actually at The Alex for 5pm, together with a friend who needed to set up her vending table. The rehearsal went well, although it also ran over a little bit – less waiting time for me before being officially allowed in, but probably less good for the organisers trying to get everything ready. As I had an hour between entry and going to the dressing room, I did a mad rush to do all my shopping (which I finished in like 20 minutes?) and even had a moment to relax for a bit. It was good that everything was happening in one room, reducing the fear of missing out a bit. Had there been any more vendors, it probably would’ve been a bit too packed, especially with everyone in, but as it was the space worked really well for us and there was enough room for people to browse without blocking someone else off.

The crowds gathered, hungry to spend their cash!

And yet even at The Alex we had enough space to shop around and mingle. Great venue choice!

And then came the fashion show. I was again lucky to be chosen to model for two brands: Eat Me Ink Me and Haenuli. It meant more time spent in the dressing room, but being part of the fashion show gives me such a kick of excitement, that I don’t mind. Joelle from Fluffy Tori has uploaded both fashion shows to her YouTube channel, which you can watch below. For my part, I’ll only share photos of myself (because I’m vain) and one or two others that I particularly like.

Modelling for Eat Me Ink Me. The dress is The Orchard OP.
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

One of the models walking for After Midnight in their debut collection (my favourite colour and styling of the 4 shown).
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

The Eat Me Ink Me modelling team backstage.
Photo by Joelle from Fluffy Tori.

Modelling for Haenuli. The dress is Romantic  Rose Garden JSK (scheduled for later this year, according to the catalogue).
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

Sailor Stripe OP by Haenuli with matching hat. This is meant to be released this week and it's utterly stunning in person!
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

Final model run, with the stunning Melain wearing A Full Moon Night JSK (the neck piece
was her own <3).
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

After changing back all that was left of the event was the second coord competition (this time judged on theme and by the organisers rather than by Haenuli) and another raffle. Since modelling made me miss the sweet treats that were given out, my energy levels were very low by that point. Luckily, a friend shared some of her snacks, which kept me from falling asleep, but not really from much else. It is at that point that my body really felt the tiredness of such a long and packed day and I just wanted to sit down and waited until I could change into pyjamas. I managed to muster enough energy to cheer some of my friends who were in the competition (one of whom ended up winning, very deservedly so in my opinion, her outfit was so unique!) and even some excitement when my number was drawn during the raffle. But other than this, I was mostly in a daze and at some point later (once we already left the venue) even my ability to comprehend English language has disappeared, which is when you know that I’ve turned into a zombie.

Second Coordinate Competition winners. Congratulations to all!
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

There were polaroids going round, which was a wonderful idea to preserve the memories!
Photograph by Jay (@moon_harpy).

A glimpse of my raffle prize win: a brooch by Latte Galaxy. I've since worn it lots to work,
it works amazingly well with one of my Axes Femme dresses!

Despite being this tired, I had an absolute blast and Myths of Our Own was a truly fabulous event! Big, big, big thank you and congratulations to the organisers – you pulled off something spectacular and I doubt that anyone would know that this was your first time organising something like this had you not said so. (And how touching was it to see Josie get emotional when she was thanked for her work? She dedicated so much of her time and energy to make Myths amazing that until that moment she didn’t even have a second to stop and truly comprehend what she’s done. It got me tearing up then and it has me tearing up now that I recall that moment, it was pure and special.)  It was also so, so, so wonderful that Nunu was the guest of honour! I love her energy and instead of having a guest at the event, it’s like welcoming your dearest and best friend, she’s the absolute life of the party. And to know that she still remembered me two years after our very, very brief meeting at Wicked and Whimsy is the best proof that she’s our friend and part of our community, not someone inaccessible and impersonal, however revered they might be within the fashion. Nunu, you’re the best and I love you!

As a very quick side note, I will also add that this was the best afterparty I’ve been to. It could’ve been to do with my mood: afterparty on the day after was a great call – for same-day ones I was usually too socially exhausted to enjoy myself. Had I not had an early flight the next day, I would’ve loved to stay at least a little longer. And by an absolute stroke of luck we even had the bartender invent a whole new drink which became hugely popular. It all started with one person asking the bartender to surprise her and then we tried it, liked it and tried to order it again. By the time more people asked for it too, we just had to name it and since it was a pink drink, it got christened Jigglypuff. The bartender seemed really amused at how much we loved it (and the name) and it became a true Myth of Our Own – bad um tss!

Last year I did some positives and areas of improvement at the end of my DMC day 1 post. Since this organises my thoughts fairly well, I’ll do this once again, in hope that maybe it will come in useful to someone out there (involved with Myths or not). And as a very speedy TL;DR thing. Although I can’t think of many negatives, to be honest, so this will be short and sweet.

Positives:

• Brunch was a fantastic idea, definitely up for more substantial food when it’s this great quality. (And I have a massive sweet tooth, so this says a lot.)
• Excellent choice of main guest!
• Awarding coord competition winners with portraits was a splendid idea and got the guest (even) more involved. I get that this isn’t always possible, so it was a great touch!
• Polaroids! While I didn’t get one and I’m not sure if they were an official part of the event, they were a great idea and will make wonderful mementos for people.

Areas for improvement:

• It may be best to stick to a 2-day format. With Myths taking place in two venues, this shouldn’t affect the cost, since that’s still two hire fees, but it would be easier both on the attendees and the organisers.

Neutral comments/observations:

• To me the number of attendees was perfect, neither too many nor too few. I understand that as an event grows, so does the demand for it, so if you do decide to expand, I hope the spaces will grow with you. Smock Alley Theatre and The Alex were perfect at accommodating a group our size and still offering some extra manoeuvring space.
• While having mirrors in the model dressing room probably would’ve helped, I do feel that not having them helped us get ready on time. Make of that what you wish.
• We survived the papal visit, we can survive anything now!

Did you attend Myths of Our Own? Were you there for the whole day or just one part? Or maybe you attended/will attend another event somewhere in Europe instead? What do you think of doing the 2-parts-in-1-day format?