Paris, Day 3 – Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Tea Party

On Saturdaymorning I woke up early, because I was very excited! Today was the day of the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Tea Party! Lots of other things happened on this day too, but otherwise the title of this entry would have been too long. ^^
The day before I had talked to my friend Sydney on Facebook. A couple of months ago we met there and we became friends within a short amount of time! We would meet each other at Baby’s shop before the Tea Party for the first time in real life and I had told her I’d arrive there around 10 am.
My mom and I had breakfast downstairs and then, it was time to get dressed!
After I did my make up (which took a while), I did my hair. The day before, I had worn braids and also during the night, so when I unbraided them I had cute, Cleopatra-ish waves in my hair! I put my white, maid-like Baby bow on my head (that I once won in a contest), made two small ponytails with little clips to create the effect of having more hair, put two off white flowers next to them and finished it all with a pink dangling star clip.
Then, it was time to put on my Lolita clothes! I put on a white tanktop, Baby bloomers and socks and then my blouse. Then I put on my two petticoats, my dress, shoes and my accessories! Here is my outfit:

Me in my pink Tea Party outfit! I felt like a princess!
After I had checked if I had put everything in my bag (camera, wallet, ticket, etc.) it was finally time to leave! I was 10 minutes later than planned, but it wasn’t so bad. There was plenty of time.
We left the hotel and we made some outfit pictures.

Our outfits. ^^
I’ve had a lot of first esperiences on this day (I call them simply ‘firsts’) and it already started here! I’ve never really been out in Lolita, except for walking to the park while no one was outside. So being out in full Lolita was completely new to me and now I was in Paris! So many people!
First, my mom and I went to the bank to get some money and then we went to the metro. It was interesting to see how some people where surprised to see me, others were clearly ignoring me. My mom, who was walking behind me, said it was funny: as soon as people passed me they often looked back with a ‘Huh!?’ expression on their face. Although I wasn’t scared at all to walk through the city, it was nice having my mom with me as my bodyguard (haha).
While waiting for the metro, I noticed a man on the other side of the station subtlely taking a picture of me with his phone. To be honest: I didn’t really mind. I can understand Lolitas must be like some kind of phenomenon and I actually felt flattered (although I do prefer when people ask. ^^).

Waiting for the metro. I felt a little like Momoko from Kamikaze Girls!
While standing in the metro, an old man took a picture of me with his phone. I smiled at the camera, after which he smiled and came up to us. He looked at me and asked my mom: ‘Why is she dressed like that?’ I was like: ‘I’m standing right here…’ So I just answered him myself. He wasn’t unfriendly or something, but it’s still a bit funny. ^^’ Oh well, this was the first time someone asked me that. Or my mom.
Later my mom told me she thought it was a weird question, ‘Why are you dressed like that?’ ‘You don’t go up to other people and ask that either’, she said. We arrived at station Ledru-Rollin, where my mom and I took pictures again in the photomaton. They turned out so cute! ^^
Just when we were finished, I saw three lovely Lolitas walking by! I walked after them and managed to catch up while they were waiting for the traffic lights.

I was too shy to talk to them, but walking behind them did result into this nice picture.
While we were walking, a woman with a little child in a stroller passed us and suddenly, the baby pointed as us and laughed! It was so funny. XD
Then, we reached the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright shop! My heart was pounding again: now I would meet Sydney! When I looked through the windows, I recognised her immediately of course and I went to greet her! It was so nice to meet her! ^^ She was much taller than I expected (but then, she was wearing platform shoes), haha! She also introduced me to her friend Yumi, who, just like her, studied in France for a while. Then suddenly, when I looked outside, I saw Emilie already! She had told me she would arrive between 12 and 12:30, but she was early! I was so happy! Of course, we had to take some pictures together!

Emilie, me, Sydney and Yumi. ♥ It’s so cool: three times pink plus one time blue!
We went inside again and browsed the shop some more (because we hadn’t seen everything already of course). It was my first time being in the shop while dressed in Lolita, yaaay! I had the courage to ask someone for a picture, yay! During the Tea Party, the courage grew more, luckily. ^^
I was constantly smiling so broadly, but I couldn’t help it! Everyone looked so pretty and I felt pretty too! I loved feeling that way.
After a while, Claire (the shopgirl) had to ask us to leave the shop, since they had to close. My mom took some more pictures of us outside, in front of the shop window. There, I met the beautiful Diana!

Me and Diana! I was so in love with her coordinate and her beautiful hair!
A woman with two small children passed us, and the little girl was so cute! She was really shy when looking at us. There was also a woman who asked us for a picture, ‘because we looked so pretty!’ ^^

Pink girls! ♥
Picture by Emilie
We spent some time in front of the shop (luckily we weren’t the only ones). Emilie told me there would be a special event at Angelic Pretty the whole day, including something very special at night: the girls of 6%Dokidoki would come and also Kyary Pamyu Pamyu! I was so excited! I consulted with my mom for a moment and she was okay with going!

Yumi and me. ♥ She is so adorable!
Then my mom and I said goodbye to each other: we would see each other after the Tea Party again. Sydney and Yumi went to eat some sushi, while Emilie and I decided to go to the Angelic Pretty shop. But first, Emilie introduced me to the other Lolitas hanging around, including one of my inspirations: BloodyQueen, who was wearing a beautiful yellow, Marie Antoinette-like dress. She told me it was by the brand Clara Maeda. They were going to a Tea Party for that brand later that day. She looked so pretty! I loved meeting BloodyQueen so much! She is so sweet and beautiful!
After some talking (both in French and English) we all went to the AP shop! Walking with a group of Lolitas was so awesome! It was like a small, pretty army parading through the street!
We arrived at Angelic Pretty, where we had to wait outside for a while, because otherwise it would get too full inside. Suddenly, I saw Maki and Asuka helping customers! For a moment I couldn’t breath! It was like pictures on the internet came to life! Finally, I was allowed to go inside and Emilie not long after me. I browsed the entire store, because it had changed a lot since I had been there last time. Everything looked adorable! And almost everything was on sale! I saw the navy version of Fancy Box, but I decided not to buy it. Emilie wanted to buy the special, limited t-shirt, so she had to stand in line for a long time. In the meantime I met Dominique, the owner of the Angelic Pretty/Boddywood shop. It was so nice to finally meet him in person! He is so nice and kind and he speaks three languages! He was interested in where I came from and was happy I would come to the Tea Party on Monday.
When Emilie was done, we could finally meet Maki and Asuka!
To be honest: I was a bit afraid Maki and Asuka wouldn’t be happy to see us wearing a different brand than Angelic Pretty. I’ve heard stories of Lolitas saying they are fake and uninterested, but they were so nice! We took pictures together and they could have left it at that, but they asked us where we came from (Me: ‘Holland… er… Oranda?’ They: ‘Ah, tulips!’ It was so cute! ♥) and they were happy to hear we would come to the AP Tea Party! I was so happy to meet them! And they both looked so pretty!

I got pictures with Maki and Asuka! I’m so happy!
It was time for us to go: we were already running a little late! We said goodbye to Maki and Asuka and Emilie, Tro-Tro, Madeline (who we met at the Baby shop), BloodyQueen and I left the shop.

Tro-Tro, me and BloodyQueen! Tro-Tro’s skirt is one of my favourite
Baby prints and just look at BloodyQueen’s dress! *___*
We walked back to Ledru-Rollin and after we were asked for a picture (which took a while, the poor girl had a stupid camera), some girls bought their metro tickets while I waited. We proceeded through the gates and took the metro. BloodyQueen and Tro-Tro exited some stations before for their Tea Party and we went on to Opéra! There, we had to walk fast: it was almost 2 pm, the time the Tea Party would start! Emilie and I hate arriving late (Emilie is Swiss. Being on time, you get it? Haha. XD), so we almost ran to le Grand Hôtel.

Le Grand Hôtel, the location of the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Tea Party!
Of course we arrived on time after all and I called my mom to say we were at the hotel, but when she picked up she was panicking a little! This was the first time she was all only in the metro and she didn’t understand the system after all! She always follows me, because I understand it perfectly. So I tried to help her, without having a map with me and I managad to guide her back to our own hotel. Then, as soon as I hung up, we were allowed into the hotel!
I had seen pictures from the Tea Party in February, which was at the same hotel, so I knew what it looked like, but seeing it with your own eyes is always different! I have one word to describe everything: expensive! We walked through a hall, past the reception and then we arrived in a beautiful room with a glass roof. We walked through the room (we drew quite some attention from the people having tea there) and then went left, into a small hall with a reception desk. Emilie and I somehow ended up almost at the front, so we were the first to get checked on the list and receive our present: a set of four cute badges with details from prints on them! We waited for a while, while hotel staffmembers walked in and out with food, until Sawada-san (Baby Paris’ owner) opened the doors and it was finally time to go inside ourselves!

The beautiful Tea Party room! I’ll be honest: this is a picture from after the Tea Party,
but I just wanted to show you what the room looks like when it’s empty. ^^
Emilie and I entered together after some people, while a two violinists and a cellist started playing beautiful music. They were dressed in Baby, the Stars Shine Bright dresses and I wondered if they were asked to do that or if they were really Baby fans..
Since we were some of the first people who got to enter, Emilie and I could choose a table and we kept two free spots for Sydney and Yumi, who were a bit behind us. Madeline joined us too, and some adorable other Lolitas. We were also joined by Marlessa, from Russia, who I’ve seen on Tumblr before and who looked stunning as always! Soon Sydney and Yumi joined us while other people sat down too.

My ticket, number 17.
We talked for a while, after which everyone slowly became quiet while Claire stood in the middle of the room. She thanked us all for coming (everything she said in French was repeated in English, yay) and she told us the program for the party. First we would have cake and tea, then there would be the lottery, then there would be Midori’s (the TP guest) book signing and then there would be the prizes for best dressed. In the meantime you could just chat and take pictures with each other. Claire also told us that, unfortunately, Midori had only about ten books, so there would be a small game to decide who could buy the book and get an autograph. After she was done talking, we clapped and the Tea Party had started!
Everyone went to the table in the back to get a pastry! There were thee choices: chocolate, raspberry or a millefeuille. After some doubting I chose chocolate (I can never withstand its sweetness). The girl who was standing next to me (I can’t remember who it was) was gave me a pastry first, so kind! Then, when she wanted to get one herself, she accidentally flipped it over! Luckily it wasn’t so bad.

The gorgeous pastries! Choosing was hard!
Picture by Sydney
I went back to our table, while making sure I wouldn’t drop my chocolate pastry on someone’s dress and sat down. After a little while I was joined by the others (somehow we got split up in line or something). I looked around while waiting, since I didn’t want to start eating without them. There were so many beautiful outfits! I couldn’t tell which one I loved most. And there were a lot of people! When I looked at pictures later, I sometimes found people I hadn’t even seen! There was even a boy who was completely dressed like a pirate, so cool! I also saw the most complicated hairstyles! And I was surprised to see some parents too.
Finally, our table was full again and butlers were walking around, asking what we would like to drink. I was in a chocolate mood, so I chose hot chocolate. I was a bit afraid of my dress: all that dangerous chocolate! I was glad Sydney showed me to use the napkin that was lying next to my plate as a protective shield by putting it on my lap. I guess I miss basic etiquette, ahem.
My pastry was delicious (even the small piece of… tinfoil (?) on top of it) and I loved chatting with my friends. Sydney and I talked about ‘famous’ Dutch products. It took me a while to realise the cookies with caramel she was talking about were actually ‘stroopwafels’, a very popular Dutch product. If she ever comes to the Netherlands, I’ll buy her a bunch of them! ^^ Then I asked her if I could be in a picture with her little Totoro! Totoro is Sydney’s friend and together they explored Paris! He even has his own blog!

Me and cutie Totoro! He was all dressed up for the occasion!
Picture by Sydney
We finished our treats and Emilie and I decided to walk up to the table with pastries to take some pictures, since there weren’t many people around there.

I felt like a true princess in the beautiful room with all the other beautiful girls!
During the Tea Party, Emilie and I acted as each other’s photographers, so we both have quite some pictures of ourselves and with others!
Emilie introduced me to her wonderful friend Tiya, who wore one of my Dream Dresses: Creamy Soda Pop in black. She had created a beautiful and fun coord with it. We started talking and her English is so great! And she’s also a super nice and fun girl! I asked her for a picture and she said it would be a pleasure. When Emilie had taken the picture, Tiya asked me if I wanted to take a ‘stupid’ picture with her. I loved the idea and it resulted into this:

Princess Fight!
It was so much fun taking this picture! Lolitas are always pretty and elegant and I love that, but this was so contradictory with that image, haha!
I also took a picture with Claire, who was wearing one of Baby’s upcoming prints, the one with the trains, in lavender. I noticed that her waist ties were attached to the dress with safety pins. When I asked her about it, she laughed and said: ‘They haven’t designed buttons for the dress yet, so I had to pin them to the dress!’ I thought that was so cool! I suggested buttons with trains, that would be very unique!
We were asked to sit down again. When we were seated, the musicians started playing. Me, with my slow head, asked what was going on, when the guest of the party came in: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright model Midori! If her name doesn’t ring a bell, you probably know her anyway from pictures. She wore one of Baby’s new prints and she looked absolutely stunning. Emilie and I had wondered if she would look like her pictures (you know, Photoshop and stuff) and she absolutely did! She was so beautiful!

I hate taking pictures with flash, but it’s my best picture of her when she arrived.
She moved a lot. ^^’
Claire translated what Midori said (thank you for coming, etc.) and then the raffle started! I wasn’t one of the lucky girls who received a prize, and neither did Emilie, Sydney or Yumi. Oh well. ^^’
Then, the lights went out and I was so surprised, I let ou t a little cry, haha. ^^’ Suddenly, the door opened and a huge, white Baby, the Stars Shine Bright cake with firework sticks in it was ridden inside by butlers (I like calling them butlers, sorry). Taking a picture was impossible, so I took some when the lights were switched on again.

Midori and the gigantic cake! It had a BtSSB logo on it!
We went to stand in line and even though the cake was huge, we got quite a small piece, haha! Not that I minded though, the chocolate pastry was quite heavy. With my piece of cake I also got a little orange berry, which was sooo delicious! The cake itself was very sweet.
When we finished our cake, Emilie and I went to the bathroom. Not because we had to, but because it was so beautiful! Expensive hotels have beautiful bathrooms, wow!

Emilie in her beautiful Princess Honey jsk! She really made me fall in love with this dress.
Two women walked into the toilets and complimented us on our fits. ♥ Then we walked to the big room with the glass roof, to take some more pictures. But we realised something was going on in the Tea Party room, so we went back.
Claire and Midori went to stand in the middle of the room again and Claire told us they were going to decide who could buy Midori’s book through a game of rock, paper, scissors. Anyone who wanted a chance had to stand up. We wanted to try it, so we joined too. The first time we played it, a lot of people lost already, including me and Sydney. Since there were less than ten people left, it was already decided! Emilie was still standing, so she could buy the book and get it autographed by Midori! While Emilie was writing her name down and got the autograph, I took pictures for her. ^^ I was so happy she could buy Midori’s book!

Midori signing Emilie’s book!
Midori was sooo sweet! She signed all the books and thanked the girls, gave them a hug and posed for pictures! The girls who didn’t get the chance to buy the book, received a postcard with her autograph, a hug and the opportunity to take a picture too!
Since the line in front of Midori’s little desk had gotten really long, Emilie and I decided to take some more pictures first before I went to stand in line. Sam from Fancymelody joined us! We went back to the toilets to take more pictures and after that, we sat down on a beautiful emerald couch for more.

Me and Emilie. ♥
We also discovered a nice hall, where we took pictures too. After that, we walked back to the tea room with the glass roof and asked someone to take our picture together.

Emilie, Sam and me! I love how different our are! So many lovely styles.
We went back to the Tea Party room, but the line was still a bit long. We asked some more people for pictures!

Me with the beautiful Marlessa. ♥ Her outfit was so gorgeous and full of details!
Then I went to stand in line for an autograph from Midori.
Although I really liked Midori’s postcards, I had brought my own picture with me. I’ve never been to a Tea Party before, so I didn’t know if the guest of honour always brought something with her to sign. I had decided to take my favourite picture of Midori with me: the one where she’s wearing Merry Sweet Castle. It’s one of my favourite Lolita pictures, so I loved getting a signature on it from her!
When it was my turn, she was really surprised I had my own picture with me. I think she was happy with it. ^^

Me while writing down my name. You can see a bit more of
Midori’s and Claire’s beautiful outfits!
Of course I also got a picture with the pretty Midori, thanks to my personal photographer Emilie!

Uunnnh, she is so cute!
After I was done, Emilie and I went to take some pictures with Emilie’s friend Emeline, who wore a beautiful Alice and the Pirates dress that I had never seen before!

They asked me to take their traditional ‘hôtesses d’accueil’ picture.
Look at Emeline’s dress! ♥
We took some more pictures down a beautiful staircase and then went back to the Tea Party room, because it was time to choose the winners of the best dressed competition! Midori was given the choice and she walked around, looking at everyone separately. She chose a lovely girl for Baby, the Stars Shine Bright and the gorgeous Marlessa for Alice and the Pirates! So well deserved! I couldn’t agree with her more! Lucky Marlessa (who had also won something in the lottery) received an AatP dress and bonnet in wine red!
Then the Tea Party had (almost) come to an end. Don't ask me how, but in an unexplicable way I got the chance to buy Midori’s book after all! I was so happy! I asked Midori to sign it for me and she asked me if I had bought it on Amazon. I didn’t really know how to explain, haha. ^^’

Us with our books and Midori! I was happy I could buy her book after all! I love it. ^^
I put down my bag on a table to check if I still had everything and then we asked Sawada-san for a picture! We took multiple, because he tends to have his eyes closed on pictures, hihi. ^^

Sawada-san’s Angels. ♥ Don’t ask me what I’m doing to Emilie’s dress…
Then, it was really time for us to go. We thanked Sawada-san, Claire and Midori for the wonderful party and walked back to the doors of the hotel, where my mom was waiting for us.
We said goodbye to some people and then it was time to go to Angelic Pretty’s shop for the special event! First, we walked up to the Opéra to take pictures, but since it was raining we didn’t stay for long.

Despite the rain, my mom managed to take this wonderful picture of the four of us!
We walked to the metro station and went on our way to Ledru-Rollin again.

Lolitas in the metro.
We arrived at Ledru-Rollin and walked to Angelic Pretty’s shop. Emilie and I were walking behind the other three girls. We walked past two loudly talking man at a restaurant, when one of them suddenly wanted to grab Sydney’s skirt! But Madeline, walking just behind Sydney, threatened to sting him with her parasol in one smooth movement! It was so awesome! Who says Lolitas can’t defend themselves?
We were almost there when we walked past another restaurant. Suddenly, a man walked up to me and asked me why we were dressed like that, because he had seen a lot of girls like us pass by. I told him there had been a Tea Party for a certain brand that makes this kind of clothes and that we were going to another event now (I totally forgot to mention it’s a Japanese street fashion, whoops. XD)! He thanked me for telling him. He was so friendly! Now that I think back, it’s possible he was actually from my country. He had a bit of an accent like me.
My mom and I arrived at the AP store, where we went inside to browse some more. Quite some things were sold out already, but the shop wasn’t empty yet. ^^
My mom looked at all the things too and she told me she had fallen in love with a red with white polkadots cutsew dress. I liked it too, but I hadn’t really looked at it well. Now that she mentioned it, it was really cute! I decided to come back some other day to see if it was still there, when it wasn’t so crowded anymore. Moreover, I wanted to try it on first, but since I was wearing Lolita, I didn’t think that was such a good idea! I talked some more to Dominique and I promised to come back to the store later that week. Sydney and I also talked a bit with Maki and Asuka! They had been in the shop all day (so long!) and said they felt hot, so I offered them to use my fan. ^^
After a while, we had to leave the shop, because the staff had to prepare some things for the guests who would arrive! I chatted with some people outside and more and more people were arriving.

So many colourful people! There weren’t just Lolitas, but also 6%Dokidoki fans!
After a while, my heart skipped a beat, because I recognised someone I really wanted to meet: Kitch! And if Kitch was there, it meant my ultimate Lolita-idol Lunie_chan would be there too! And then, I suddenly saw here standing in the crowd! My heart, it was racing so fast! She looked so perfect as usual, another picture came to life! I didn’t want to walk up to her immediately, but then she saw me! She came up to me and we started talking and I was so happy! She had told me on her Livejournal that her English wasn’t good, but it was actually great! She said that she had recognised my mother first, so I was like: ‘Huh!? My mom?’ ‘Yes, from your blog!’ I was dying! Lunie_chan, my idol, reads my blog! I was so happy! My mom took a picture of us together!

I’m smiling like an idiot, but I was so happy! I just met my Lolita-idol! *_*
We waited for Kyary and the 6%Dokidoki girls to come, but it lasted a looong time! Dominique said they were supposed to arrive around 8, but they arrived much later! They got stuck in traffic! I was glad to talk to Dominique a bit more though, he is so kind. ^^ He told me there would be a television interview with Kyary and that she would hand out autographs.
In the meantime, I met some more adorable people, like Angélique (who saved my Baby’s umbrella from complete destruction) and a really sweet girl with cute short hair, but I don’t know her name.

Some of my favourite French/Belgian Lolitas together!
There were so many lovely people around! I didn’t talk to everyone, but it was fun to just look around!

I love this picture! The girl on the right is the sweet girl I was talking about.
Then, after a looong time, a bus drove to the shop and stopped! I saw the colourful haircuts of 6%Dokidoki’s Yuka and Vani and I started screaming a little (I was almost the only one! O_O Was I the only one happy about this?). They exited the bus and then we saw Kyary! Whaaaaah! There were also camera people. Dominique guided Kyary through the crowd, but away from the shop! Turns out she had to go to the toilet! :3
I didn’t walk up to the 6% girls yet, because I wanted to keep my place in front of the shop entrance. I wanted to be able to get inside as soon as it was possible.
Kyary returned and entered the shop, where she looked at the clothes and got interviewed.

Kyary Cuteness! I was lucky to stand in front of the door, so I could take nice pictures.
Some girls were asked to come inside to get interviewed. These were all the colourful, 6%Dokidoki-like girls. ^^ You can find the interview and report about Kyary on YouTube. You can even see me for a few seconds! ♥
After a while, I decided I wanted to go take pictures with Vani and Yuka. I wonder if Vani recognised me from October..? My mom told her I had been to their shop, hihi.

With Yuka and Vani. ♥ My dress looks pale next to them!
I also asked my mom if she could take another picture of me with Maki and Asuka, who were standing outside with us too.
Suddenly I saw two familiar faces: Annso and Vief! It was nice to talk to them in my own language, although we accidentally spoke a lot of English too.

Me and Kyary! She was so cuuute!
Well, I did get my picture with Kyary after all! But I felt so bad for all the people who didn’t get the chance to meet her… Dominique was so angry at the Japanese! Well, I can’t blaim him.
We said goodbye to Maki, Asuka and Dominique and went on our way to Emilie’s hotel. We talked about our fun day and what we didn’t like and after a while, we arrived at the hotel. We said goodbye and my mom and I agreed to pick her up before the Angelic Pretty Tea Party on Monday. Then it was time to go.
My mom and I arrived at our station. I was a bit hungry, so we went to get a pizza at the Italian restaurant accross from our hotel. I felt a bit weird in my Lolita clothes, waiting for my pizza, around 11 o’clock. XD
When we got back to our hotel, the owner told me I looked pretty, hihi. ♥
We bought two cans of coke and a bottle of water and went upstairs. I could finally take my Lolita clothes off. I had been wearing them for over 12 hours! When I took off my petticoat and bloomers, it burned! XD
We ate our pizza (which was really delicious) and read for a bit. Then we went to sleep: we were so tired!

My mom has been so sweet and kind and patient throughout this day. Thank you so much mom! ♥

If there are any picture of yourself you don’t like, please just tell me and I will either remove it or block your face out! ♥