In July, I was one of the lucky people able to go to
BABY’s NYC grand opening, and the experience proved to be just as exciting and
magical as their blog updates led its readers to believe. But my experience wasn't necessarily the fairy princess or elegant maiden fantasy that BABY conceptually
designs for.
Weeks before the opening, my Lolita community was scurrying to plan their outfits and scheduling the big day down to the last minute. There was even an arrangement for a casual lunch meet afterward for a small group of us. All was fine, and most importantly, for the most part, organized; I felt comfortable. But I couldn't help but feel a slight uneasiness when on of my Lolita friends said that she didn't want to go to the opening. That stopped me. Why wouldn't she want to go? Even if you don't necessarily favor BABY or wear the brand that often, which I don't, I felt that we should still go and show our support.
From what I gathered, her main reason for not wanting to go was simply because of the crowds she predicted to be there. This shocked me even more. Crowds, what crowds? When the information was put forth, I thought that this was going to be something that would strike the interest of the Lolitas that were predominately from the area, like NYC, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and the farthest being Connecticut. And even then, I never pictured every single Lolita going. Little did I know, I was off, BIG TIME.
From what I gathered, her main reason for not wanting to go was simply because of the crowds she predicted to be there. This shocked me even more. Crowds, what crowds? When the information was put forth, I thought that this was going to be something that would strike the interest of the Lolitas that were predominately from the area, like NYC, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and the farthest being Connecticut. And even then, I never pictured every single Lolita going. Little did I know, I was off, BIG TIME.
My friend told me that she read that people as far as Canada were rumored to come experience this opening. My jaw dropped; I couldn't even fathom that someone would do such a thing. The response to the store opening was so grand. What was even more amusing was how my friend reacted to how timid my expectations were! It was as if she was saying, "Of course there are going to be crowds! Where have you been?" But for some reason, I still underestimated the opening's effect. I was still carrying on saying, "I can get there like an hour before opening and be fine, right?" And that plan backfired right in my face.
On the big day, I was up early and mapped out everything perfectly, or so I thought. The night before was a nightmare. After a failed attempt to reconstruct a blouse I arranged to wear to the opening, I had to scrap it and change my entire outfit at 1 in the morning. My new coordinate was created in the spur of the moment and fueled by lack of sleep. I hated it. It felt sloppy, rusted, and unimaginative. But I couldn't go down the street in the monster shirt I was desperately trying to save, so I had to live with it, (I'm exaggerating. The shirt wasn't that bad. It's just the in the oh-so-critical sunlight you could see that that the fabric I used to extend the short sleeve into a long one was not the same color black as the shirt. It was a shade off, something that I couldn't see under the florescent lighting in the fabric store.)
Instead of the Old School coordinate I was planing, I had to settle for my newly purchased BABY op that I picked up on Yahoo! Japan's auctions a week or so before. I wasn't even expecting to wear the op, seeing as it was a last resort option, but them had to quickly switch it to become my plan B.
In the end though, I'm glad that circumstances forced me to wear my unknown BABY op. When I got it, I envisioned an Old School Kuro coordinate equipped with a black rectangle headdress and cute teddy bear. But not having anything to wear to the opening gave me a chance to play around with my accessories and build on what I already have. Thankfully, the result was a positive one that left me with a new coordinate.
Well, that's the end of part 1 of my adventure. I wrote a lot, and I'm only at the middle! I need to start posting these things on time.
°˖✧'Till next time
On the big day, I was up early and mapped out everything perfectly, or so I thought. The night before was a nightmare. After a failed attempt to reconstruct a blouse I arranged to wear to the opening, I had to scrap it and change my entire outfit at 1 in the morning. My new coordinate was created in the spur of the moment and fueled by lack of sleep. I hated it. It felt sloppy, rusted, and unimaginative. But I couldn't go down the street in the monster shirt I was desperately trying to save, so I had to live with it, (I'm exaggerating. The shirt wasn't that bad. It's just the in the oh-so-critical sunlight you could see that that the fabric I used to extend the short sleeve into a long one was not the same color black as the shirt. It was a shade off, something that I couldn't see under the florescent lighting in the fabric store.)
Instead of the Old School coordinate I was planing, I had to settle for my newly purchased BABY op that I picked up on Yahoo! Japan's auctions a week or so before. I wasn't even expecting to wear the op, seeing as it was a last resort option, but them had to quickly switch it to become my plan B.
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I don’t know
the name of this OP. I can’t even find a stock picture of a dress that looks
anything close to it. All I know is that I saw an auction listing for a black
OP that had an organza apron with a velvet print and a BABY tag!
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In the end though, I'm glad that circumstances forced me to wear my unknown BABY op. When I got it, I envisioned an Old School Kuro coordinate equipped with a black rectangle headdress and cute teddy bear. But not having anything to wear to the opening gave me a chance to play around with my accessories and build on what I already have. Thankfully, the result was a positive one that left me with a new coordinate.
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My face… and hair
accessories (the most interesting aspect of my coordinate). As of late, I've realized that my outfits have revolved entirely around my accessories. I guess
it’s time to get a statement piece that’s a dress and not something I can just
stick on to me.
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Well, that's the end of part 1 of my adventure. I wrote a lot, and I'm only at the middle! I need to start posting these things on time.
°˖✧'Till next time
