Edgar Degas, Laduree and a new banner!

Friday the 14th October 2011- This day will always be special to me. I finally managed to make one of my life goals come true, and it is thanks to lolita!

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a lolita meet. The idea was to visit the Royal Academy of Arts in London for an exhibit about Edgar Degas. As soon as I saw the word Degas, I started to hyperventilate. Edgar Degas is my favourite artist of all time. I first discovered Degas when I was about 7. My dad had purchased our first computer and he got me this set of computer games to celebrate. In one of the games, you had to stop a burglar from stealing paintings from 3 artists. One of these artists was Degas. When you finished the game, you got to see the paintings. I instantly fell in love with Degas. I kept researching him and discovered more of his beautiful works. I find it hard to explain why I love him so much. Degas painted a lot of dancers and ballerinas, and it is these paintings which he is most famous for. The dancers look graceful, and I love the way Degas captured their effortless grace. The exhibition in London focused on the way Degas captured their movement. I sometimes wonder what Degas would have thought about lolitas and how he would have captured lolita in his art. If I were to pose for any artist, it would definitely be Degas. And I only found out about this exhibit because I was a part of a lolita facebook group!

Despite being unable to attend the lolita meet, there was NO WAY I was missing the chance to see some of Degas' most famous work in person. The Royal Academy of Arts was buzzing with excitement and there was a bit of a queue to get in.

The lolitas going to the meet are in for a treat! If you are reading this post before the 11th of December 2011 and would like the chance to see the exhibit in London, you can find details here- http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/degas/

There was one particular part of the exhibition that I was really excited to see-

This is Dancer Posing for a Photographer (sometimes the title for this painting varies a little bit). This is my absolute favourite painting by my favourite artist. This painting normally hangs in a gallery in Russia. Considering how unlikely it is that I will go to Russia, I simply had to see this painting. It was one of my life goals to view this painting and now I can say I have seen it. When I first saw it, I felt my heart clench with excitement. It is so beautiful. I can actually feel my eyes tearing up just remembering this special moment.

I spent ages in the gift shop looking for my favourite painting. I was hoping for a print (in fact, this has now gone down on my Christmas wishlist, so I am holding out hope of at least getting a poster). Sadly, I could not find Dancer Posing for a Photographer but I did find this print. I am now trying to figure out where I should put it. I also got a few postcards and the Royal Academy's magazine. I did spot a beautiful umbrella with a Degas print on it (it would look beautiful with classic lolita) which cost £30, but I decided I would be sensible and so I saved it to buy a few Christmas presents. I would have snapped it up in an instant if Christmas wasn't coming up!

I also decided to go to Laduree for macarons. Laduree macarons are famous so in the interest of research, I went and got a box of 8!

This is the macaron tree which greets you outside their shop. I went to the Burlington Arcade branch because it was very close to the Degas exhibit. Inside the shop, it is like a sparkly grotto. In this photo you can see the gold underneath the macaron tree. The entire shop is covered with this gold decoration. The shop itself is small, so it is best to go in very small groups or by yourself.

This is the box my 8 macarons came in. I think this is their standard packaging which in itself, is still very pretty. If you want a fancier box I think you need to buy more macarons.

Left to Right- Rose, Lemon, Raspberry, Granny Smith Apple, Black Forest, Praline and Violet and Blackcurrant (I had already eaten another rose macaron). As expected, they were expensive but I can honestly say they are the nicest macarons I have ever tried. They have a wonderful crispy but chewy texture. The flavours in the store are varied with a few standard flavours such as raspberry, and the more exotic flavours like Green Apple. They also do special flavours from time to time. If I remember correctly, the black forest macaron is not part of the regular macaron menu.

My favourites were the Black Forest (perfect mix of chocolate and cherry), green apple (unusual, but in a good way), and the Violet/blackcurrant (simply amazing). But I was amazed by every single one I tried.

Finally, I have some new banner art!

This banner was made by the very lovely Beau. Beau based the banner on the outfit I wore to the October 2011 Oxfordshire Lolita meet with Meta's Fairy tale print. Beau has gone to a lot of effort to capture my outfit including the ivy wrapped around my leg, the print details and even my black Bodyline bolero. I absolutely love this banner! So a huge thank you to Beau for making this for me.