Paris ‘14, Day 1 – Pop up Store, Fashion Walk and Angelic Pretty Tea Party

Last year I was very happy to be able to attend the Angelic Pretty Tea Party in Paris, since it was announced that it would be the very last one. The French staff just couldn’t go on anymore and eventually the store in Paris closed down, to the great sadness of the European Lolitas. This year suddenly, out of nowhere, Angelic Pretty itself made a huge announcement: there was going to be a Tea Party again! In Paris, on the 2nd of July, with Maki and Asuka just like before! But, that was not all… There was going to be a big Fashion Walk through the streets of Paris and an Angelic Pretty pop up store! The announcements made a giant impact on the Lolita community of course and I was absolutely astonished: no one saw this coming!
Of course I was dying to go, but it seemed like I wasn’t able to at first… But eventually after lots of doubting and puzzling, I was able to go after all! I will spare you all the details of my planning and the journey for once in my blogging life and get straight to the point! ^^
On July 2nd, my mom and I arrived in Paris, where we spent the early morning having breakfast and we did a bit of sightseeing. It was a beautiful day, which made us extra happy!

This pretty much sums up how we spent our morning. ^^
After that, we went to find a public toilet, where I got redressed into my Lolita outfit. I got changed in a public toilet once before and it was absolutely terrible, but these toilets were rather spacy and I had my mom to help me of course.
Then, we went on our way to the Angelic Pretty pop up store!

We took the metro and after a little bit of searching, we found the store! It was in a street filled with Asian restaurants and supermarkets, but I immediately recognised the pink version of Crystal Dream Carnival in the shop window on the mannequin on the left. When I looked through the window, I saw so many dresses and accessories! The shop had already opened the day before and I expected lots of things to be sold already. There sure were things gone indeed (like the amazing lucky packs unfortunately), but there was still so much left! Also, I could see Maki and Asuka were inside, together with another shop girl. I was very excited. :3

The Crystal Dream Carnival mannequin and a picture taken of the table inside.
Together with some other girls I had to wait until we could enter the store. It would get too crowded inside otherwise. But it was okay; I loved looking through the window and one of the girls told me she read my blog! I was so happy! Later, we also got joined by my French friend Constance, so we talked for a bit. ^^ She told me she was going to the Putumayo Tea Party (which featured Misako Aoki!), which was scheduled before the Fashion Walk.

Waiting in line to enter the store.
Finally, we were allowed inside and as soon as I entered I walked straight into Maki and Asuka, who clearly recognised me and were so happy to see me! I was so happy they recognised me from last time, I could almost cry! ;_; ♥
I went to explore the store for a bit, which was a lot of fun. There were dresses from the new Crystal Dream Carnival line, dresses from previous lines, salopettes, lots of accessories and also postcards and posters from Imai Kira and Maki’s drawings! I did browse the dresses, but didn’t plan on buying anything so big, so instead I jumped on the button sets which had such amazing prices (9 euros for a set of two)! I chose a set which had a Whip Showcase print, which happened to be the dress I was wearing!
There were many choices of postcards and they came in sets of two. At first I thought you had to combine them yourself, but they were already fixes sets (which was no problem of course). I chose one of my favourite drawings ever: Maki’s Wonder Cookie (which came with Balloon Popping Party on the backside) and Fancy Paper Dolls (which came with Melty Cream Donut). Although I loved the posters, I decided not to get one, but instead focus on the accessories. There were a lot of beautiful wrist cuffs, bows and berets. I especially loved the berets, but they were a bit too expensive. Although the necklaces were cute, I didn’t feel attracted to most of them, except for the Crystal Dream Carnival-themed ones. One looked like a knight shield and had a pony on it, the other one seemed like a true crystal hewn out of a mountain, with a sparkly pony inside. It was quite heavy, but just sooo pretty! So I decided to get that one, in sax blue. ^^

Doubting between two necklaces. Choosing is not my strongest point. ^^’
I took a look at some Putumayo necklaces. The left side of the store was all Angelic Pretty, while the right side of the store was Putumayo. I am not a Putumayo person, but they did have some very lovely necklaces.
I talked a little with the kind shop girl and then went to pay. When I was done, Maki and Asuka were just dragging huge suitcases up the stairs from down below. They were quite strong, haha!
My mom and I left the store again and we took some pictures with my purchases.

Me in front of the pop up store with my purchases. ^^
Since it would take a while before the Fashion Walk would start, we decided to stay close and go to Jardin des Tuileries to take some pictures. But since my mom was in giant need of some coffee, we stopped by a McDonald’s with a McCafé first. I myself chose another drink, but we ended up with something else: ‘chocolate-cookie-smashed-into-pieces-mixed-with-some-kind-of-liquid’ (we’re still not sure whether we had made the mistake or the girl behind the counter).

My interesting drink. Angelic Pretty bags make for Lolita-like backgrounds by the way.
My drink was way too big, so I shared most of it with my mom. After we had finished, we went on our way again and entered Jardin des Tuileries. Unfortunately, there were some incredibly rude gypsies who wanted us to sign something as per usual, but it was even worse than normal: once we had turned them down, two of them found it oh so funny to pull on my skirt and see what was underneath it. When I turned around, they laughed oh so innocently but I wanted to kick them kindly in the heads. I hate them.
Anyway, we walked on and took some pictures wherever we could. The sun was quite bright and the gardens have these sandy roads that reflect a lot, but still my awesome mom managed to take some really great pictures. I got asked by some people for a picture (as well as for a little video in which I had to say something, that was interesting and fun), but some other people thought just taking a picture while I was busy posing for my mom was okay enough. Well, alrighty then. Anyway, on to my outfit rundown.
I hope you like my coord! ^o^

♥ Angelic Pretty Tea Party Outfit ♥
My outfit rundown:
Head bow: Angelic Pretty’s Memorial Cake
Cutsew: Angelic Pretty
Jsk: Angelic Pretty’s Whip Showcase
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Shoes: Bodyline
Veil: Claire’s
Flowers: Claire’s
Perfume bottle pin: Angelic Pretty
Pearl chain bows: ħπ
Wristcuffs: Angelic Pretty
Bracelets and bangles: Angelic Pretty, Claire’s and handmade
Rings: Angelic Pretty
Bag (not pictured): Angelic Pretty

After our photo session, my mom and I went on our way to find the Galerie Vivienne, where the Fashion Walk would start. I had made a little map for myself, but I wasn’t quite sure whether we were going in the right direction. The Galerie Vivienne is supposed to be one of the most beautiful galleries in Paris, but the street we were in was under construction (naturally) and just not fitting the picture. Suddenly, when I looked left into a side street, I spotted two familiar pink Lolitas in what was indeed a beautiful galerie. We had found it sooner than I had thought!
My mom and I walked into the galerie and I greeted Miriam and Ami, two German Lolitas I know quite well. ^^ They were both wearing Lady Rose and looked so pretty!

The lovely Miriam and Ami in Lady Rose, two pink princesses. ^^
Picture by Miriam, but taken by me, hihi.
After some talking with Miriam and Ami, we walked further into the gallery, where more girls were already gathering. There were also tourists and photographers, so we got asked for pictures quite a lot. ^^
We soon got joined by other Lolitas, like Lou, Tro-Tro and Bloody, with whom I talked for a bit. I was very happy to see them again! ^^ Lou wore a beautiful flower outfit, Bloody looked amazing in her black, white and red cards outfit and Tro-Tro looked like a beautiful mermaid!

Posing with Bloody for my photographer mom! ^^
Picture by Miriam
It’s strange, I talk to many girls on Facebook all the time, but I rarely see them. It’s events like this that give us the opportunity to finally spend some time again together. ♥

With Miriam, Lou and Ami. Three nationalities next to each other. ^^
Girls had come from so many places, no matter the distance! There was even a lovely Lolita from the USA called Haley, who happened to be visiting France just at the right time! She was also wearing a mermaid-inspired outfit and she and Tro-Tro matched so wonderfully! I was more than happy to take some pictures for them of course!

Haley and Tro-Tro matched so perfectly! ✩
We walked up some small stairs, where many people had gathered in the meantime. Maki, Asuka, Misako Aoki and Madame Pretty (her name is actually Honda-san and she is the owner of Angelic Pretty) were already present and apparently a small crew of camera people was going to film the Fashion Walk.

The Galerie Vivienne truly is beautiful!
I talked to some more people and soon met up with darling Vief, who looked absolutely stunning in lavender Day Dream Carnival and I met UK Lolitas Michaela and Beccy as well.

Marina, Vief, Michaela and Beccy. ^^
Soon, I heard a familiar voice calling my name and I jump-hugged my friend Eveline, who had come from the Netherlands (just like me) to join the Parisian events after reading my previous adventures on my blog. It’s this kind of things that makes me so happy: getting people excited to join events thanks to my writing. ;_;
Finally, after many hugs and talks and meetings, the Fashion Walk started!

We started walking and in the meantime just kept talking and laughing. The Walk would take us from the Galerie Vivienne to the Opéra and was led by two Japanese ladies, wearing Putumayo, followed by the long row of bright coloured people.

A Japanese Fashion Walk in Paris~!
The route was absolutely beautiful: one moment we walked through normal streets, the next we entered a beautiful square with pillars and small, adorable shops. We stopped three times for group pictures, which was very nice.

The first group picture we took, underneath the green trees.
After taking each group picture, the group of people mingled again so you met up with new people. I am not sure whether this was planned or not, but it was quite wonderful! I walked mostly with Eveline and her friend or with Vief, Michaela and Beccy, but also met lovely other people.
The next spot we took a group picture was at an inner courtyard, which was partly under construction and quite bare, but there were small round platforms, ideal for taking pictures! There, I walked into the lovely Marlessa, who I hadn’t seen for two years! She looked lovely and unique as ever, wearing an Angelic Pretty dress with a twist and an amazing hairdo.

Marlessa always looks so creative! Don’t you just love her outfit?
We hung around at the square for a little bit, since many people took pictures. It was still such beautiful, sunny weather! We were so lucky!

A picture I took of Madame Pretty and Maki that I really like. ♥
We started walking again. It felt strange and yet so exciting to walk with all these like-minded spirits and Japanese models. Maki, Asuka and Misako talked with people where they could and even took pictures when the opportunity arose (when we had to stop at traffic lights for example).
We could see the Opéra in the distance (which is such a pretty building) by now and I enjoyed looking at the beautiful buildings in the sun in the busy street, but it had also gotten quite warm! When Maki spotted me fanning myself some coolness with my hand, she smiled in agreement and offered me to cross the street with her under her umbrella. *fangirl moment* ^o^

Lolitas in front of l’Opéra.
We arrived at the Opéra, where we took our last group pictures. Since it is a very touristic place, we drew quite a lot of attention!

Our last group picture, in front of the beautiful Opéra!
We had to stand still for a while, so the photographers could take pictures and the camera crew could film us well. I always feel a bit awkward to keep smiling and still standing for such a long time, but well, at least I was not the only one.^^

I absolutely adore this close up shot… ♥
Picture by Stylin’CO
The Fashion Walk was over, so everyone talked for a bit and eventually a big group was automatically formed to travel to the Angelic Pretty Tea Party location together, so on our way we went. I saw Maki, Asuka and Madame Pretty getting in a taxi by the way. Somehow that interested me. ^^
It must have been quite a sight: a large group of colourful Lolitas taking the metro through Paris. It was fun though and darling Lou tested me on my pronunciation of the stations we passed, hihi. ^^ We got out at metro Miromesnil and walked to ‘Le Bristol’, the hotel where the Tea Party would take place. Once we arrived there, I said goodbye to my mom, who confidently went on her way to spend the afternoon by herself.

The hotel was incredibly expensive looking as per usual. Everyone entering or leaving was covered in expensive clothing and jewelry, whoa. The outside was absolutely stunning and cars and taxis kept driving in and out.

Hotel Le Bristol – Paris.
I followed the rest of the girls to the ‘Salon Castellane’, a beautiful room with wooden walls and chandeliers (although I could immediately tell the lighting conditions were far from ideal). The room was scattered with low tables and chairs, decorated with flower pieces, rose petals and some plates with little cakes and sandwiches. I joined Eveline and her friend, who were sitting with Éloïse, who came from Canada, and the lovely Agata who I had met during the Dutch Lolita Kawaii Event. It was lovely to see her again!

A general view of the Tea Party room and our little table.
I went to check out the table with raffle prizes. There were some amazing chocolate bags, three dress sets, socks, umbrellas, nail stickers and pouches. Everything looked quite nice!

The raffle prizes, waiting for their new owners.
Suddenly a voice through a microphone sounded through the room, drawing all the attendees’ attention. It was one of the Putumayo ladies (she and her colleague got changed into Angelic Pretty outfits by the way), welcoming everyone to the Tea Party and announcing the programme for the day. There would be drinks and cake of course, a raffle and the election of the best outfits. Everyone would receive a number and we could vote for our favourite coord. I soon received number 90, which was highest number of all I think!

‘Welcome to the Angelic Pretty Tea Party!’
People started mingling and I went to get a drink (I was so thirsty). I chose a delicious orange juice, but had to wait for a little while since this particular drink was quite popular. After that, I went to mingle as well and took pictures of some very lovely outfits. The light was indeed hard to handle, but the room was very pretty, so I just tried my best. ^^ I talked some more with Vief, Miriam and Ami and also said hi to the lovely Yoki, who I hadn’t seen in ages. She introduced me to her friend Yuki, who was super sweet as well. ^^

Some of the lovely Tea Party attendees! ^^
Maki and Asuka started talking to people as well and taking pictures. They were wearing the same outfits as that morning, but somehow I had finally time to inspect them better. Maki was wearing Crystal Dream Carnival in lavender with a beautiful blouse and her hairdo was so cute: loose hair with two swirl-like buns at the upper sides of her head. Asuka was wearing a dusty-pink princess one piece with a matching bonnet and black shoes. Usually I don’t like black shoes in an all pastel outfit, but since she wore a black bow with her bonnet, everything was balanced out again. ^^
Also, I am not completely sure, but Maki and Asuka’s English seems to be getting better? The conversations with them went quite well! ^^ I was very happy to talk to them or listen to their conversations with other people. Like, someone asked Maki for example whether she used her real hair or not. Maki told us that the upper part of her brown hair and the streaks of lavender were extensions, but that the lower part was her own hair! So interesting! Someone else asked Asuka what dress she was wearing, but she couldn’t remember the name anymore! I thought that was so funny and adorable! XD
After a little while, I spotted Mila and Marie. I hadn’t seen them since the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Tea Party the previous year, so I was eager to say hi! They wore an amazing twin coord with the new Cosmic print: Mila in lavender with an amazing constellation head dress, matching wand and glittery gold shoes, while Marie wore it in ivory with a glittery moon wand. They looked so pretty together, an amazing couple! ♥

Together with the Cosmic girls! ✩
Picture from Marie Tuonetar
Also, while I was talking to Mila, we saw Misako sitting at the back of the room as wellm with a guy who was probably her manager of some sort. Mila and I decided to ask if she wanted to take a picture together. She seemed to not mind at all, but her manager apologized and said it was not possible unfortunately. Strange..? ^^’
I suddenly realised I had completely forgotten about the cakes and sandwiches! I walked up to the table and there was still left, but I missed out on some sweets unfortunately. Oh well, I should have been faster! XD The cakes I did have though were very tasty though. ^^

The plates of cakes and sandwiches when they were still full, haha!
Picture by Stylin’CO
I went to take some more pictures of and with people. These events are so picture-worthy, I just love it! I really regret not living up to my own idea: take pictures of everyone. All the Tea Party guests looked amazing and had clearly put a lot of effort into their outfits!

More outfit pictures!
Also, this year there was a very clear trend: derp pictures! Somehow I always end up having a weird picture with Lou, but this year we were not the only ones! I mean, even Asuka joined in, how amazing is that!?

Derping all the way!
Left picture from Vief
Suddenly, a voice sounded through the microphone, announcing the arrival of the cakes (yes, plural)! The two cakes were placed on each side of the room: one looked like a big, round strawberry and had a picture of a model wearing Berry Garden in it, the other was dark chocolate brown and had a picture of a model wearing Crystal Dream Carnival in it! They were both very pretty and everyone wanted to take pictures of course!

The amazing Angelic Pretty-themed cakes! ♥
I tried both cakes and they were absolutely delicious! With the chocolate one I got some kind of vanilla sauce, but with the strawberry one the hotel employee forgot to give me the strawberry sauce. Oh well. Delicious anyway.
I was having a lot of fun talking and taking pictures, but there was one thing that was a bit odd: usually Tea Parties are in reserved rooms, but not this time. At the entrance of the room, some chique older ladies were sitting and marvelling over all the outfits surrounding them. They were obviously guests of the hotel and they were very nice, but the fact the room wasn’t solely for the Tea Party guests was a bit strange… There is a first for everything I guess!
Then it was time for the raffle! Everyone sat down at their tables and waited anxiously, hoping for their number to be drawn. Last year, there was one prize I really hoped to win (and I did and I am still amazed by it), but this time I didn’t hope for anything specific. Just something would be amazing already of course!
While Asuka and one of the Putumato/Angelic Pretty ladies handled the drawing and the announcing of the numbers, Maki held up the prizes. After all the numbers for a certain line of prizes had been called up, pictures were taken and you could sit down again. Even though my table was on the other side of the room, I walked to the table to take pictures of everyone who won prizes anyway. I felt like it was necessary to overcome my shame in that, haha!
First up were the cute nail sticker sets, which went to eight girls. Next up were sets of socks, which went to five girls, including my friend Eveline! She was really hoping to win something (of course), which caused her to almost not notice her number being called! So cute. :3

Some of the lucky winners!
Next up were the foldable umbrellas that came with a matching bag. They went to three girls: Michaela, Tro-Tro and Elodie. Next up were the two adorable stuffed animal pouches. There were two: a blue bunny and a pink bear. The bunny went to Zoé and the bear went to… me! At first I didn’t even notice it was my number, while I had just told Eveline to pay attention well, haha! XD I was so surprised, I didn’t know what to say! Eveline was so kind to run after me and take a picture with my camera. Thank you so much dear! ♥✩

I look like an idiot, but I don’t care because I was super happy~!
After that, the beautiful chocolate bags were up. They went to four girls, among which Ami and Haley from the USA. After that, it was dress sets time. The red Magical Étoile set went to Yuki, the ivory Fantasy Theater set went to a girl named Nancy and the brown Berry Garden set went to Yoki. ^^
Everyone who didn’t win anything received a poster, so nice!
Soon after that, it was best outfit results time! It was quite fast after the raffle, haha! The second place went to… Vief! I wasn’t surprised at all, she looked so pretty! :3 She was all flushed when she had to explain the ‘point’ of her outfit, so cute! And the winner of the first place went to… Michaela, in her amazing Queen of Hearts-like outfit!

The best dressed winners!
After the contest had ended, it was time for the group picture! Of course, since we were with quite a lot of people, we had to puzzle for a bit, but we managed!

Angelic Pretty Tea Party 2014 group picture.
Picture from Marie Tuonetar
I asked Vief for help so I could take pictures with Maki and Asuka. I really admire them so much: they really are so kind and always look perfect! Some admire movie stars or singers, I admire Lolita designers and models! ^^

With Maki and Asuka. ♥
Finally, the end of the Tea Party drew near. Asuka, the Putumayo lady and even Maki took the microphones again and thanked us all for coming. They also announced the official Tea Party gift: a Fantasy Theater pouch that came in several colours. They would be handed out at the door.

Lolitas listening to Asuka and Maki.
Since everyone was starting to collect their things, I found the perfect opportunity to get my gifts for Maki and Asuka. I had bought them both a package of pink and white petit fours from HEMA (my favourites), which I prettified with ‘Angelic Pretty’ and ‘arigatou’ and hearts. I gave my gift to Maki first and she was so happy! They were really just small gifts, but they were filled with love. ^^ Then I went up to Asuka and offered her my gift as well. She too was so happy! She thanked me wholeheartedly and said she was so happy that I always gave them gifts (the fact she remembered made me even happier)! ♥

Maki and Asuka with my Dutch gifts! ♥
Then it was time to leave. I didn’t really want to, but all good things come to an end of course. I received a bag with a gift (a red pouch for me) and left the room. Asuka was handing out the bags with gifts and I asked her whether she thought there was going to be another Tea Party next year. She said she was really hoping so and that they were going to do their best, yaaay!
I had promised my mom I would exit the hotel immediately after the event, so we could meet up. I left the hotel and immediately spotted her across the street. She came up to me and we went inside together, where I introduced her to some people. We all waved Maki, Asuka and Madame Pretty goodbye for the last time. My mom sat down and I went on to the toilet, where I got dressed back into my ‘muggle clothes’. ^^ The toilet was quite fancy by the way, huhu. :3
My mom and I walked back to the metro, while she told me all about her afternoon. She was quite proud of herself: she had been to Trocadéro all by herself by metro and spent a wonderful afternoon on her own (her words, not mine). ^^
We went to our favourite Italian restaurant, where we had a delicious pizza and then our journey home began. It had been an absolutely amazing day… ~*~ ♥ ~*~

Purchases of the day

Purchases, gifts and prizes of the day
Also, to my great happiness, when the official Angelic Pretty site posted pictures of the day, I was very surprised to see myself on there as well! I am so honoured and happy! It’s like a dream come true! ✩