Quite an experience! Angelic Pretty in store release at Laforêt Harajuku!

On April 19th, I was lucky enough to be in Japan for the release of the new Angelic Pretty series: Sweetie Violet. After seeing pictures of it in KERA magazine some weeks before, I knew I had to have it and I was more than happy to discover it would be released when I would be in Tokyo myself. It was time for me to experience something special: a popular print release at Angelic Pretty Laforêt shop in Harajuku!
I got quite a lot of questions about it so I thought that making an entry on my blog to share my experience would be a good idea!

First of all, I went to the Angelic Pretty shop some days before and talked a little with the shop girl (who was really friendly by the way and talked English quite well!) about the release. She was kind enough to show me fabric samples, a sheet showing all different shapes of dresses and accessories and explained me what I had to do on the day of the release. It was quite simple: the shop would open at 11:00 so she suggested me to come at 10:30 to wait in line.

Waiting in front of Laforêt

On saturday I was in front of Laforêt at 10:30 and some lolitas were there already. I didn't really know what to do, so I waited for a while until some girls started to form a line. Then, I went at the end of the line and started waiting too. I think there were maybe like 6-7 girls before me. At 10:45, a Angelic Pretty shop girl came out and let us draw a number from a bag. I felt so nervous at that moment, especially when I saw that the girls before me got great number like 3 or 4 or even 1! The girl who got number 1 was so happy! Then it was my turn and I got number... 17... I was so disappointed. I thought that with that number I would never get anything I wanted.

Will n°17 be my lucky number?

But anyway, I decided to stay positive and wait for my turn to enter the shop. At around 11:30 I could finally enter and I rushed to get the Sweetie Violet JSK in dark blue (the cut and colour I wanted). I felt so proud as I was thinking I got the very last one, but then the shop girl asked me if I wanted this JSK, went to the back of the shop and came back with a wrapped JSK for me... so actually only one JSK is displayed in the shop, while they keep the stock in the back. I also took the matching socks in white, but the matching barrette in dark blue was sold out already. It was not so important as I already spotted another barrette which matched the dress nicely! At that moment I saw a Japanese Lolita almost crying because her first choice of dress was not there anymore ( I think the OP was the most popular). The shop girls were so sorry for her and tried to cheer her up. It made me a little sad for her...
Then, I came to pay, got a point card which was already almost full (haha) and then left the shop, filled with happiness!

What I managed to get! I love this dress so much!

After that, I had to meet my brother at noon and as I was a little early, I went to wait in Yoyogi park (I love this park ♥). My brother was also kind enough to take a picture of my outfit on the Harajuku bridge! I had just bought the dress the day before, so it was quite simple as I had to coordinate it with what I had in my suitcase, but hey! It was my very first time wearing lolita fashion in Japan and it made me happy :)

It was so relaxing to be in Yoyogi park after the craziness of the release!

Outfit picture on Harajuku bridge :)

To conclude, if you plan to go to an Angelic Pretty release in Japan, here is an advice: don't go too early. It's useless, because you can be first in line and still draw a bad number... Many girls who arrived after got a better number than me. It's all about luck!