Fancy Lolita Tea Time - DT Bistro

We skipped having a meet in May since Anime North was happening and we had a lot of other things to do with Cafe Delish. By some random occurrence of the lolita gods, this meet up fell on the weekend after I was admitted into the hospital for appendicitis. Of course if it happened to be that weekend, I would've insisted that the other girls follow through with the plans and be fancy for me while I was feeling not so fashionable my in hospital smock. (Although I have to say, they are very comfortable...!)

DT Bistro

I had a week to mostly recover and come to June's summer lolita meet up. It was also to celebrate a belated International Lolita Day (summer edition) which usually falls on the first Saturday of June (the other being in December). This month, I chose for us to go to DT Bistro, located in downtown Toronto along Spadina and Harbord St. I came across it in pictures and was delighted to learn that they also serve afternoon tea on weekends from 2-5pm. 

The interior of the restaurant is very open, lots of natural light streaming in and they had set up our table for afternoon tea beforehand. They also have a brunch/lunch menu that you could order from, but I opted to tell them that our group was coming there for afternoon tea when they called me to confirm the reservation. 

They have a shorter tea list, which sometimes makes it easier to choose what kind of tea you would like. They have afternoon tea options, one being the normal one and the other being deluxe, which includes a DT Bistro special cocktail along with the pot of tea you would get in the normal tea option. 

Our waiter kept mixing up our tea orders and poor Keiko had her pot of tea replaced four times, and I still think it wasn't correct after the fouth try. They also ran out of mint tea for Tenshi, so she had to order camomile instead. Archangeli's genmaicha was missing the gen mai, it just tasted and smelled like regular green tea, with no puffy rice bits, so really she just ordered sencha. Their tea selection has some interesting choices, but I would stick to a tea you're familiar with before they mix it up with something else by accident. Our server was trying to convince me that my jasmine tea was chai when it clearly did not look like or smell like chai tea. You got to stand your ground for your tea especially when you know it's the right pot you have!

Afternoon tea

The savory plate was really appetizing, however the cornbread and tomato soup were a bit of an odd edition. There was this amazing braised beef with melted cheese, I would eat a whole plate of those, they were delicious! I was so stuffed I couldn't even eat my scone, not that I did not want to! I just find my stomach capacity to be less after surgery. I'm sure I'll be a food heathen soon enough again!

Each tier had a slightly different dessert plate on top. I actually forgot to mention I preferred no chocolate...so I just didn't eat any of the chocolate items, except for the fruit tart and one of the macarons.

DT Bistro has a lot of potential and it's great that they take reservations. Their afternoon tea sets start at $30, which I think is a very reasonable price point. If only they served sugar cubes instead of packs of sugar, it would definitely elevate the experience. They also did not have enough tea pots with infusers for our group, so half of us had tea bags in our pots, a slight detail I took notice of. 

Some of the patrons who were coming in for a drink were very enamored by our group, I think most of them have not seen lolita before? Lots of subtle smiles and curious glances were thrown our way. A lady on the street, rolled down her car window to yell, "You girls look adorable!" while Keiko and I were making our way to the streetcar. Gosh, I love Toronto. 

Photo credit: Archangeli

Photo credit: Archangeli

This was also Naoko's first lolita meet up! I didn't realize that she was interested in lolita until the month prior.  I invited her to come to this meet up to wear one of her only lolita items she purchased while in Japan. 

Naoko-chan! You're more than welcome to visit Machiko's Lolita Closet Rentals! 

Please don't get any tea or stains on rental items though. You will be subject to dry cleaning fees and eternal tears from Machiko if stains don't come out.  (>o<;;)

I opted to wear something with a high waist so it wouldn't bother the area that had been operated on. I definitely was not able to wear a petticoat. I will have to wear this print again sometime to give it some justice!

For this meet, I wore Angelic Pretty's Dreaming Macaron.

Until our next meet, 

eat some more scones!

~*~

Bonus:

Derp lolita?

Hahaha!

Fancy Lolita Tea Time - AnnVita Tea Room

It's been quite time since I've blogged, my last post being in 2013, but I think it's time that I come back to this in order to record the things that happen in my life. So many things have changed in the past 3 years, so let's get blogging!

I find with lolita, you have ups and downs. You are passionate for the hobby and then after you're satisfied with your wardrobe, you decide take a break. I took a break and when I came back to it earlier this year, I saw many things I had missed in the past few years. I never stopped loving lolita fashion, but with other things happening in my life, I just didn't have a chance to wear it very often and lolita took a back seat.

My friend, Whitefrosty, kept suggesting that I organize some meet ups so that we could wear our outfits. Dust off the frills and be fancy! 

It was also a coincidence that one of my other friends, Hiroko, was interested in lolita...but had no lolita items, so I told her to come over and have fun with my wardrobe. I said, "Pick whatever print interests you and I'll dress you up!" 

 ~~~

Previous AnnVita visit with my friend.

My brunch!

I organized a meet up at AnnVita Tea Room since I knew they had a lovely ambience and had some very nice drink selections and offered two types of afternoon tea sets. It was also around the time of Whitefrosty and Keiko's birthdays, so I figured it would be fun to celebrate in lolita.

I had previously came here on casual dates with my girl friends and with Whitefrosty before. I'll try to find some pictures of the tea room. It's quite lovely. One side has lots of natural light that streams in, which can be harsh on your eyes depending on the time of day and the amount of sunlight, and there is another side near the entrance that is a bit more secluded. For our meet, we were seated behind the entrance wall partition, which provided a bit more privacy for our group.

Scones!

When we arrived, they were serving brunch! I was really surprised...(and hungry). So the few of us who were there early decided to order some food while the rest of the group arrived.

I ordered the classic breakfast set for brunch and it was a generous portion and the price was quite reasonable. (I believe it was around $10-12?) I find with AnnVita, their tea and drink list is quite expensive, but the amount you are served is quite deceiving. The cheapest drink you can order is $11.99 if I recall. It looks like a little amount, but 4-5 cups later, you're bursting! On this occasion, I ordered the rose milk tea. It has lovely hints of rose and a creamy texture to it. It was served with a cute dessert...that none of us could figure out what flavour it was. Guava-mango?

Their afternoon tea sets are around $40 per person. One is the Victorian tea set and the other is the Jane Austen tea set. A few of us ordered the tea sets to try, but since I had brunch, I opted for an order of scones instead, they're small, but so filling!

Rose Milk Tea

Victoria Tea Set

If you're looking for a place to spend a comfortable afternoon at, AnnVita is a lovely choice. They take reservations and the staff are very friendly. They do not rush you or give you a time limit on your seating. I do prefer their teas and the a la carte menu for scones or biscuits. The tables are small so you have to be careful when moving your plates or pots around while in lolita.

At this meet, I wore a coordinate featuring Metamorphose's Happy Ending Story.

This is a first of a small series of group meet ups for tea time and wearing lolita.

Let's be fancy!

Until next time <3

~~~

All photos were taken by Archangeli.

 ~~~

Bonus:

 Welcome to the dark frilly side Hiroko... ;)

V&A Lolita Exhibit

Last month on my trip to London with my sister, we popped by the Victoria & Albert Museum to check out the Hollywood Costume exhibit. My sister had been waiting two years for this exhibit and some of the costumes we saw were really amazing and it's so different seeing them in life rather than on the movie screen. (My favourite has to be the Dolly Levi gold dress from Hello, Dolly!)

There was a 45 min to an hour wait to get into the exhibit, so my sister and I walked around the gift shop and planned to head into the gem room, because we love sparkly things~! However, on our way there my sister got side tracked for some reason while walking by the Japanese antiquities room. I knew that the V&A had a small exhibit dedicated to lolita fashion and how British culture has influenced it, but from what I knew, it was on display from March until August. However, the museum has extended the exhibit until February 2013! So, if you visit the V&A museum before then, you'll see the lolita exhibit in the Japanese section on the main floor! You can't miss it because the displays have pink windows!

Kitty and the Bulldog: Lolita fashion and the influence of Britain

Kitty and the Bulldog explores the way in which British fashion – notably Victoriana, Punk and Gothic – has influenced the development of Japan’s ‘Lolita’ style, a cult fashion movement whose defining feature has been its preoccupation with cuteness, or ‘kawaii’. The display features nine outfits recently bought in Tokyo for the V&A's permanent collections. - http://www.vam.ac.uk/

My camera couldn't make due to the dim lighting in the room and the contrast between my coat at the displays was too great, so the lighting was off! So, I must apologize for the quality of the photos (>_<;)

Left: Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Alice and the Pirates    Right: Innocent World

Examples of Sweet lolita, that venture into classic and a bit of gothic for the AatP dress.

I really love the styling they used for all the mannequins. I also noticed that all the wigs used were from Priscilla. Good to know they didn't cap the budget on wigs since Priscilla wigs are quite expensive. I really like that bag on the BtSSB display. . . Oddly it was on the outlet page on Baby's online site, but it was sold out. (-__-;)

Left: Moi-Meme-Moitie     Right: Putumayo

I'll have to admit I'm not expert on Gothic lolita, but I love looking at Moi Meme Moitie's clothing. There are minute details that you have to see up close that I couldn't capture on film, but the custom lace is gorgeous and the simplicity makes the overall outfit very elegant. 

Putumayo! I don't own anything from the brand, but I always like looking at their ads in my Kera magazines. Their branding is geared towards punk lolita. I also like the Hangry & Angry stuffed doll that's part of the styling!

Left: H.Naoto's Sixh. and MINT Neko    Right: Mamechiyo

H.Naoto has so many lines, I can't remember most of them. Apparently the outfit is inspired by Vivienne Westwood and falls into the punk and visual kei category. 

Mamechiyo has some lovely contemporary works that modernize the kimono. I've known of the designer for awhile since Magic Pony exhibited some of her work many years ago here in Toronto! The description for this display categorized the style as "Japanese Lolita" and is more demure and explores Japanese traditional dress.

I'm really happy that I got to see this exhibit before it went away. It was purely by accident since I didn't know it was extended. It's just interesting and fun to see a fashion/hobby that you're devoted to in a display at one of the best Art & Design museums in the world. 

Also, it also brings lolita to a broader audience and hopefully more people see it as a fashion rather than a costume. 

♥

Lolita Fashions - Pt. 4 (featuring Alice & the Pirates)

From my last fashion post regarding Baby the Stars Shine Bright, I'll talk about their sub-brand, Alice and the Pirates. Featuring many pirate and nautical motifs, Alice and the Pirates is the inspiration behind the pirate lolita style. Their colorways are much more rich and dark compared to the collections of Baby the Stars Shine Bright. Let's explore some of their most intricate and beautiful prints!

As implied from their brand name, most of the prints have a pirate theme to their prints, or the prints might link to Alice in Wonderland. Common motifs you would see also include roses, crowns and more macabre themes. Don't let that think that's all they have though, because some of their print designs are quite lovely and can cross between kuro-lolita, shiro-lolita and gothic lolita. The prints designs often feature some unique design features such as different silhouettes, cuts and bustle skirts. 

AatP Vampire Requiem JSK

Details of Vampire Requiem

One of their most popular prints is Vampire Requiem. It has been so popular that it was released again earlier this year. The story of this print is that the Vampire Lord has once again gone and capture another innocent victim. You can see the Lord flying away with his victim in the detail picture on the right. I really like the designs of the gates along the skirt and the coffins placed within the gates and along the top of the the print design.

There is an Alice and the Pirates shop in the Laforet in Harajuku, Japan. At the time I was in Japan in October, I didn't see anything I liked in particular in the collection, but the store was very cute and charming. One side is devoted to AatP and the other has Baby the Stars Shine Bright. The 'store' is better described as a large showroom/booth since Laforet is a department store. On that floor they also have many other lolita and gothic brands.

AatP Mid Summer's Night Dream JSK

One of their more lovely prints is the Mid Summer's Night Dream. The silhouette is a bit different than traditional lolitas, since the print motif starts along the hip line rather than the waist. However the window designs are stunning. They feature roses, butterflies and the moon. The fabric on the the bodice also has a unique motif on it also. It's so charming in my opinion, and I think the black colorway is the best. The navy shows the details much better but the waist tie is a lighter blue and it's not that flattering in the overall look.

Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Another very popular print, is Queen's Coach. I really love the use of chiffon in this dress, it makes it look even more delicate. Here is a good example of Alice's asymmetrical designs and it doesn't take away from the over feel of the dress. The bodice is well designed and is complemented by the full skirt. The motif is comprised of small portrait windows that have crowns, roses and the Alice and the Pirates logo integrated into it.

 

AatP Sleeping Beauty JSK

Sleeping Beauty print

Highly sought after is the Sleeping Beauty print! In my opinion I like AatP's version of Sleeping Beauty rather than the BtSSB one. The design itself is similar to other dresses by AatP (such as Scent of Rapunzel), but the illustrated portraits are very beautiful. I really like the thorny roses that run along the hem line. One of the pictures I could not find of the windows is the one where the prince kisses the princess! They didn't release an official photo of it, but there are some owner photos on the web.

AatP Milky Rail Train OP

Part of the autumn collection this year, the Milky Rail Train is really interesting to me. It has some steampunk qualities to it! The dress uses velvet and satin fabrics, which in my opinion is a nightmare to wash and screams "Dry Clean Only"! The bows on the sleeves are a bit much, but I really like the neck line and the buttons details with the chains. It's a bit military, nautical and gothic all at the same time. We see some more asymmetrical lines in this dress as well, accented with the waist belt.

Here are some videos of Alice and the Pirates new collection which is currently coming out on their website. Right now it's reservations only though!

I can't share personal opinions of this brand too much because I don't own anything from it. If it's anything like Baby, I would think it is of great quality and design. Perhaps in the future I shall own something from AatP. Through my research of this brand I find that some of the prints are very familiar to me, and I'll bet it's because I've seen some of them in person in Closet Child or in Laforet! I'll have to pay better attention to this particular brand in the future.

Until next time! ♥

Lolita Closet - BtSSB Clockwork Tea Party

It's time to document my first Baby the Stars Shine Bright dress! This was part of their Autumn collection, Clockwork Tea Party. I've actually seen the the print before, from their fashion show clips at the beginning of this year. It was a prevalent motif in their animation sequences. 

Classic vanilla tea × Ivory lace

Blue mallow tea × Navy lace

 This is the Clockwork Tea Party, Pearl Jumper Skirt.

First, I'll talk about the dress.Most of all the items from CTP are sold out except for some of the JSKs and a few headbands on the site. I really favor the Ivory color more than the rest (besides the blue colorway). They are my favorite colors in this collection. They also have cute color names for the dresses.

I bought my dress from Closet Child. It is a Japanese second hand dealer for Lolita, Punk and Gothic fashion. They have a few shops in Japan, and I've visited the one in Shinjuku and Harajuku. It's actually quite fun shopping in there because you can find some hidden jems. The online site offers a smaller selection of what they have but the prices are very fair and they have descriptions of the faults or problems with the dresses. 

The only drawback is that the site is a bit difficult to navigate. Ordering was an interesting adventure, but the communication between Closet Child and I went very well and they are very polite in answering all your questions. They will also under declare the item for customs to save you some money, which is great! (^__^)

Second, I bought the headband that matches this dress from Baby directly. They did not have the headband on Closet Child and after some thought I decided to get the head band because it would help complete the look. It's probably the most expensive headband I've ever purchased. (O__O)

Baby is very quick to respond to your orders and shipping. They do not however, under declare items, so I ended up being charged customs on my headband. Adding to the fact it's the most expensive headband ever purchased...

They sent the headband in a big box. They included a Baby shopping bag too.

It was all nicely wrapped. It's all about presentation!

Lovely headband. There's wiring on the edges so you can shape or flatten it.

The headband is quite large when I put it on my head. However if I have my hair done and the dress on, the look is balanced nicely. The lace is beautiful and it matches the dress completely.

BtSSB Clockwork Tea Party in Ivory with headband

Bun-bun is making an appearance again. The dress is gorgeous. I was a bit wary of the sateen ribbon bow but they have added a matching ribbon across the waistband to keep the continuity in the design. The pearls are detachable and so are the waist ties. 

Clockwork Tea Party print

The print is even more lovely in life, you can see all the details in the design. The spoons, cups and saucers. I really like the cake stand and tea pot. There is a stack of books (I think it's not in the picture or it's cut off) that has the Baby logo on it. 

Back of the dress

Here is the back of the dress where you can see the shirring and the laced corseting that hides it. Here you can see the sateen ribbon being used also on the back along the waistline. The fabric is cotton and has a rich texture to it. Overall, I'm very impressed with this dress and series. It's very whimsical and the print has lots of elements that I really like. It's more of a spring/summer dress for me. I can't wait for winter to be over so I can wear it!

♥

Lolita Fashions - Pt. 3 (featuring Baby, the Stars Shine Bright)

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright is one of my favorite lolita brands, and the first one I knew about when I first learned about lolita fashion. One of the more expensive brands out there, however their prints are quite sophisticated and the lace and materials used are quite lovely. 

Baby is well known for their sweet (amai) prints and they have some great classic designs too. Their collections often also feature a rabbit, named Usagi-chan. Because I really love fairytale prints, I believe Baby is one of the best companies out there who have put out many different classic fairytale prints. It's an interesting concept because lolita is built upon the idea of princess-like attributes, and what could be better than wearing some exceptional dresses and bringing some lace and frills into your life while encompassing this ideal?

The first experience I had with Baby was when we went to Tokyo a few years ago. In my guide book one of the areas mentioned to go to was the Baby showroom, and when I showed it to my sister she immediately said she wanted to go there. I wasn't so enthusiastic about lolita then, but it didn't hurt to go see what Baby had to offer (^__^")

The showroom in Daikanyama is the flagship store and would ideally carry all of the present collections. Oddly enough, it was tucked into a corner of a building entrance and it wasn't until I mentioned we would have walked past it already and turned back we saw the plaque on the wall. 

Baby the Stars Shine Bright Daikanyama. The sign was so small that we walked by it.

Down the corridor you see the doors to the store.

 You aren't allowed to take pictures inside the store, like most shops in Japan. The store is quite small, I was expecting it to be larger, but space is hard to come by in Japan. The shop assistants are so adorable! They tried to help us as much as they could even though they spoke little to no english. My sister would ask them for certain sizes or colors for shoes and I would have to try to tell them in Japanese. They were so sweet and when they both gave us a 'sold out', it was so funny and cute. They did however, recommend another pair of shoes to my sister which she did buy. They are super cute, but sadly they do not fit anymore (>__<) and my feet are too small to wear them. 

Baby shoes from their 2008 collection.

My sister did buy an umbrella from Baby too, and I have to point out she hasn't used it yet. Don't know what she's waiting for. (^__~)'

One of Baby's newest collections is Rin-Chan's Black Cat. Rin-chan is part of the staff at Daikanyama. The collection features a cute dress, blouse, handbag, and some accessory pieces. I actually really like the dress and the bag. It's really charming and cute. I think style correctly, it can be very versatile. (Although I don't know if the tail is removable. I hope so?)

Rin-Chan's Black Cat OP with the blouse. The back has a tail! Check it out here.

Rin-chan's Black Cat purse. It's so cute!

I don't know if Rin-chan worked at the Baby store when we were there, but I think it would be so cute to meet her! She is adorable! The price for the OP is a bit steep, however, compared to their "For Pure Maiden" set, it's cheap. Which I can't say is a bad or good thing. I think if you really love it, you just have to go for it. Go big or go home! I don't know if I will consider getting this set...but it definitely is on my wish list.

If you have ever wondered what it is like to be in a lolita shop, it's actually not a scary experience. Yes, there's an overwhelming amount of pink in Baby stores, but the staff are very kind and let you browse through things on your own. Granted, the experiences that I was in Baby, I was talking in english with my sister and friends, so they tend to shy away until you approach them for some help.

This is such a cute video! Misaki Aoki is a model for Baby and Rin-chan is there to help her out at the store. I love Rin-chan's voice... \(^__^-)/

What I find interesting from Baby is that they explore the use of velvet and more luxurious fabrics. Usually their more high-end expensive items have so much workmanship featuring the use of chiffon and tulle. Most of the time the design is a bit out there for me to consider but it's still so lovely to look at!

Baby's Odette OP. The original price was 102,900 yen! Lolita Couture!

There are so many dresses from Baby that are so beautiful to talk about. I'll leave this particular post with the Cinderella Jewelry print from last year. If I could ever find it at a reasonable price, I think I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. Something about this print gnaws at me and I really want it if I could have it. The print is gorgeous with the Cinderella motifs in the frames. However, it is a very popular print and it's hard to find because of it's popularity.

Baby's Cinderella Jewelry JSK (2010)

Here are some of the panels on the print. Each frame features a different iconic scene from the story of Cinderella. You can also see the details of the pearls and other jewelry motifs built into the design.

Cinderella flees the castle at the stroke of midnight.

The glass slipper is returned.

 I think Baby offers so much with their designs and prints; so much fantasy and reminders of a time long past. It makes me very whimsical. It's true their products are quite expensive, but I think the workmanship and the thought that goes into the designs and prints reflect an extensive amount of work and in the end it's worth it. With all things, you should love the what you purchase and have an emotional attachment to it, and sadly, there's too much of this emotion when I look at some of Baby's designs! My poor wallet! (>__<)

My next post, I'll talk about my most recent Baby acquisitions. Stay tuned!

♥