Fairytale Boutique Events!

I visited Fairytale Boutique very briefly in March, but I was with a colleague from law school, so I kind of bolted out of there before I could spend too much time in there. I'm really happy I was able to return not once, but TWICE this summer! The first one was Fairytale Boutique's Second Anniversary Event, and the second event was their Third Harajuku Fashion Walk!

The theme for the anniversary event was "Happy Birthday" so I put together a little birthday princess coordinate! Cimone and I whipped up some écharpes and accessories the night before--I am in love with her cute bunting-based coordinate. She hand-crocheted it herself!! I'm jealous.

We're still mad though--both of us were convinced that there was bunting SOMEWHERE on the print--despite owning it for a couple of years. Upon closer inspection, there is absolutely no bunting anywhere on Magical Etoile. Weird.

The following photos were used with permission from Art of Zekie Cho! I will tell a little story about our crazy trip here in the meantime.

It's pretty rare when I get a photo of how I look from behind. I just love the coattails on that Alice and the Pirates jacket.

For those of you who are not familiar with California, I was actually about 6 hours north of Los Angeles, in Sacramento. It's a pretty boring trip filled with hills, curving roads, and desert heat--especially when you're driving in the summer. It was kind of a miserable trip down, but we were prepped and ready!

I look pretty grumpy in some of these photos because in the end, changing into such a hot, over-the-top coordinate just wasn't smart--especially since there was a line out the door. I ended up feeling really light-headed and woozy, so I tried to drink as much water as possible. It didn't help that Cimone and I just couldn't find where Fairytale Boutique was for a bit until we called and asked. @3@ I ate some protein in an attempt to feel better, and honestly at this point, I was just relieved to be indoors.

Cimone had plans the next day, so I actually made the six hour drive back to Sacramento after the event was over--we ended up reaching home at almost 5 AM!

Julie was taking my photo here! I was so happy to finally meet her again--it's been too long since I last ran into her.

Not only did I meet Julie, I also met another galaxxxy girl--Audra! We took a quick selfie before the night wrapped up.

I was also super thrilled to finally meet Alex of Automatic Honey. He's been an absolutely wonderful friend of mine--and was so incredibly welcoming when we met. I was pretty shy about meeting so many gorgeous people in one place, but he really made me feel at ease--like I was always in Los Angeles! They created a beautiful dress line to accompany their newest series of jewelry--Moonlight Pegasus!

I was able to snatch up the last necklace they had in stock, and also ended up getting my hands on the matching ring in their online sales. I would have been devastated if I travelled six hours to not end up purchasing one--so I was super happy there was one left for me!

I entered the coordinate contest with Cimone--everyone was just so gorgeous and put-together. It's amazing how many J-fashion enthusiasts had gathered in one place! The adorable mother and her child were SO cute, and won second place in the coordinate contest--receiving a little goodie bag of stationery and other Fairytale Boutique accessories~

Aaaaand, I won first place!! I was so incredibly honoured--I ended up winning a prize bag filled with things from one of my favourite indie brands--Dearie! Miki--the owner of Fairytale Boutique--said she liked how I was wearing Magical Etoile--which was the print they were promoting at the time. I actually didn't even put that together, the reason Cimone and I twinned in it was because we thought the amusement park looked so on point with the birthday theme!

I handmade the sceptre with the Fairtale Boutique logo--although it was starting to fall apart from the heat near the end of the day. The écharpe read "Happy Birthday"--which I handwrote in puffy paint, and I borrowed the socks from Cimone! The crown is from lovely Apatico.

Continuing this trend of meeting awesome people--I finally attended Anime Expo--a convention I've been wanting to attend for years and never had a chance to make it out to. It was a dream come true and it was tailored exactly to my interests. I was able to meet some amazing people (once again), including Gen Urobuchi (otherwise known as "The Butcher"). Anime Expo coverage will come in another post, but on Sunday after the final panel of Anime Expo, Fairytale Boutique held a fashion walk that was going to be filmed by none other than NHK World's Kawaii International!

(Once again, these photos have been borrowed from lovely Zekie Cho.)

I got to saw Christy again--who I met at the anniversary event. Her make-up is always so on point, and she's SUCH a cutie.

Look at how many people came to the event! My purse was being annoying since I was wearing a peignoir, and it kept slipping off--so all the photos have me clutching it strangely.

I wore "deco-mori" and tried to focus my coordinate around the Dearie accessories I won the last time I went to Fairytale Boutique as thanks. (I look a tad "forever alone" in this photo, I'm not sure what I was doing--maybe looking for my friend Laura?)

Have a photo of us actually walking!! I love gothic lolita Laura, looming in the background. She made that weekend an absolute blast!!

This is a really cool angle! I met soooo many people and I'm horrible with names, so if any of you out there remember me, please say hi and comment, I'd love to connect with you on Instagram or Twitter! ♡

All in all, the Fairytale Boutique events are an absolute dream. They're well put-together, and it's a great opportunity to meet a tonne of people with similar interests. The J-fashion enthusiasts in Los Angeles are so awesome, and they always have exciting things to talk about. I hope I can attend more when I inevitably return to California next summer for another law clerk position!