Regalia Purchases Reviewed- Picture Heavy

I thought today I would go in to detail about what I purchased at Regalia. I could have quite easily brought a lot more but I was very fortunate to have some very wise friends with me who talked me out of buying a few things that I wasn't sure about! It is a good job that I didn't buy too much as 2 days later, my dream bolero popped up on auction! But here are the items that did make the cut.

First up this strawberry themed brooch from Mossmarchen. Strawberries are starting to become a bigger theme in my wardrobe again and I really like the more classic look of this brooch. The embroidery has been done so neatly. The strawberries have crisp, sharp details to them and I thought it was quite clever using the ribbon to make the leaves. The brooch has an interesting texture to it as well, which is something you wouldn't normally see on a brooch.

Here is a little side view. It looks pretty tidy from this angle as well.

The backing for the brooch is very heavy and has an interesting design to it. I found the fastening a little bit stiff at first but I find it is getting easier to un-do the more I open it. 

Next up is another macaron ring from Sweet and Tiny! I have brought many times from Mo's store so I know what sort of quality to expect. I loved the shopping bags and packaging that Mo used this time. It really suits the theme of her products. This macaron looks good enough to eat! It looks quite realistic.

The ring is of a generous size. I like that the strawberries have a glazed finish to them. All the bits of the ring feel secure and it doesn't feel likely that they would break off.

The backing for the ring has a lovely design to it as well and it is sturdy enough to support the weight of the ring. I like that the ring base is adjustable too.

Next up is my only Bring and Buy purchase. It is a Metamorphose cardigan which came with the tag still attached, so I am guessing it hasn't really been worn. It is quite a recent release as well. The material has a nice thickness to it that would suit Autumn and early Winter. I don't think it would hold up too well when it gets very cold though! The material also feels very soft and it feels very comforting when worn. It is also quite stretchy and I feel it would be a suitable size for most standard sized wearers.

The ruffles stop the cardigan from looking too plain. They have been done very neatly too. The buttons are a little bit simple in design though. I also feel that the embroidered logo on the front could have been clearer, as you can't really make out what the swirly writing says.

The arms were the perfect length for me. The only issue I could see with the cardigan is that it is full length, so it may not be suitable for wearing over a typical lolita silhouette.

This headdress is from Summer Tales Boutique. I have to give a special mention to the store holder who was very helpful and showed me all the different headdresses. She was super friendly too! I really like this headdress, although I think the top and the veil parts are a little unbalanced. The round top of the headdress is quite big and I feel the veil part needs to be a little longer in length. 

I can't fault the choice of materials. The feathers seem to be of a good quality. I like that the ribbon used for the bow is matte and the chiffon is really soft. I purposely went for the veil without the giant cross charm and at first I was a little unsure about the beads, but I do feel that the beads help to disguise the ends of the feathers. The bow is a little bit uneven in this photo, but that is easy to reshape.

The ends of the veil were generally quite neat with the only messy bit being a few loose threads that appeared on one of the corners. After carefully snipping the thread away it looked a lot better. I liked the choice of lace too.

I am pleased that there are 2 clips instead of the usual one clip you usually see on these kinds of veils. Considering the size, this headdress definitely needs both of them! I might even add more pins when I wear it, as I wasn't keen on the way it sat on my head. My main criticism is that the clips are not sewn down to one place and they tend to slide along the little line of ribbon. So overall, I do have a few issues with this headdress but nothing bad enough to put me off buying from this shop again.

Next up is the Innocent World blouse I managed to get after IW reduced everything by 50% (score!!!). The slightly sheer chiffon blouse is so soft to the touch. It feels really silky and luxurious. 

The details on the blouse are so pretty. The ruffles have a lot of texture and movement to them. The pleats are neat and everything about the blouse is neatly laid out. There were just one or two small loose threads, but nothing too drastic. The only thing I would change is to maybe have a loop of thread on the back of the neck to help hold the velvet neck tie in place. The neck tie is decent length to tie a small bow and I love the star charms.

When I got to the stall they only had a size L blouse left. I could have maybe gotten away with a M size blouse but the L size fits me quite well. And I like that there is a tie near the bottom of the blouse to help pull it inwards if I need to.

I thought I would include a close up of the neck area without the neck tie. If I was being picky, I would say the button design is a bit plain. I love the use of ruffles around the collar though. They sit so neatly and look pretty when worn.

And once again, the sleeves are a generous length. In fact, they may have even been a bit long on me, but with the style of cuffs this is not too noticeable. I would definitely consider getting an Innocent World blouse again, especially if I get another chance to get one so well priced!

And my final purchase was these OTK socks, also from Innocent World. I had been eyeing them up on the IW site for a while, so I decided to buy them whilst I had the chance to get them in person. The strange thing about these socks is that they are actually made of tights material. So I would base your decision to buy these socks on how well you fit brand tights, as I found the sock sizing very similar to full tights I own from Juliette et Justine and Metamorphose. 

As you can see from the photo, the pattern and colours on the socks are quite bold until we reach my knee area. It is a little bit better around the knees when my legs are not bent like they are in the photo. Most lolita pieces reach the knees anyway, so I guess it is up to the wearer to decide if this bothers them or not. I am about 5'4'' and the socks reach a little bit over my knees. My only concern is how well the socks are going to hold up, as I don't feel the elastic at the top of the socks is strong enough to hold them up for long periods. I guess I will have a better idea of how they stay up once I have worn them to a meet. So far, I really like these socks but I am not 100% convinced by them just yet. I need to see how well they wear first.

I don't feel that any of my purchases have caused me any serious feelings of regret and I am really looking forward to trying these items out in my outfits. It definitely helps to have friends around you to be the "voice of reason" when you go to these events. There were some very interesting stalls at Regalia and it will be interesting to see who returns next year.

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!