Coordinate 22

Another year, another Houston Japan Festival. The festival takes place every spring, the season also known as summer in Texas. I must be a masochist or something because I decided to wear full-blown gothic aristocrat outdoors.

I am uncertain why I still attend the festival because I absolutely detest driving to Hermann Park when it is crowded and I will definitely burst into flames when outside. My main priority for festivals is food, but every year the number and quality of food vendors dwindles, so there is really no reason for me to go anymore.

I arrived just in time to watch the fashion show and I was rather unimpressed with it since the MC was saying a lot of unnecessary commentary. I'll leave it at I hope they learn from their mistakes since it was their first time running a fashion show. I sat in the back, so my parasol wouldn't block anyone's view, so I didn't get any pictures of the show. There was a wide variety of different fashion styles such as fairy kei, kimono, lolita, ouji, and visual kei.

#22

The key element of this outfit is shantung! I'm pretty sure half of my wardrobe is shantung at this point; I can't get enough of the stuff. Many thanks to Hina for taking photos for me.

Headdresses: Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Antoine Bouquet Head Bow, Closet Child feather clip
Ruff: Alice and the Pirates Grizabella Frill Detachable Collar
Blouse: Mille Noirs Georgette Blouse
Corset: Angelic Pretty Moonlit Night Castle Bustier
Skirt: Mille Noirs String Skirt
Glasses chain: Atelier Boz

The bustier and skirt surprisingly went together very well. I bought the bustier on impulse and was a bit worried the cut was too sweet, but I think it worked out in the end. Not that you can really see, but I'm wearing two half wigs which was an experiment. One half wig is the norm for me, but I was inspired by Myrreli to attempt larger hair. I placed a Cyperous piece on top of a Prisila one, but I still need some practice stacking and securing them because they kept sliding around.

After the festival, a group of friends and I attempted to go get some drinks, but the cafe we picked had just closed. They were really nice and gave us some free ice tea and allowed us to hang out in the front of their place for a few hours.

I like free stuff.

Then, I headed to dinner to meet up with Sora from NOLA since he was in town for a concert. I hadn't seen him in years!

sora2522 ALSO BLESSED TO HAVE BEEN GRACED WITH THIS ONE'S PRESENCE IN THIS OUTFIT. 
 Also crepes. And food and friendship in general. 💖💖💖

We ate too much. Fun fact: I got a discount on the crepe because the cashier liked my outfit. Thank you, man, I liked my outfit, too. Rarely do I feel like a princess in lolita, but the long skirts of femme aristocrat make me feel extremely regal. It's a nice feeling. Definitely channeled some inner Hizaki and Kaya queen vibes that day. It was a pleasant day hanging out with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Until next time!