CLAM Galentine's Meet

Hitting the second Valentine’s themed meetup just before the end of February. Thank you, leap year, for providing this opportunity.

| AatP Side Frill JSK | Lady Sloth snowflake lace blouse | Angelic Pretty Lovely Ribbon OTKs | Hush Puppies boots | Risu Rose necklace as headdress | brooch from the dress as hair accessory | Violet Fane brooch | Love from the North pin | vintage belt | offbrand necklace and earrings | Wicked and Whimsy, 4Aces and Primark rings |

Am I here to tell you your future or to invite you to play Love Letters? Why not both?

Here you can see al the best details: the dress fabric texture, the snowflake lace on the blouse and those gorgeous accessories.

My original wine x pink outfit plan had to be scrapped because I absolutely did not like the look of the blouse I had in mind with this dress. So as my new Lady Sloth blouse arrived recently, I played with that, eventually landing on this coord. It initially reminded me of a pirate look and I so wished I had a wine tricorn to match (then I could’ve been your pirate from a Mills and Boon book cover that will sweep you off your feet, to make this more on theme of Valentine's Day). In the absence of a tricorn hat I interpreted this in a more fortune teller way, predicting people’s fortune in their love lives. Sometimes an outfit does not come straightforward and sticking with the dress you chose rather than changing for something easier can lead to great discoveries and pushing your style further. I doubt that I’d come up with this on my own, had the original idea worked out. But I’m very glad that I did because not only I really liked the look, I can still re-wear it in a pirate way, should I ever obtain a matching headpiece.

The meetup took place at Annie’s, which we last went to for the Easter meetup. Although originally there were plans to go elsewhere, it ended up being fully booked for the date we wanted, and Annie’s is a good choice anyway, I really liked it last time we went. This time we were a large enough group to warrant a more private space, which was really amazing!

The meetup was really well attended, around 20 people, both fresh faces and veteran members. I ended up at the table which had more of the newer lolitas and got to know people a little bit better, hopefully I’ll meet them again sometime. I also made the effort to wander over to the other table to catch up with people I hadn’t seen. Big meets are great, but they do require active effort if you really want to chat with everyone, even if only a little, otherwise you’ll miss people out without meaning to.

I didn't realise a friend snapped this as I did a palm reading for a friend who had a very tough time recently.
(Disclaimer: I am very bad at palm readings. But would love to learn!)

The tea service was just as nice as the last time I had it. This time I tried a new type of tea, a vanilla flavoured green one, which was really lovely and reminded me a little bit of vanilla shortbread, it had that sweet hint without being overpowering. Though as it was loose leaf tea, it got bitter the longer it brewed, so it was best drank straight away. Once again, I left out my scone (I meant to take it with me, but then forgot in the end) and to be honest, three sandwiches and three sweets in I was pretty full. Maybe it was to do with my wearing a girdle to make me look ‘smoother’, maybe they were more filling than I had expected – either way, it was a very good lunch by my standards.

Obligatory afternoon tea tray photo.

The one with all the goodies.

The one that makes afternoon tea seem like a sensible lunch option for an adult human.

And the one that was never had.

Fortunately for us, we didn’t have to leave the room at any specified time, which aided the relaxed atmosphere and chatting. We must’ve spent three, maybe three and a half hours enjoying the company and the food. With the older members talk often wandered towards the upcoming event in Barcelona, Lolita of Green Gables, which many of us are going to (including myself). On the other hand, the newer members tended to either exchange tips on where to shop or go into topics completely unrelated to lolita. It made for a more interesting afternoon going back and forth between the two.

Although at the end of our time at Annie’s most of the group went on for some aesthetic shopping/browsing, I only stopped at one place on my own then went home. The UK was forecast another storm that day, yet we were extremely lucky on the day in that we were only really bothered by wind and not so much by rain. At least I managed to get to and from the meet without even reaching for my umbrella. I wish I could say that my shopping was something exciting, but it wasn’t really, I repurchased a few makeup bits that I had run out of.

Here are my spoils of war. 

 

What was exciting though happened the day before the meetup, as I had submitted my visa application for Russia. At this point I have the Gothic Lolita Festival event tickets and a place to stay in Moscow with my friends. Hopefully I will be granted the visa without issues, because I am really excited, I had genuinely wanted to visit Russia for years. Had this been anywhere else, I probably would be panicking right now that I still don’t have the flights, yet I’m surprisingly calm about this. From what I’ve looked, prices from Manchester basically don’t change and I might even stand a chance of getting something cheaper last minute, which has put me at an odd ease. The visa application centre advises that people don’t book flights before being granted a visa too, and while I’m sure they say that because they have to (as the application centres only handle the application, they have no say in whether you get the visa or not), for once I’m following that advice to the T. Fingers crossed it all goes well now!