Happy Monday! October means a great month of beautiful fall weather & activities! This past weekend, I experienced my first legit tea party with my Lolita community! We planned & reserved out a tearoom in a nearby town and it was hands down, the best meet I’ve ever gone to thus far.

The name of the cafe is called The Red Bird so of course, what better occasion for wearing red? The event was also a good introduction back into ouji for my other half, Bobby, who first tested the waters during the Swap Meet earlier this year for International Lolita Day! I’m really thankful for his participation. A girl in my comm, Emily, made a headband for one of her dresses and it ended up matching Bobby perfectly! He got to borrow it for the rest of the day!

I experimented a little with makeup! I wanted to go for something circus-inspired to match my dress so I tried out some white under eyeliner with red lipstick to imitate a clown smile!

 

The food was so wonderful, lots of delicious sandwiches & baked goods. The trays had grapes, raspberries, and oranges as well for additional sweetness! At this cafe, you can pick your own tea cup and plate so I naturally selected a full pink set.

After the tea & lunch, we decided to take lots of group & coordinate pictures while the lighting was still good. I shockingly got a lot of great coordinate pictures out of it! Usually I mess up a lot of my pictures by laughing or posing awkwardly but I’m extremely proud of how a lot of these came out (thanks to Bobby for his phone & photo skills!)

We regularly got stopped by people who were interested in what we were wearing. Lots of photos were taken of us! It was definitely a pleasant contrast to a few weekends ago when I went to the movies & mall with Bobby. I guess because I was wearing lolita alone, it was easier for people to glare and be suspicious. In a group setting, where everyone is clearly having fun, people are laughing, and genuinely enjoying each others’ outfits, I guess for bystanders, the appearance is that we’re a “group” or doing it “for something” is enough to make the reaction more positive and welcoming. I’d like to test out the waters and contrast more public opinions received while in a group setting vs. sole lolita but that’s a different blog post for another day!

After photos, we walked down the street to go to a bunch of different stores. We went to multiple antique shops, a comic book shop, and later a gift shop. At the gift shop, I actually managed to find something that I think would be great for my coordinates in the future! It’s a drama mask pin and the design matches the drama mask brass hair barrette I wore during the Swap Meet. I also made a clown friend!

 

Overall, I can’t say enough positive things about this meet. Perfect weather, perfect food, perfect company! Days like that just really solidify why I love this fashion so much. Beyond just beautiful clothes, there’s a strong sense of community, togetherness, and expression. While I’m sure I would be a lone Lolita in the event I did not have an immediate surrounding community that I could help energize, there’s a lot to be said on how satisfying it is to be able to share your passion with other passionate people. I love being able to just sit and talk and express myself. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world to me and I’m absolutely looking forward to our next big meet!

 

 

Coordinate

Dress & OP: Alice and the Pirates Starlit Sky Tent and the Secret Circus Troupe
OTKs: Alice and the Pirates Circus Tent Stripe OTKs
Bag: Innocent World Carousel Bag
Shoes: Alice and the Pirates Enamel Circus Shoes
Wristcuffs: Bodyline
Rings & Accessories: Alice and the Pirates, Enchantilly Enchantilic, Offbrand

Thanks for reading! I hope you’ll enjoy me again next week! Until then, please enjoy the funny picture slideshow below! Bye!

 

Edit 10/15: My friend Cristina posted a vlog of the day!