Victorian Christmas Market at Kelham Island

Happy International Lolita Day to you all! What did you do? Have you celebrated with your comm or alone? Did you get a chance to dress up? For ILD itself I joined the Sheffield comm in their annual anniversary trip to the Victorian Christmas Market at Kelham Island Museum.

| Magic Tea Party Bears Paradise skirt | DreamV cutsew (not seen, under the cardigan) | Angelic Pretty Twinkle Glitter
Knit cardigan | Angelic Pretty Musee du Chocolat OTKs | Cutie Creator headbow | Wonderbox Designs rosette | offbrand
necklace and boots |

I'm surprised I even had the time to do eye makeup, but I did. There are better pics of it on my Instagram.

Additional outfit shot thanks to Holly. No filters needed to show off true colours of everything!

Prompted by the weather (chilly and wet) and location (lots of cobblestones at the museum) I opted for a simpler and more comfortable coordinate. I did think about taking outfit pics with nicer shoes, but decided against it. Social media can make lolita fashion a source of negative comparisons and force people to strive for unachievable perfection. We don’t need any more of that. So yeah, a pair of brown heels would look nicer with the rest of the outfit – but I needed the boots to be comfortable, to be avoid being in pain and to keep my feet warm and dry. They’re practical and sensible, and also happen to match the colour scheme by being brown. And that’s ok. There’s a time and a place for looks over comfort – today was not one of them. Add to this no hair styling (I literally just brushed and parted it, then stuck a headband on) and simple makeup (though still more elaborate than what I initially planned) and you get this. A look which I’m pretty happy with and which I took off without that stereotypical lolita sigh of relief that finally I am free to be comfortable.

It is a shame about the rain. For my first Victorian Christmas Market at Kelham Island it was great, but I do wish I could’ve watched more of the performances that were put on throughout the day. They’re not so fun when you’re trying to not get wet though, so I only caught a bit of the choir and the Morris dancers. The performances would have really enhanced the experience just like they did during the Wartime Weekend.

Actually, this event was very much like Wartime Weekend, just with a different theme. Instead of 1940s it was Victorian. Instead of vintage fashion and home décor it was Christmas decorations and gifts. Instead of Al Bowlly songs it was Christmas carols. Instead of visitors dressed in uniforms and wrap dresses they came in corsets, waistcoats and even steampunk fashion. Just food was different (more variety) and there was Santa with his grotto for the kids. It was still great fun and I enjoyed myself a lot – I only wish that the rain hadn’t prevented us from watching more of the performances, since I didn’t find anything for myself in any of the shopping stalls (and there were so many more of them).

After checking everything out we all decided that the weather is not great for sticking around Kelham Island and went to a vegan restaurant/bar nearby. After everyone had ordered whatever food and drink they wanted, we proceeded with the Secret Santa for those who took part. Unfortunately, the person I had wasn’t able to attend on the day, so one of the organisers will deliver the present to her. I do wonder if she’ll like it – I felt like I knew what sort of things to pick, both in terms of theme and colour, but nothing replaces seeing someone’s true first response. My Secret Santa gifted me with a very lovely lavender scented candle which will be perfect for relaxing and winding down before bed. I need to get back into some proper routine with that, December will be so busy for me that I can’t afford to miss out on sleep.

We spent some time eating and drinking, all accompanied by good conversation. We talked over our opinions about the upcoming Street Fashion Europe: Traumerei event (which none of us will attend for a variety of reasons), started making tentative plans for both that weekend and trips abroad in general, some of the past lolita dramas and WTF moments, as well as more generic things. We managed to take some group shots without our coats on and then each made our way home.

At this point you may wonder why am I not including any pictures, like I normally do. That is because I have gone mad and decided to try my hand at doing Vlogmas this year. So instead of photographing, I vlogged and that vlog is now live on my YouTube channel. You can enjoy this video here, but I do encourage you to have a look at the other Vlogmas videos (there are three others already uploaded). I won’t share every video on this blog, only those that are somehow relevant to whatever post I’m making and at the end of the whole Vlogmas 2018 I will do a giveaway, so do stay tuned for more info on how to take part in that!