Winter ILD 2015- Frills and Film Recap

Hello, Darlings!

As promised, I wanted to write about my first meet-up I attended in Maryland, for Winter International Lolita Day 2015.

As some of you may know, there are two ILD's held each year- one in Summer, and one in Winter. On International Lolita Day, the local communities usually come together for one big meet, doing something typically Lolita- for example, having high tea, visiting a museum, or even just getting together at a host's house. Even if someone is usually too busy to attend meets regularly, most Lolitas will make an extra effort to attend International Lolita Day- that is how important the day is to our culture.

In Summer 2015, I hosted the Hawaii Lolitas meetup at a local tea room, with a lot of help from some of my friends. It was Disney themed, and there were lots of really cute coords!

Me as Lolita Ursula, with Ariel and Bambi at my table.

But that was a different, and much smaller comm! In total, we had about 10 attendees.

So imagine going from a small comm, to almost one hundred Lolitas all in one place! That was Frills and Film, for me.

Frills and Film, I believe was hosted by the Charm City (Baltimore) Lolitas moderators. The group rented out a theatre near the airport, which was easily accessible by bus, train, and car. Lolitas from all over flocked to the theatre for an exclusive screening of our "cult classic", "Kamikaze Girls".

Kamikaze Girls, based on the novel by Novala Takemoto, tells the story of two unlikely teenage girls who become friends- one a hard core Lifestyle Lolita, and one a "bosuzoku" motor bike yanki who rides with a girl gang. The two are social outcasts in their own right, in their back-water, "chou-inaka" town of Shimotsuma. While these girls independently waltz/stomp around in frills/embroidered motorcycle jackets, the rest of the town lives in complacency with normal clothes from Jusco; a Japanese equivalent of Walmart. 

The movie caters to Lolitas, because of the heavy references to iconic Lolita brand Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. But aside from the frilly eye candy, it's a funny film with a warm message of friendship. 

And what a better movie to watch, for my first meet with my new comm?

To be honest, I was incredibly nervous and almost didn't go- but the $37 ticket, promise of raffle prizes and goodie bags tempted me otherwise.

There were several categories for the coordinate contest, for which I assembled a pretty humble holiday coord using my Charlotte Baniran Jsk. I also made myself a feathered headpiece, just to add more flair, and a holly brooch, to bring in a more holly-day (hah) feel.

 

The theatre was surprisingly quiet outside; but when I walked in, the theatre lobby was packed with petticoats! Being as shy as I am, I stayed off to the side, until a couple of girls complimented me on my headdress. I joined their cluster, and we ended up being friends and sitting together for the day.

There was a photo booth inside the theatre, with Kamikaze Girls themed props. After everyone trickled in, we all got in line for confections, including all kinds of candy, home made pink candied kettle corn, vegetables with dip, and more.

Waiting in line for snacks!

The line for the photo booth. 

After, it was time for the film to start rolling. It was amazing watching the movie with so many other Lolitas- everyone was laughing with me at the funny parts, and I had a feeling we cried together at the sad parts, too. It was far different from the first time I watched the movie, years ago in high school- alone, in my room on my laptop. It made me think how great it was, that the Lolita community has grown.

There was a raffle shortly after, in which I won a drawing from Kate Leopold Art! I can hardly wait to frame it, and hang it in my sewing room.

There were also goodie bags passed out, with business cards from local artisans, a pair of tights from We Love Colors, and an adorable handmade button, featuring the cabbage from Kamikaze Girls.

"This will be your friend, now."

I was also very surprised to win one of the categories for the outfit contest! Although I didn't win the "Elegant Holiday" category I was going for, I ended up winning Judge's Choice. I got an adorable gift box with a copy of the original Kamikaze Girls novel, and an embroidery loop, so I can be like the main Lolita character, Momoko. 

Not only did I leave the meet with a lot of swag, but I had a great time, and ended up making a great new friend too. Since this meet, I've hung out with new friends singing karaoke, playing games at their house, or meeting up at the mall and grabbing dinner. It was a great gateway into the new community!

I know it is only January, but I can hardly wait for Summer International Lolita Day 2016!

The next big meetup for the Charm City Community will probably be next month's Katsucon. They are hosting a Lolita Luncheon at one of the nearby restaurants. There will supposedly be Lolita-related panels as well, but at this time, I heard the panels had not been announced yet.

What are some of your favourite ILD memories? Did your comm do anything special for this past one? Feel free to leave me a comment, or a link to your blog post!