Austen and the Abbey (Day Two)

Hello dear readers, how are you? Thank you for your lovely birthday messages, I had a nice day picnicking in the country :)

Now it's time for the second installment of Austen and the Abbey!

The beautiful location for this day of the event was Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, the home of Jane Austen's ancestors.

The West Wing, which is the main facade of the house.

The picturesque gatehouse, which dates back to the 12th and 14th centuries. 

The bed in Queen Victoria's bedroom (she stayed here too!)

A wood-panelled room with fancy red velvet chairs.

Lolis taking a tour!

The lady in regency costume who gave us the tour.

Me and my friend Bree!

The saloon, where the fashion show was held. Today's show featured Fairy wish, Atelier Pierrot, Juliette et Justine (I got to wear an amazing Red Riding Hood coordinate!) and Baroque.

The library.

Fairy wish tights! They are amazing and have cockatiels on them!

Books in the library.

Tapestry-work chairs.

Some rather nice tassels.

I feel really lucky to be from a country that has so many wonderful and well-preserved buildings like this. It was a great location for a lolita event and I think it was especially good for the Japanese guests, who got to do a little sightseeing along with their work.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! See you next time,

Sapphira

Austen and the Abbey (Day One)

Hello dear readers! How are you?

I ahve had a tiring weekend, but I'm recovered now. Tomorrow is my birthday! I'm going for a picnic with my family, I'm really looking forward to it.

Well, I must tell you about Austen and the Abbey! I'll split the posts into two days.

This was the location for the first day, the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa. Leamington is a very pretty Georgian town and of course the pump rooms are to do with the famous baths there.

As I mentioned before, I wore boystyle on this day!

It was a very hot day so I discarded my waiscoat quite quickly....

I did get one picture with it! On the left is my lovely friend Violette Noir, looking perfect as usual. This picture was taken in the tea room. The tea parties with the guests (Alice Kobayashi, Yuko Ashizawa and Coco) took place here and the staff from Tea Prince were serving.

Lizzie's Tasty Teas were providing delicious tea in these amazing antique tea cups.

One of the guests was Coco from lolita unit Die Milch. She has a very friendly, sunny personality and I had a lot of fun chatting with her. I was sad because I had to be backstage getting ready for the fashion show during her live. However I will definitely go to see her and Jasmine perform when I go back to Japan!

Pretty stained glass window in the tea room.

The other room contained the stalls and the stage. The exhibitors included Rococo Daze,  Baroque, and Another Girl's Treasure. The designers of Japanese brands Atelier Pierrot and Fairy wish were there in person to sell their products!

Me with Alice Kobayashi of Fairy wish! I'm so happy I could meet her. I loved her street snaps and her brand for a long time, and now I know she is even cuter and even kinder than I could have imagined. I hope to meet her again soon! 

Cute accessories by 8th Sin Creations.

Amazing jumperskirt by Lusty'n Wonderland- the bodice looks like a chest of drawers!

Lovely dresses from Rocking Horse.

After chatting with lots of people and checking out the stalls, it was time to get ready for the fashion shows. It was pretty hectic!

I was in two shows- the Mori Girl show and the Fairy wish show. I was supposed to model for Victorian Maiden too but the outfits got stuck in customs.... It was disappointing but what can you do? 

Anyway, I really enjoyed both shows! My friend Shani asked me to fill in for one girl who could no longer model winter mori. I was very happy to oblige, and so Shani decked me out in her clothes and got togther this really cute outfit for me!

I really liked the fuzzy beret and the woolly shawl!

Two of the other mori models. I loved their outfits too!

Next up was the Fairy wish show! Lyci and Chelsea were modelling too- they look so cute! Everyone got really nice outfits and the tights were adorable- I'll show you some close-up photos in the next post.

This was my outfit for Fairy wish- a broiderie anglaise blouse and matching katyusha and a black pleated skirt with a white lace trim, along with the wonderful tights! I didn't want to take it off to be honest, haha. I got to wear it again for the show and photoshoot the following day though!

Although it was rather tiring and stressful with things running late and going wrong, I really did enjoy myself that day. I went alone which was a bit daunting but it was also good because I spent a lot of time talking to different people and getting to know them better, instead of sticking mostly with one friend. I think it was the fellow attendees and the wonderful guests that made it an especially good day for me. Some of what was planned was a bit ambitious considering that there was such a small team of organisers, but I think they all did their very best and worked very hard. I have to say thank you to them and everyone who I met there for making it such a nice and memorable occasion!

I hope you enjoyed this post and please look out for the next one, coming soon.

Sapphira

Hyper Japan Fashion Show 26/02/12

Hello readers!

Yesterday I had a wonderful time at Hyper Japan 2012 Spring. I ate a lot, including delicious curry croquettes, and learnt more about Japanese cinema. And I got a smile from the very cute Beckii Cruel :) I even met a couple of people who read this blog or recognised me from Daily Lolita! I was very suprised and happy. Thank you so much for talking to me, you are all truly lovely and it was a pleasure to meet you <3

I walked in the Japanese Street Fashion show, which showcased Lolita, Otome, Mori Girl and Cult Party kei. 

Scarlett and Tania opened the show. Scarlett was wearing kodona, and Tania was wearing a new print from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright.

Emma, on the left, was wearing Innocent World's Lotta print in classic-sweet style. Katie was hime-sweet in Baby. They are both so frilly!

Annie-May in classic. I really love this colour combination! Her bonnet is handmade.

It's me, accompanied by my dear friend Mr Albert Bear. Predictably, I'm in classic. One day I'll shock you by wearing head-to-toe AP!

With this coordinate I went for a "British school girl" theme, hence the red and blue argyll socks and sturdy boots. My jumperskirt is from Emily Temple Cute, socks are Metamorphose, blouse is handmade and everything else is offbrand. Mr Bear's ribbon hand-tailored at Savile Row.

Jenni wore classic-gothic, a style which I'd like to try out for myself. Her BTSSB hair accessory is so elegant, as is the simple but rich-looking colour scheme.

Mel looked so gorgeous, as always! I think she's one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. I really loved her decadent, gothic outfit.

Like many lolitas, I really look up to Phoebe! She puts so much creativity into her outfits. Her coordinate today was wonderful, with a handmade bonnet adorned with tiny bird skulls.

Here's our little mori girl pair, Mya and Shani. They look like two baby deers! I loved Mya's straw heart-shaped bag and Shani's hairstyle.

Antonia's outfit started off as mori girl but ended up as Cult Party kei with the addition of colourful accessories. Her beautiful red hair helped things along too! I really like the way she pinned up the different layers of her outfit.

Aimi was also in Cult Party kei. Her handmade hair crucifix was very cool! 

Sam was next, in otome. She told me that she reads this blog- hello Sam! 

To close the show, Bunny was also wearing otome in lovely hues of dusky pink and honey brown. She managed to walk very gracefully despite wearing those famous Vivienne Westwood Hermes sandals, which give me the chills despite being a heel veteran.

For the finale we all lined the stage, then it was time for the interviews. This gave the audience a chance to learn more about our different styles.

You can see Jenni's Grimoire tights better here! 

Explaining my socks....

It was interesting to hear about Cult Party kei. I've seen enough pictures to recognise it (seems to be based around white fluffy layers with flashes of colour and rather wonderfully morbid accessories) but I'm by no means an expert. It's a very new fashion, which is exciting! It's great to know that things are constantly changing and evolving in the world of Japanese street fashion; I would feel so sad to think that it would ever turn stale.

I thought Sam's outfit was not only gorgeous but also a wonderful example of otome kei, with retro touches like her lace-up boots, the cuteness of the strawberries on her dress (I love this series from Emily Temple Cute!) and also the modern, relaxed style of her blazer. If you need a reference for the difference between lolita and otome, you can look at this picture!

Finally all the lolis in the audience were invited onto the stage for the prize-giving. Tania the organiser, Scarlett (Hyper Japan's Kawaii Star) and Megu-san, Baby's shop staff, picked their favourite outfits to award prizes to. The prizes were donated by Gothic Lolita Wigs, Roxie Sweetheart, Teja Tights, Keep-it-secret and Now, Voyager. Well done lucky lolis!

I hope you enjoyed all the pictures, and if you see your picture here of course feel free to take it, and do let me know if you would like anything taken down or changed.

See you next time! 

Sapphira

xxxx

Hyper Japan Spring 2012

Hello readers!

Today I'd like to tell you about a Japanese cultural event happening in London this month.

It's Hyper Japan!

I've attended both previous Hyper Japan events, the first in 2010 as an honourary KERA model, and the second last summer when I was again in a Lolita fashion show. This year once again I'll be walking the catwalk with other J-fashionistas, modelling Classic Lolita.

Hyper Japan 2010

(photo courtesy of Cross Media and Hyper Japan)

This year's catwalks (organised by the lovely pixie_late) will have a mix of street styles including Dolly Kei and Mori Girl as well as Sweet, Gothic and Classic Lolita. As well as that there will be prizes for the audience! Quite substantial prizes too- wigs from Gothic Lolita Wigs. Put on your best outfit and see if you'll be a winner! 

Elegant and Sophisticated Lolita Fashion Show at Hyper Japan 2011

As well as the fashion, I'm looking forward to the food! If all the foodie pictures from my recent posts have made you long for some Japanese cuisine, Hyper Japan will be the place to go. KOBE has some particularly delicious offerings including gyoza and yakitori! For a bit more sophistication, how about Feng Sushi? 

I'm also excited about the Japanese dance performance. We don't often have a chance to experience this sort of performance outside of Japan, and it's sure to be beautiful and hypnotic. I'm also quite interested to see Beckii Cruel! I think she's very cute, and I wonder what her live performance will be like. Will she sing? Or just dance? Well, we'll find out in a couple of weeks!

Hope to see you there! I'll be doing a write up with lots of pictures after the event.

HYPER JAPAN 2012 Spring will be held on Friday 24, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 February 2012 at Brompton Hall at Earls Court, London.