A Day Out in London!

With my friends all over the place right now it was exciting to see at least a few of them on a trip to London yesterday. As you can see in the picture, I was wearing my Alice co-ordinate that I was meant to wear last Saturday. I got some very strange looks but also some lovely compliments. Here is the outfit run down-

Spade head band- handmade

Shirt- GLP (it came with a JSK but I decided it was nice enough to wear alone)

Alice skirt- Bodyline (possibly still available)

Socks- Bodyline

Shoes- Unknown

Charm bracelets (not visible)- Claires

I noticed that I did not have a suitable matching hair piece. In the end I cut out a red spade from a piece of felt and stuck it to a hair band. At first it looks more like an upside-down heart but it is in fact a spade. I was thinking of making another one with a bolder outline next time.

We went to this waffle shack near Bayswater tube station. Although the waffle did taste amazing, a lot of our group was getting a little fed up. Why? Because we had to wait 40 minutes and the food smell made us all hungry! This waffle place is in the direction of Hyde Park. If you ever go there, be prepared to wait...

We headed to Hyde Park. For James and myself it felt a little strange. We had out honeymoon here and we went past the road that our hotel was on. It brought back a lot of memories. Sometimes I think it is a shame I can't go to London more often even if I only have James for company. That holiday was the best holiday of my entire life despite not having air-con in our room.

Afterwards we did a little shopping. The best shop we visited was Japan Centre ( www.japancentre.com ) on Lower Regent Street. You take exit 3 from Piccadilly Circus and just walk forward along the road. Japan Centre is on the left. I got myself some Ramune soda and 2 Japanese language fashion magazines. I chose Popteen and Cutie over other more obvious ones (Kera and the Gothic Lolita bible were also available) because I wanted to see something different. I have not had a chance to read them yet. You can get some very cute homeware from here including bento boxes and accessories. It is also an interesting place to eat.

We also went to cybercandy ( www.cybercandy.co.uk ) who import a load of sweets and snacks from all over the world. I got myself a Hostess Twinkie which is like a cake filled with cream. Although Americans will be familiar with this snack, we do not have this here in the UK. So when it gets mentioned on the Simpsons or Family Guy, I was curious. Other delights included popping candy chocolate, froth monster (ramune flavoured), hi chew sweets, wonka nerds (which are now rare in the UK) and country exclusive versions of well known items such as pop tarts, breakfast cereals, kitkats and skittles. Cybercandy may not have as much stock but the variety is better than Japan Centre and it is not just resticted to Asian delights. Cyber Candy is on Garrick Street near Leicester Square and Covent Garden.

Feeling incredibly worn out, we went to a place called Ed's in Soho (near Old Compton Street). Soho is quite a seedy area but none of our group have an issue with this. Ed's is designed like a 50's diner and is quite small. The food is very American but quite inspired too. I got jalapeno jelly with my chicken and it tasted great. The only real issue is the prices which seemed expensive. But this is London. If you are ever in London be prepared for high prices. Everything in the city can cost a lot so do your research if your funds are limited.

I found a random bead shop on Earlham street. It is literally filled with all sorts of beads for jewellery making. I was unable to find any moon shapes but there is a wide selection. If you like making jewellery then you should go visit this shop.

Sadly, there was no time to go to Camden to visit the lolita shops there. I have shopped in them before so I have enough information to write a guide on them another time. Camden is amazing. If you like lolita fashion but do not want to stand out too much then Camden is the place for you. It specialises in all things alternative and is a bit of a shopping mecca for goths/punks/emos. Also worth a visit is Chinatown, which we went past but did not visit this time. Although the name suggests all things Chinese, you can pick up Japanese stuff here too.

Anyway, I am feeling a little dead to the world right now so I think I shall go and rest!