Paris ’15, Day 2 – La Vie en Rose Event

I was planning to take a lot of pictures at this event, but since I am really into making videos these days I wanted to film a lot as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t do enough of both in my opinion (although I tried my best), but it was good practise for next time
and I hope you will enjoy this blogpost anyway. ^^
Prepare for lots of collages~!
On Saturday morning I woke up early, for today was the day of La Vie en Rose! I was so excited: after months of waiting and preparing it was finally the day! I was so anxious to attend this grand event, meet all these new people and see the designers! I was also very nervous though… I haven’t been feeling very well recently, so I was hoping everything
would go well.
While my mom was slowly waking up and getting dressed, I took a shower and did my make up before we went to have breakfast. Unfortunately, I suck at applying fake eyelashes when there’s a big event and this time was no exception: one of my eyelids kept sticking and it was so annoying! Somehow I finally managed to get it right, but it took me ages and lots of frustration. XD
For La Vie en Rose I wanted to wear a more Classic outfit, so I decided to wear my beautiful Fancy Egg by Metamorphose for the first time. It would be the first time I would wear a bonnet as well! I wasn’t sure whether it would suit me or not, but when I tried out my outfit and tied the ribbons behind my head instead of under my chin I ended up really liking it!
I had bought a GA ticket for the event, which meant my entry was at 11 am (the VIP and Valentine tickets’ admissions were at 10 am), but surprisingly I was done getting dressed at 9! So I had enough time to make the silly video I had been planning the night before with my mom. We had a lot of fun making it, I hope you’ll like the result once it’s done… :3
While we were shooting the video, we went on our way to the Arc de Triomphe. Hotel du Collectionneur, the five star(!) hotel where the event would take place, was on the same metro line and since the Arc de Triomphe would make for a nice picture background we decided to go there first.
In the metro I already spotted some brightly coloured Lolitas, who were very surprised I didn’t get out at the same stop as they did. ^^
My mom and I arrived at the Arc de Triomphe (that station is so windy!), where we shot our last video footage and took some outfit pictures. A very kind girl dressed in bright red asked for a picture as well, I felt so flattered!

ღ La Vie en Rose Outfit ღ
My outfit rundown:
Bonnet: Metamorphose's Fancy Egg
Flowers: Claire’s
Heart clip: Swimmer
Blouse: Primark
Jsk: Metamorphose's Fancy Egg
Socks: Metamorphose
Shoes: Bodyline
Necklace: Bijou Brigitte
Watch: offbrand
Rings: Primark and I Am
Bag: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
Bag chain: Disney

Do you like my outfit? I quite liked it myself. ^^ It wasn’t too over the top and fairly easy to move in. Plus, the dress has a bustle back, hihi. :3

I love this selfie with my mom! *o*
We took the metro back to station Courcelles, but when we arrived back at street level it had started raining! Luckily, we walked into some Lolitas and one of them knew the way, so we soon found the hotel.
Although Hotel du Collectionneur didn’t look very special from the outside, the inside hall was gorgeous! The furniture was super fancy and giant chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

L’Hotel du Collectionneur. It was so fancy! *o*
Upper left picture by Marina
I quickly spotted Carmilla, one of the organizers from the Street Fashion Europe team. I was very happy to finally meet her and she pointed me in the right direction, which was down the stairs. I said goodbye to my mom, who was going to spend the afternoon on her own, and started descending the beautiful stairs. I think they were some of the most beautiful stairs I have ever seen in real life. They were Beauty and the Beast style: you know, two staircases flowing into one *o*.

The staircase of my life… ☆
Picture from the hotel site
When I arrived downstairs, my heart skipped a beat: the hall at the foot of the stairs was not only gorgeous, but filled with beautiful people and stalls. Two tables were set up where you could get your name checked by members of the staff. I already spotted Mila, Alex, Kyra, Hoa and Ludwig. I was so happy, I didn’t know where to go, haha!

At this moment I was holding my breath. I felt like I stepped into a hotel-based fairy tale!
I had my name checked, received a programme and dropped my coat and tripod at the garderobe. Already people walked up to me to say hi and I was hyper to hug everyone! I immediately started my mission to take outfit pictures and check out the stalls. It appeared that the four stalls around the beautiful staircase belonged to the ‘big’ brands: Himitsu by Syrup, Grimoire, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright and Triple Fortune. The rest of the stalls was in the big room behind the staircase (yes, more rooms, yay!). I was so excited, oh my God!
I started at the Syrup stall, where I immediately managed to embarrass myself in front of the kind shop girl by being totally awkward. ^^’ But she was a total sweetheart, so cute! ♥ The items at the Syrup stall consisted of a lot of cherry-related jewelry and fluffy pompom rings. The tights they sold were also very lovely.

The adorable Syrup stall. Look at that jewelry! *o*
Next up was the Grimoire stall. During the day, the special guests were very often found at their stalls, which was great because it made it quite easy to meet them. The only times they weren’t there was when there was an event on stage going on of course. Apparently the Q&A had just started, since the special guests weren’t around. But for your convenience (and pretty lay out), I made collages of them with their stalls. ^^
The Grimoire stall was very lovely, but their items aren’t really my style I love seeing them on other people though. ^^ They also sold beautiful Kunika Ono cookies. I was happy I could take a good look at those as well. I happened to walk into Kathleen and her husband (who looked beautiful together as always) and together, we browsed the Grimoire items.

Hitomi Nomura at the Grimoire stall.
At the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright stall they had my new favourite dress of the moment on display: Thumbelina ~ Maia’s Wonderful Encounter Story. As a child, Thumbelina was my favourite movie and it still holds a very special place in my heart. There were also lovely bags, accessories and blouses.

The Baby, the Stars Shine Bright stall. I actually only encountered Kanoh-san
at the end of the day, but like I said: lay out appearance. ;)
Then, the Triple Fortune stall. Because the event staff expected to have a big run for their bonnets, there would be a raffle so people could win a chance to buy one. Luckily, the raffle never needed to take place: Babi and Kaie had brought so many bonnets that there were plenty! And God were they beautiful… I have to admit the pink ones really called to me, but… I just couldn’t tell whether the pink of the bonnets would match the pink of my dresses back home (Lolita problems much?). Plus, they were really expensive. But I was happy to be able to see them in real life. ^^

Aren’t the bonnets to die for..? Babi and Kaie weren’t at the stall at that moment
either, but they did spend a lot of time there whenever they could. ^^
Babi and Kaie were not present at the stall, but Joana was! Even though I have interviewed her for my ‘Interview with the Lolita’-series, I never actually met her. Finally, after so long, we finally met. I was so happy, she is such a sweetheart! ;_; ♥

Joana working at the Triple Fortune stall. Not only
is she a darling, she also looked smashing!
I walked into the next room, where the rest of the stalls was. In the middle of the room was a stage surrounded by rows of chairs. The stalls were all placed around them against the walls, creating a pleasant, open atmosphere. The Q&A was going on, so all the guests were on stage.

The Q&A with all the guests.
I decided to check out some of the stalls and so some people spotting, while meeting some of my friends on the way. I cannot tell you how amazing everyone looked. Really wish I had taken more outfit pictures (stupid me >0<)! Oh well, a lesson for next time.

May, Marina, Roxane, Kathleen and Alexander. ☆
Together with Kathleen I also browsed the Moon Bunny stall, a Russian brand that has the cutest items! I immediately fell in love with multiple items and decided to buy two things and to return to the stall again later. :3

Some close ups of stalls.
Pictures in the middle by Marina
One of my Russian Facebook friends, Alice, happened to be standing behind the Moon Bunny stall and I was happy to see her again! She looked very lovely, with candy cotton pink hair. Suddenly, she told me she had something for me and handed me a chocolate bar from Russia! Oh my God, how sweet is that? ♥ Again, thank you so much dear!
There were quite some Russian Lolitas present at La Vie en Rose and as usual, they looked amazing. I was very happy to see Marlessa and Spiro again. I believe all the Russian Lolitas always look stunning. *_* How is it possible?

Alice, Spiro and Marlessa. Too much awesomeness to handle… ☆
Suddenly, Marlessa told me she had something for me and she returned with a gift for me! It was a beautiful hair clip, chocolate and some darling ear rings. I didn’t feel like I deserved all this kindness, it was too sweet. ;_; ♥ Thank you again!
There would be two fashion shows that day. The first one consisted mainly of indie brands, while the second show would be with Triple Fortune, Baby, the Stars Shine Bright and Alice and the Pirates. It was almost time for the first fashion show, so I picked up my tripod and found a good seat from where I could film and photograph. While I was talking to my German friend Aimee, suddenly I was approached by a lovely Lolita in a red dress. When she introduced herself I got so happy: it was Hide-chan from Facebook! I was so happy to see her! She is such a sweetheart: she and Aimee as well said the nicest things (they really almost made me cry ;_;) and both looked so gorgeous as well. ♥ I only met beautiful and sweet people that day, I swear!

The audience waiting for the fashion show to start.
One thing that was particularly funny: you wouldn’t believe how many people asked me where my mom was! So many people know her now through my blogposts, haha! I love my mom and she is incredible, but we both want to let you all know that we don’t stalk each other, so please don’t think that! XD My mom loves Lolita fashion and my Lolita friends and she supports me endlessly. I never drag her with me and she never sticks with me because she is over caring. She genuinely likes the fashion and everything that comes with it. Just to let you know. ^^
Finally, it was time for the fashion show to start. I was very excited to see what the participating brands had in stock for us and I was not disappointed! The most beautiful dresses and outfits passed us by and it was so fun to see some of my friends model! Warning: lots of collages and personal opinions. :3

The Grimoire models looked so elegant. The dress in the middle was my favourite.

Syrup’s outfits were just too cute! The shoes, so pretty! And I couldn’t
stop smiling while my dear Marina was rocking the catwalk! ♥

Atelier Pierrot’s models were amazing. The outfit on the left basically killed me!

I finally understand the J&J love. The dress in the middle was like a dream!

Atelier Dormir really surprised me in a positive way! Such cool outfits.

Gorgeous Cloudberry Lady dresses. The girl on the left looked so happy while modelling! ♥

I had never heard of Fidel David before. They make wonderful things!

Li-Paro was also unknown to me. Gorgeous dresses!

If you don’t think these outfits from Menthe Chocolat
are awesome I don’t know
what they are!

Narcissique Couture, such class!

Ah, Owloli… Can I cry over that outfit on the right? ;_;

And finally Summer Tales Boutique. Katie truly outdid herself on that last dress! *o*
The models all walked a final finale round together and the fashion show was ove, meaning it was lunch time. Lots of people left the hotel to go and eat something. I wasn’t very hungry, so I decided to stick around. I left my tripod on my seat (hoping it would stay there) and photographed and filmed some more people.

Clockwise from the top left: May, FanuxSiri, Dani, Eveline, Anne and Josine, Lauren. ☆
Then, I went back to the hall around the stairs, where I spotted Babi and Kaie behind the Triple Fortune stall! They looked so amazing and I was speechless for a while standing so close to them. A sweet girl was just trying on a bonnet and I complimented the designers by saying their outfits were pretty. ‘Ah no, we look cool! Kakkoii!’ Babi answered. I thought that was so adorable. >0< But unfortunately, I was too shy to ask for a picture…
Mila and Marie were just arriving at the stall and I was very happy to be able to talk to them, more than I can tell… ♥ Mila tried on a beautiful pink 3F bonnet and eventually decided to buy it (good choice)!

The bonnet Mila did NOT buy. XD But this picture was too cute not to use~!
Picture by Marie Tuonetar
I went on to inspect the bathroom. I didn’t need to go, but fancy hotels have fancy bathrooms! I followed the signs and arrived in an open, circular room with benches. I had to walk through a small hallway and arrived in a palace! Oh no wait, it was actually the bathroom! Oh my God, it was so pretty: it was a circular room with a round block with *basins* in the middle, golden tabs, mini towels and mirrors everywhere! Every Lolita’s dream bathroom! It sort of reminded me of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, but then really fancy. I wish you could see it in real life, it was wonderful…

Tadaaam! Bathroom of my life…
Lower right picture by Marina
While I walked around the venue, there was a significant smaller amount of people present. I did however walk into Dani who was working at the exclusive La Vie en Rose stall and finally, I spotted Shannie~! ♥ Shannie and a group of friends had come all the way from the USA to Paris to have a holiday and attend La Vie en Rose. How amazing is that? I was psyched to meet her and not only did she look stunning, she is a total sweetheart as well. I am so happy I met her. ;_; The other American Lolitas were darling as well! ♥

Some of the American Lolitas attending La Vie en Rose:
Shannie, Joanna, Stephanie and Yanise. ☆
At 2 pm, Babi of Triple Fortune had her talk show about kawaii culture from 1900 until now. Although I would have liked to attend the lecture, I decided to go back to the staircase and have my picture taken by one of the photographers. That turned out to be quite a challenge, since there were a couple of girls taking up one of the entire staircases for their own private photoshoot (even though the stairs were assigned to the photographers as their spot). Naturally it was ok for them to take pictures there, but even though there were multiple people clearly standing in line to have their picture taken, it took them a while to realize they were making everyone wait. Oh well. ^^’

Some duo-, triplet- and quartet pictures I took.
It was nice to talk a bit with people I hadn’t seen walking around yet. I had my picture taken by Anh Binh (I was so happy to meet him!) and Kathleen also offered to take some pictures of me with my camera. She took some really nice ones, thank you dear! ♥

Feeling fancy wearing Fancy Egg. :3 I love my bonnet so much~!
Finally, it was time for the second fashion show. I went back to the stage to find my tripod and was happy to find it in almost the same spot as I had left it, only two seats to the side. That turned out to be an even better spot to take pictures, so I was rather pleased. Everyone sat down where they could and the fashion show started.
First up was the Triple Fortune fashion show and wow, was it gorgeous! I always thought Triple Fortune’s bonnets and clothing were pretty, but this fashion show made me fall in love with them! The dresses and skirts flowed beautifully and the bonnets matched the coordinated outfits so well.

You have no idea how pretty these outfits were I real life…
There was even a matching couple at the end! What I also really liked: after each model had walked, she would remain at the back of the stage until the end of the show. That was quite nice. The show was truly a dream!

The first and fourth outfit were my ultimate favourite outfits!
I worked so hard to get some good pictures! I hope you like them. ^^
I was almost sad when the fashion show was over, but luckily there was more in store
for us. ^^

Wonderful group picture taken by Anh Binh Photography
After the Triple Fortune show, it was Alice and the Pirates and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright’s turn. This fashion show was amazing as well! The designs were beautiful and the models so pretty!

Lots of Alice-inspired outfits and even a boy style one modelled by the amazing Hide-chan!
The five models who walked after wore more fairytale and princess-like outfits. Even Masumi Kanoh herself walked in the show! Mila made me fall even more in love with the Thumbelina dress and the girl who walked after her wore the most beautiful pink chiffon dress. And Stephanie modelled the ‘bow dress’ as everyone calls it (or ‘bow monstrosity’, also an expression I’ve heard in the hallways) that Midori wore in the Time Travel Station Fashion Show. I have to admit that it looks a lot more amazing in real life!

Outfits straight from a fairy tale!
Ah yes, It was truly a privilege to be able to watch this fashion show. Although I will not lie… I would have loved to have been a model myself. ^^

Wonderful group picture taken by Anh Binh Photography
After the fashion show it was only 30 minutes until the big raffle, so I decided to do some shopping together with Kathleen. I had completely forgotten to check out the Sweet&Tiny booth (something I had actually been looking forward to), so we decided to go there. And oh my God, the items there were just so cute! *o* All these necklaces and bracelets and rings with miniature cakes and pastries were so pretty you could eat them (Hmmm…. Maybe not a good idea). I immediately spotted a beautiful white cake necklace that would go great with Memorial Cake from Angelic Pretty (one day I will own that dress!), so I immediately picked that one.

Mini Mo, owner of Sweet&Tiny. Do check out her shop, she makes the most amazing things!
Suddenly, while I was browsing, I started to feel really bad. Dizzyness, nausea, I started to feel really overwhelmed all of a sudden. Luckily, some friends spotted me and took me to a quiet corner, where Lou offered me some water and I ate something. Stupid me, I should have eaten something during the lunch break! It was my own fault, oh well. Thank God for my friends. ♥
Finally, it was time for the raffle. During the months before the event, the La Vie en Rose Facebook page posted a new raffle donator every few days. So many prizes were donated! It was quite exciting.

Time for the raffle~!
The raffle went fairly well. The number on your ticket was also your raffle number. The numbers were called in both French and English. One thing was a bit silly though: every time someone won the person in question would only wave, making it hard for the event staff to spot them. They should have just yelled: ‘Bingo!’ That would have been a lot better. XD
Unfortunately, I didn’t win anything, but watching was fun anyway. After the raffle, we took a group picture. It was hard to get everyone into the frame (there were so many people), but by coincidence I ended up right at the front. I love the result of this group picture! ^^ Even Babi and Kaie joined us!

Group picture!
Picture by Marie Tuonetar
As soon as everyone was getting up after the group picture, I took my chance and ran after Babi and Kaie. I asked them for a picture and they immediately smiled and dropped everything for me. It was so incredibly sweet! By pure coincidence, one of the photographers was standing next to us and he offered to take the picture for me. He even took it with both my cameras, so kind! ;_; I am so happy with my picture! ♥

My picture with Babi and Kaie. I am so happy… ;_; ♥
The only thing is: my action inspired other people, causing a queue to take pictures with the Triple Fortune designers. I’m sorry, staff! >_<
All of the Street Fashion Europe and French Café staff got up on stage and made a thank you speech, after which the event was coming to an end.
In the meantime, my mom had called me to ask whether everything was ok and where we would meet. Since I had spotted some girls’ boyfriends entering the venue to pick their girlfriends up, I suggested she’d just walk into the main room. So soon, I was joined by my mom and I could show her around for a bit.
The owners of the stalls were starting to pack things again, so I quickly showed my mom the Sweet&Tiny stall. I was happy she could advise me on my purchases, since I don’t do well on deciding things under time pressure. But thanks to her, I ended up with an extra bracelet besides the two necklaces I had already chosen. After finishing my shopping at Sweet&Tiny, we went to the Moon Bunny stall, where my mom fell in love with a cute bat pin and ended up buying it! II showed her the adorable candy house necklace I was thinking of buying, after which she pointed out an amazing cat necklace that I hadn’t seen before. I ended up buying the candy house necklace and my mom the cat one (that I obviously will borrow as soon as possible)!
I introduced my mom to some people who had asked after her, which was very nice, and I took some last pictures with people, like Angélique and Shannie. Thanks to my mom, I could take some picture with people too! XD

With Shannie, Marina, Angélique and Tiya. ☆ You can
really tell I had a signature pose
at this event. XD
I said goodbye to whoever I walked into. It felt so strange: I might never see Shannie, Stephanie, Yanise, Joanna and the other American Lolitas ever again. The idea was so strange, yet it made our meeting also extra special. ♥ We walked back into the hall at the foot of the stairs. There, at the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright stall, I finally spotted Masumi Kanoh. I hadn’t seen her all day except for on stage, so I was happy to finally talk to her. She is quite reserved, but also very nice. ^^

With Masumi Kanoh. *o*
I retrieved my coat, went back for my tripod (thank God someone pointed out to me I had forgotten it!) and my mom took some last pictures for me on the stairs. Everywhere people were cleaning things up and the event was truly coming to an end.
We walked up the stairs, left the hotel (coincidentally together with Kanoh-san) and walked back to the metro station. We passed the beautiful gate we had seen on the way to the hotel that morning and took some last pictures there (naturally).

Walking into random pretty gates is normal in Paris, but I will never get used to it.
We went back to our hotel by metro while talking about our day. We bought some delicious pastries at the bakery close to our hotel and went back to our room, where I could finally take my dress off~! *o*
We ate our pastries (finally I could eat my beloved ‘Marbre Noir’ again after a year of longing) and I took pictures of my purchases.
We decided to have dinner at the restaurant across the street and have our favourite salad: ‘Salade Loisir’, a salad with salmon, crème fraîche and homemade potato chips. I really have dreams about this salad, but thanks to my pastry I couldn’t finish everything. ;_; It was totally worth it though… ♥ I also got a bottle of coke saying ‘fille’ (which means ‘girl’ in French). I was happy my coke knew me so well. XD

This specific ‘Salade Loisir’ really is one of my favourite dishes ever!
Back at the hotel, I read some happy statuses about La Vie en Rose and looked at some pictures, when suddenly… Wait… Are you telling me Isobe-san, the founder of Baby, the Stars Shine Bright, had been present at the event as well? I almost hid myself under my blanket in surprise and shame. How could I have missed such a thing!? Shame on me! Thankfully I would attend the Tea Party the next day, so I would still have a chance to meet him. Pfew!
Finally, my mom and I went to sleep. It had been a long and amazing day.

Purchases and gifts of the day
Also, I have a little bonus to add to this blog post! I made a very special video to thank everyone who participated in La Vie en Rose; all the organizers, special guests, attending brands and attendees. I rewrote the text of Owl City’s ‘Good Time’, recorded it and made this video. The recording isn’t very good, but it’s made with 100% love!
I hope you will like it. ♥


I also wrote a (much shorter and to the point) blog post for Lolita Snaps as a guest writer! You can find it here! The article is in Spanish and English, I feel so cool! *o* Lolita Snaps is a wonderful site, you should totally check them out if you have time! =D

Thank you for reading~! ♥