~Fairytale Boutique Tea Party~

Hello everyone! It's taken me a while to update, but a couple of weeks ago I attended a lovely tea party in Vancouver, hosted by Fairytale Boutique! For those of you who don't know, Fairytale Boutique hails from downtown Los Angeles. The store promotes kawaii fashion and culture as much as possible and they sell all sorts of wonderful Lolita clothing and accessories. Miki and Hayley were so sweet and I'm so glad I got to meet them and spend some time with them!

The tea party was put on as part of North West Fan Fest, a cosplay and costume convention that was held for the weekend. I unfortunately didn't get to go for all three days (work impeding on Lolita life), but I went for the final day on Sunday, the same day the tea party was being held! 

The theme of the tea party was "fairy-tale". At first I wasn't sure what kind of co-rd to go with. I had ideas about Little Bo Peep or some sort of princess, but in the end I decided to go as my own version of Goldilocks from Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

Here's my co-ord rundown:

Bonnet: Triple Fortune

OP: Angelic Pretty Victorian Rose in Sax

OTK's: Metamorphose

Shoes: Bodyline (customized)

Accessories: Rilakkuma, H&M, handmade

I found out at the last minute  that Fairytale Boutique's booth at the con would be carrying some of the latest Automatic Honey Moonlight Pegasus gear, in special colours only released for Canada and NWFF. I loveeeee Automatic Honey, and was really hoping to grab an item or two at the booth on Sunday.

I was unlucky with my timing however, and the last Pegasus necklace sold minutes before I showed up :'( My lovely friend Jen had grabbed the last two Moonlight Rings, one in each colour, and promised me the white one though! So next time I see her it shall be mine, OHO.

(And on a side note, one of the girls in the local community was selling her pink version of the Moonlight Pegasus necklace that she bought at NWFF and I saw it on Lace Market and scooped it!!! Lucky!)

Moonlight Pegasus necklaces by Automatic Honey!

Moonlight Rings

As soon as I got to the convention, I immediately went to Fairytale Boutique's booth! It was so nice talking to Miki and Hayley one-on-one, and fawning over all of the cute things they brought with them.

Miki and Hayley at the booth!

After hanging at the booth for a while, meeting up with some other Lolita friends, and general wandering about, it was time to go to the tea party. The tea party was actually being held off-site from the convention at a tea room in the middle of downtown Vancouver, called Patisserie Fur Elise. The patisserie is in a re-decorated, beautiful heritage home tucked right into the heart of the city, and is  one of my favourite places to have tea and purchase delicious macarons! 

We had a schoolbus chartered to take us there, so we all piled in and made our way downtown.

As soon as we got there it was photo time!

 

The patisserie is literally one of the most beautiful places to sit and have a full tea service. We got right to ordering and it didn't take long before our treats arrived, along with our individual teas we had all chosen. I picked the Honey-Scented tea this time around, which has a delightful flavour!

As we went through our cute little goody bags that each attendee got, our first mini course arrived.

Of course I can't quite remember what it was now, but it was so delicious!

Soon after, our tea and service trays came, which were stackedddd with treats. 

Both the sweets and savouries were amazing. They even featured the patisserie's special little dessert, as well as the macarons they are known for selling.

After we stuffed ourselves full on everything, it was time for the raffle! I won some tickets to an alternative fashion show in the city, which I ended up giving away, but there were some great other prizes up for grabs!

Then there was official introductions/co-ord explanations where we each had to get up and say what brand our dress was/what character we were inspired by.

After we drank some more tea and chatted, there was a surprise announcement of a co-ord judging by Miki and Hayley! There would be two winners, and each one would win something from the Boutique! After they quickly decided, my friend Amy won second place for her amazing Maleficent inspired co-ord....and I won first prize!! I was so honoured and happy!! Miki and Hayley both said that I looked like I stepped out of the pages of a Gothic Lolita Bible and that my co-ord was fantastic *flattered*.

So here's what I won! 

Minus the cute alpaca coin purse, I won a gorgeous double-sided poster designed by Automatic Honey, and a pair of rare Angelic Pretty tights that were co-designed by Kira Imai and that go perfectly with my Lolita wardrobe!

Before long it was time for everyone to go :( We all went outside and took group photos first though!

I had such a fun time and I can't wait to go back to Fur Elise soon. I'm also so glad that Miki and Hayley came to Vancouver and I really hope that they come back many more times!

Bye-bye!

Lolita Challenge Part 1- 10 things about your Lolita bubble!

So the first day in the 30 day Lolita challenge is to talk about 10 things that make up your "Lolita bubble". It was hard to know where to start, so I'll try and list what I think are the most important things, and see how it goes!

1. I started becoming interested in Lolita when I was about 14, but I didn't go to my first meet-up until I was about 20! I remember the first time I ever saw Lolita fashion, back when my best friend and I used to MSN each other back and forth (ah, the good old days of MSN). We were nerdy little Otaku girls who shared a mutual bond with our love of everything Japan, and one day she sent me a photo of this girl in the most amazing outfit I had ever seen in my entire life. She said it was this cool style she had just discovered, called Lolita. As Momoko says in Kamikaze girls, "The old me was slain"! Everything about the style embodied what I wanted to be, what I had ever dreamed of being. I immediately looked for stores online to buy Lolita clothing ( I died internally that day when I discovered how expensive it was), and of course stumbled across....Bodyline. My friend and I marvelled at what we thought was good quality, inexpensive Burando and both ordered something. 

Needless to say, we thought we were pretty cool when our items showed up. Looking back, the jacket I bought wasn't even Lolita at all hahaha

When I got a job a few years later, I finally managed to save up for actual brand, and haven't looked back since! I discovered the local Lolita community at 19 and shyly went to my first meet at 20. 

2. My favourite brand of all time is Mary Magdalene. I just love the perfect, elegant cuts and fabric of the dresses, which fit me probably the best out of all the brands I've ever tried/own. I can successfully say that I've liked every single dress they've ever put out, which is rare for me to say about most brand. Their stock photos are just the most perfect things ever too ._.; 

I also love Innocent World, Metamorphose and Angelic Pretty

3. At first, OTT Sweet Lolita was not my thing at all. I completely appreciated other girls who could pull it off, but it just wasn't for me. These days though, I am in love with some of the co-ords and dresses, and feel more open to doing this style, or a classical-sweet version. Lately, I've been sticking to classical themes, as well as pastel colours like pale pink, creams, and light blue. 

4. I was very heavily into Gothic Lolita at first, probably up until at least two years ago. I still love creating gothic co-ords whenever I can, but mostly leave it for the darker-themed meet-ups these days!

A gothic-inspired co-ord from last year's Halloween meet-up! 

5. I get the majority of my dresses, accessories, and other bits from the Comm Sales, Lace Market, or through the local Lolita community girls. I'm not so good at the Comm Sales, but I absolutely love Lace Market lately.

6. I tried making a few of my own Lolita pieces a while ago, back when I was more of an avid sewer. I just don't have the time anymore to whip up something majestic or cute, but in the past I have made skirts, over-skirts, lacy wrist cuffs, flower crowns, petticoats, and even bloomers! I really want to get back into making things, hopefully sometime this century ya'll.

7. I've slowed right down when it comes to buying dresses in the last two years- mainly because I rent my own little kawaii house and its expensive to do both sometimes -_-; But I still put aside Burando monies!!! Or starve for a couple weeks when I see a dress I want hahaha

8. My house is completely 100% branded kawaii. I have so many cute things I've hoarded since I was a teenager that there is very little room to sit or even move! My couches have been taken over by Hello Kitty and a pack of Alpacasso, and theres little toys, trinkets, plushies, mementos, and general cuteness everywhere. I'll actually post photos of this madness one day soon....when I have it contained.

9. I am accepting of everyone's Lolita fashion choices, and I really dislike any elitism or bullying that I see on some sites and other places. Lolita for me is about having fun with the style and creating a look for who you want to be. There is no age limit or hardcore rules that must be followed, as long as you love the style and are kind to others as well. 

10. I love the Vancouver/Seattle Lolita community! Everyone is so nice and I've always loved going to the meet-ups, even if I don't make it to all that many because I live away from Vancouver in a more secluded area, my job hours suck sometimes... No matter what we do, It's always a fun experience and I love meeting new friends, seeing all the amazing co-ords and taking time to catch up with all the talented people that come out to the meet-ups!

A shot of some of us at the Angelic Pretty Tea Party!

Hope you enjoy! I would also love to see anyone else's Lolita challenge so far if you've taken part!

Byebye!