I have been absent again, I know, unfortunately I haven't had a lot to post about lately. But this is not the case today as I am here to finally post about the hottest lolita event of the year for all European Lolitas, La Vie en Rose, the 2015 event by Street Fashion Europe (along with the local community of course).
Not sure if you know but I am the SFE representative for my country, Portugal and so it is partially a responsability to attend every year. Last year, for Enchanted, I could only attend the actual weekend events and couldn't help much in the days before, etc so when i heard that I'd have the week before off work, I was super happy and started planning as soon as possible.
Unfortunately I also found out that I was going alone. The Portuguese community is very small and only one or two people ever consider saving up for things like this and the ones that do were not going. I had to look for a place to stay with someone else and share the costs/to have more fun (because going alone is no fun).
I was super lucky because when i posted asking for room mates one of the people i love most contacted me and asked me if i'd like to stay with her and other girls. It was a bit on the pricey side for me but i could not pass on that opportunity, I still cannot believe how lucky I was to have spent those days with the coolect flat mates ever.
So I booked for a thursday - the event would be saturday/sunday.
I had no idea what to wear up to the last minute and ended up sewing the whole night before leaving because i just came up with a last minute concept. I was pretty inspired and loved working on the pieces but also freaked out a bit because of how different the whole thing was.
I did not sleep and just woke up my husband who would take me to the airport.
I used ryanair because it was the cheapest option. The problem is how distant the airports are from the city centers and Paris Beauvais is pretty distant. When I arrived the first thing I noticed was the cold, it was freezing!
The bus trip gave me some time to sleep which was good and when i arrived i remembered the stop and managed to get quickly to the subway. The trip was short, around 4 stops and the trains did not have a lot of people so the bags were not a problem (but of course i'd like some elevators to carry them with less effort but everyone knows how bad the stations are for people carrying bags, tons of stairs, no escalators and no elevators).
I got out and got lost for the first time, but eventually found the place (people had to help me though, thank goodness for my terrible french).
When I arrived at the building, i managed to go in, and get to the second floor but after ringing the bell i discovered my room mates were not in. I managed to contact them soon after but they were at another location so i'd have to wait a while which was fine. I eventually got in before that because there is a connection to another flat for the care taker.
When the girls arrived I changed into something more fitting and we went to a café where we had something to eat.
We walked a bit in champs elysees and then went back to the flat where i just passed out. The girls woke me up to go to a party at Alex's that night.
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We were supposed to take food and drinks so we stopped at a supermarket and i bought a bottle of Port wine which wasn't expensive, a bit more than in Portugal but not a ridiculous price. I felt stupid though, "should have brought a bottle myself" - i thought.
It was a great party, I met some new girls there and everyone was super at ease and friendly. I drank a bit i must say and have no regrets.
Friday, the 20th February
The next day strangely we managed to wake up quite easily. It was still morning and we were all strolling around Paris. The plan was to visit the Parisian BABY, the Stars Shine Bright store, Axes Femme and then eventually I'd have to leave the girls to go to the venue location to work (as part of Street Fashion Europe).
Along the way we saw some lovely buildings, I found Paris to be rather charming, I always love the architecture as well as the smell of fresh bread and pastries everywhere.
Finally we arrived at the store. It was the same as I remember it except for some reason I couldn't really remember the street, it looked quite different from before, i think we just went there from a completely different side for me.
The store was almost empty, only two girls were inside but left soon after. I found the store to be reasonably stocked although there was nothing small that i wanted and I always find it impossible to afford the prices. I fell in love with the blouses of course and strangely I fell in love with one dress that Jo tried on and I asked to try on as well.
It was the Alice and the Pirates Rosier onepiece in dark blue and white lace and although i usually find white lace on dark colors a bit tacky i just loved it on. I wish i could find it again at a more affordable price but that's probably not going to happen.
Oh and I also fell for this dress, I have always wanted it and its as beautiful as I had imagined. Unfortunately it was in the store window so I did not have the courage to ask to try it on so I have no idea if it would fit me.
We were at the store for some time, the girls got some items and then we met up with other lolitas there was well, it was great because they knew exactly how to get to the Axes Femme store too. I really was having a great time and dreading having to leave their company to be honest.
Along the way (now it was raining a bit) we saw something lovely, live painting restoration being done by artists in a "school" or shop. They were so focused in their work they did not even notice that all of us stopped staring in awe.
Eventually we found our way to the Axes Femme store. We also met Kyra and some others at that time which was very good for me since i had no idea where the heck I was at that time and they would eventually have to go to the venue location as well.
The Axes Femme was in a completely different neighborhood, in the middle of many other boutiques which made sense. I love how the store was lit and the decoration, it was very agreable inside as well. the store seemed reasonably stocked but for some reason while I was browsing everything kept disappearing, a certain girl in our party was doing some serious shopping. Honestly I was in awe and positively jealous. I believe the store girls were very happy with the visit, I myself got two things in the store. The prices were much more expensive than the japanese ones but for Paris it seemed super affordable imo.
We then went to have tea in a famous tea place neaby since none of us had eaten anything.
The smell when one went in is impossible to describe, it just smelt like... happiness, it was ridiculously fabulous. I just inhaled deeply a couple of times and I swear I saw one of the employees let go of an honest smile then. I wanted to bring back some tea but was unsure of how much I could spend and I have an inability to make choices when there's too much to choose from and there certainly was. I know they have branches in Japan so when I am there I will try to visit their location in Osaka. I really loved it.
The seating dispositions and the light in the area we got places were however much less impressive, i really do not respond well to yellow light which was what they had so that's why the photos are all so unimpressive. Still I took a photo of their meny as well as the food I ordered and will let you come to your own conclusions. Either way, if you are in Paris and you enjoy good tea, I do recommend a visit.
After this and unfortunately the service was slow and it took a while to be able to leave we ended up arriving at our destination later than we had hoped and felt a bit guilty. Fortunately nobody seemed to worry much about that and I actually found that everything was set up and going well.
We stayed for hours and eventually everyone left for the organization dinner. We went to a crepe place and the crepe were divine as well.
The triple fortune staff came along and so did the photographers but not the Btssb staff which is understandable, it was a very tiring day for everyone.
I eventually managed to get to the flat alone (thanks to kyra and dom <3).
The girls were still awake so we sat in our strangely decorated study room for a while and drank some wine. Everyone was excited for the next days to come.
Oh and this is what I wore, I picked something confortable and the beret was the best pick because of the rain as well. Nothing too special. (and those are the venue bathrooms, i mean isn't that ridiculously awesome?!)
Hope you enjoyed reading,
Love,
Jo
