A Candyland Report...A Bit Late.
Lolita events at Royal T are always a must in my opinion. So when the Candyland event, a combination lolita fashion and doll party, was announced I knew I had to go.
Candyland proved to be so popular amongst lolitas and doll owners that approximately 450 people attended. And that is where I had several problems with the event. My friends arrived early for a late lunch so by the time I arrived we had a table already procured for us. If they had not gotten that table early we would likely have had to wait for a while even with a reservation. In addition, service was slow even with the limited menu. As for the rest of the venue, the sheer numbers of people made walking around difficult.
But those dressed in lolita looked exquisite. It seems that with each party the fashion just gets better and better. At this event I even saw some Elegant Gothic Aristocrats (EGA):
A fashion show featuring Carlifornia's designs was a feature of the event. Personally, I prefer a more refined look to lolita and found many of the pieces rather costume-like and on the risque side. Lolita is about dressing for oneself not some socially accepted norm or expectation. And this was my main issue with this collection. Women often feel the societal pressure to look a certain way that lolita offers a safe escape from those pressures. I would be hard pressed to find a lolita who enjoyed this collection.
The Kawaii Kidz collection by Betty featured lolita fashoins for children. Most of this collection consisted of pastels and floral prints and was well constructed. This collection must have also been fun to wear as most of the cute little models looked like they were having fun.
As with previous doll and lolita events, there was a table where dolls could be displayed. I had brought Magpie (my Volks Megu) and Sophie (my Volks Kurumi) dressed in Baby The Stars Shine Bright and h. Naoto respectively as I figured that many of the lolitas who do not own dolls might be interested in seeing the doll sized versions of these outfits.I was also pleased to see other dolls in similar outfits.
Sophie and Magpie strike a lolita pose! (This is before they got molested)
However, some of the attendees did not only look but also touched my dolls. When it was time for me to collect my dolls, I was horrified to find that both Sophie and Mapgie had been pushed against the wall and that Sopies legs were tucked under her in an awkward position with her knees out of her sockets.In ball joint dolls this can cause a break to occur at the part where the knee fits into the upper thigh socket. Fortunately she (and her outfit) was intact but I was not okay.
It took me a couple of days to calm down from the incident. Sophie was one of my dream dolls and the thought of her getting injured actually upset me greatly as she is very difficult to replace. Betty, the event organizer was not pleased that this happened. So for future parties there are plans to have "guards" at the tables making sure that everyone at the party enjoys looking and photographing the dolls not touching them.
Overall, the party had the potential to be glorious. But as these parties continue to grow, crowd control will become more of an issue. However, there will be better doll security at the next event and hopefully Royal T will have a new plan for servicing a large number of attendees.
Candyland proved to be so popular amongst lolitas and doll owners that approximately 450 people attended. And that is where I had several problems with the event. My friends arrived early for a late lunch so by the time I arrived we had a table already procured for us. If they had not gotten that table early we would likely have had to wait for a while even with a reservation. In addition, service was slow even with the limited menu. As for the rest of the venue, the sheer numbers of people made walking around difficult.
But those dressed in lolita looked exquisite. It seems that with each party the fashion just gets better and better. At this event I even saw some Elegant Gothic Aristocrats (EGA):
A fashion show featuring Carlifornia's designs was a feature of the event. Personally, I prefer a more refined look to lolita and found many of the pieces rather costume-like and on the risque side. Lolita is about dressing for oneself not some socially accepted norm or expectation. And this was my main issue with this collection. Women often feel the societal pressure to look a certain way that lolita offers a safe escape from those pressures. I would be hard pressed to find a lolita who enjoyed this collection.
The Kawaii Kidz collection by Betty featured lolita fashoins for children. Most of this collection consisted of pastels and floral prints and was well constructed. This collection must have also been fun to wear as most of the cute little models looked like they were having fun.
As with previous doll and lolita events, there was a table where dolls could be displayed. I had brought Magpie (my Volks Megu) and Sophie (my Volks Kurumi) dressed in Baby The Stars Shine Bright and h. Naoto respectively as I figured that many of the lolitas who do not own dolls might be interested in seeing the doll sized versions of these outfits.I was also pleased to see other dolls in similar outfits.
Sophie and Magpie strike a lolita pose! (This is before they got molested)
However, some of the attendees did not only look but also touched my dolls. When it was time for me to collect my dolls, I was horrified to find that both Sophie and Mapgie had been pushed against the wall and that Sopies legs were tucked under her in an awkward position with her knees out of her sockets.In ball joint dolls this can cause a break to occur at the part where the knee fits into the upper thigh socket. Fortunately she (and her outfit) was intact but I was not okay.
It took me a couple of days to calm down from the incident. Sophie was one of my dream dolls and the thought of her getting injured actually upset me greatly as she is very difficult to replace. Betty, the event organizer was not pleased that this happened. So for future parties there are plans to have "guards" at the tables making sure that everyone at the party enjoys looking and photographing the dolls not touching them.
Overall, the party had the potential to be glorious. But as these parties continue to grow, crowd control will become more of an issue. However, there will be better doll security at the next event and hopefully Royal T will have a new plan for servicing a large number of attendees.