♥MCM Expo London May 2013~! Diary & Haul~!♥

 

                                             

After such a tiring two days in London, I was super worried that I wouldn't have the energy for MCM!o(≧o≦)o But I did~! It was super exciting, since I had a proper outfit to wear for it and it was also the first time I'd be wearing Milky Planet out~!

♥Outfit Rundown♥

(In case you missed the Milky Planet post!)

Salopette, combs bows, valetta (bowtie in this outfit): Angelic Pretty

Blouse, petti #1: Jill PunkxLoli (on eBay)

Petti #2: Hell Bunny

Shoes, tights, Magical DoReMi wand: eBay

Shoes, wristcuffs: Bodyline

Bowtie base bow: from my Seifuku (Bodyline)

Belt: made from fairydust organza (local fabric store)

♥Usakumya also joined me as my backpack and Magical Girl familiar~!♥

 Josh was looking fancy as usual in a shirt, trousers, hat, and jacket~ He was going to cosplay Bro from Homestuck but we were tired and couldn't get the wig quite right. It's probably a good thing though because the convention was boiling and a wig might have been too much.

Guess what we did on the train to London~! 

We listened to more Cabin Pressure~!♪ We love it so much~(*´д｀*) Some music too~♪

At the ExCel centre, it was super busy~! I don't think I'd ever seen it so busy, though I hadn't been in a while. I'm glad Josh was there because I often feel intimidated and not so comfy in crowds. I knew to expect it to be quite busy so so I was able to prepare myself! -nodnod- Luckily we got early entry tickets, otherwise it would have been a super duper long wait~! It was only a little wait in the early entry queue (a little being just over 30mins ww~), but Josh got really worried and a little annoyed because the girls behind us were kinda messing around and kept bumping into Usakumya and then they started eating doritos (argh) so I just cuddled Usakumya for a while. ;;

Then it was time to go into the convention hall~! Josh wanted to get me an Arpakasso for my birthday so before we were even properly in the hall, he was like "ARPAKASSOS AT 11o'clock!"♪ We went to that stand first, and it was so pretty~! The shop's website is called LoveJojo and the ladies there were so so sweet~!♥ One let me cuddle an Arpakasso and I decided he was the one I wanted~! Since we spent over £10, there was a lucky dip, and I won a squishy Rilakkuma phone strap!♥ They also both loved my outfit and took photos of me! I felt really awkward because I'm not used to photos that aren't selfies... I get nervous.. OTL

The Arpakasso is called Martin~ like the Captain in Cabin Pressure! He is captain and supreme commander and everyone must show him 100000% respest because he is captain!♪ (Benedict Cumberbatch is his voice actor~) He's really big! So I carried him happily under my arm for the rest of the day~♪ Though it was a little difficult to carry him and my wand, he was very cuddly kyaaah~♥ I think Josh will be getting one soon, and he will be called... Douglas! Like Martin's first officer (not the captain) ww~♪

There were so so many stands selling kawaii things~! It was like a cute heaven~♥♥ The Tofu Cute stand was amazing~♥ And they had Chocomint accessories~~ Chocomint~ Chocomint ahh~♥ I bought a whole bunch of accessories, as well as a MyMelody handbag. I can't wait for their new store Dreamy Bows to open!♥ I'll be so broke from buying too much Chocomint ww~♥ I finally got dangly star charms, and picked up a ring and bracelet and "Love Me" dangly charm! 

I also bought a cute heart ring from Electric Sheep (because I have a serious lack of rings), twin rose bow clips (to go with Squirrel Party) from RoxieSweetHeart, and cute neko paws (the shop I bought those from didn't seem to have a name though.. )~!♥

When I was browsing the stands that were selling plushies I spotted a pastel Gloomy Panda~!♥ I spotted one of these on eBay months ago, but it was something like £45 OTL But I picked up this cutie for £35!♥♥ So so happy~ I spent some of MCM carrying her around too, so Martin under one arm and her under the other ww~♪ Her name is Snoopadoo, like Carolyn's pet Cockapoo (from Cabin Pressure). And even though she's a panda, not a cockapoo, I thought Snoopadoo seemed fitting because of the "pa".♪

During the convention, quite a few people wanted to take my photo, including a girl who recognised me from YouTube! -happycrycry- I'm surprised anyone recognised me ww~ I felt so lucky~♥ She was in AP too, hooray!♥ I also bumped into another lolita wearing Milky Planet!!♪ So happy~!♥ 

We tried mango shaved ice, which was delicious~♥ 

We also got prawn yakisoba, and did heads or tails for the prawn ww~♪

When we had finished looking around, we went outside~! I had never seen the outside area near the steps before. It was full of cosplayers and there was music and and so many cosplayers~!♪ Quite a few people asked to take my photo there~ I was a little nervous, but so so happy!(*´ω｀*)♥♥ After looking around there for a while, we headed to the Westfield centre for some food~ It wasn't too long until our train, so we just got a McDo ww~ It was a little awkward being around so many people whilst wearing my outfit and carrying all my things, but it was peachy~! I also spotted some cosplayers, and a pretty lady with red hair came over to me while I was sat at the table and said "I'm glad I'm not the only one still dressed up!". There were lots of children who seemed to admire the outfit~!♥ Too bad most of the adults weren't so happy about it ww~ Do you ever hear stories about lolitas getting called "Little Bo Peep"? I always took them with a pinch of salt until someone actually called over to me like "Hey little bo peep has lost her sheep!". I may have had no sheep, but I had Martin the alpaca ww~♥ I didn't mind too much though! It must be odd to be shopping somewhere and suddenly see a girl in twintails and a foofy dress with big big plush toys, right?♪ I just hope that someday, everyone can get more respect and admiration no matter what they wear!♥ 

We also bought some... gelato!♥ The lady at the stand said I was very cute ahh~~♥♥ We got pineapple, mango, and cherry ripple~♥

Then it was time to go home~(o´ω｀o;;) Martin and Snoopadoo were watching the scenery from the train~

 

Here's a collection of everything I bought~ like, a family photo~?♥

The next day, I tried on my new accessories!♪♪ It's very very OTT, but ahh Chocomint is so cute~!♥ I feel so so lucky to have been able to buy so many things~♥

What do you think~?♪

 

♥Bonus photo~ Me and Josh with the neko paws~!♥

 

 I hope you don't mind that it was so long~ thankies so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it~!(o^ω^o)

Hopefully I'll make another video soon~ one or two people have asked me about it, I'm so sorry! (´д｀ ;;)

♥Have a supersweet day and a dreamy night~!♥

Love and bai bais from Amai, Martin, and Snoopadoo~!♥♥

♥-hughug-♥

♥Londres et Caravan Palace♥

♥London Mini-Holiday Diary♥

It's been a really super tiring few days, but so worth it!(≧ω≦ )♥

♪Please bear with me, there will be a lot of  text and photos~!♪

On Thursday I met up with Josh and we did some shopping~! We went to a big fancy New Look and I spent my gift card and some birthday money on a new outfit~♥ I'm really into blue at the moment~ It was hard to pick out matching shoes, but I eventually found some!♪ I hadn't picked out the varsity jacket at first, but when I saw it I had to get it, because there's an "A" on the front for Amai ww~~♪♪

Afterwards, we walked along to Selfridges~♪ For those of you that don't know, Selfridges is a mahoosive department store full of fancy designer things and is a really really bad place for a clumsy couple to visit on a day out. It wasn't fun at all because we were too scared to even look at anything or take photos. It was fun to admire everything though heehee~ All the store staff were dressed in very fancy clothes and fancy makeup and it was all brilliantly fancy. Although there was a LOT of designer makeup, clothing, and home stuff, there was no burando, which we both thought would have fitted in nicely with the fancyness. Though price-wise, Angelic Pretty and BABY are both very affordable compared to the Louis Vuitton and Chanel. (✖╭╮✖) Josh loves suits so we were looking around the menswear a lot! An Alexander McQueen (♥♥♥) jacket caught his eye but he lookied at the price and it was about £1000+. It was lovely but terribly expensive. There was also a velvet jacket near it and it lookied like something from Austin Powers' wardrobe which was awesomies. Once we left, Josh pointed out one of the window displays! Pinkie Pies and Cadances and pastels ahh~!

Afterwards, we headed to the Trocadero and also lookied around Leicester Square and Chinatown~! We also went to... Hamley's!!♥ It's one of my most favourite shops in the world~ I didn't buy anything though, since I was trying to save my money for MCM!♪ There's a Hello Kitty boutique in there, and next to it is a little area full of accessories and tutus that would be perfect for fairy-kei~!♥♥

Our feet were getting tired, so it was time to find our hotel~!♪ It was in a pretty fancy looking area~ The overground stop was Kensington Olympia~ It was only one stop away from Shepherd's Bush, which has a Westfield centre and the O2 Empire!♪♪ The hotel was super cute and comfy, here are some pictures! I forgot to take them when we first got in because we were so tired so I took these before we left~♪

We chilled out for a few hours, and had the bento that I made for lunch~! It was too cold to eat outside..
Beef soboro, seasoned rice, with tamagoyaki on top~!♥

Then it was time to get changed and head to the O2 Empire~! Whee~!♥ I wore my new outfit with the new shoes, since they seemed a bit more sensible than heels ww~



At first I was going to wear...

Which is probbie more swing, but not so comfy for  dancing in.. >^<;;

Our tickets said doors opened at 6, but on the website when we checked for directions, it said 7pm.. so we decided to get there early, just in case. We got there waaaay too early so we decided to explore the area a little, there wasn't anything particularly interesting, apart from a shop selling gorgeous Hijab. At 6, we noticed some little barriers outside the O2 Empire, but hardly anyone was there! Turns out doors didn't open until 7, but we were second in line for the standing tickets!♥ I'd never been to any sort of gig before, so I was really excited, but a bit nervous too~ Although we had to wait almost an entire hour, we got to see loadsa people turn up in amazing outfits and and and

when it was time to go in

we ended up

right at the front!!(≧ω≦)

 

This is from when it had just opened~ it was pretty big, and there were like 3 bars ww~

For about an hour, there was a DJ playing lotsa electroswing tracks and Josh and I danced together and didn't shut up about how excited we were~♥ After an hour, the DJ announced that Alice Francis would be the opening act!♥♥♥ I was so excited~ I love her so much and I could watch from the front! Her band were awesome, and they were all really cute and funny too (especially Goldilocks! He's the guy in the piccy with the dreads)~ Alice was absotively amazing and beautiful and her dress was so awesomies and ahh~~♥ Someday, I want to become an Alice as great as she heehee~!♥ Josh is convinced that Mr. Bruce from The Correspondents was on the keyboard and after some thought, it really did lookie like him! She played my favourite songs, too! St. James Ballroom, What are you made of?, Get A Wiggle On, and Shoot him Down! as well as a few others like Sista, Gangsterlove, and Kiss My Ass~ You can see us in the photo from her facebook page eeee~~♥

After Alice Francis was an a capella trio called The Speakeasy Three~♪ They were super pretty, and had amazing voices! It was more traditional jazz compared to all the wubby electroswing from Alice Francis and Caravan Palace, kinda like sandwich! It was then back to the DJ for a while before Caravan Palace~ It would have been a good time for a drink but there was no way we were losing our place at the front ww~

Caravan Palace were absotively amazing~ like 100000000000infinity% amazing heehee~!♥ Zoé is so so pretty and her singing and outfits were amazing!♥ She's also so so good at dancing~ I want to learn to dance better~♪ -nodnod- They were all so full of energy!♥ And the dance solo in Rock it for Me was just~ kyaah~♪

Songs they played included (tries to remember as many as possible ;; )Queens♥ Maniac♥ Clash♥ Bambous♥ Suzy♥ Je M'amuse♥ Brotherswing♥ Star Scat♥ The Dirty Side of the Street♥ and Glory of Nelly♥

The bass was amazing, and Clash was crazy~! The floor moved so much ww~♪♪ It was such a good performance, they were so lovely and I miss them and and I can't wait for them to come back to the UK! (Qω Q)♥



You can see us in the piccy from their fb page heehee~♥

There was an afterparty at a nearby club, but we were so tired after a day of walking and then so much dancing! When we got back to the hotel, we made instant ramen and ate it while listening to Cabin Pressure~! Actually you should all listen to Cabin Pressure because it's a cute and funny radio comedy about aeroplanes, and well, it's just brilliant! (Also it stars Benedict Cumberbatch and he's also brilliant and if you listened to the show you'd know why I'm saying brilliant so much.♥) Then we listened to more Cabin Pressure before dropping off to sleep~

The next day we checked out and went to the Natural History Museum~! It's one of my favourite places to go in London and even though I'd already been there twice in the past year and so had Josh, we went again because we hadn't been together before. When it was time to leave, it was raining. A lot. So Josh let me wear his hat and we tried to find somewhere to hide from the rain. The rest of the day wasn't so exciting and more "Argh it's raining what should we do?" or "Argh our feet ache where can we sit down?". Most of the time was spent in the Westfield centre at Stratford and I went into Forever 21 for the first time and wow so many cute clothes~! Josh tried on a shirt and I think he should have bought it but we were both saving money for MCM~♪♪ He decided to wear his Bro sunglasses to try it on heehee~ Oh, and he had to use my phone because his died. >o<;;

We went to the world food court and got some duck noodles to share~! Super yummy~!♥

Finally it was time to go home~! The last couple days had been fun, but so tiring. So very very tiring. It was nice to be heading back to my house to relax~!

Well, relax until 6am the next day when we'd be heading back into London~♪ It would probably have made more sense to stay in a hotel, but it was actually cheaper to get train tickets. ;;

The next post will be an MCM Expo diary~ yay~!♥

Thankies for reading~♥ Have a sweet day and a dreamy night~!♥♥

♥-hughug-♥

♥Milky☆Planet♥ & MCM Expo Outfit!♥

Pyon pyon heyo everybunny~! I hope you're ready for a really super happy blog post~!♥

 ＊Note: This won't be a review, but more of an outfit post. Please be prepared for an image-heavy post.＊

Recently, Angelic Pretty announced the re-release of Milky☆Planet! Since I discovered Lolita fashion and learned about different brands and prints, Milky☆Planet has been a favourite! (I have a huge huge soft spot for anything spacey or starry!)♥ It also reminds me of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds heehee~♪♪ I had many oppurtunities to buy a replica, but I wanted the original more. It's worth a lot, so I thought it would be a long long time before I could afford it. One morning I woke up early and was just browsing through Twitter (I follow all the AP accounts heehee~♪) when I saw "Milky☆Planet"!♪ Of course, I had to get it! But then, thanks to my terribly horrifically limited Japanese (OTL) I noticed that it would be released in 3 days. 3 days after the announcement. So I had to place an order with the SS I usually use, and then embark on a treacherous quest into to the city and to the bank to get money out of my savings. Then I sent it to the SS and it was just a matter of waiting~! For more about how I got on with the shopping service, please see the detailed review I'll be posting soon. There will be small points about my SS experience in this post.

 

To sum up what I bought:

Milky☆Planet Salopette in sax (through shopping service)

Milky☆Planet Headbow in sax (ordered through SS, got let down, bought from USA site)

Milky☆Planet Valetta in lavender (from international site)

Milky☆Planet Cutsew in pink (from international site)

Milky Star Comb in sax

Here are some stock photos~! Unfortunately, so many things are sold out that I was unable to find stock photos on the shop pages so I had to hunt around!

 

It didn't take long for it all to arrive! On the day of the release, I bought the cutsew and valetta, and then I bought the Milky Star combs when they were released, so two separate packages from AP international. Both packages added up to £47 customs fees, but I don't mind because it all arrived very quickly and safely!♥ It took my SS a very long time to ship my package out, it was a little disappointing. At least it's all arrived a good week before MCM! I was initially going to wear my meido costume or fairy-kei, but since Milky☆Planet was going to be released before, I thought it would be super great to wear that!♥♥ See more towards the bottom of the post~♪

 

Top left: Salopette from the SS, Top right: Bodyline's Squirrel Party OP(pink) from Abi♪(Post coming soon!)

Bottom two: Cutsew, Valetta, and twin comb bows from AP International.

♥All the packages were very secure, and my items were all safe and happy inside!♥

 

The cutsew was wrapped up in sugary sweet tissue paper like a present~!♥ The valetta was inside a packet and also wrapped in bubble wrap. There was also an Angelic Pretty shopping bag~♪♪

 

The acrylic ice cream on the valetta is attached by a safety pin, so you can wear it with or without. It contains super sparkly glitter and starry shaped glitter!♪ The star and pearl beads are sewn on. On the back is a large hair clip, but I'm expecting to use this as more of a bow tie!♥ The cutsew is so so soft, and the sleeves are very slightly puffed. the print is really detailed and there's also a little ribbon on the ice cream cone!♪ 

 The Milky Star combs were packaged very similarly!♪ Though they came with care instructions in English (super handy!♪) and a transparent sticker! When I eventually get an iPad, it's going to go on the back~♥♥

The star beads on the bows are sewn on, and the bows also have very subtle lace!♥ At first, I couldn't work out how I'd use these, but after some experimentation and a lot of re-doing twintails, I got it!

 

The salopette arrived folded in plastic wrapping.

 Front and back views!♪ 

The front has a space for a belt, which I made use of for my magical girl co-ord~♥ The bow on the front is also detachable, and has a pin on the back so it could be put anywhere! I love the striped fabric underneath the scalloping, it finishes off the base of the skirt nicely. The bow on the back is also detachable, and there's partial shirring too. The salopette is fully lined, as is the shirring, and the skirt has a petti. It doesn'tmake it particularly poofy, but because it's a salopette you could get away with no petti if you wanted.

Print details~!♥ 

It stands out wonderfully on the sax fabric~ and it's also...

☆☆glittery!!☆☆

I'm not sure if it's possible to tell from these pictures though. >< But the glitter is subtle and so so pretty~!♥ 

I love love love the bear and bunny in the ferris wheel, and the carousel ponies too~♥ Everything is so detailed and cute~ I feel so lucky to own this print~♥♥

The back bow has ric-rac edging, and two little AP charms on the tips!

There's a pocket!!♪ Only on the right, because the zipper is on the left of the salopette. To give you an idea of the size, my iPhone 4 sits inside nicely!♪

 

The buttons are filled with glitter, too~! the salo also came with a spare large button and a spare small button.

There's a pocket on the front, too~!♥ It's not particularly big, but I could fit some small sweets in! There's also some lovely embroidery!♪

 

At the top, there's more super cute scalloping!♥ This time, edged with some simple lace.

 

Ice cream lace~!♥♥ I'm so happy this was included in the salopette~♪ It's so sweet~!♥ There's also ric-rac that follows the length of the straps~

 

 

♥Outfit Number 1 Rundown!♥

Salopette, Cutsew, Valetta, Comb Bows: Angelic Pretty

Shoes: Bodyline

Socks, tights: eBay

Petti (shape): Jill PunkxLoli (on eBay)

Petti #2 (poof): Hell Bunny

Note: I would never ever wear the Hell Bunny petti on its own! My Jill PunkxLoli petti has a very firm cupcake shape, and the Hell Bunny petti just provides some extra poof underneath. 

As I expected, the salopette is fairly roomy on me (particulary around the waist and bust), and the shoulder straps are long on me, just like Marshmallow Bunny. The cutsew fits wonderfully and isn't too tight or baggy. Both are very comfy~!♪ Please take into account that wearing the pettis under the skirt make it shorter than it would be without or with a less poofy petti. 

In the pictures of me wearing it, I've shortened the straps and also safety pinned the sides for a better fit.

To give an idea of the fit, here are my measurements.

Height: 157cm, 5ft 1inch (and a lil bit)

Bust: 76cm, 30in

Waist: 58cm, 23in

Hips: 79cm, 31in

 

Sorry for the awful expression DX I get so nervous when other people take photos of me. OTL This is in my sister's room, by the way. She has an Abbey Road poster!♥♥ 

 

I took the bow from the front of the salo, attached the valetta to it, and then put the bow on a headband! Since my headbow hasn't arrived yet, this makes a pretty cute alternative!♪

 

 

  

The next outfit is what I plan on wearing at MCM Expo next Saturday! (25th May) I'm really superly excited!♥ I'll be there with Josh, who's going to be cosplaying Bro from Homestuck which I still haven't read so I don't know much about it at all. ;; 

♥Outfit Number 2 Rundown!♥

Salopette, combs bows, valetta (bowtie in this outfit): Angelic Pretty

Blouse, petti #1: Jill PunkxLoli (on eBay)

Petti #2: Hell Bunny

Shoes, tights, Magical DoReMi wand: eBay

Shoes, wristcuffs: Bodyline

Bowtie base bow: from my Seifuku (Bodyline)

Belt: made from fairydust organza (local fabric store)

The way that the pettis poofed the skirt reminded me of Madoka's magical girl costume!♥ It was a fun experiment, and I'm really happy with how the outfit has turned out!♪ The organza belt nips it all in at the waist, so the skirt poofs out a teeny bit more. 

Here's a close up of the bow and wristcuffs! The blouse has a fairly large peter pan collar, so the bow sits nicely underneath!♪♪ The valetta is attached to the base bow using its clip.♥ Around the wristcuffs, I added my pastel rainbow star bracelets from LittleMizzKitty (Etsy)!♪

 

Usakumya has demonic pinky-red eyes like Kyubey, so he's my magical familiar ww~♪ I'm a little worried about bringing him to MCM, but he's just too cute to leave out of the outfit!♥

For MCM, I'll make the twintails curlier and fluffier~!♪ If the headbow arrives before then I might wear that too~? I'm not sure yet, since it might be too much.

 

  

That's a wrap for this blog post, sorry it's been so long, but thankies so so much for reading~!♥♥

I can't wait for MCM~! I feel more excited for it than before, but this time I have a lot of money to spend heehee~♪♪ I'm also a little scared though, but hopefully everything will be super peachy!♥ Soon I'll be making a post about my Squirrel Party OP and very possibly a shopping service review (though it's looking quite negative at the moment ><).

♥I hope you have a supersweet day and a dreamy night~!♥

♥♥Love and bai bais from Amai and Usakumya~ chuchu!♥♥