°˖✧✝ Winter ILD 2015 ✝✧˖°

(I know, this post is so late! I have so many old meetups that I haven't blogged about yet, so I'm going to be mixing older and current event posts for awhile.) 

Even if I don't get a chance to participate in any of the regular meetups created by the Lolita communities I'm in, I do at least try to do something special for International Lolita Day (ILD). And on the last one in December, my Lolita friends decided to celebrate another one of our friend's birthday on the same day, which was great, because she's a Lolita too. I didn't have a problem with it and thought having both at the same time would be cute. Doubling ILD as a birthday celebration for a friend just made the day even more special and enjoyable.

Because of the special day, Sabrina wanted us to go all out and experience having tea at fancy hotel. We knew it was going to be expensive, but we wanted to be a little adventurous and spurge for at least a day. So, we ended up dinning in the Pembroke Room at the Lowell Hotel in New York City.

The hotel was very elegant and because it was December, the lobby was decorated with a warm, yet sophisticated, Christmas feel. There was even complementary hot apple cider!

We had to wait awhile for everyone to arrive, but once we were all there, we were quickly ushered upstairs to our reserved table. From what I saw, the Pembroke Room is pretty small, no bigger than an average living room. This feature made the atmosphere a bit homey, but all the while still being deluxe. There were even love seats at the ends of our table! I decided to sit on the end with my friend Ashley. Because we were so close together on the love seat, all of the pictures of us made it look like we were on a date!

I don't think our date is going too well, hahaha~
It looks like Ashley is ready for the check.

After getting settled and picking out our teas, the staff eventually brought out our trays of finger sandwiches and savory options. There were about six different options for this selection- cucumber and watercress, chicken curry salad, lobster roll, dill egg and cornichon salad, Scottish smoked salmon, and caviar blinis.

Sabrina had a fancy-schmancy camera,
so all of her pictures came out looking beautiful. 

Next, came our desserts and scones with lemon curd and cream. I believe the type of scones varies on the day, so I don't quite remember which one I had. But, for desserts, we had petit fours, assorted fruit tarts, macaroons, and other French pastries, like eclairs. I love sweets, so I was glad to see a variety of desserts larger than what other tearooms provide.  

Here you can see what a Lolita actually does during a meetup- take pictures!

The tarts were so cute!

But no amount of sweets could soften the blow of what came next- the check! Everyone got the  $55 Classic Pembroke Tea, which was what everyone was expected to pay. But, apparently, with taxes and tip, everyone ended up paying $80 each (and it was eleven of us)! That price through us in such a spiral. It was so much, and, compared to other tearooms, it wasn't worth it. We could have gotten a better selection, including the teas, for less than half the price than what we got at the hotel. But that's what we get for trying to be fancy. 

Look at all of those twenty dollar bills!

This is the money Lolita.
Reblog in the next thirty seconds and you'll get
$100 toward your dream dress.

After paying, we wanted to leave as fast as we could so we could take outfit shots outside in better light. 

Birthday girl, Sabrina, in the middle.

While we were taking pictures, I started to look around the area and notice how gorgeous the neighborhood was (But we were in Manhattan, the frou-frou part of New York, so I guess that's to be expected). Right next door to the hotel, there was a nice building with a glorious stone structure on the outside and and a beautiful, black iron gate. I decided I wanted my picture taken there, instead of one at the front of the hotel. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the building was an apartment building!  

  

I edited the picture to give us that Mana glow, hahaha~

OP: Angelic Pretty
Socks: Metamorphose temps de fille
Accessories: Handmade or Thrifted 

Some of my other friends wanted to loiter with me and
take pictures in front of the building too.

And lastly, here is our group shot! I think it came out very nicely. Blogger wouldn't let me upload the video, but if you can, please take a look at on of my friend's vlog of this day here.

Look at our Sweet to Gothic rainbow!

°˖✧ 'Till next time

°˖✧✝ 2015: The Year of Old School Lolita... Kinda ✝✧˖°

2014 was the year of the bonnet and the year of Classic Lolita, but, hear me now, I claim 2015 to belong to Old School Lolita!

Do I expect Lolitas to burn their chiffon, use their floor-length underskirts as curtains, or trade in their Triple Fortune bonnets for rectangle headdress? Do I expect us to party like it's 2001? No, of course not! Though, a Lolita can dream~ 

What I do anticipate, however, is an influx of Old School elements either being recycled or re-imagined this year. I've noticed a slight interest in the style from the major brands for awhile, but it's quite evident that more curiosity for the style is growing, with the name Old School Lolita now being used as a trendy term by those of us in the West. Don't believe me about the brands' involvement? There are some of us who are still confused by those flat "bonnets" BABY started producing at the start of the Classic trend. 

BABY's Labyrinth in the Reminiscent Mirror Bonnet Headdress

Source: Lolibray 

Is it a bonnet? Is it a rectangle headdress? The world may never know.

What I've noticed is that this new trend is a bit minimal, meaning that it focuses on a slight incorporation. So, instead of a full blown Old School outfit, they pick certain essential Old School elements and add them to current outfits. A lot of times, they go unnoticed because of how minor they are.   

So don't worry about your precious chiffon. This revival isn't about eliminating, but more about incorporating. There's no way the fashion will completely diverge back to how it once was. I just don't see that happening. Instead, this year, look for certain accessories or the way an outfit is styled to appreciate this Old School resurgence.

◊Old School Elements being RECYCLED 

Take this very recent photo shoot with Midori. At first glance, the styling of her outfit seems pretty modern for our fashion. But I swear this outfit has Old School elements to it. I can go on and on about how her Alice bow, natural hair in soft ringlet twin tails, and lacy bell/princess sleeves highlights an Old School aura, but I'm looking at a specific item she is wearing that screams Old School. 

    

Do you see it yet? Not really? Well, what if I put up another photo- a street snap of a Gothic Lolita more than half a decade ago?

The rabbit! It's the rabbit! Eerie, right? The two photos look like they're from two different worlds. But one thing links them together is that cute rabbit! I nearly screamed when I saw Midori modeling with this bag, because I just  KNEW I've seen it before.    

And that's the one thing that's great about this comeback, the constant deja vu that I'm having. Every week or so, I'm saying, "Hey, I've seen that somewhere before," more often.

◊Old School Elements being RE-IMAGINED 

Okay, so here is the REALLY fun part about this comeback. We get to see tradition styles being worked over to produce something fashionable for today's Lolita. Look at this picture for example. This is a shot of a lucky Lolita at one of Angelic Pretty's latest tea party. She won a great prize, but look at what she's wearing! It's Angelic Pretty's 2014 Princess in Love JSK. This picture has been reblogged by countless Lolita, but none have mention how Old School it looks. When I first saw the picture, I stopped and thought, is that a printless, multiple tiered dress layered with clashing white lace?! Is that a rectangle head dress?! You bet your petticoat it is.        

The prize is in the way, so I know it'd be hard for people to see, but could they really not notice the Old School vibe? Just in cased you don't know how detailed this JSK is, fest your eyes on its stock picture. 

Source: Lolibrary
I invite everyone to click the link to marvel, either from disgust
or delight, at the detail shots. Either way, you'll be shocked. 

While Old School is usually described as being "tacky," "too costumey" and just plain "ugly," I haven't heard or seen any comments that label this outfit the same way. And this JSK is a pure lace monster. Where are the naysayers now? I like to believe that most of them are liking and reblogging this picture not knowing what exactly lies underneath that prize. But even so, there hasn't been any flack about the areas that can be seen. And that headdress gets me every time I look at it. I remember a time when a Lolita couldn't wear a rectangle headdress without being mocked or ridiculed. Does anyone remember them being called "maxi pads," a term of endearment now, but, in the past, a term to humiliate? Though, now you can see a Lolita sporting one more frequently than prior years.       

It's still early in the year, but I have faith in my prediction. The only thing I can be certain about now is that I'll have fun seeing how this trend plays out. I can't wait to see what outfits today's fashionable Lolitas will create with Old School elements, whether they realize it or not. 

°˖✧ 'Till next time