Regalia!

Last Saturday I attended the latest Tea Party Club anniversary event- Regalia! It is amazing how quickly these anniversary events creep up on you. This year, the main guest was Innocent World.

To celebrate Innocent World coming I wore Grazia Crown, seeing as it is the only IW dress I own and it matches my favourite bag! I knew a lot of people were going to be wearing royal themed outfits but most people were wearing either Union Jack or Gobelin Crest. Grazia Crown has always been my favourite Innocent World series though, so I am glad I went with it. Later on, I added my handmade gold sash and I ditched the bolero and gloves (see further down). 

The venue was on Pall Mall and whilst it was beautiful inside, I have to admit that a lot of us got harassed by the tourists going by when we were outside. Thankfully, some of the tourists were also very polite and did ask nicely for photos. The location was also convenient for popping to the Japan Centre for lunch! We all got melonpans! 

When we got inside there were several vendors rooms. We didn't really spot the room with Innocent World in right away, as it was hidden away at the back, so we probably missed out on some of the stuff they were selling. I heard that some of the popular stuff was selling for above retail price anyway. The bring and buy room was pretty much constantly packed. I had a bit more success with my purchases this time than I did at Revelry, but I decided to save my purchases for another blog post. There was definitely an interesting variety of sellers and stores there but I don't feel the space was used to its full potential. One of the rooms was practically empty and I do feel that the other stores that were also in the bring and buy room could have been moved to the quieter room. The texting system for the bring and buy was a good idea, although I don't think all of the sellers got their text notifications through. I do hope this idea is brought back next time though.

As I had a silver ticket, it meant I had access to the VIP room. Here is a blurry shot of the free macaron I swiped! It was the last box, so I got there just in time. There was plenty of free drinks and cake on offer and I was so grateful this free stuff was available. The room was very small though, so there were hardly any seats.

The fashion show was interesting but I was a bit disappointed that Innocent World didn't show off any new releases. There was nothing shown that hadn't already been released, like Metamorphose did last year. But it was still great to see so many of my friends modelling for Innocent World! I was so happy to see Blair get picked! I also felt that the brand names needed to be announced because a lot of the time I had no idea who these dresses were by. Apparently some of the models didn't know what they were wearing until the actual day! That kind of made me feel glad that I did not apply to model this time. I like to be prepared for these things. I think all the models did well, given the circumstances. 

Earlier in the day there had been a Q&A session with Fujiwara-san of Innocent World. I didn't stay right until the end, so I missed the last little bit and also the trading cards that were given out. What I did find out though, is that Fujiwara-san is not keen on re-releasing a lot of IW stuff because she has lots of ideas for new stuff. We also learnt about how much Fujiwara-san loves Europe (answer- a lot!) and got told about her visit to see the crown jewels in London. She is also visiting Belgium so who knows, maybe we will see a Belgium themed print next!

And this is what my outfit looked like with the sash! I had been dithering about whether to wear it or not but whilst we were queuing I got some opinions from my friends and they agreed I should put it on. I was kind of glad- I had spent a long time making it!

And here is the silver ticket goody bag! It was filled with a lot of the usual stuff like postcards and stores offering discounts. There were mirrors and badges again. We also got given bath bombs but I had to give mine to Sammi because I had my bath ripped out a few years ago and I only have a shower! It is a shame because I really miss having a bath! 

I felt that we got a lot more in our goody bags than we have previous years. For starters, the silver tickets got a proper gift from Innocent World! I was so happy to receive this navy blue bow with moon charm because I had been thinking about buying it. It is a good thing I checked the goody bag before visiting the Innocent World table.

There was also the usual raffle and group photo at the end. Maybe it is because the numbers were read out quicker, but it felt like there were less prizes this year. I still won this make up bag though! It is such a generous size and it has a pocket inside as well. Apart from Sammi, I think I was the only one of our little group to actually win anything. I was really happy with my prize. Because my bath bombs had crumbled inside my bag, I came very close to asking if I could have another bag. I am glad I didn't because if I had changed bags I probably wouldn't have won anything!

So after saying our goodbyes, we headed to Chinatown for dinner and then headed home. I was so tired that I almost passed out on the train. When I was walking home this little girl genuinely believed I was the actual queen! I thought that was really cute. I am really looking forward to next year's event and finding out who the guests are going to be but for now, I am enjoying having a bit of a rest and recovering!