Space Warriors

  Star Wars is all over the news right now, what with the upcoming film (are you excited?)  There was a local exhibit recently, which is still ongoing through January, called Taiwan Star Wars Fans Festival.  

  When I was little, Star Wars was one of the only movies we had, and we were allowed to watch one movie a day, so my sisters and I cycled through the three films day after day.  I also liked browsing Star Wars official guides at bookstores to see all the details and little backstories for ships, droids, and characters.  There is so much detail in the Star Wars universe!  Later, when the new episodes came out, I tried to watch them but really only made it through the first one ^^;  Can't say it was great, and the bits of the second and third weren't memorable either, so I am not sure I will bother with Force Awakens.

  Anyway, ANO was a part of the artist side of the exhibition so we attended for the media event/interview, of course ^u^v

  There was an artist exhibit, with international artists' interpretations of Star Wars characters and events, and a collectors' exhibit, which had many collectibles and merchandise-type displays.

From the collectors' side of the exhibit, some modified light sabers!

If I were a Jedi, I'd be a fluffy one

A Lolita Wedding

The day after Halloween one of our local Lolitas got married!  This was the first time I attended a wedding ceremony, so I was very excited ^3^

We had a table for Lolitas (note that the bride explicitly stated we should wear Lolita.  Do not wear Lolita to a wedding if it may detract from the bride and groom's day!)

There are not many photos, but I wanted to share my outfit from that day!

If you are ever invited to a wedding and given the OK to wear Lolita, some things to keep in mind are:

*Don't wear white or whatever the bride's dress color is

*Don't wear anything overly fancy that may look like a bridal dress, e.g., any of BABY's fancy dresses:

It may be mint, but it's still not OK

Colorful, but far too over the top for an attendee

 *Do wear a print if you can!  Printed dresses tend to look more casual and have less froufrou
*Keep accessories simple

These are just some of the things I thought about while choose my own coordinate ^u^
It was a lovely wedding, non of us stole the bride and groom's spotlight, but of course some of their family members still mistook us for cosplayers -_-

Anyway, on to the photos!
Candy bar and mask props the bride and groom used for their wedding photos:

Bonus points if you know this cartoon!  I only just recently began watching it ^_~

Cute and sweet (haha) candy bar

And a photo of us in front of their photo wall (I'm not sure the English term for this... it's just a place everybody takes a photo at and has the groom's and bride's names on it.)
 I love the paper flowers!

Overall, it was a great experience and very sweet because the bride and groom actually grew up together and went to the same school and had been dating for 10 years!!

This is Halloween!

Happy Belated Halloween!

This year we had a fun little meetup.  We went to a restaurant that went really over-the-top with decorations.  Halloween is a time for spooky goodness, and a lot of people (including the servers) were dressed up in gory costumes or full face paint.  There were of course some more fun superhero or goofy costumes, such as big pumpkins or cartoon characters.  Many children were dressed as classics, such as princesses, superheros, witches, Disney characters, etc.

And no, "sexy" Halloween is not a thing here, for which I am very glad.  Bring on the monsters!

Before heading over, Ano and I went to a pop-up market and took the above snap.  It wasn't a Halloween-themed market per se, as they were selling everything from vintage clothing to handmade faux sweets and retro dolls.  The place was decorated for Halloween though!

 

 The restaurant the Lolita meetup was at is called Le Ble d'Or.  Usually a pretty fancy place, it got SUPER spooky for Halloween!  Look at all these setups:

 Teddy got in on the action as well:

 The long hallway leading up to the host podium was covered in these slashed and bloody paintings:

 

 The entrance was redone to say Witch House:

 These three pumpkins had MOVING expressions!  The faces are not carved, but rather projected onto the pumpkins so they would sneer and laugh and periodically disappear.  Very cool effect!

 Teddy doing some Frankenstein-esque lab experiments

 

And me pretending to be a witch:

 The interior was quite dark, but we had a lot of fun taking photos!  We took "idol group" type shots on the stairs ^u^  We all took turns being in the center, so here is my center shot!

Idol group: Owlita

P.S. Yes, my costume was a bear.  I didn't have any idea what to be for Halloween so I just added bear ears.  It's like cheating ^3^  Teddy is already a bear so maybe her costume was a people?

Hope you all had a lovely Halloween!  If you've got costume photos to share, please do, because I love seeing cute and creative costumes ^u^

Belle's Library~ Monster Hunt

It's been a while since I've seen any good movies, but recently Ano and I watched a Chinese film (it has English subtitles) called 捉妖記/Monster Hunt.

While not a Lolita-themed film at all, I still recommend it!  It's a fantasy adventure about a world where monster hunters are no longer needed because they've caught all the monsters sneaking into the human world so effectively humans no longer remember the existence of monsters.  Now the monster queen is pregnant and the monster hunters are after her and her baby as she's crossed into the human world.

The computer graphics are really good!  The film is both funny and touching, and event includes a plot twist ;)

Trailer below:



And a promotional poster:

See?  Nice graphics!

Hollywood tends to dominate the movie market, but sometimes little gems like this pop out as well.  If you can find it in your area (or *cough*online*cough*) give it a watch!

Tiered Cake Skirts Meetup

Yesterday I woke up a bit late at 1PM. Ano was putting up new lights in my work studio! ^u^
We got ready for the meetup and had to take a taxi because we were late :P But we were still second to arrive

The theme was "tiered skirts," called "cake skirts"(蛋糕裙) in Chinese.

We met at a small cafe place called 七見櫻堂 that specialized in desserts. They were out of rice and beef when we went so many of their mains were unavailable -_-; I got a small platter with a quiche, a cake, and a brownie. Unfortunately, it turns out their "garden quiche" contained meat so I ended up eating only the sweets -_-;

The meetup itself was fun, and we had lots of chatting!

Lilith gave me and Ano the wedding cookies (喜餅) for their wedding and the wedding invitation (喜貼), which was very fancy-cut paper and pretty!  "喜" (xi) means "happiness" and is seen all over wedding-related terminology.  Often you will see this character doubled up to mean "double happiness" representing the bride and groom coming together.

Funny side story: Lilith said that for their wedding shoot her "casual wear" was a Lolita wedding dress, which is casual compared to the other two wedding dresses, but the photographer was like ._. and told her fiance that he didn't need to change out of his tux otherwise it'd look seriously mismatched if he was in jeans and a T-shirt :P

Me

It was super windy out yesterday! We took photos outside because the cafe was too small, and met a small, one-eyed dog that belonged next door. The dog was a grump and had no fear of cars, but was mean to people. A big truck was coming down the alley and the dog didn't move out of the way so Lilith had to try and move him out of the way and he snapped at her (didn't really bite her though). Same when motorbikes came through. I wonder how that dog manages not to get run over every day

Haotien asked us to kiss as he was taking the photo, so this is what happened

"I'm the boss"

Art Toy Taipei 2015

Happy Belated National Day to Taiwan!  It was on 10/10 and I had a very fun-filled day~

It's finally cool enough to put the long sleeves on my BABY one-piece dress as well

Me and my boyfriend with his artwork at an exhibit

My mom's birthday was on the 8th so I took her out to eat, and then Ano and I went to Art Toy Taipei 2015

It is an event where artists create toys to exhibit and sell.  Some large brands join as well.  There were many artist signing events and some live drawing and painting.  Artists from all over Asia come to exhibit here!

Steampunk critters

Do you know this LINE game?

PILLI, cute version!  It is a Taiwanese puppet show brand

LINE Play in collaboration with To-Fu Oyako

Unicorn

Anatomy

Very cute!

Harlequinn

Street Fighter!

My goods of the day

I bought a large deck of cards from an artist I like, Dream Capsule.  They have a mobile game now as well!  I couldn't get my QR to scan, though, but I played it on their tablet computer at the display table (I died.)  This big deck of cards with 54 illustrations (counting the Joker cards) was only NT$100!

Also, thank you to everybody who has been sticking with my blog during this month with no posts ^_~  I've been in a bit of a slump, and also uninspired regarding what to post about!  Hopefully I'll be able to blog more regularly again!

Fruit Platter Meetup

The most commonly seen fruit prints in Lolita fashion are, by far, the strawberry and the cherry.  However, for the month of September our meetup theme was "fruit, NO REPEATS" submitted by me!  Of course cherry and strawberry were called right away and even I had to really scour my prints to find some other fruit.  In the end, I found a red fruit topping on cupcakes on my Magic Bunny Tea Party JSK that I declared a cranberry.  Pass!

I also did my makeup differently this time!  I went for a lighter approach in regards to color, only doing a bit of shading in the orbital socket curve with a mix of pink and brown.  I finished off my eyes with a thin line of eyeliner and half-lashes on the outer corners. I also moved my blush location higher up on my cheekbones, and closer to my eyes.  This is the result:

Can you even tell??  The sunlight was harsh

We went to Jamling Cafe, which specializes in thick pancakes!  I ordered an apple cinnamon flavor to keep with the fruit theme  ^u^  They actually had savory flavors such as curry and okonomiyaki!

Teddy modeling my food

Of course she fit the theme as well!

Absolutely delicious!

The space was small, so we took the group photo outside.  I obscured everybody's faces with the fruit they each represented:

Fun fact: that strawberry purse was the first thing I group ordered! It's falling apart ;_; RIP I will probably have to retire it now.

Strawberry and cranberry representatives!

Skirts

Shoes

Only three of us actually had wrist stops an rings on  ^_~

And for anybody who noticed, yes, I did have a fringe/bangs that day!  They are my handy dandy clip-on ones ^u^  I feel like I've worn this coordinate too frequently and wanted to change up the look with new hair and new shoes.

Just for fun, how many different fruits can you find in your Lolita wardrobe?  After careful combing, I really only have strawberry, cherry, and "cranberry" -_-;;   Is this an excuse to buy more prints now??

BTSSB Original Print Skirt Happy Pack

Late last night I got my Happy Pack!  I haven't ordered a lucky pack since BABY first offered them overseas back in 2008 (old Lolita is old -_-;;) and this was quite the impulse purchase!  I originally tried to order the JSK pack, but it sold out right away!

To be honest, this pack is not as good as I had hoped, but I'd like to share the contents anyway!

Open!

First up is the headbow! It's a fairly generic style, quite classic and should pair easily with many items.

Nice headbow, looks like Alice and the Pirates

I also got this absolutely DARLING wallet!!  As much as I adore it, I've already got a very functional wallet I made (tutorial here) so I will sell/trade/give it away.  It's no longer on the Japanese site, but I found it for USD$70 on the New York site

Heart Heart Scallop Long Wallet

 I put everything together on Caroline, my dressform :)  The hoodie has adorable bear ears on it!  I quite like it.  It'll be several months before it is cool enough to actually wear out though!
The knit stripe long top is Alice and the Pirates.  It's got extra long sleeves and a boat neck and will do nicely for punk and daily styles ^_^v

Touch of Gold

  Finally is the focus piece, the skirt, which I originally did not love.  I don't like prints with rooms/furniture, but the color is really beautiful and the material is special.  It may be nice to break away from my normal style to do a Classic Lolita with this skirt, but I'm currently offering it on my facebook for US$90 (no longer on Japanese site, and offer on New York site is around $140)
The material is a super silky, flowing fabric that has great hand and moves well.  Maybe it will grow on me?

Recipe for Endless Dreams

Have you ever bought a lucky pack before?  Did you like what you got?

Taipei Metro Mall Intro!

If you ever find yourself in the Taipei area, where should you go for some fun?  If you are into Japanese anime goods, games, and other geek or otaku related items, the Y section of Taipei City Mall is a good place to start!

Welcome!

I like to call the Y section the "otaku" section of the mall because it's where all the Japanese-imported figures, character goods, prints, etc. are located!  Plus, it is ultra easy to find.  Simply take the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT, the metro) to Taipei Main Station  and follow the signs. (You can also go to Beimen/北門 station, which starts at the other end of the mall)

Backgrounds for taking photos?

 Y section is a bit further away from the central Main Station where you first exit the metro, so follow signs leading to M2 first!  Then as you approach Q Square the signs will begin to label the Y section separately.  (If you went the Beimen route, there are directly signs for Y section)

Masks?

 The mascots for Taipei City Mall, DNAxCAT, decorate the walls all the way throughout.  Since this is the "otaku" section, they tend to be Japanese-themed pictures.  They're adorable, and you can buy their character goods!

Welcome to Taipei City Mall!

 So this post is actually just a compilation of the DNAxCAT pictures since photography is forbidden inside the actual shops (sorry!)

This old man is resting in front of this fake food stand

 The otaku goods start to pop up around Y12 or so, with the food (and maid cafes and butler cafes!) at the very end.  At the end of the mall is also where events take place, such as yukata or cosplay events!

Sadly, cannot go inside... this was right outside Maiden Diner

 There is also a stage right at the beginning of the mall, at Y3.  Sometimes there are classic Chinese song performances by old folk.  Sometimes there are Japanese-theme performances to coincide with any events happening that day!

Do you know this depicted event?  Bonus points if you do!

We, too, can dance!

This picture is split by a door

 I enjoy the nerdy atmosphere and being able to browse through so many different types of plushies and figurines.  Be aware that many shops are "cubby shops" where each cubby is rented by a different person, so they set their own prices.  Shop around to see who has the best deal!

It says, "Welcome to Taipei City Mall"

  

Oops!

If there are no events happening, you can often find high schoolers practicing hiphop dance at the end of the mall.  Large, open spaces are difficult to come by, so several metro stations with extra space have put up mirrors to allow these students to practice.

Announcing the yukata special display for the last half of August and event on the 15th and 16th

Cats can do dance as well!

 Usually I start from Y1 and go up the right side of the mall, which is essentially a long hallway split into halves, and then come back down the left side before getting back on the metro.  The end of the left side also has several Indonesian food and goods shops because there are many Indonesians in Taiwan as well.

I bought a couple Pokemon figurines on this day and took my cousin to Maiden Diner~

Does your city have an "otaku" region or shop(s)?  Share photos if you have them!!