July 30, 2013

Lolita Haunts: Kawaii Cafe

 The second place I talked about in Lolita Hangouts is the Kawaii Cafe.



The shop sports a very pink front, with tables for sitting outside in the quiet street, but the interior teams with  interesting surprises. The walls are plastered in autographed photos of Japanese celebrities, idols or bands or models, shelves hold quantities of anime figurines, and every tabletop  features an aspect of Japanese culture: pages from manga, a dictionary of geek terms...

The whole atmosphere extends even to the menu: japanese cocktails and nibbles. This is it: I wish I could actually play the games featured on the cases!


And this is what they offer:

I tried the Fruit Pastèque non-alcoholic cocktail, which was nice. It was a bit dark inside to hang out very long and chat, but Li-Li and I enjoyed a welcome rest form the Parisian heat!
The café regularly features maids, on Saturdays, or cosplayed staff, and frequent events, whether game nights or art exhibitions on their walls.

This is quite a nice café, especially in the evening, where you can gather lots of friends. I plan on trying one of their events before leaving for Agen!

July 26, 2013

Lolita Haunts: Bubble Fever

I recently tried out two places I had wanted to visit for a long time. Ever since Kikoumaru (in Bastille) closed, I have been looking for a favorite place to enjoy bubble tea, take a break, and enjoy homemade steamed buns (but sadly I haven't found this yet).

The first is Bubble Fever, a bubble tea bar my friend Penny has been telling me about for a long time. It is the hangout for a great many lovers of Japanese culture, and of course, the place to grab a delicious bubble tea!

Starting from the outside: the bar is very small (tiny, indeed!), but it boldly stands out, especially with the cute little mascot Boba!
 Photo from their facebook page
 The inside is really cute and simple, with all the bubble tea implements and ingredients lining the walls.

This is their menu:

Even if ou can't read french, most of the words should be understandable, but in any case, you get the idea, right? So many flavors! You can personalize you tea any way you like and change combinations every time! It can milk or fruit, tapioca or jelly, passion fruit, almond, ginger, guava, mocha or ten other flavors!

And finally, the price is really decent! 3,50€ for a small, 4,50€ for a large. What's not to love?

They offer a loyalty card, so I know where this girl is going from now on! I want to try every single flavor there. And they don't only have tapioca, they also have weird flavored jelly instead, which I tried and is really fun! The shop also sells kits with all the necessary ingredients to make the tea yourself, and the friendly staff and atmosphere are free to boot!


Bubble Fever is also present at any event japanese or pop culture related, so you can get a taste wherever you are!



Here they were at the Japan Expo! (And I was wearing Princesse Cadence...)




Visit their website: you can either find them in Paris or order your kits online!

July 24, 2013

Dreamdress

I just spotted this dress on the Baby Paris website, and fell in love with it. If they still have it in stock, I am trying it on when I next go to the shop, and possibly getting it.

Well, that part isn't sealed yet.

But isn't this dress so beautiful? It has the right balance between cute and elegant, and depending on your coordinatinon, could work out as a casual outfit or a very fancy look. Here are two suggestions I came up with.

An Occasional Sailor

With a light sailor blouse and minimal accessories, thisjsk can be made to suit the hot summer weather despite the heavy fabric. A key thing to remember to remain elegant not to weigh your outfit down with extra elements when the weather is warm. Not only will you be too hot, people who look at you will just feel even hotter!  I like adding little quirks to my outfits and in both cases i chose little cat touches. These cat face shoes with heels are just too cute!


Elegant Snow
And now for the cold weather! Boots, pullover, muff (possibly a more matching color, but this all I found for the moment), and the cat ear beret for a hint of fun!

Maybe you can come up with coordinates for this dress as well?

July 21, 2013

Impromptu birthday party


Today my family surprised me with an impromptu birthday party. I knew my grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousin were coming, but not that it would be to belatedly celebrate my birthday! The real date was quite a while ago, the 6th of May, for those who know, but I hadn't had a chance to be with my family for it, studying in the UK at the time. Luckily I had time to put the finishing touches to my latest OP after coming home from a morning run. It was really enjoyable, especially since I have been caught up in sewing since the start of the break and haven't paid many people any visit.

My new dress! It was a quick fix, so the construction details up close make me cringe,
 but I wanted to make this fast and wear it.This fabric was just so perfect for lolita, 
and I wanted more simple dress for summer. OP's don't require blouses so I really like them!

I received a parcel full of yummy sweets and Guerlain's La Petite Robe Noire for the occasion, so I wasn't expecting anything. However thanks to my parents I will enjoy a nice massage and they are in addition providing help towards my future, not-yet-planned trip to Japan. Well, now I may be going there sooner than expected, almost on a whim, as I am tired of always putting it back! And my brothers found an adorable portable USB fan and a jewellery stand  -cute and useful gifts for me; as well as a gorgeous vintage bag from my aunt and uncle.

The fan plugs into my computer and  cools both of us - my poor computer 
suffers even more than I in this heat!





Oh, and I did a bit more shopping and found a cute pair of shorts for the gym! More about that in a later post, though ;)




July 20, 2013

Meeting Li-Li

Yesterday I met with Li-Li for the second time in Paris. Li-Li is a lolita from the USA studying here in France for a few months. I answered her post on EGL, when she asked for advice on places to visit in Paris, offering to meet up. And I am so glad we did!


Our first meeting was an outing to Bubble Fever, a bubble tea bar with friendly staff and delicious flavors of our favorite drink! We got so caught up with our chatting that we completely forgot about taking any photos of our first meet, so none of those unfortunately. We have a lot more in common than lolita, too. Lolita fashion/lifestyle is a great way to meet new people but when you find you have more points in common then you are sure you found a friend!



We made up for forgotten photos yesterday, when we headed for the Kawaii Cafe, rue de Nemours. The setting was really cute and original, and we had a nice time! They had very original cocktails (cucumber sounds like it is worth a try), though we stuck to non-alcoholic beverages. so I feel someone who enjoys alcohol might appreciate this particular place better. I do want to try going there when they organize one of their geek events though, and they have maids occasionally!

Storefront of the Kawaii Cafe

Li-Li and I also discovered that we already knew each other on the internet! Of course we communicated through LJ and Skype, but it is only when we began talking about our blogs that we realized that we read each other and both participate in Lolita Blog Carnival! (Though she is much more thorough than I in that respect!) So Li-Li turns out to be Alice in Lolitaland, and I am Le Boudoir's Miss Milly. And now  that I look at your photos, I do recognize you, Li-Li! It is so wonderful meeting someone you enjoy reading, and we giggled like crazy when we made the connection!


 I wore my BTSSB Usakyuma Sweets jsk with a non-lolita cutsew of fortunately matching colors, AP socks, and my lovely purple Bodyline wig. I like wearing wigs even in summer, as long as I style it in an nupdo. It avoids me having to chack my hair all the time (it just gets awful on too-hot days).

Unexpected mirrors make the best photoshoots!

Because she had luggage limitations, Li-Li couldn't bring lolita with her, so I offered to lend her a coordinate for our next outing. We are thinking about several places, so many of them look fun: the recently renovated Château de Champs-sur-Marne, the oh-so-creepy Manoir de Paris (but I am a scaredy-cat), Princess Crêpe and the BTSSB store, because they are on sale at the moment, or maybe Disneyland?

I really want to let her see France outside of Paris, so I would love to invite her over for tea, perhaps with some of my new lolita friends, but because of moving, my house is such a mess, so I am unsure... I'll have to think about it!

Aah, what will our next outing be? I cant' wait!

July 19, 2013

14 July and New Home!

Last weekend was our national holiday, the 14th July. I spent the time with family friends over in Normandie, a beautiful place. I prepared outfits but ended up not wearing them much because of going to the sea, running, and general heat!


The brooches  imade, inspired by AP's Biscuit series.

Following that, I visited my family's new house in the South of France, in Agen. Yes! I am moving, which is both extremely fun, and tiring. It is giving me a chance to sort through my wardrobe and closets, ridding them of unecessary items and updating what is in need of it.
The traveling lolita

I took the chance to take a few pictures in this very cute town! There is a lovely cupcake parlor which I feel will become my favorite hangout, vintage and antique shops just waiting to be explored, and a delicious Japanese restaurant I ate lucnh and dinner at on the same day!
My new room is also really cute, with an en suite bathroom just for me (well, that's not new, seeing as I...claimed the bathroom on my floor here already).

My new room - empty and perfect for pictures!

At the moment I also wear a style that is more casual than lolita, when it is too hot or I am very lazy. I mix in elements of fairy-kei, gyaru, and generally cute items.

Oops  ~ sleepy time!




July 11, 2013

Japan Expo, Lolita Convention, and Shopping

This year again I went to the Japan Expo in Paris. I love this convention as I get the chance to meet up with friends I otherwise rarely see, and this year I was determined to make new ones as well.


 It was my luck then that upon setting foot out of the train on Thursday, I ran into three lolitas, with whom I thereafter spent the day! Naomi, Becha, and Emmy are absolutely lovely girls, and one of them actually lives really close by! It's a shame I'll be moving soon, but I'll make sure to see her before that!
The day was spent roving the booths of indie designers, Japanese imports, and groups of photo-happy lolitas! We also listened to Sebastian Masuda's conference about Harajuku fashion, which was fascinating, and had the opportunity to take photos with him after that!
 It was my first encounter with the french lolita community as before I had never had the chance to patricipate in any organised event and it proved lovely!

The other two days, Friday and Sunday, I wore my Princess Cadence cosplay and debuted another one, which isn't entirely finished so I won't say much about this. Cadence though was great fun once again! I came across several other ponies and may have a photoshoot planned soon.
 In front of the MameshibaxKyary mascott with my best friend


 Posing with Sebastian Masuda. Argh, bad face...


The annual Lolita Convention followed right after and it was fantastic! I went there for the first time, since I had always been too tired after the Expo, not to mention shy. But meeting the community motivated me, and here as well I met wonderful people. The fashion show was the climax of the event, and I particularly liked Clara Maeda. A few notable people were there, including Minori whom I missed, sadly, as I had to leave early. But I met François Amoretti, author and illustrator, the wonderful team from Roccoco Daze, and of course saw my new friends. We had a very unexpected but insanely fun time shooting in a lauderette!
I got myself a pair of AP socks and a pair of tights at the second hand booth, but a lot of it was really tempting!


 This was such a fantastic four days which I had been looking forward to so much, and I'm happy to say that rather than feel lazy now that it is over, and I am all the more determined to work harder. So I made a lolita skirt and am started on a dress; I am also continuing my cosplay.
Today was fun as well, I went shopping and enjoyed it for the first time. My mom and I had a fun afternnon and I picked up two very cute dresses for a more gyaru/ kimokawa casual style, which is nice once in a while when lolita is too much of a bother!

François Amoretti's gorgeous and poetic book about lolita; 
my new handmade skirt and a dress in progress; and a roll of lace!

H&M starry dress; Cache-cache flowy mint gyaru-style dress (the color didn't turn out well)