Summer ILD Oxfordshire Lolitas Meet!

Happy Belated International Lolita Day! Shalisa, Sammi and I decided to combine our hosting skills and put on a party for the Oxfordshire Lolitas. We hired the upstairs of the Mitre, as it is a really large venue and there is always a pitcher of Pimm's waiting just downstairs. And we definitely needed the Summery drinks because the weather was hot and lovely.

It felt like ages since I had worn full-on sweet lolita, instead of classic or a more casual take on sweet lolita. So I decided this would be a good time to wear my Sweetie Violet JSK from Angelic Pretty. I teamed it with some of my favourite lavender items and the hat I ordered from Akilya. I used white to break up the pink and lavender, as I felt the colours were a bit overwhelming on their own. It was a light and airy outfit which was perfect for the weather conditions. I curled my real hair instead of wearing a wig. Sadly the curls did not last all day but I was just grateful not to have sweaty wig-head!

As part of the ticket price we provided a buffet. There were also gift bags and many prizes to be won. My Taobao order from last month could not have been timed better! I was quite pleased with how the food turned out. Sammi had made some macarons, which tasted amazing and she also brought along her infamous cous cous (she is the queen of cous cous). It doesn't look a lot in the picture, but I can confirm I was completely stuffed by the end of the day.

We did many different activities including a quiz that Shalisa kindly made. Our guests had to pick out the real brand print names. Some of them were really difficult. I sat this one out because I kept winning and decided to give somebody else a chance!

Next up was the Lolita Assault Course! This was my invention and it is based on etiquette advice given by the English Gothic Lolita Bibles and the silly videos that Misako Aoki has been doing recently about the rules of lolita. Our guests had to do their most composed walk around some cones whilst they had balloons chucked at them. Then they moved on to a posing station, had to sit down in the most considerate manner, tie some waist ties in to a bow, add some sugar to a cup of tea without making a racket and then finish off with giving us their best "lolita laugh". Judging by the reactions, people seemed to enjoy my course, so perhaps it will be making an appearance at a future meet...

And there was also a Pass the Parcel! Samm, Shalisa and I completely forgot how many layers we had wrapped, so it went on a bit longer than anticipated. And the random CD we had borrowed from the Mitre had the most peculiar music choices on it! Somehow we managed to get to the end and eventually Laura won the socks that were inside. Laura said she needed some new socks so I am glad we were able to help!

There was also a cake decorating contest. Some were certainly more inventive than others and everybody voted for the best cake. Laura won this contest as well, with her cute bird themed design (bottom right). There were some really cute designs. At least everybody got to eat cake afterwards.

And then there was Lolita Print Charades. Some of them proved harder than others and I had to omit some very embarrassing photos! There was a cake stand full of mini prizes to be won. Nicola and Hayley did especially well with the charades.

And finally, a group shot (minus both of the Lauras who had to leave a bit early). I really love how there was a nice balance between sweet and classic, as usually one style seems to dominate our meets. Everybody put a lot of effort in to their outfits and a lot of us wore our favourite pieces. I just hope everybody enjoyed themselves.

Afterwards the hosts went to get a drink and wind down. I think we earned it, as we were all exhausted afterwards. I don't think I will be hosting any big meets soon but I am hopeful to see the Oxford group again soon. I had a great time! I hope everybody reading had a great ILD too, no matter what you ended up doing.