Alice Day 2014!

 Alice Day seems to come around quicker every year! I decided to host another meet for the Oxfordshire Lolitas, even though Alice Day isn't as good as it used to be. I don't think we even really did anything remotely Alice-related, apart from the games I brought along with me.

I went as the White Rabbit again this year. I recycled the bunny ears from last year's outfit and stuck them on a completely different one. Luckily I purchased this dress at Frock On last year, so I had a nice bunny-themed dress to team the ears with. I have to admit, I did put this outfit together right at the last minute because I had been so distracted with the meet planning side of things and there are also lots of other exciting events coming up in the next few months. I was worried the pinks didn't match but because the dress has different shades of pinks in it, I don't think it looks too bad? The head bow may be slightly off, but otherwise I am pleased with the end result, considering how quickly I had to put this together. I went for strawberry themed jewellery to match the strawberries in the print. My Alice in Wonderland jewellery was sadly the wrong colour.

We were meant to be having a picnic but once again, the British weather was being annoying! We were meant to have rain and it did rain lots overnight, making the ground wet. Typically, it did get sunny during the day though! So we ended up in the Mitre for lunch. I made goody bags for everybody and we all voted to see who wore the favourite outfit. Blair won! I was very happy for her, as I did really love her outfit, especially her hair accessories. She won a handmade brooch, which was Alice themed. 

We considered going to the Botanical Gardens, as they were meant to be having Alice Day stuff going on, but when we peered over the hedges it looked pretty empty in there. So we decided against it in the end. It didn't stop me taking flower pictures outside the entrance though! Perhaps the rain meant they didn't have as much stuff out. There was also an exhibition going on at the Christ Church Library, but we got a bit lost. So in the end, we didn't really go to any of the events that were running, but there were still fun and games to come.

As the sun had decided to make an appearance, we went to G&D's to get ice cream. They had a special Alice in Wonderland flavour in honour of Alice Day so that is what I went for. This year's Alice theme was "Alice Underground" so the choice of chocolate ice cream was quite appropriate. It has white chocolate buttons in it too.

But of course we had to do something Alice related... So I brought my games along with me again! It is very hard to come up with new games every year, so I did an egg race in honour of Humpty Dumpty. In the end, Shalisa won!

There was also a hoop the rabbit game in honour of the White Rabbit. I thought I had set an easy distance and the idea was to keep moving backwards until only one person left could still hoop it. But in the end, only Blair was able to hoop the rabbit from the starting distance! So she won the chocolate rabbit and an additional prize.

And finally, a group photo! The sun was really strong at this point and it didn't help some random guy kept photo bombing us, so it was a struggle to find a decent group picture. I borrowed this one from Madeleine (sorry!). It felt very strange being the only one in pastel colours!

So whilst I do feel that the Alice Day events were a bit of a let-down, I think we were able to fit in a lot of fun things. I even managed to find brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts at the sweet shop (that flavour is very difficult to find here). Despite not going exactly to plan, my guests did assure me that they had a good time. It was good to catch up with everybody, and we even bumped in to several familiar faces whilst we were walking around town too! Given how much everybody seemed to enjoy the event this year, I may host another one again next year. Hopefully next time we will be able to go to some of the actual Alice events!

Alice Day 2013!

On Saturday we had our annual lolita meet at Alice Day in Oxford. In the end the Oxfordshire and South West lolita groups joined together, which was lovely because we got to meet some new people and there were more people to share the fun with.

I was dressed as the White Rabbit wearing Angelic Pretty's Wonder Cookie print. People kept mistaking me for an Alice/White Rabbit hybrid though. I thought people would guess who I was from the massive rabbit ears! My WC dress and bow was teamed with white Bodyline shoes and wrist cuffs. I used my Bodyline stripy macaron socks too as I wanted to do something different (I usually end up wearing my matching Wonder Cookie socks!). 

I teamed it with a DreamV cutsew and off-brand and AP jewellery. Being the rabbit was a perfect excuse to use one of my Paris Kids fluffy bunny brooches, which I absolutely adore.

As I was hosting, I planned games and surprises. Sammi was unlucky enough to find a lump of carrot in her cupcake. She found the carrot before she bit in to it though! This was all part of the plan for the guests to build up points and then win a big prize at the end.

One of the games was to build the highest sugar cube tower in one minute. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Everybody kept getting the shakes!

The prize at the end featured postcards, tea, jam, a spoon and an AP spade cookie ring. Jenny won in the end.

Jenny also won our Best Dressed contest and she got a brooch that I spent ages making. I don't think my crafting skills are that brilliant but Jenny seemed pleased with her prize! The prize was quite appropriate in the end because Jenny was dressed as the Red Queen and the brooch matched her outfit.

I did notice there were less exhibits going on this year and the ones that were on seemed to end sooner in the day and were smaller compared to previous years. So we didn't get to see that much. We did however, see a dodo skeleton in the Ashmolean Museum. I do hope that there are more events at Alice Day in the future. For those attending in the future, I suggest having a picnic at the Botanical Gardens as the Oxford castle stuff is a lot smaller than it used to be.

And a group shot of us all. Michelle told everybody to pull derp faces at my camera, so some of us are pulling some pretty strange faces here! Everybody looked amazing.

I do hope everybody had a good time in the end. I tried my best as a host! We got very lucky with the weather. It's just a shame Alice Day seemed smaller this year. But I doubt that will stop us having another meet in Oxford again next July.

Handmade Playing Card Bow

I am having a bit of an outfit crisis at the moment. July is just around the corner and that means that the Oxfordshire Lolitas will be invading Alice Day once again. Despite Alice Day last year being my hosting debut, I had a great time (and hopefully the other attendees did too) and we even made it in to our local paper. In fact, our photo was used again this year to advertise this year's Alice Day and there are still pictures of us floating around on some of the Alice Day web pages.

The only problem is, for ages I couldn't think of anything to wear this year. Normally, I just go with the flow but with Alice Day, it is one of those events where you ideally want to be on theme. Only, I went and sold my Bodyline Alice Skirt! Whilst I don't regret selling it, it left me wondering what I should wear to Alice Day this year. I could have worn Wonder Cookie or even Starry Night Theatre, but I just wasn't "feeling it". Thankfully, I now have a basic outfit idea planned and now I am trying to build on that. It is not going to be OTT crazy, but at least I will be on theme!

I decided that I would try making some matching accessories for my outfit and this is where this bow comes in-

I have gone for an outfit based around playing cards and card suits. So I took a playing card and turned it in to a bow by folding it like a fan. I gathered the middle part and then fanned the card out to a basic bow shape. The middle looked a bit ugly, so I sewed a bell charm on to the middle. The bell looks loose in the photo, but it is in fact gently sewn on and hopefully it will stay in place. I deliberately chose the Joker card!

This is not an original idea. I actually saw something similar online last year, but there was no way I was going to buy one of those for a stupid amount when I could make one at home. The only thing is, it feels as though there is something missing on my bow. It looks very simple. I don't want the bow to look too over-done, but maybe there is something I can do to make it look a bit neater maybe? I thought about getting some thin ribbon and then tying a tiny bow around the middle. I wonder if that would work?

Hopefully I will be able to figure out a way to finish off this bow and also complete my outfit. Any suggestions about the bow would be greatly appreciated. It was just a very cheap and simple craft idea. The good thing is, if I need to make more, I only need a spare 5 minutes and I already have a supply of playing cards!

July Ox Loli meet- Luna hosts a meet at Alice Day!

I would have updated earlier today but I have been very tired. It has been a long hectic weekend. I have hosted a lolita meet for the very first time! It took a lot of planning but thankfully, everything came together. Earlier this year, it was decided I would host the July Oxfordshire Lolita meet. Originally, I was going to hold a scavenger hunt but I realised that the day we were going was the same day as Alice Day. If you were reading my blog around this time last year, you may remember I attended Alice Day last year with my husband. I thought I should make the most of the date clash and so, the meet became an Alice Day meet!

We spent the day at Oxford Castle eating my picnic and getting in to all sorts of immature japes. We even made it in to the local paper! I will hopefully get a scan of the paper at some point. It was a very interesting day. People kept mistaking us for performers which was funny!

I took full advantage of the fact that I already had an Alice inspired outfit in my wardrobe. I have always loved the imagery from the book.

Skirt and cutsew and waist bow (worn on head)- Bodyline

Shoes- Unknown (from Minky Shop)

Socks- offbrand (stall in Camden)

Accessories- various off-brand

I had various playing cards stuck all over me. I had all 4 Aces on my leg and the Queen of Hearts was attached to my chest. My shoes are so OTT. I need to wear them more often. They remind me of Cardcaptor Sakura! The heels are made of foam which is very soft to walk on.

I cut up some playing cards to make some nail art. If they look rushed, it is because they were!

For the picnic I provided loads of food such as cupcakes, sandwiches, various salad bits, crisps, tarts and lots more. I got some plain blue cups and added Drink Me on one side and an Alice sticker on the other side.

The plates had Alice printed on them and I also had some Eat Me tags. Originally, the tags were meant for the cupcakes but that idea didn't work well so I tied them to lollipops instead.

There was a croquet set laid out on the garden. Nicola and Naomi (dressed as Alice and the Red Queen) decided to do their own version of croquet instead! Oxford Castle even remembered to include some lawn flamingos (bottom left!).

We got to hold some cute little bunnies. Some were really tiny. I was a little scared I was going to drop the one I held. We held our picnic very close to the bunnies so we got to see them whilst we ate.

There was also a giant chess board! We decided to make it look as though Nicola had just fallen down on to the chessboard, which is why she looks a little dead here. Sadly, I forgot where some people got their clothes from so I have just included information I remembered.

From left to right we have-

Raine (as the Mad Hatter in Meta's Romantica Train), Louise (awesome waistcoat! I think she was doing the Mad Hatter too but I am not sure!), Jenni (as the white rabbit in Moitie), Sammi (as the Cheshire Cat in another cute salopette), Me (as Alice/Card Sentry hybrid, see outfit rundown above), Beau (as Alice in Angelic Pretty's Wonder Cookie), Sophie (wearing Alice and the Pirate's Scent of Rapunzel), Olwen (in Bodyline).

And on the chess board we have Nicola as Alice (handmade items).

We were joined by 2 newbies- Sophie and Olwen. Both of you were absolutely lovely and I hope you attend more meets in the future! You both looked lovely!

I also made a game- Pin the tail on the Cheshire Cat! It took me a couple of hours to paint this by hand. Louise won some Colin the Caterpillar sweeties and a teacup necklace (to continue the Alice theme).

Despite feeling a little tired, I had a great day and the others have told me they enjoyed it too. I will definitely hold more meets in the future. Now I really want to attend Alice Day again next year. Next year it will be the 150th Anniversary of the day Lewis Caroll originally told the story of Alice in Wonderland to the real life Alice- Alice Lidell. I believe next year it will be held on the exact same day of the anniversary too. I can't wait!

Themed lolita meets

I apologise if I have appeared a little quiet or distant recently. There is a very good reason why- I am hosting the July Oxfordshire Lolita meet! Originally I was meant to be doing a scavenger hunt around Oxford but it turns out that the date we settled on was the same day Alice Day is being held. Yes, it is that time of year again! Last years Alice Day was one of the first events I reported about on this blog.

So all the scavenger hunt plans were put aside and I started planning a meet based around all things Alice. There is going to be a picnic, we are watching a few of the performances and we may even make some Mad Hatter hats! Of course, the dress theme is going to be Alice in Wonderland. As a result, I have been spending a lot of time trying to plan the picnic and some Alice themed games to play.

Planning a meet around a theme has been very interesting. For some reason, I feel themed meets are different from the usual lolita meets. Here are a few of the many things I have had to consider-

Getting to know my theme- I have a confession to make- I have NEVER read Alice in Wonderland! Of course, I have heard the story and I know the characters which has been a huge help. The better you know the theme, the more confident you will feel when you are making plans.

Working out the key characters and themes- Usually with themed meets, especially those based around books, there are a few stand out moments in the story or certain characters that people remember more than others. These are the parts that people remember fondly. To take an example from my own upcoming meet- I have already based a game around the Cheshire Cat. I am also trying to think of ideas based around the tea party scene and we will be attending an event where you make Mad Hatter hats. I want people to take one look at my ideas and instantly recognise it from Alice in Wonderland. If I can include the main themes, I can always add some more subtle themes in afterwards.

Little details- As well as focusing on the main themes, I will be paying attention to little details. For my picnic I have been thinking about how I can turn it from a normal picnic and in to a themed picnic. So items such as the plates, napkins and cups will hopefully be themed too. Given the choice between plain napkins and Alice printed napkins, I know which one I would choose! I am also making Drink Me and Eat Me tags. It doesn't even have to be too expensive. Think about colours and shapes etc. Is there a specific colour that sticks out with your theme? Are there little pieces you can make yourself?

Dress code- Something that worries me about a themed lolita meet is making sure it still fits lolita. I have suggested an Alice dress code but for my own outfit, I have still tried to keep the usual lolita "rules" in place. When does an outfit stop being a themed lolita outfit and become a costume? It is up to you how far you go with the theme. It could be that you wear lolita and just wear a few themed accessories. Or you could go completely crazy about the theme and not worry about how it fits with lolita. To be honest, I want my fellow lolitas to be as creative as they want. The most important part of the entire meet is to have fun!

Don't overload yourself- There have been a few times where I have gotten a little stressed with all the planning. Break up all the planning in to manageable chunks, make lists and leave plenty of time. Never leave stuff to the last minute!

Problem solving- I am a bit worried that it will rain and the events will be cancelled. So I have been thinking of alternative ideas to do inside as well. I have also had to make sure that there is somebody on hand to carry all the games and stuff I intend to bring! (I feel sorry for my husband who is bound to end up carrying loads of stuff!). There will always be things you can't control or predict so try not to too upset if there are a few hitches.

Online inspiration- We are very lucky to live in a time where we can type something in to a search engine and come up with lots of search results. There are loads of party suggestions available and I have bookmarked a few websites that have been especially useful. Also, try asking your friends. They may come up with an idea that you hadn't thought of.

As the date of the meet slowly creeps up on me, I am hoping that we all have a good time. I also want to thank everybody who has been helping me come up with ideas and have offered to help. I have tried not to reveal too many details because I am hoping some of the meet will be full of lovely mini surprises. After the meet, expect a full blog post about it!

Help me out? :)

I should hopefully be resuming my usual blogging activities soon! But for now I have a huge favour to ask everybody. I would really appreciate your support!

I have recently entered 2 competitions on Facebook. I entered the Gothic Lolita Wigs contest but I have given up hope with that one. I admire a lot of the girls who have entered and it seems that a lot of other voters agree with me! So I am now going to put more focus on this 2nd competition. It is open to MAF members so if you would like to enter too, then you will have to join MAF.

If you would like to support me then please do the following-

1. Like this page on Facebook-

http://www.facebook.com/myAsianFashion1

2. Scroll down until you find my entry (I have submitted the photo above)

3. Press the 'like' button under the image. This is really important- to vote for me, DO NOT click on the image or it will take you away from the MAF page and you will only be liking the image in my photo album. If you are redirected, then your vote wont count. The 'like' you need to press is right beside where it says how long ago I posted the entry, which is under the image. A few of my friends were a bit confused by this.

As you can see my entry is Alice in Wonderland themed. Yes, I know a lot of lolitas are sick to death of Alice! I had this really great idea for an outfit but sadly I don't have all the parts to put it together correctly, so this was actually my 2nd or 3rd choice. As you can probably see I have worn my Bodyline Alice print skirt (and a very flat un-puffy petti!) with some AP replica shoes and the Baby umbrella which I recently got off a friend who won a competition. To add a bit of interest I have pinned playing cards to my socks. I ended up pricking myself a few times with the pins which wasn't very nice.

So if you could vote for me I would really appreciate it! Mega thank you to anybody who votes for me!

Chasing Rabbits- Alice Day

At some point I am going to do a massive post about Oxford and all the great places you can visit. But today I am going to talk about Alice Day!

Alice Day is an event that is apparently held every year (I have lived in Oxfordshire all my life and have only just heard of it!) in the city of Oxford. It is basically a celebration of all things Alice in Wonderland and the museums hold little displays and performances.

Sadly, I was not dressed in lolita! I was feeling a bit unwell and so I was not really in the mood. My friends are going to get a shock next Saturday- I have decided that I will wear the full Alice co-ordinate then instead!

After a disappointing visit to the Ashmolean Museum (There was nothing really there!) my husband and I headed to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Whilst there we managed to catch some story telling and an Alice trail inside the actual museum, which is where I found this cute little rabbit! We had a look around the Museum and also the Pit Rivers Museum which is hidden away at the back and includes a lot of interesting artefacts. I also got this Alice bookmark-

It is made of gold and I am so sorry about the quality of this photo but even with the flash turned off it was too blurry. I can assure you all that it is very cute! Then we headed outside for a performance by the Curious Company. It was entitled Tea Party Cabaret-

I love the table! And Alice's dress was more amazing close-up. There will be some videos of this performance so if you are friends with me on Facebook you can see them there. Unfortunately I seem to be having problems uploading them here *grumbles*

Afterwards we went to get some picnic food and went to the botanical gardens where we enjoyed a game of hunt the snark. There was a band playing and we had a lot of mad characters interrupting our picnic. It was a performance by the Mad Dog Theatre company (the name is very appropriate) and I loved every second of it.

Sadly we did not get back to the town centre in time to see the Curious Company perform as the Red Queen and the Playing Card Sentries. I am sure it was just as fun as their earlier performances. We did however, manage a visit to the Alice shop. It has a lot of the Alice books, tea sets (I really wanted one!), amazing chess sets (insanely expensive!) and little bits and pieces. When we went inside it was very crowded and we could barely move. I purchased a little shopping bag with a lovely print. Visit www.aliceinwonderlandshop.co.uk for more information.

We went home early evening time feeling absolutely exhausted. As I mentioned, this event is apparently held every year and it is a fantastic opportunity for a good lolita meet-up. Oxford has a lot of lolita friendly shops and you can get a more detailed report some time in the future (I have written a long list of posts I need to do, so I can't say when this will be!).

I am definitely going to Alice Day next year!