Dream Masquerade Carnival!

So I am still feeling ill, but I am going to try and soldier on with this post. Please bear with me!

So on the 27th of August I headed to London for the Tea Party Club event Dream Masquerade Carnival. I was only able to attend the tea party on the Sunday this year, as I had other commitments on the Saturday. I would like to say that my bank account thanked me for avoiding the inevitable shopping spree, but I ended up spending my money elsewhere anyway! I think I have a serious shopping problem! The truth is, I almost didn't even make it to the tea party. I had received some really bad news just a week before, which has totally thrown me and is going to affect me for years to come. So that has been playing on my mind quite a lot and as a result, I was feeling super anxious. It just didn't seem right going to London and eating cake, but I told myself that this would probably be my only chance to see Maki and Asuka from Angelic Pretty. I had so much support from friends throughout the day and they made my decision to stay a whole lot easier. Seriously, I cannot thank you all enough (you know who you are!). 

I didn't do anything too OTT outfit-wise this time. I didn't have as much time to plan an outfit as I had hoped, as I have been exploring other hobbies outside of lolita a lot more this year. In the end, I decided to pick a dress that A) was Angelic Pretty B) went with my pink AP Tea Parties and C) I didn't think was going to get worn by a large number of other attendees. I came so close to wearing Daydream Carnival, but in the end Milky Swan won out. It would appear that I have recycled a fair bit from previous outfits this time! The shoe feathers made a return and I feel as though I have worn these gloves to death. But I wasn't really focusing on having a super unique outfit. My priorities have changed a whole lot lately. In fact, I didn't realise how profound an effect this one day was going to have on me.

The hair and accessories were inspired by Odette from the ballet Swan Lake. As this was a ballerina themed outfit, I also took some inspiration from my favourite artist Degas. The feather clips refused to stay in the correct position and the purple roses were not quite the right shade, but overall I was really happy with my choices.

The first room we were all gathered in was very small and tightly packed. It made finding people very difficult. I didn't see some of my friends until later on in the day because there was just no way of mingling without barging in to scepters, hair accessories and all the usual stuff that comes with dressing up super fancy! But I did manage to get a few pictures of other people's outfits and eventually I found Michelle sat at a table. We had a good talk and she really put me at ease. She was dressed as a beautiful fairy. Ayumi from Rose Marie Seoir picked Michelle as her best dressed and I think Michelle was the only person on the whole table who didn't see that coming! 

I didn't get many pictures of the venue itself, but here is a blurry photo of a unicorn tapestry I took! I am a huge fan of the series of unicorn tapestries and get very excited when I see any of them hanging at places I visit. They seem to be very popular in fancy hotels because I see them quite frequently. This year the venue for the tea party was the Royal Horseguards Hotel. It was this venue where the Tea Party Club hosted the 5th TPC anniversary featuring Juliette et Justine and my first time back here since that event. It did bring up quite a few memories. There was even another proposal this year, which was so sweet.

The tables had some lovely goodies available. My favourite was the AP themed temporary tattoos. I got a proper tattoo done a few months ago (I was going through a 'f*ck it' phase and just went for it) and I keep having to resist the urge to get more done! But I am not sure if I would want to get a lolita themed tattoo, just in case I regretted in later on. So having a temporary option is fantastic! There were recent prints featured as well as some carnival themed ones.

I was left feeling a bit 'meh' about the food. It was lovely, but I have to admit that it is not the best afternoon tea I have had. I think there could have been more cakes provided. We ended up with about one each. I opted for the fruit tart. The fruit was lovely and refreshing. It complimented the sweet custard filling well. There were lots of sandwiches though and the usual scones. I felt a little bit sorry for our waitress, because we kept asking for refills of the cream and jam!

The Triple Fortune designers Babi and Kaie went around each table to greet us and take pictures. I thought this was really lovely. They made such an effort and I really hope they will consider coming back to the UK again. There was a translator as well, so we got to tell them just how much the UK adores their products, especially their beautiful bonnets. 

Later on, I got a chance to have my photo taken with them. They told me they loved my hair accessories and how they reminded them of Odette. So that was definitely a highlight of my day!

But that is not all the happened... Unfortunately this is the end of the Tea Party Club. Kyra has decided to step down and it seems Mica and the others on the team are in agreement. It was a huge shock, but I think ultimately, Kyra has made the right decision and I can empathise with some of the things she has said about her decision. I will be forever grateful to the Tea Party club for the most fantastic events they have put on over the years. They have achieved so much. But this does not have to be the end of the UK lolita scene's bigger events. It may take a few years to build up to this level again, but it is not impossible. I wonder who will be generous enough to step up? Whoever decides to put on the next big event, I do hope that the community will help out and support them.

I also ended up having a very in-depth discussion with this lovely lady called Charlotte. She has made me rethink a lot of things and I loved talking to her, as she is very passionate about what she does. I don't want to say too much about it right now, but I am very excited about the future!

So if I didn't buy lolita stuff, what did make my wallet weep in London? Well after feeling so terrible in the run up to the event, I promised myself that if I made it to the tea party, I would finally treat myself to a bottle of Luna by perfume company Penhaligon's. Thinking back, I can't remember if I shared the story about this perfume on my blog or not. Basically, when I had afternoon tea for my birthday last year in London, I went in to Penhaligon's afterwards and a sales assistant got talking to me. I told him what I liked and he picked out a perfume called Luna. With a name like that, it felt like fate! It turned out to be the most beautiful rose scented perfume I have ever smelt and the shop guy sprayed it all over my arm. Then he told me the price (it costs A LOT) and I had to try so hard to not show my horror on my face! As he had sprayed so much on me, I spent the rest of the day getting painful reminders of the perfume that felt way out of my league. So this year I put the money aside and I found the perfect excuse to finally get it! I also got some Tarot themed Dunnys. Those are the little vinyl figures at the bottom of the picture. I used to collect them years ago and the tarot series reeled me right back in again. The bird themed stickers are from Artbox and the snacks are from both the Japan Centre and Artbox/Tofu Cute. I got myself quite a few DIY candy kits because I am going to be making them and uploading the videos to Youtube. This is a little side project I am doing because I thought it would be a good way to combat my anxiety and get used to talking more confidently. So if the videos do well then that is great, but if they are not a success that means less people will see me making a fool of myself on camera! I will be happy either way! The idea came to me because I am having therapy at the moment and this felt like a good step to take to improve my interactions with people online. This is just one of many lifestyle changes I am making at the moment. The channel is not up yet, so I am not able to link it. But if you are that desperate to see me being an anxious idiot, then I am sure you will be able to find me!

A quick picture of some of the items that were given away at the tea party. I adore the fans! There were also some chiffon bows, but there were limited supplies of them and they didn't match anything I had anyway. Long Ears and Sharp Ears Studio made a lot of effort with their gifts and donated so much to the raffle as well. And speaking of Long Ears and Sharp Ears...

... I won one of their skirts in the raffle! This really made me smile because do you remember the post I posted literally just the other week about difficult colours? I commented about how I don't own any brown in my wardrobe and I ended up winning a skirt with lots of brown in it! But there is also red tones and some muted gold, so I am going to focus on those colours in the print. It just made me smile that a post I posted just 2 weeks ago has become so incredibly relevant to my current situation!

So I guess this is the last Tea Party Club themed post I am going to be doing on here. It has been a wild ride, and I feel as though there are a lot of things which I have forgotten to mention. Thank you Kyra and the Tea Party Club team. I set out to meet the AP designers and I made it! That is another goal to tick off the list. I hope everybody else had a great time and hopefully I will get to see some of you at another big event soon. This might give me the incentive to attend the next Street Fashion Europe event or search further afield. Who knows what the future holds!

Birthday Adventures!

Last Thursday was my birthday! There has been a bit of a heatwave here in the UK and I am the sort of person who wilts at the first little bit of heat, but I was determined to get out there an enjoy myself. I am really glad I did, as I had a fantastic day in London with James, and then a fun Saturday with Sammi and Shalisa. 

For my actual birthday, I went to One Aldwych in Covent Garden for afternoon tea. I didn't wear Japanese fashion because I was a bit concerned the staff would take one look at me and turn me away. I wouldn't usually go for an afternoon tea as expensive as this one, but it was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired, and I thought the menu sounded fascinating. Besides, we were allowed seconds on literally anything we wanted. We ended up with 2 lots of savouries and I feel that if we had really wanted to, they would have given us a third round. With the exception of the ham and horseradish on rye, the savouries were all lovely. I would say this was the nicest salmon sandwich I have ever had.

But the real fun came with the sweet half of proceedings! Here we had scones with hedgerow sauce, berry compote and clotted cream, blueberry brioche, chocolate financiers, chocolate and caramel milk, rhubarb and custard candy floss, golden chocolate eggs filled with vanilla cheesecake and mango coulis, lemon cake pops and Eton mess. My favourite item had to be the rhubard and custard candy floss. I cannot put in to words just how intense the flavour was, and it really did taste like the sweets you sometimes get in pick 'n' mix. The staff were friendly too and there was also air-con. I would definitely do this again, although I was almost in a food coma. I couldn't eat another thing, and I was so grateful when we were given a doggy bag for the leftovers.

Afterwards we went to the 40 years of London punk exhibit being held at the British Library. I was very pleased to see that my favourite band were acknowledged for being the main inspiration for the UK punk movement! 

When we got home, I had time to open my presents. As far as J-fashion related stuff goes, I got given these Mu-fish socks and Yidhra tights from James. I have to be really careful at the moment to not buy any more main pieces and some other things, as my wardrobe needs a bit of a clear-out, but accessories were totally fine. I also got given a load of budgie related stuff, as I have turned in to a crazy budgie lady as of late. I will just do a mini review, before people complain this post is not really that J-fashion related! The socks fitted me perfectly and ends a few inches above my knee. I wouldn't recommend them for plus-sized wearers though, as I get the impression the socks don't have that much stretch. The ivory colour is quite obviously white and the pink has a very slight peachy tone to it. The pink is a good match for several items in my wardrobe though, so I am quite content. The tights were a bit of a let-down if I am being completely honest. They fitted me, but it was a bit of a stretch. The navy blue colour is also quite hard to distinguish and they look almost black, although the blue shade is a bit more obvious when worn. The main issue is that when you put them on, the colour almost completely disappears, as does the constellation pattern. It was so faint and became to transparent in places, that could could actually see my skin tone in places.To get a decent colour, I would have to layer navy tights underneath. They are also a weird sort of mesh and they are almost like fishnets. So they are not completely unwearable, but I would not recommend them. I got lots of lovely other presents though, including the sweetest little locket from James. I opened it to discover a feather from both of my budgies inside. It was so thoughtful and I started welling up when I opened the locket for the first time!

On the Saturday, I met up with Sammi and Shalisa. It was another quite hot day, so I didn't want to wear lolita. Yet weirdly, you can still see the lolita influence a little in my "casual" outfit! I am not really sure what this outfit would be labelled as. There are definite retro, sailor and lolita aspects to this, but I am just going to call it casual street fashion! I used a skirt from Primark, which I decorated with some Sugar Trampoline bows. The cutsew is Cherie Cerise, and the rest is a mix of Bodyline and off-brand.

When we got to Reading, there was a "beach" that had been constructed temporarily by the train station. Aside from putting a bit of sand down, it was dire. I would say it was more like a fairground than a beach. There were a couple of stalls where you could win prizes and an over-priced pick 'n' mix stall, but that was pretty much it. The website had promised donkeys, but we never spotted any! The worst part was the ferris wheel, which overlooked a construction site! Isn't the main point of those sort of attractions that you can see a glorious view? After assessing the situation, we left abruptly.

After seeing how full most of the eating establishments were, we ended up getting a Maccy D's and eating it outside the Abbey Ruins. It turned out to be a good call. The food was far better than the disappointing meal we had at the Outlook last time and I got to have my beloved toffee sundae. It was also lovely being sat outside in the shade. There were a lot of Pokemon Go people going by, but we were mostly left in peace. We saw the prettiest little dragonfly flying around as well. Sammi also brought some mini cupcakes, which were much appreciated.

With our recent foray in to perfume buying, Shalisa got given some samples by her mother, who works at a department store. So she bagged them and labelled them in this cute manner! 

Sammi made this adorable budgie themed rosette! It looks a bit like one of my budgies. I pulled the most embarrassing reaction face whilst opening this. It was pretty hilarious, but I wasn't confident enough to share it here! 

During our perfume sampling session, Shalisa inflicted on Sammi the most horrendous smelling perfume ever. She had already tried it and knew how bad it was, but I think she wanted us to join in her previous suffering! Sammi's reaction? She said "it smells like death". The worst part is, this scent was very long-lasting! It was supposed to smell like lilies, but I have never been a fan of lilies and it reminded me of a crematorium. It definitely had a smell of funeral about it! Not even Sammi's strawberry laces smelling hand sanitiser could save her from the death scent.

As we had discussed it previously, Sammi and Shalisa were in casual fashion as well. I liked Shalisa's Banana Fish top and Sammi had layered this lovely dress over a green dress to create a pretty mint shade. I really like how we each took the more casual theme and went very different ways with it. I had to take off my petticoat eventually though, as it was getting way too hot.

I didn't get a good shot on the day, but these are the bloomers that Shalisa gave me. I have been meaning to get a pair for so long. If you would like a pair, you can get them from Shalisa's store Sugar Trampoline. I can tell you that they are very comfortable. As I have a digestive system condition, I can't stand having lots of layers pressing down on my stomach. But these bloomers don't dig in and they are very comfortable to wear. I also found that the elastic stretched comfortably enough that I could wear the bloomers low-slung if I so desired. These bloomers also featured a cute little rose detail at the waist and some bows on top of the gathering at the leg holes. I cannot recommend these bloomers enough and I will be buying myself another pair at some point.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all the well-wishers. I know a few of you who left messages may be reading this post. As you can see, I had a great time and I was so happy to spend some quality time with some much loved friends. I even got to do the Crystal Maze experience the week before with another group of friends, which was incredible. I haven't had the easiest of times recently, so I am so grateful that I have these happy memories to look back on.

A Bizarre Adventure in London

As both Sammi and James have birthdays in April, we decided it was about time we held a joint celebration for their birthdays. We decided on a trip to London, where we could visit some of our favourite shops and try out a different pub as well. To say the day was eventful is a bit of an understatement...

I was wearing Innocent World's Astronomical Clock for the occasion. I was really unsure how casual or dressed up I should go, and I was also having a bit of a legwear crisis. It turns out I really need to buy more ivory tights! In the end, I layered my star print tights over ivory tights to match the ivory lace on the neckline of the dress. Sadly, it turned really cold as the day went on, and we all ended up dashing in to Primark to buy some emergency tights! So I was glad I was at least able to get some photos of my starry legs before they got covered up. The shoes proved a big mistake too, and my feet were killing me by the evening. But overall, I was pleased with how my outfit looked. It just maybe wasn't the best choice for going to London.

Throughout the course of the day, we encountered a lot of strange people. Right at the start of the day we had people trying to force their way on to the train, without letting the people on the train get off. Common sense would surely mean letting people off, so that you could get on? There was also this very rude old man at Paddington who ended up attacking James with his walking stick and even now, none of us are quite sure why this situation happened. There were the usual buskers and people handing out leaflets in Leicester Square. I ended up being given this leaflet by some sort of church, which had some strange quotes about naked turtles in it. It made for interesting reading at least!

As we went for lunch, the presents and cards were doled out. Sammi seemed to really like the brown and gold Teja Jamilla tights that we got her. I didn't realise that Sammi and Shalisa had got a present for James (there was a lot of sneaky Facebook messages going on behind the scenes!) and he seemed really pleased with his gift. 

James also got us some cupcakes. I thought I had taken a photo of the cakes without the plastic on them, but clearly I hadn't. But I can confirm that the cakes looked really cute in person and they had somehow managed to survive being shoved in a bag and the massive squeeze on the train to London. I was feeling very full from our Chinese food, so I saved mine for later on.

After going shopping, we ended up at a pub called the London Stone, which I can pretty much guarantee I will never be going back to. The pub was recommended to us and to be fair, the actual pub itself is really cool. It is done up in this gothic style with loads of gargoyles and stone pillars. I wish I had gotten some more pictures of the place, but sadly it felt a bit awkward taking pictures when there were so many people in the way. We went for cocktails, as the London Stone has this Seven Deadly Sins and 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse cocktail menu. Sadly, it did not live up to our expectations. The very first cocktail we got tasted like nothing but juice. So to rectify this, we decided to order the 'Death' cocktail from the 4 horsemen menu, which had 3 different shots of rum in it. It is basically a Zombie cocktail. Alas, even this cocktail tasted super weak to us, and we are not exactly heavy drinkers.

Despite this disappointment with the cocktails, we were having a good time. Look how happy we are in this dark photo! And then it all ended on a sour note when a random guy supposedly called Ian came over and decided to try talking to us "young people" as he kept putting it. For all we know, he could have been perfectly harmless, but it was a bit creepy and he wouldn't leave us alone. He was probably only at our table for 20 minutes, but it felt like an hour. It did sadly put a bit of a dampener on our evening. We ended up legging it out of the pub as soon as we could, which meant I couldn't use the bathroom facilities and made for a very uncomfortable tube ride. So yeah... cheers, Ian!

Sammi and I didn't even get the chance to enjoy our cupcakes in the pub as planned, so we ended up eating them on the train home! They were really tasty, so that was at least a positive. I went for the red velvet cupcake, which had the most amazing frosting on it. I think these Waitrose cupcakes may be some solid competition for the Sainsbury's cupcakes that all of our group are really fond of.

I didn't buy much myself. I got a few sweets and a curry pan from the Japan centre and a new book from Treadwell's. Sammi got loads of stationary from Artbox. Whilst she was paying, I found these free postcards from Tofu Cute (who have a concession in the Artbox store in Covent Garden). They had these cut-out-and-keep characters on them. I was initially a bit amused to see that poops are apparently kawaii now, but to tell the truth, this little poop character has grown on me! Seeing as random everyday things like fried eggs are now seen as being cute, I guess a poop with a smiley face can be cute too. And yes, I did cut out the characters! The poop and tofu are in fact on the shelf right next to me, as I type this post. Whether they will stay there or not, I am not sure. It might be a bit difficult explaining to people why I have a random cardboard poop on my shelf.

So the day was a bit of a mixed bag. We seemed to get really unlucky with some of the people we met throughout the day, but I would like to think there were some good moments to the day as well. It has just made us more determined to have a better time the next time we meet up. It is a shame we were not really able to get many photos (Shalisa lugged her massive Instax camera to London for nothing) and our day would have been better if "Ian" hadn't turned up, but at least we were able to visit all the places we wanted. And I got a free cardboard poop and insightful messages about naked turtles for my troubles!

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!

Revelry!

I have finally recovered from my massive weekend in London! So on Saturday the 20th it was the Tea Party Club's 7th Anniversary event called Revelry! Shalisa, Sammi and I went for just the Saturday event. We decided to make a little mini holiday out of it, so we went down to London on the Friday and stayed until the Saturday. We wondered around some vintage shops on the Friday, although I don't think any of us were that impressed by what was on offer. Sunday was a pretty fun day as well. We went around Chinatown and I ended up buying this cute little doughnut plushie in Artbox. But anyway, back to the Revelry event!

I arrived at Gray's Inn nice and early because I went for the model rehearsals. After helping Kyra unpack boxes full of lots of lovely items, we got down to business and practised our walks. Later on we got sent back out again to queue and stuff.

My outfit for the day was in honour of the main guest, Ms Taira from the brand Metamorphose. Fairy Tale is a print which has very special meaning to me so it made sense for me to wear this skirt. Fairy Tale is a Meta series which never really got that much attention but I love it. I teamed it with navy blue and white. Some day I will wear something other than navy blue to these big events! I just happen to really love lavender and navy blue combinations. I wanted the outfit to have a princess feel to it, so I wore my princess sleeve blouse from Baby the Stars Shine Bright and made myself a navy over-skirt based on the ones by Lady Sariel. The over-skirt took me a week to make as I had to do it by hand (chiffon is a real pain to work with!) and unlike the Lady Sariel ones, I stitched a hem the whole way around the edge to make it look neater. The butterflies on the bonnet were also handmade, although I am not sure I like how they turned out in the end. They also got a bit bashed in my suitcase on the way home so I doubt I will be using them again. My new obsession is wearing gloves with lolita. In recent months I have purchased several pairs with varying quality. I wore a crochet pair this time and covered the lacy wrists with Bodyline wrist cuffs because the lace on the gloves was a bit cheap looking. Overall I have mixed feelings about this outfit. I like it, but I loved the outfits I wore to Frock On and Enchanted a lot more. I am going to have to work extra hard next time!

We got inside pretty quickly and whilst everybody else seemed to head upstairs, we decided to go right to the Bring and Buy room. Straight away, Sammi found a cute blouse for a really decent price. I wasn't quite so lucky though. I have been super picky with my wardrobe lately, so I didn't buy anything unless I was absolutely sure I wanted it. I did come very close to buying a lavender Glass Doll skirt by AP and also an Emily Temple Cute macaron print dress but in the end, I held out. It just means I have more money for Sweetie Violet, which I am currently trying to hunt down. 

During the Q&A all the guests introduced themselves. Ai (in the green) later held a presentation about what it was like to be a lolita in Japan. I missed most of that talk as I was recovering from modelling! I haven't heard any more about the talk, so I have no idea how good it was.

Ms Taira from Metamorphose! I can't thank her enough for letting me model for my favourite brand. Some very interesting questions were put forward about how each of the designers come up with ideas for their pieces and whether they ever have any creative blocks. It turns out that all the designers were very confident in coming up with new ideas. It will be interesting to see if any of them got any inspiration from their visit to England and from meeting the international lolita community. The editor of the Gothic Lolita Bible also got asked about an English edition (I don't think the question asker realised this had already been attempted) and whether an online version could be made. Shalisa and I also had our photo taken for the GLB. Neither of us are confident that our photo will actually get picked, but who knows!

Then it was the fashion show (photo credit- Meshya Nightingale). There were 2 models for Grimoire and 6 for Metamorphose. I think it is a shame that the Grimoire models didn't get more of a chance to pose and be on stage because I know a lot of people were interested in the London special early release dresses that the models wore. The 6 Metamorphose models had to stand on stage whilst Ms Taira went in to detail about the dresses we were modelling. I was the first Meta model on stage and I was wearing a brand new print which had never been shown before. I forget what the official print name is. I think it might be something like Night Carnival? As I was standing on stage it felt like there was this really massive pause before Ms Taira started talking (I heard afterwards that the pause before my outfit was longer than it was for the other models!) but I suppose it is a good thing that everybody had enough time to take photos of the Meta models. Dani and I modelled the first new print. We both got given tights and I was pleased to discover that I do fit Meta tights! I think the tights were my favourite bit of my outfit. There was also another new print (I think it is called Moonlight Astrology but don't quote me on that because I was backstage at the time) which Michaela and Manda modelled. Their dresses had all these beautiful details up close and it is definitely going on my wishlist, especially if it comes in navy blue. I don't care who I have to fight to get hold of it- it will be mine!

My friends were hiding up on the balcony and managed to get a few shots of the whole modelling group. 

Shalisa, Sammi and I took full advantage of the photo booth on offer. We had about 4 VIP vouchers and I think we did about 3 goes. This was by far the best of the photos we took. I am so glad we managed to get Old Spice Guy in the photo!

The goody bags had the usual fliers and discount codes inside. We also got given lace badges, mirrors from Syrup and meta, some Meta badges, hair flowers and a poster. Both the poster and the tote bag were designed by Madeleine, who is a part of the Oxfordshire Lolitas. I really love her swan design! It was very appropriate for Metamorphose.

A little close-up of some of the goody bag stuff.

After Ai's presentation we waited around for the raffle. The way the raffle was held was a lot more efficient this time around and we even got some say in what prizes we got. I got 2 prizes because James' ticket won as well (my poor husband was on photographing duty). I picked a white bow with dangling star from Cherie Cerise and because my second ticket was the last of the small prizes, I got given a pack of stickers as well. I really wanted the macaron charm that Shalisa picked but she got picked before me. It turned out that Sammi had made it! Now I just need to persuade Sammi to make me one too! (Sammi, if you see this, I will totally pay for you to make me one!)

And here is a photo of my haul from the day. I have decided to do a full review of the items I got in another post, as this post is already getting a bit long. So look out for a post on these items soon (probably next week).

So overall, I feel this was a very fun day. I still think Frock On has been the best TPC event but I did enjoy Revelry as well. I have made some new friends and got to see a lot of old friends as well. I can't believe another event is over! I am going to have to start creating some meets myself to get over my post-Revelry comedown!