HLC Valentine's Tea Party Meet

*Just a small warning this post will be pretty long*

My previous post was on my love for Lolita fashion how I finally took the leap to try it out. But this one will actually be on my experience wearing Lolita for the first time; and of course my outfit details.

The Sunday after Valentine's Day a couple of girls from our local community (HLC) hosted a Valentine's tea party meet. I was a bit nervous attending an event by myself; but thought that it would be the best opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone and try to meet new people, so I left the hubby at home. One of the girls from the community had offered to car pool with people in her area and I was lucky enough that I stayed in her vicinity so I didn't have to make the almost hour drive alone.

When she came to pick me up I walked down the sidewalk of my neighborhood a good 200ft - 300ft and already felt the awkwardness of being so poofy and bright, but luckily once I saw my "driver" those emotions went away and instead I was flooded with other ones. I had never actually seen a Lolita up close and personal. There was only once when I saw one but of course I was too shy to go up and compliment her so I kept my distance and passed her by (and regretted it for a long time after)... But here I was staring at a very lovely almost princess-like girl and I almost cried and asked her if it was ok if I hugged her. She probably thought I was crazy but still she agreed and after I piled myself into an already almost filled beetle.

The drive over was great. The four of us talked about ourselves and of course the fashion; which I think helped ease me even more once we arrived to the meet.

The meet was held at one of HLC member's gorgeous home. We were escorted upstairs and outside to the balcony that was overlooking a nice pool and even better a beautiful view of the surrounding wooded area. It was very pretty <3

After I stared at the view for a while, I  came to the realization that I was surrounded by lots of lovely, beautiful Lolitas. A dream come true but at the same time very trying because I was being tested to not get scared and run into a corner.

We arrived a little late so not long after getting there they announced that we could all help ourselves to the food being served. I waited a bit, enjoyed the view a little more and finally headed over to the goodies. It was awesome! Mini sandwiches, cookies, cupcakes, fresh lemonade and so much more. I fixed a plate and found myself somewhere to sit. Everything was delicious. And I even got the courage to talk to some of the other ladies. Everyone was very nice and the times I spaced out and stared at everything going on I couldn't help but feel that I really was dreaming.

After everyone finished eating we all went downstairs to the pool area to take a group picture. I haven't felt so a part of something since high school with my sports but there was such a sense of comradery in the air that day and it made me want to be around everyone even more.

Took this from the balcony. Socializing Lolitas <3

And this is our group picture from the event

Picture by Fox and Lion Photography

 After our group pictures two of the lovely ladies offered to take individual pictures of everyone. I thought that was so awesome. Mini photo shoots and lots of beautiful clothes <3

When my turn came up I tried my best to not be awkward but I doubt that I came out ok in my shots but I will try more for the future. Usually I'm the person that takes pictures and really enjoy it so I got the courage to ask a few of the girls for pictures. After individual pictures little by little each of the lolis went their own way.

Me (left) and Tia (right) Our coords almost matched. Sax x Red & Mint x Red <3

Our carpool group (left to right) Me, Becky, Amanda and Noelle (visualheroine)

Our carpool group was one of the last people to leave and that made me happy because it gave me more time to meet and socialize with these great people. And the drive home gave us just a little more time.

I was the first one dropped off and when I walked back to my place I was smiling from ear to ear and even gave a big smile to a young boy who stared and pointed at me curiously. That day really was a day that I hope I can remember for a long time. It was the start of something so exciting and scary at the same time but after it was all said and done the only feeling that was left was the elation I had from finally being able to realize something that I had wanted for so long.

I hope I can continue to dress in this fashion and meet lots of awesome people in the process.

What was your first experience with Lolita? Have you ever wanted to try the fashion?

More outfit pictures/details under the cut

Lolita Love

I've stated before that I love Japanese fashion and that it has had a very big influence in my style as of late but the Japanese fashion that I have fallen in love with the most and that I have been wanting to try for a while has been Lolita.

I love Lolita so much and have been staring at endless pictures of all the different styles it has for a while. I love the cuteness of it, the elegance, the poofy-ness, the balance of color, the intricate details, the lace; pretty much just everything that surrounds this fashion. It looked like so much fun. Everyone I saw (on the Internet) wearing it pretty much had their own twist on the different styles and I loved every bit of it. The styles I found myself most fond of was sweet, bittersweet, country, kuro, shiro, sailor and punk. But I REALLY loved sweet/bittersweet <3

Unfortunately as usual; I had been to unsure of myself to actually try it out. First off I felt too old and I already had the weird looks from my questionable style choices. Also it can be very expensive to get into, so I just kept admiring it from afar and tried to learn as much about it as possible. I bought my first Lolita dress (it's handmade) about a year ago from someone off of etsy because I thought it was pretty cute and for that price I felt I couldn't pass it up. I wore it two times but never in an actual Lolita outfit.

Well, finally after lots of dreaming about it I decided to stop being a chicken and do what I want if it makes me happy. I contacted a very kind person I follow on Tumblr (who I knew lived in my city) and asked if there were any communities in our area because I thought knowing people who are into the same fashion might help me get out there more since I don't know anyone who dresses in Lolita. Unlike usual I was very lucky (I'm never lucky actually quite the opposite. lol) The girl I contacted was one of the Mods of our community and she added me to the Houston Lolita Community on FB. I was so happy (^-^)

Not too long after being added I saw that there was an upcoming meet and decided that I would finally make it a reality and started working on my first coord. Here's the "base" of the outfit I had planned with my petti and all. This was the first time for me to be almost completely in lolita. When I looked into the mirror I knew it was true love <3

Please excuse all my background mess

I didn't do a "complete" outfit since I was just checking to see if the colors I chose worked well with each other but I still felt so happy. It really was a great feeling.

I'll leave you with that as a teaser to my next post which will have lots of firsts for me *(^-^)*