Angelic Pretty Paris 2nd anniversary Tea Party

Hi! I hope everyone is enjoying summer!
We are in July, so you guessed what it means: it's time for the annual Angelic Pretty tea party in Paris!!! I am always happy to attend, but I don't exactly know why, I was especially excited this year. It is funny, because I thought it would be less and less spectacular with the years, but nope! Every year the staff is working hard to blow our minds and amaze us with gorgeous venues!

It was my 9th Angelic Pretty tea party and my second one at the famous Ritz hotel! Can you believe that? I feel a bit old... I think next year, I'll have to attend in a wheelchair with lots of wrinkles and white hair! Hahaha

I had a bit of trouble to organize everything this year. First, most of my colleagues decided to take vacations at the same time without consulting me first (I am the one doing the schedule) and I was left with nobody to work on the first weeks of July. Yay. So no day off for me. I had to go to Paris on Saturday afternoon after work and come back right away on Sunday to be back at work on Monday morning. That was SO stressfull... but WORST: the SNCF (the national French train company) decided it was a brilliant idea to extand their strike to the 7th and 8th of July! What a great idea, because that meant I had no train to go to Paris anymore... After some anxious tears, a stop at the counter to change my train ticket and some negocitations with a coworker to take some of my hours, I finally was in the train for Paris! YES!

In the end, the strike brought me some good as I had to take an earlier train and arrived sooner in Paris, which meant I had time to have a lovely dinner with dear Rosalynn and her sweet mom! We went to Aki Boulangerie where I ate a delicious katsu curry and a straberry shortcake! Yum! After that, we had a bubble tea (of course). It was a simple, but nice evening! It helped me relieve the stress from the days before! Rosalynn even gifted me a super cute Swimmer (rip ;__;) comb! It was the most perfect way to spend that Saturday evening!

So happy I could spend some extra time with Rosalynn!

Soooooo, on Sunday morning I woke up very (too) earlier at 6:00. I just couldn't sleep anymore... I had a small breakfast, talked a bit with Rosalynn who also has trouble sleeping late and tried to go back to sleep to not look like a zombie for the party.

It was then time to get ready! I left the hotel all dressed up around 11:15 and went on my way to Place Vendôme where I had to meet with Rosalynn. She arrived just past noon and we took some pictures together outside before heading to the Ritz!

This is my favourite picture of us ♥

I actually love how our pictures turned out! I always like how she takes pictures of me, she is the best event buddy I can hope for! Things are easy between us, she knows what to do for me and I know what to do for her! 
But let's talk a bit more about our outfits! Rosalynn went for a very elegant coordination with her beautiful Cameo Window JSK in wine. I am so used to see her in pastel colours, but she definitely looks amazing in darker colours too! She was a real princess! 

Pretty Rosalynn in her very elegant outfit ♥

I went for a very simple and cute maid outfit myself, with my beloved French Café JSK. Many attendees wanted to make outfits matching the name of the tea party "Le banquet des anges", so I felt a bit out of place! Haha! (no, actually, I really enjoyed wearing this outfit!)

♥ Angelic Pretty French Café ♥ 

Barrette: Angelic Pretty 
Daisies: Claire's 
Cutsew: Angelic Pretty

JSK: Angelic Pretty 
Apron: Bought on Etsy and customized with an AP ribbon
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Shoes: Bodyline
Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty
Bracelet: Angelic Pretty & Claire's
Rings: Claire's & Zygomatics

I soon started to spot more and more Lolitas around Place Vendôme, so we decided to head to the hotel! Many girls were already waiting outside. We were still a bit early, but we entered the Ritz anyway so I could leave my suitcase to the wardrobe. The staff was really nice and curious and I chatted a bit with them! An employee then told us to go to the salon, where we could wait for the party to start.

The Ritz isn't *that* impressive from the outside, but let's peak inside...

I am dying! So luxurious!!!

That was a bit awkward as only Rosalynn and I were given these directions and we ended up all by ourselves waiting near the salon. We then were asked to go back to the entrance, before being told to go back to the salon again... That was sketchy! Haha!
Eventually, all the guests started to arrive and we weren't by ourselves anymore. The party was late and we waited quite a lot of time before being able to enter the actual room. It wasn't a problem for me though, as I enjoyed talking to friends, taking pictures and all.

After a while, we were finally invited to enter the main room! Rosalynn and I went ahead and I was officially the first one to enter, oh yeah! This is when I was blown away by the room! It was so amazing! I am always really grateful to Angelic Pretty staff to invite us in such gorgeous places, because let's face it: I would never ever go there by myself! Thanks to all their hard work, I can feel like a true princess for a day! ♥

Pink gifts bags were waiting for us on the chairs! We have been spoiled: there was a badge, a tote bag, a cute British Crown plate and a RinRin Doll postcard inside! I especially like the plate, as I love British Crown print... even if, honestly, I will never use it! Haha

People were slowly coming in and we had a lot of free time before the party actually officially started! I went around to take pictures of friends and talk with them. We were then asked to go back to our seats, were welcomed by Angelic Pretty Paris manager and told about the program: there would be a fashion show, a special cake made by the Ritz chef, a raffle and the election of the Best Dressers!

I don't remember now if we had the cake before or after the fashion show (my memory is so bad, dear... another fact that shows I'm an old grandma! Hahahaha), but let me tell you that cake was amazing! Raspberries & cream = it was delicious!

I don't have any pictures as they were not allowed, but let's talk a bit about the fashion show. First, we had Risa Nakamura and RinRin Doll modelling, which was nice (I was especially super happy to see RinRin again, because she is a total sweetheart)! About the upcoming series: nothing really caught my eyes, but OMG the last two dresses modelled by Risa and RinRin were totally CRAZY!!! They weren't the usual Lolita dresses: they were princess dresses! They were floor lentgh, with lots of sparkles, lace and bows and were totally over-the-top!!! I think everybody gasped in amazement when they appeared! That was really something! I can't wait for the official pictures!

After the fashion show, we had quite a lot of free time again! I appreciated it, as last years that was really what was missing the most. I had plenty of time to say hello to friends, to take pictures and to eat! Only down side: Maki and Asüka weren't around at all... I wish we could have seen them a bit more!
I was glad to see my friend Lea, who also came all the way from Switzerland! Our outfits were perfectly matching and we didn't even talk about it before! That was a nice coincidence! Her outfit was inspired by 1920s fashion and was super gorgeous!

The tea party was actually way longer than what was planned! It was supposed to end around 15:45 but at that time, we still haven't had the raffle or the Best Dresser prizes! I was of course delighted to have more time, but I also started to get a bit worried about my train!
Fortunately, the raffle started soon after. There were many many many prizes, but I didn't win anything. Rosalynn, who is always super lucky, got a lovely cutsew though! I was so happy for her! Lea also got one, lucky girls! As a consolation prize, we got a cute pink tote bag with a ribbon and poodle print on it!

So many lucky winners!

This is where I started to get quite anxious about my train as it was almost 16:30 and my train was just after 18:00. Lea already had to leave in the middle of the raffle for the same reason, but I would have been so disappointed if I had to leave early!
The Best Dressers still had to be announced and we also still had to take a group picture!
There were 2 prizes for the 2nd place best coordinations! Beautiful Noke, from Finland, won a prize with a super lovely ice cream outfit! I think her idea was quite clever as she chose a very wintery print but managed to make a super summery outfit with it by turning it into an ice cream princess outfit! She made some amazing props herself too! The other 2nd place prize went to a cute Chinese (I think?) Lolita who was wearing Astro Regimen. I didn't really understand what she said about her outfit, but I think she at least said she chose this dress because she loved that shade of blue!

2nd place best dressers!

The first place for the Best Dresser went to a gorgeous girl with a pink and soft Cupid coordination. She made lots of accessories and props herself too, including her wings I think. You could tell she put lots of effort in her outfit, so it was well deserved! She was very moved!

Too much emotion!

I think everyone deserved the best dresser prize, because you can really tell all the guests made their best to wear their most beautiful or favourite outfit! I am always so happy to see everyone's different styles, it is so inspiring! But I actually felt a bit lazy as I didn't craft anything myself and went for something comfortable! Maybe next year I'll try to be a bit more creative!
Here, I just want to give some extra credits to my friend Roxane's outfit. It is quite rare I fall so much in love with a coordination, but hers was truely amazing! She was the real angel of the day ♥

The infamous time to take the group picture arrived. You know, that lovely time where you have to stand squatting during very long minutes while the photographer tries to fit everyone in the frame.... well, that time Rosalynn and I were smart and went to sit on the stage. But I send all my best wishes to the girls standing behind us who probably ruined their knees. Haha! RinRin and Risa joined us for the picture and I went all emotional when RinRin hugged me after recognizing me ;____; I just love her so much!

It was now time to leave... I wish I had more time to properly say goodbye to all my friends, but I was quite in a hurry! Rosalynn still wanted to give her gifts to Maki and Asüka and bravely went knocking on the backstage room's door. Maki and Asüka came outside and were kind enough to take a picture with us! So happy!!! An Angelic Pretty tea party isn't a real Angelic Pretty tea party without a picture with them!

Kudos to Rosalynn for making a perfect heart! Haha

After that I had to quickly go back to the entrance to grab my suitcase at the wardrobe, then come back to the tea party room to find the toilets and get changed into casual clothes (I didn't want to made a +3h30 train ride in full Lolita). I changed and packed all my stuff in less than 5 minutes. Go me! When we came back to the entrance we spotted RinRin again... oh I wish I've had time to take a picture with her, but I was running late. She hugged me again though, so that's OK ♥ Two hugs from RinRin are worth any picture! I hope I will be able to see her again in the future!

Outside, we met with Rosalynn's mom and after some more hugs and goodbyes I went on my way to the train station.

Thank you so much to all the Angelic Pretty Paris and Japan's staff for all their hard work to make this tea party real! I had a blast! It was amazing! Thank you to my friends and especially Rosalynn for making this moment even more magical and thanks to you for reading ♥

In and Out of Lolita Fashion!

Hello!
Today I wanted to share some side by side of my Lolita style and my everyday style. I thought it could be fun!
I don't wear Lolita on a daily basis. First, because Lolita is special to me and I prefer to keep it for special occasions and to cheer me up. I have a the feeling that wearing it everyday would dull my love for it. Also, my job is quite dirty: I prepare teas, I use syrups, sugar and other very staining ingrediants so no Lolita at work either.
I am very sure of what my Lolita style is: toned down Sweet with a touch of Classic elegance. I think that would describe it quite well.... but honestly, I have no idea what my everyday style is? I basically wear whatever I am motivated to. For working days, I only wear jeans with a t-shirt or pullover so I am comfortable and I'm not afraid to stain my favourite clothes. For days off, I try to be a bit more feminine and stylish but honestly, I am a totally noob about mainstream fashion and I don't really know what is in or what. I really like wearing dresses or skirts outside of Lolita too, also in winter! I have a thing for earrings too and have many many different ones to match all my clothes! I like wearing burgundy, mustard yellow, black, white and blue! It's quite different from the colours I like in Lolita, don't you think?!

I also wear glasses on a daily basis, because I am myope. I never wear lenses, as it scares me to put anything in my eyes! Haha. Fortunately, my eyesight is still good enough so I don't have to wear glasses with Lolita, even if honestly I think glasses look amazing with certain outfits!

Because I always have to put my hair up for work, I took the habit to make ponytails, most to my mother chagrin who think I have wonderful hair (I don't agree.... my hair is super fine and flat...), but it's soooo much more convenient to not have your hair in your face!

When I was younger, I wanted to have cute accessories, bows and pastel colours in my everyday outfits... but I feel now that it would look weird and too childish on me as I'm not 20 anymore! Haha. I wish I could be more feminine, I feel a bit like a potato, but all in all I feel MYSELF and that's the most important! Just whatever you want whenever you feel like it! :)

What about you? Do you wear Lolita on a daily basis? How is your everyday style?

Presenting Dentelles Fanzine 3rd issue!

Today, I want to talk about something really important to me: the French Lolita fanzine, Dentelles! It is a fanzine created by Lolita friends and I was lucky enough to be part of it since the very beginning! It's a lot of time to release a fanzine and all artists who helped making it real made an amazing!
First of all, here are some links where you can learn more about Dentelles:

Dentelles' Tictail page where you can preorder the next issues or download the old ones!

Dentelles' Facebook page

The very first issue was about all the different Lolita styles, the 2nd issue was about colours in the fashion and the 3rd one was about trends! As I am a graduated illustrator with a Bachelor degree, I was super happy to be able to share my love for Lolita fashion through my artworks, so of course when they asked me to join this adventure I immediately said yes!
For my first participation, I illustrated Classic Lolita style:

For the 2nd issue, I was super happy I could illustrate my favourite colour: yellow!

And for the 3rd issue, I didn't make only one, but two artworks! I also made most of the texts and translations (the fanzine is both in French and English! How amazing is that?)
I illustrated "Galaxy print" and "Retro Lolita", which I both really love! I am glad I could each time choose a subject that talks to me!

 

I am always a bit worried about how my illustrations will turn out once printed, as I only paint traditionally and have to scan my artworks and I never really manage to exactly get the same colours... but I recently received my printed copies of Dentelles and THEY ARE PERFECT! The colours, printing and layout are all perfect! And of course it is filled with gorgeous drawings made by Lolitas from all around the world! I shouldn't be surprised as Lolita is a creative fashion, but I am always amazed by how many talented people I met in the community!

Also, I had quite a mentally straining week at work and I wanted to relax by wearing some frills! I had some time for mysel this afternoon and decided to put an outfit together! I made a simple coordination that is great for summer I think with the crew socks and the boater hat! What do you think?

♥ Angelic Pretty Elegant Marine ♥ 

Boater hat: Offbrand
Roses: Claire's & H&M
Seashell earrings: Paris Kids
Bolero: Offbrand
JSK: Angelic Pretty
Socks: Zara
Shoes: Axes Femme
Bag: Angelic Pretty
Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty
Bracelet: Claire's
Rings: Claire's & Zygomatics

I really think Elegant Marine deserves more love! It's such a pretty, detailed and comfortable dress! And so much poof! ♥

Angelic Pretty Doll's Tea Party

Hi everyone!

I am back with a new entry... and a new dress! I recently fell in love with the new Angelic Pretty x Kira Imai print: Doll's Tea Party. Kirai Imai is one of my favourite illustrators and I wanted to own one of her prints for a while now (well, I used to have Perfume of Wonderland but sold it because the dress didn't fit me back then... I have so many regrets...)
Unlike past collaborations (I am looking at you, Cat's Tea Party!!), I don't think this one was very popular mostly because of the infamous bear!

The infamous Rushton bear!

Actually, the bear is what sold this print to me! Well, yeah, it's kind of creepy... but actually if you visit Angelic Pretty stores, they are always featured there! I think I read about how the owner loved these bears and wanted them to decorate the shops. So for me, Rushton bears = Angelic Pretty.

AP Paris shop also displays Rushton bears and antique toys!

Same in Osaka!

I hesitated about the colour: I really liked the lavender colourway and also the ivroy one but in the end I went for the black one! I thought it was more mature and casual and had more items I could coordinate it with!
I ordered it through the Paris shop, as I wanted to avoid the struggle of a release of the Japanese website. Everything went so smoothly with Paris' staff. They are the best! It costed me more in the end as I had to pay customs for Japan-France and then for France-Switzerland, but I am glad I could support the French shop!
So, I got the dress today and I love it even more now that I have it in my hands! The print isn't really vibrant, but more of sweet pastel colours which I actually really like! It has a casual/otome vibe and is very easy to wear! It features cake, teapots, cutlery, macarons, roses and plates.

OK, I will get a bit personal here... but I actually cried when I received this OP and tried it on. Why? Because it fits! I fit into non-shirred AP dresses, which is very unreal to me. I still don't really understand how, but it does. Since I started wearing Lolita fashion, fitting into non-shirred AP always had been an unattainable dream. I finally feel "worthy". It makes me happy, but also I feel a bit sad about it as my weight has never defined who I am... but I can't help it even if I think there's something really wrong here with how I perceive myself. 

Anyway, back to the topic! I haven't worn Lolita in more than a month so I was quite eager to wear my new dress! I decided to go for a very casual look with black and pink accessories. I like how it turned out! Do you like it too? :)

♥ Angelic Pretty Doll's Tea Party  ♥ 

Headbow: Angelic Pretty

  OP: Angelic Pretty
 Bag: Maison de FLEUR
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Shoes: Montreal
Keychain: Kira Imai
Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty
Bracelets: Claire's
Rings: Angelic Pretty & Zygomatics

What about you? Do you like Angelic Pretty x Kira Imai prints? If so, which one is your favourite? Do you own it? Let me know! ♥