Ruffle Con: Tea Party, Heading Home, & Day 3!

Hi friends! <3

Sunday began somewhat slowly. I had breakfast, got dressed, and began packing. Since today was the big tea party, I would have no time to pack later. Room check out would be taking place during the tea party so I had to have everything ready for my boyfriend to put in the car. Luckily it didn't take too long.

I went to the consignment room for one last round and also to check out the reduced prices. Select items had colored tags that meant there was a discount of 25%, 50%, or even 75% off the regular ticket price. I happen to glance over at one clothes rack and came face to face with my top dream dress (Alice and the Pirates: Gloria jsk in navy)! It also happened to have a colored sale tag I happily  picked it up and continued browsing. When I had finished, I found an area off to the side to look it over more closely. It was gorgeous <3 Curious about the bust sizing I held it up to me and tried stretching the shirring to see if it would fit me. Despite my efforts, I had to acknowledge the fact that it would not fit me after all. I was heartbroken :-( I hung it up on a rack nearby and bid it farewell. Hopefully someone else would give it a good home. I ended up buying just a pair of wristcuffs and moved on to the vendor's room. A quick look around this time, but nothing caught my eye. 

 After that, it was time to get in line for the tea party. This year's theme was "The Alchemist's Tasting Room." I thought it sounded cool and was glad I decided to wear a gothic coord to go along with it. The stage had this display up on a screen when I walked in.

The table was set up real nice...

I had some green tea... <3

Scones with cream and jam...

There was a food and drink menu...

And six different little sandwiches! The salmon one was my favorite...

Feeling full after all the food, I wandered over to check out the raffle prizes. There were gift certificates, a couple bonnets, a blouse, tote bags, surprise bags, and more...

When I got back to my seat, I noticed that dessert had been brought out.

I helped myself to a little assortment of treats <3

I also got my picture taken with the designers of Triple Fortune :-)

There was a game we played that is similar to telephone. One person would be told a sentence and then that person would have to write down what they heard. They would pass the paper to the person next to them and then that person would have to read the sentence and draw a picture on the following slip of paper to represent the sentence. This would continue going all the way down one side of the table with people alternating between writing and drawing. The goal was to have the sentence at the start be the same as at the end. Some of the results were pretty funny. Then they started drawing for the various raffle prizes. I enjoyed some earl grey tea and hoped my number would be called. I didn't win anything though.

After the tea party ended, I went to pick up my items from the consignment room. I was happy to hear that more of my items had been sold that day. I gathered up what was left and packed them up to put in the car. My boyfriend had completed check out and was relaxing in the lobby. I chatted with my friends and waited for the final event to take place; con group pic. Everyone who attended the con assembled on the main stairs for a giant group pic. They also did two smaller group pics for  "light" and "dark" coords.

Then the con was over and we had to head back home. I changed into comfy clothes for driving and said good bye to my friends. It was a fun con and I hope to go back again next year!

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Wore a gothic coord in black x gold.

I wore my new headdress, veil, and headband I had bought instead of what I originally planned. I love how it ended up looking with the rest of my coord. I felt elegant and very gothic.

Jsk~ Moi Meme Moitie "Divine Cross Print" Sendai Special Edition

Otks~ Angelic Pretty "Holy Lacy Doll"

Headband~ Triple Fortune

Headdress, veil~ Sweet Mildred

Ring~ Automatic Honey "Dearly Departed"

Blouse, necklace, earrings~ vintage/thrifted

Shoes, bag~ offbrand

Makeup and details pic...

Ruffle Con: More Panels, Fashion Shows, & Day 2!

Hi friends! <3

So Saturday started off about the same with breakfast and getting ready but with less of a rush. I took my time getting ready and got help from a friend with putting on my Triple Fortune bonnet. I felt bad that I had spent a lot of time shopping the day before and not done much else. Today I was going to attend a bunch of panels and a few fashion shows with just a little bit of shopping.

I did a quick run of the consignment and vendors rooms and went to a panel on nerdy fashion. The speaker talked about and showed different ways you could express your love of nerdy things through fashion. Wearing a shirt to show your love of a Disney character is one thing, but you could also do this thing called Disney bounding. It's where you wear outfits that are inspired by say a Disney character or the colors they typically wear. For example, if you were a fan of Snow White, you might wear a headband similar to hers, or wear a bright red lipstick, or maybe wear apple earrings. Instead of dressing exactly the same as if you were cosplaying, you just wear normal everyday clothes that create the feeling of the character. I thought that was pretty interesting.

After the panel, I went to a different room to catch the end of the q & a panel with Triple Fortune. The audience asked some good questions and I liked how the designers gave detailed responses. Then I went back to the room for lunch and chill time. I went downstairs to check out a fashion show that featured ouji style clothes. Everyone looked so elegant and prince-like. It was lovely. When it finished, I donned the panda suit again and went to see a couple more fashion shows.

My friend got to be a model for Metamorphose, so it was exciting to see her on the runway all dressed up in a different/darker style. Look at all those ruffles! 

And this bridal look! Totally loving those tiers and accent ribbons...

And a nun type too! So cool...

But this one... This one was my absolute favorite! <3

It reminds me of the bridal one, but with a princessy feel instead...

I was in awe of these and was surprised when after showing off all the dresses, the designer had them come back out so she could talk about each one. Like what inspired it, how many different types of lace it had, the different pieces that went together to create it. Some of the looks you could change up just by removing the underskirt or pulling up a side ribbon. Really neat.

I had dinner and then saw the burlesque show. There were 4 or 5 females that performed and 1 male. Each one had a story/skit/song with themed clothing that was tastefully removed as things progressed. It was a well attended show. Then I checked out the rave which isn't really my type of thing. I left soon after to go up to bed. 

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Wore sweet/classic coord in ivory x pink x gold.

I loved wearing my dream dress with the bonnet and scepter. I totally felt like royalty! <3

Jsk~ Angelic Pretty "Daydream Carnival Tiered"

Bonnet~ Triple Fortune

Otks, scepter~ BTSSB "Advent Calendar"

Shoes~ Bodyline

Ring~ Lily of the Valley

Blouse, bracelet, earrings~ vintage/thrifted

Hair clips~ offbrand

Makeup and details closeup pic...

Ruffle Con: Preparing, Arrival, & Day 1!

Hi friends! <3

I'm super excited to be going to Ruffle Con again! Last year I went with my boyfriend and a bunch of fellow comm members. It was so much fun I had to go again this year. There was some prep work that had to be done first though...

Tickets

Went on sale in March I believe. There was a variety of different ones. You could choose from basic one day admission all the way up to premium weekend admission. Certain ones included a meal plan or bonus stuff like a swag bag or dinner with the brand designers/guests. Everything sold out fairly quickly at the higher levels. I went with the deluxe weekend ticket which included a tea party ticket and a swag bag.

Booking the room

My boyfriend was very helpful with this part as he's used to making the reservations when we travel. As soon as room reservations opened up, he booked a club level room which included breakfast and dinner. Later on, he got an additional basic room for our friends. Since we were sharing the rooms among a group of us, the cost per night wasn't too bad.

Planning the Coords

Since the con was running for 3 days, I decided to plan out and bring 4 coords. I wanted to have an extra one just in case. After picking out my dresses and blouses, I tried them on and chose matching accessories. I'm glad I did this beforehand since I ended up making a few adjustments/changes. I was also was feeling crafty, so I made a couple accessories to go with my coords. A cute honey bear brooch and a pair of bat wings for my shoes.

  

Consignment

I also decided to bring stuff for the consignment room. I went through the sales items in my closet, submitted them online, and packed them up to bring along.

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Thursday morning, we packed up the car and headed over to pick up a local lolita friend who was joining us. After loading up their stuff, we headed out for Ruffle Con. The trip took about 7 hours plus stops for food/gas/rest stops. My boyfriend and I took turns driving every few hours. It worked out pretty well. There was a bit of traffic once we got into the city, so going was slow for a while. Eventually we arrived at the hotel, checked in, picked up our badges, and made it upstairs just in time for dinner. Later on, we unloaded the car and admired the room. It was nice with plenty of space for us to share. I unpacked a bit so I could find things in the morning, and looked at the event schedule trying to plan out the next day. I had some hot tea to help me relax before calling it a night.

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Day 1

I started the day off early with breakfast and getting dressed in my first coord. Consignment intake began at 9am and I didn't want to get caught up in a crowd. When I got there it was already looking fairly busy. You picked up your pre-made info/price tags at the front desk, attached them to your items, and then got in line for everything to be scanned in. Then a staff member would sort the items onto display racks to be sent to the consignment room upstairs. Aside from the scanning machine being a bit slow, there weren't any issues.

Once that was done, I ran upstairs to get in line for the consignment room to start shopping! While I had waited in line downstairs, I had been checking out the stuff that others had brought in. The door opened up and I went in. First thing I checked out were the socks and small accessories. I didn't plan to buy any clothes or large items so I figured socks and accessories would be a good place to start. I found a couple items and went downstairs to where the vendors were. I headed for the Triple Fortune Booth first. Made a couple purchases there and made my way around the rest of the vendors browsing the goods for sale. A few purchases later, I was done with buying and headed back to the room to drop off my bags and chill.

I returned to the vendors and went around again in case I had missed anything. Nope, all set. I went to the Triple Fortune fashion show which was also a concert. The designers were also singers! How cool is that? :-)

 When it finished, I had dinner, and relaxed in the room with my friends having some drinks. I then transformed from a lolita into a panda. It felt to nice to be out of all those layers. I was indeed one happy panda. Off to a panel I went; Dramatic Readings from Behind the Bows. People read old posts from this gossip type blog on stage in silly voices. I enjoyed it a lot. It was late when I tucked in for the night.

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Wore a classic/gothic coord in green x ivory x black.

Jsk~ Metamorphose "Secret Laboratory Ribbon Shirred" 

Necklace~ Metamorphose "Crystal Lantern"

Otks~ Alice and the Pirates "Merry Making in the Ghost Town"
Purse~ Innocent World "Rose Lace Book"
Ring~ Automatic Honey "Dearly Departed"
Blouse, jabot, earrings~ vintage/thrifted
Shoes~ offbrand (with handmade bat wings)
Hat, other ring~ offbrand

Makeup and details closeup pic...

Halloween Potluck Meet-up!

Hi friends! <3

I went to a Halloween potluck meet-up with the semi local comm. One of the girls was nice enough to have it over at her place so we could relax and enjoy ourselves. Everyone brought a dish to share so there was all kinds of yummy food. Later on there was crafts, music, and games. It was great to see everyone and get into the spooky spirit of things.

There was even a drawing for a cute carousel horse shaped ring holder. I love carousel horses and hoped to win it, but my boyfriend ended up winning it. I joked that it would look pretty on his desk at work but he gave it to me instead. How sweet is that? <3

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Wore a pirate themed coord in navy x silver x ivory.

Jsk~ Infanta "Power and Thrones II"

Headbow~ BTSSB

Shoes~ Bodyline

Blouse~ vintage/thrifted

Earrings, ring, otks~ offbrand

Makeup and details closeup pic...

Frame Cross Print Gathered Opening!

Hi friends! <3

I am so excited to share with you another wishlist item opening :-)

Stock Pic

Moi Meme Moitie: Frame Cross Print Gathered Jsk (blue x silver)

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The package...

Opening it up...

Wrapped (front and back views)...

Opening it up...

All folded up...

Unfolded (with ribbon to the side)...

With ribbon in place...

Hanging up...

Bodice details...

Print details...

Try-on pic...

Thoughts:

This jsk is so pretty! I love how the silver print contrasts with the blue background. <3 The fabric is textured and has the little nubs/bumps in it just like Divine Cross. The satin waist ribbon is removable along with both shoulder straps. It fits fairly well except for the shoulder straps. They are too short for me, so I had to unbutton them in the back and tie them together to wear as a halter neck. Otherwise the waistband is too high and cuts across my bust instead of going under it. I found it interesting to note that the shoulder straps have buttons at both ends to attach to the jsk. Usually there is just one end that you can unbutton. I'm wondering if I should try making strap extenders or if its easier to just get some wide ribbon and add buttons on it to use instead of the original straps it came with. What do you think?