°˖✧✝ New Demonia Boots ✝✧˖°

There are may hurtles and shortcomings that stop me from obtaining the right kind of platforms in this day of age, but life decided to cut me a break this one time and presented me with a pair too beautiful for words...

In a desperate attempt to find a new pair of cute shoes, I went on Ebay a few weeks ago searching any sales post incorporating the words  like "black platform heel" or "chunky heel mary jane shoe." But after finding nothing that fit my tastes, I remembered a certain Demonia boot I've always wanted and decided to find them in any reasonably priced sells post. Sure, I was looking for shoes at first, but I soon realized how close winter was, and thought boots would be for the best. Or maybe I was just looking for an excuse to buy new shoes either way. I'm pretty sure it was both.  

Now, I would like to go on the record saying that the majority of Demonia boots aren't really made in a way to complement Lolita fashion, part of the reason being is that they are designed with a more modern take on Western Gothic fashion. Also, many of Demonia's designs cater more to Cyber Goth and the club-goer aspect of the Gothic sub-culture, which isn't really something that  our fashion emulates. But, depending on the design, a few of them are workable. 

What I was looking for.

Keeping this in mind, I decided to look for a plainer lace up boot that would make an impact in my outfits, but wouldn't over shadow them. During my search, I not only found out the product number of this boot, which is MEGA 602, but I also found a post selling different pairs of Demonia boots. The best thing about this occurrence, though, was that the seller also listed the other boots' product number, which made my new search even easier! 

What I found.

At first glance, none of these boots show much promise, but take a closer look at the first boot. It's the plainest one, and yet the one with the most potential! Do they remind you of anything in our fashion?

How about now?
I know, they aren't exactly the same, but similar.

Moi meme Moitie's Men's Stretch Long Boots (2002) 

You're probably thinking "Hey, but what happened to the first pair of boots you wanted, the MEGA ones?" Well, to be honest, they were a bit expensive (around $90+ everywhere they were listed, not including shipping), and compared to the cheaper price of the other ones (which were around $60), I decided I could wait a bit longer to get them. However, the listing didn't have my size.

So with the product number of the new pair of boots I found, which is CHOPPER 100, I went about looking for another sale's listing with a pair in my size. My search lead me to Amazon in this listing here. They had my size and free shipping! I ended up only paying $58.95 for everything!! Be warned though, the sizes are in men's and there aren't a wide range of sizes, maybe about four random ones. I was really lucky to have found mine.

But let's get to the fun part- the boots!! When I opened the door and saw that package the mail carrier was struggling to hold, I thought there was a mistake. "No way I had ordered something that big," I thought. But my name was on it, so it had to be mine.

The package was huge!
I couldn't even put it all in the picture.

The package was also heavy. After opening the package, I was glad to see that the boots weren't actually as big as the box it came in. I was also very happy to see that the boots came in their own shoe box. I've heard of people receiving shoes in shoe boxes when they order online, but that never happened to me until now. So yes, I got really excited over a shoe box. 

But could you blame me? I mean. look at it.
Have you ever seen a shoe box this pretty?

And yeah, shoe box was smaller than the box it was
shipped in, but only slightly. It's still huge!

The boots were individually wrapped in plastic bags and were covered with a sheet of really cute wrapping paper with the Demonia logo printed in a horizontal pattern on it in silver. Everything that came with the boots was so pretty! I want to keep the box, but it takes up so much space. And I already made the mistake of ripping the wrapping paper. That made me so sad. 

These are the tallest shoes I own now,
but of course I want ones that are taller.

Heel Height: 5 1/2 inches
Platform Height: 3 1/2 inches

I haven't gotten any pictures of me wearing the boots yet, but I've tried them on and worn them out twice. I'll admit, the first time I put them on was a bit strange- everything was a lot lower. But after walking around in them the second time, the height didn't bother me. However, the one problem I still have from time to time is walking up stairs. Sometimes, I don't lift my foot up high enough for the bottom of the boot to reach the next stair and I end up hitting the front of the boot on the stair instead of stepping up on it. But that's understandable since I have to take in account of the boot's platform and raise my foot 3 1/2 inches higher than I normally do. Other than that, I'm completely happy with them! I'm just trying my best not to bend or scuff them up too much like my other shoes. I guess that shoe box will come in handy after all!

°˖✧ 'Till next time

°˖✧✝ Lolita Blog Carnival: Create a Coord that Reflects Your Style of 2015 + Goth Day in NYC ✝✧˖°

Wow, it's already at the end of the year and I haven't had much of an update on this blog in the last month or so. I have a lot of posts that I've started and topics that I want to talk about, so that's not the problem. I just don't get a chance to finish a post in the time that I want. But as long as I get to at least post once a month, I won't feel too badly about not posting often. So, my post for this month, but hopefully not last, will be a topic from Blog Carnival, creating a coord that reflects my style of 2015.

And in an attempt to make up for the lack of updates on this blog, I'm going to merge two post into one and use an outfit from a previous outing, along with showing what I did for that day. But first, my outfit!

OP: Cornet
Apron: Metamorphose temps de file
Headdress: Handmade

Not only has this look become one of my favorites this year, but it's also the look that I really want to focus on more next year. I'm really into the eccentric and zany pieces in Lolita fashion, but the look I wish I could do more of is along the lines of the Old School Gothic dolly look. I absolutely love huge peter pan collars, obnoxious bell sleeves and lace upon lace, upon lace, upon lace... oh, and heart aprons. Looking back at this picture makes me see all of the things that interested me in Lolita fashion long ago. And above all, it inspires me to aim for a closer connection to that pastime.

Make sure to check out Lolita Blog Carnival!

Lolita Blog Carnival is an online Lolita community of Lolita bloggers who come together to blog about certain topics each week to stimulate further ideas for great blog posts!

I wore this outfit at the end of August for a "Goth Day" I had with a friend of mine. All of my other friends were at the Waku+Waku convention that day, but I really wanted to go to an oddities flea market instead. So my friend decided that we should have a jammed-packed day in New York City, going to all of the places we wanted to go to. But, she was really overzealous with the task! She had a long list of attractions and stops that went all around the city!! Thankfully, we got it down to a decent amount of stops, but we still didn't get to all of them. 

The first stop was to the Morbid Anatomy's Flea market. They had one earlier in the year, but I wasn't able to attend. When I told my friend about the upcoming one in August, she told me we had to go. So, we came early to assure we would be one of the first groups inside (and we had so much to do that we had to make time for everything).  

I'm not too keen on taxidermy, but look how cute this is!
Can't you see this being in a children's picture book?
(I think it's a weasel, maybe?)

Sister Weasel stands outside guiding the weasel children into the classroom.
Oh! What a busy day this will be!

The oddities flea market was basically what you would expect from an oddities event. There were a lot of bones, taxidermy and kitschy knickknacks. There were a fair share of dark accessories available for purchase too. I wanted quite a few religious items and some supernatural comic books, but I was on a tight budget for the day and couldn't get everything I wanted. I did end up getting something small, though.  

My bible and set of love fortune cards.

I picked theses cards from a huge sack that was separated by men and women.
Each one was different, and even though I wanted most of them,
I decided to get a pair that suited each other.  

But the coolest thing, was what I found inside of the bible I purchased!

Inside was a bookmark with an eerie cross stitched message, "Remember me," stitched in with purple thread.

There were also leaves placed in between various pages and a charted genealogy
of the Simpson family starting from the last page.

Unfortunately, by the end of the day, both of the front and back covers ripped off. I was really upset about want happened, but my friend tried cheering me up. She said I must have broken a curse or a seal that was on it. 

If you want to look at what was at the Morbid Anaomy Flea Market and some of its participants, you can go through pictures here at The Village Voice's website.

Even though the flea market was hosted by Morbid Anatomy, this August event was located at a different venue down the street from the museum to accommodate its size. So after we were done at the flea market, we thought our next stop should be at the museum to see what new exhibit they were showcasing. 

You're not allowed to take pictures upstairs in the exhibit,
so here's a picture of us in front of the bathrooms upstairs instead.  

After the museum, we decided to go get lunch at Eight Turn Crepe. My friend was really excited to go since it was her first time, mine too, and couldn't decide with crepe to get, a sweet or savory one. Feeling adventurous, she ended up getting both! I didn't want to feel left out or bested, so I decided to do the same. I thought it would be cute if we got the same crepes too.

Second crepe of the day and the last room in my stomach.

This is the look of defeat.
My sanity is gone. There are only crepes left.

The crepes were delicious, but after stuffing the last bit of the second one down, I had soon regretted it. I was left feeling bloated and sleepy for the remainder of the day. But there was no time to sleep it off, because we were off to our next stop, Sebastian Masuda's Hello Kitty Time Capsule event. For those of you who frequently read my blog, you may remember that I went to this same event earlier in the year. You can read about it in this post here. But because I was already going to be in the city, I decided to go again. And I wanted to get a picture with Yuka, the gorgeous and influential shop staff from Sebastian's 6%DOKIDOKI store, since I was too shy to ask last time.

All aboard the kawaii bus!

Source: Sebastian Masuda Official FB page

While the last time capsule event was affiliated with the Japan Society, this on was backed by Waku+Waku. It was with the same Hello Kitty time capsule and located at the same place, though. I guess you can say that the only difference was the bus that was rented to bring the Waku+Waku attendees to the time capsule and back to the convention, which I think was the coolest!

I think it was great that fans got to to be this close to an icon like Sebastian. Not only that, but it just shows how down-to-earth Sebastian is with everyone. He isn't a person who puts on airs and he continues to show how he's committed to bringing people together, regardless of their differences. Whenever Sebastian comes to New York City I always try to support him.

I decided to put in my My Melody mini Pez candy dispenser this time.

I still wanted to soak up the atmosphere of the event and take some time to relax, so my friend and I decided to stay at the time capsule for a while. But as the Goths that we are, we shuffled over to a nice shady corner next to a fountain to catch a breeze (I forgot to mention that is was really hot that day too). After siting around watching the Waku+Waku attendees be interviewed by some people from the television show Kawaii International, we went off to our next stop, a bakery called Dominique Ansel. 

Dominique Ansel has a really small front area, but must stay full
with costumers throughout the day. Even though we showed up pretty late in
the day, there was still a long line reaching down the hall! 

Everything looked so tasty at the bakery and were reasonably priced.

One of their specials were their cookie shots, as seen on display in the first picture.
The "shot glass" is a chocolate chip cookie molded into a cup shape and the "shot" is milk!

I regret not getting anything at the bakery, but I was still so full from the crepes earlier and thought it would be a waste to buy something. So I just watched my friend try out their frozen s'more specialty in agony. It look so good! It was a wad of ice cream on a wooden stick, wrapped in marshmallow and lighted torched over a flame!! I wish I took a picture before she ate it. Next time, I want to try one of their Cronuts, a pastry mixed between a croissant and doughnut. But apparently, you'll have to come in earlier if you want to get one before they sellout for the day.

After the bakery, we finally reached the last stop of the day, Bassanova Ramen! My friend heard great things about the restaurant and insisted that we go. And with all of the accolades it received, like being one of New York Times' Top Ten Ramen Destinations in New York, I  wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. Waku+Waku was done for the day and another one of my friends came along too. It was really late about time we got to the restaurant, but I glad we went, because it was the best ramen I've ever had! But it was also the smallest ramen bowl I've ever had. I really wished there was more of it.

Lemon Black Pepper Tondaku Ramen:
Berkshire pork, tonkotsu soup, with lemon and black pepper. Topped with
portion chashu, kikurage mushroom, fried ginger onion, crushed sesame, nori and scallion.

Wow, that was a long post wasn't it? Now do you see why I don't update as often as I do? I like long post, but just don't like writing them. Maybe committing to completing more of my post can be one of my New Year's resolution, though. It may seem hard at first, but completely doable. I'm definitely going to work on doing even more blogging on here. I can't wait!

°˖✧ 'Till next time

°˖✧✝ The Gothic Lolita Purists and the Gothic Brands that Cater to Them ✝✧˖°

One of Moi-meme-Moitie's shop girls posing
inside the shop's famous coffin shaped fitting room.

In Lolita fashion, things change. One year we're joking about how short brands will continue to make their dresses, all the while still wearing them, and in the next, we're hunting for the perfect underskirt to go under our new, fashionable calf-length OP. But for a Gothic Lolita, for the most part, it looks like they've been wearing the same thing they've always been wearing. Some would say that it's because Gothic Lolita isn't as popular as it once was, which would limit the amount of varing designs being produced for them. But, is the fashion's stagnancy really based on it not being able to gain back its popularity or something else? I propose it could be that Gothic Lolitas and the designers who design for them just don't want to change. They just may be content with the look they've already accomplished, and don't feel the need for any other alteration or incorporation within it. 

Post from Lolita Confessions

Take this post from Lolita Confessions, where an anonymous contributor comments on Moi-meme-Moitie's "integrity," as an example. In the post, they mention how the Gothic brand "never made a chocolate print, and never made a horse print" and goes on to say how they've "changed in a few ways since they started out, but at the same time, they just keep doing them." While this reads as a compliment to the brand's devotion, there are those who would say that the reasoning behind the brand's intention is simpler- Gothic brands produce Gothic clothing. However, if a brand's premise was as plain as that, then we would only come to expect Sweet brands to produce Sweet clothing and Classic brands to produce Classic clothing. Though, with all of the Gothic integration within Sweet and Classic designs over the years, we know this not to be true. So how does a Gothic brand's integrity differ from a Sweet one?    

The way the Gothic Lolita and Gothic Aristocrat on the left are style may be outdated,
but their clothing designs can still be seen in current Gothic clothing.

However, the same can't be said for the two Sweet Lolitas on the right.
The Sweet Lolita on the left is wearing Angelic Pretty's Ballerina Print JSK (2005).
And yes, it's being paired with a purse with crucifixes.  

I've come to think of a Gothic brand's consistency as a tool for preservation. Brands that aren't considered to promote Gothic fashion, but occasionally dabble with Gothic incorporation, treat Gothic aesthetics as a trend. Because it's used more as a trend, the driving force behind its use is for a kitschy addition and not one of passion. However, to an actual Gothic brand, their look isn't a novelty. It's their raison d'etre- the reason for their existence.

In an TV interview, Mana shares some insight on his fashion brand: 

"In '99, I opened the fashion shop Moi-meme-Moitie with clothing for Gothic Lolitas. At the time, there was nothing that associated the cute aspect with the dark one, so I did it. Furthermore, I don't like ephemeral fashions. My creations are intended for people who share my viewpoint on things."**

**This English translation was translated from French, which was translated from Japanese. Therefore, the English translation my not reflect the original Japanese fully.

There aren't many interviews from Gothic brand creators or designers in Lolita fashion, but I feel as though their sentiments would reside more along with these lines from Mana, especially with his view on ephemeral fashions. For a fashion to be ephemeral, it'd have to be short-lived. And to Mana, his brand's axiom is the opposite- it's enduring. The proof is in how well these brands have maintained their original concepts and designs in the face of the many changing trends.

MmM Designers: "Boss, what should our new custom lace be this time..."
Mana: "Crosses, we always choose crosses."

Source: Detail shot of Front Cross Chiffon JSK (2010) on Lolibrary 

Though, with how huge of an impact the style had, it seems like the Gothic Lolita sub-style has been around as long as the fashion started. But Gothic Lolita only got its footing in the late '90s during the big boom of Gothic centered entertainment and fashion in Japan. So the Lolita brands before this time weren't designing for those with Gothic interests. It was only during Gothic's popularity did this happen, which springboarded the creation of the black colorway option for their clothing. And ultimately, made a way for non-Gothic brands to participate in this trend.  

Left: Angelic Pretty's Puppet Circus JSK advertisement 

Right: Angelic Pretty's Puppet Circus JSK (2006) stock photo (Source: Hellolace)

Sure, it comes in black and can be styled in a Gothic way, but Puppet Circus's design is not Gothic.
I'm pretty sure pompom trims are a part of a Gothic Lolita's nightmares.

While there were still some Gothic designs being created by these non-Gothic designers sparingly after Gothic Lolita's popularity, the amount of Gothic designs eventually dwindled to what we have now- maybe two or three Gothic collections from these brands a year, with one of those being an obligatory Halloween print (and I'm talking about an actual Gothic design and not just an OP in a darker colorway or a crucifix added to a print). And it's in this way how non-Gothic brands attenuate the Gothic aesthetic that Gothic brands helped expand.

Non-Gothic brand designers: "Crosses are back in style now. Quick, put them on everything!"

From left to right:
Innocent World's Rose and Cross Lace (2015)
BABY, the Stars Shine Bright's Maria's Catholic Nun OP (2014)
Angelic Pretty's Milky Cross OP (2014)

However, for an actual Gothic brand, their approach is different- the designers have stuck with their original concepts instead of playing with the pieces of other styles. Because of that, these small Gothic brands have become the backbone of the Gothic Lolita sub-culture. And because they play such a primary part in the style's representation, there's little room for them to alternate. This may be extreme for most, but for a Gothic Lolita, total adherence to the style just seems to be expected.

For this reason, there's a commitment from Gothic Lolitas that's unprecedented in any other sub-style in the fashion. Simply put, Gothic Lolitas are hardcore- they're here for the long-haul. Just like Gothic brands, you'd rarely find any vacillation among them. One of the funniest examples of this is in a video that was uploaded to YouTube named "Lifestyle of goth-loli girls & Mana Sama Interview" by the user Yhmar21Erio. Due to copyright issues, I'm not able to view the video in my country anymore, but I'll still link it to distinguish which video I'm referring to. Luckily, because the video is old, it's already well know to the people who have been in the fashion for a while. But for those who aren't familiar to the video, I'll describe the part I'm referencing.   

If the original uploaded video doesn't play for you, you may be able to watch it on a different platform here. 

In this discussion with Sweet and Gothic Lolitas, one of the interviewers ask if the Sweet Lolitas ever wear black, even after being told that the Sweet Lolitas try to live a Sweet, or cute, lifestyle. But surprisingly, the Sweet Lolitas admit to occasionally wearing black clothing. The interviewer then ask the Gothic Lolitas the same question, but referring to the color pink. All of the Gothic Lolitas sternly deny it. The Gothic Lolitas go on to explain how the try to transmit the Gothic aesthetic throughout their life, insisting that they always emulate a Gothic appearance. All three even go as far to admit that they would own a pet bat if it were possible!    

When you can't get a real bat, Antique beasT's Black Cat Headdress can be used as the next best thing.
Thirty years from now, this headdress will still be a staple piece for Gothic Lolitas.

Source: Antique beasT website

All in all, the Gothic sub-culture houses some of the most faithful participants, and many Gothic Lolitas internalize that same kind of loyalty when it comes to their look and atmosphere around them. And although small, Gothic brands remain standing along side their costumers to create looks that are both memorable and enduring.

°˖✧ 'Till next time

°˖✧✝ The Bear Necessities Meetup ✝✧˖°

Remember in my last post when I mentioned the rent hikes in New York City? Well, even FAO Schwarz, the oldest toy store in the United States, felt the sting of such rent increases and was placed with the burden of closing down their store front once again. I've always wanted to create a toy themed meetup for FAO Schwarz, but never had the time to plan one. Though, when my friend mentioned a bear themed meetup she was planing with another one of our friends, I made the effort of recommending that we include a stop at the famous toy store before they closed.   

Blouse: Alice and the Pirates
JSK: Innocent World
Accessories: Handmade or Off brand

My friend was really excited for the meetup's theme and wanted everyone to participate. Without a doubt, bears are cute, but I felt as though I wouldn't be able to make a bear themed Gothic Lolita outfit. And truthfully, the meetup seemed more geared toward Sweet Lolitas than anything. Ready to sit this one out, my friend insisted that I at least try to come up with an outfit. So instead of an outfit focused around bears, I decided to just add my black teddy bear as an accessory. To further my attempt, I put furry pompoms on top of my head to mimic the look of bear ears.

The main part of the event was afternoon tea at Kings' Carriage House. This was the tea room we wanted to go to during the Death Becomes Her meetup I hosted at the beginning of this year, but we decided on the tea room too late to make reservations. Kings' Carriage turned out to be very nice, with inviting decor and enjoyable savory selections. 

The first two pictures are of the waiting area in Kings' Carriage House.
The third is of the bathroom. I know it's strange to take a picture
of the bathroom, but it was so nice. It was decorated more like a hallway.

On their website, a quote describes the tea room as a "charming cottage house" that's "the equivalent of a country getaway." I would say that the description lives up to the actual tea room. It really looked as if we were in someone's house. On the way to Kings' Carriage, my friend I walked right past it, because it looked so much like a residence than a restaurant. Though, the downside to the homey atmosphere was the small eating areas. There where only nine of us, a moderate size for a group of Lolitas, but there was hardly enough room for us and our petticoats.

I think I enjoyed their savoy choices the best.
The tastiest one wound have to be the Oak Smoked Scottish Salmon Pinwheels.

One of the greatest thing about Kings' Carriage is that they love Lolitas! They were overly accommodating to our needs, and they wanted us to take pictures everywhere. Our waitress even insisted she take all of our pictures for us. It really did turn into a photo shoot, with us taking many pictures inside and out in the front.

They told me to get to the back because I was the tallest.

All of the bears, and alpaca-chan, wanted to take a family photo.

Okay, so I didn't know that the Kuma Kumya and Usakumya pochettes
have magnetic hands. So when it was suggested that we should link
them together, so it'll look like their holding hands,
I had to get the Sweet Lolitas to hold hands too!

After a long time at Kings' Carriage, we headed to FAO Schwarz. The toy store looked a bit plain on the outside, and, from the look of it, I thought we were going in to a regular department store, like Macy's or Lord and Taylor. But I guess they saved all of the wonderment for the inside. Once we stepped inside, we were greeted by a little bakery called Sugar Plumm, which was the first stop into Candyland on the ground floor.

That box of candy is about half the height of my friend!

On the way up to the next level, we were so captivated with how huge one of the display bears was, and thought it would produce some cute pictures for our bear theme. Everyone took a picture with the giant bear but my friend and me. We were both wearing a Gothic outfit, so we wanted to find something a bit... dark. The teddy bear and animal section was at the top of the escalator, so my friend went straight to a friendly black bear.     

For some reason, I was more enticed by the moose.
Are moose "dark"? I don't think so, but I still thought they looked cool.

Including the infant floor on the underground level, FAO Schwarz had four floors! Even though we walked into the large animal section on the second floor, I would say that it only took up about a sixth of the entire levl. There was a section for just about every large toy marking franchise you could think about. What surprised me the most though were the stores within the toy store. Use the fact that they had multiple stores, like Build-A-Bear, to understand how vast FAO Schwarz was.

And of course, FAO Schwarz would be nothing without their famous floor piano.
I wish I had time to play on it. It's been a dream of mine since I was a kid.

They even had Rilakuma goods.
My friend was lucky. Everything was 50% in that section!

We spent a long time exploring FAO Schwarz, but it started to get late. We were there for so long that we missed going to our third stop for the day, the larger storefront for Build-A-Bear, because they closed. But, since there was a Build-A-Bear in FAO Schwarz, we didn't feel too bad for missing it. Some of us decided to part ways at this point, but the rest of us decided to keep the party going and go to Dylan's Candy Bar.

The first floor of Dylan's Candy Bar is a candy store where you can buy prepacked candy, candy but the pound, or merchandise with candy designs. It's seen more as a tourist spot, so the prices were a bit high, and the first floor is always packed with people until closing. The second floor turns into a ice cream shop, eatery, and bar. There's no wait to go to the ice cream shop or bar, but you'll have to put your name on a list to be seated for food due to their limited space upstairs. There are only three booths.

You can't tell from the pictures, but there are real candy pieces in the steps
going upstairs to the second floor! 

Look! The booths are shaped like cupcakes!
We agreed that we'd wait as long as we needed to next time to get the purple cupcake booth.

We only wanted drinks, so we were allowed to walk directly to the bar. Because of our group's size, we couldn't all sit at the bar, and were place at a regular booth next to the bar instead. It wasn't the one of the cupcakes booths, though. My friend bought a drink that was dusted with Pop Rocks candy around it's rim and another friend of mine had one with Sour Patch candy swimming at the bottom of the glass. I forgot to mention something important about the bar. The bar at Dylan's serves alcoholic beverages with some sort of candy incorporated in it. So, yes. The bar allowed us to be mature and childish at the same time!

I was going to get a drink, but decided to go with a sundae at the last moment. I picked their Roller Derby sundae, which was crafted around cookies. There were three different scoops of cookie flavored ice cream, whipped cream, caramel, chocolate chip cookies, and a fair amount of Whoppers (they're malted milk balls covered in chocolate).  

For a meetup that I wasn't going to go to, that day turned out to be jammed packed and extremely fun. There's always something to do in New York City, especially if you're with friends. 

°˖✧ 'Till next time

°˖✧✝ R.I.P. The Dove Parlor ✝✧˖°

Source: The Dove Parlor website photos

Due to the current rent increase in New York City, many businesses, both small and fairly large, are put up to the regrettable task of closing down their storefronts, with The Dove Parlor being one of them. Though not as renowned as other parlors in the city, Dove provided an interesting cocktail bar meant for those with a curiosity of the underground culture. And it was literally underground! Down the slabs of steps and through a worn wooden door painted white, Dove opened up into a dark lounge with red, textured baroque wall paper, which coupled with the dark mahogany wood finishes throughout the lounge. The hearth with a group of flickering candles in place of a kindling fire added to the romantic atmosphere. Natural light came through the glass panels of the door, but dimmed lamps mounted on the walls and glimmering candles created most of the lighting inside.

The Dove was also the venue where a tea party was arranged for Misako when she visited New York City for a lecture, Lolita Fashion: Costume or Culture, at Japan Society last year. I wasn't able to go to either event, but dreamed about experiencing Dove myself, Misako or no Misako.

Though pretty, there are people in my community who infamously call this event the "Tea-less Tea Party."
It was labeled as a tea party, but there turned out to be no tea at all!

Never lie to a Lolita by saying there's tea when there isn't any.

There was a picnic arranged for the New York Lolita community the day before Dove's closing, and my friends and I originally planed on attending. However, the high possibility of rain forced the host of the meetup to postpone the event to a day with more favorable weather. Dishearten, some of my friends looked for other activities we could do that day instead. Remembering Dove's closing day, one of my friends decided that one last trip to the lounge would be more than sufficient.

My friend made our little gathering an open invitation, which garnered a fair amount of new Lolitas I've never met to come along with us, which is always great! Going to Dove in the evening seemed more fitting, so we agreed to meetup for a late lunch first. For fun, we chose Food Gallery 32 in Koreatown. Basically, it's a food court, but looks more like a food mall with its three floors. Asides from the the Red Mango and the eatery that sells taiyaki at the entrance, the bottom floor is reserved for savory appetizers and entrees. The top floor housed an interesting selection of desserts. There were so many choices!

Source: Food Gallery 32 website

After lunch, we brought some taiyaki on our way out to eat while at the lounge. Dove had a no outside food policy, but seeing as they were closing the next day, we assumed that it wouldn't be a problem. Thankfully, it wasn't! The staff was very open to us being there and didn't mind our little snack.

To show our support, everyone at least bought one drink. Yes, we were all of legal drinking age. I bought two, but because this meetup was some time ago, at the end of June, I've forgotten their names and ingredients. Though, I do remember the first one involved ginger and the second one used cranberries. I really wanted to try their absinthe, but they ran out.

First group shot of the day. Also, obligatory kawaii peace hand gesture.

Don't my legs look long in this photo?! 

We were at the lounge for I decent amount of time, playing games and exchanging stories, but decided to end everything before it got dark. The dimmed lamps with the lack of natural lighting didn't produce many desirable photos, so we tried outside, even though it was still raining!

The lighting looks so much better.

Everyone had brought an umbrella, so there was no real problem with taking pictures outside. This is why it's important to have accessories that coordinates well with your outfit. I opted out using an umbrella for my pictures. It seemed okay without one (but it really wasn't).

Jacket & Skirt Set: Metamorphose temps de fille
Blouse: Alice and the Pirates
Accessories: Handmade

This set has a detachable layer of organza ruffles underneath the collar and bottom of the jacket, but I took them off for a more relaxed outfit. I'm saving those attachments for an outfit that's more OTT. But even without the ruffles, this set has become my favorite piece in my wardrobe. I love the silhouettes of Metamorphose's sets. They always make me feel like a princess. Though, I'm pretty sure the reason is because of their bell sleeves.  

Here's a picture of me posing for another picture. I didn't even notice!

My sleeve just didn't want to cooperate that day, or my ribbons.

Without any context, it looks like my friend is scolding me!
"You can't do that in Lolita!"

She wasn't, though. She was telling what she was doing before the meetup.

After pictures, we eventually split up, with some going to the BABY store or finding a place that sold desserts. Not wanting to wait another hour for the train, I decided to go home. But when I got there, I found the courage to do something bold- take a picture with out my glasses!

I am pretty and I am allowed to feel as though I am pretty.

This is something I don't tell myself often. 
I have to start being comfortable with myself.

On the way to Dove, we were joking around about how it's frustrating to wear glasses in the rain and having them fog up, when I said that I could never go without wearing my glasses because of how insecure I am. One of my friends, who wears contacts, said that she felt the same way when she transitioned from her glasses, but insisted that I would look just as nice without them and hoped that I would be able to realize it for myself one day. I don't know why, but her words got the best of me and pushed me into doing such a thing. I still feel compelled to hide part of my face with glasses, but I am starting to consider contacts in the future.

°˖✧ 'Till next time