My Trip to AP USA's 6th Anniversary Party

Back when I first started following lolita fashion on livejournal, I was in awe of the girls who would go to the brand events hosted in San Francisco. This year, I finally made my dream of attending one a reality.

I traveled with three of my friends from Portland; Laura, Nicole, and Kim.

It was so nice to get out of Portland for the weekend; the day previous Portland shut down due to snow, and when we left everything was covered in ice. The 60 degree weather was a welcome change! (It's actually snowy in Portland right now too orz)

We arrived Friday afternoon after a delayed flight. I met up with one of my friends I hadn't seen since Sakuracon, and we generally took the night easy.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to head to Angelic Pretty's store for lucky pack shopping!

We ended up standing in line for almost two hours, but even then, lucky packs sold out before we got into the store. Some people had been waiting three hours! That's dedication. 

I had never visited a brand store before, it was so magical! I couldn't stop looking at everything, and it took a lot of self control to not take pictures the whole time I was inside.

Asuka was in the store taking pictures and helping customers, and ended up helping Nicole and Kim look at some rings. The four of us wore matching jackets and shoes, which Asuka liked!

There was a special poster outside announcing AP's 6th anniversary, so I took a picture with it! It was really rainy which ruined my hair, but I managed to survive lol.

After visiting AP and getting lunch at Burger Bar, we headed to Japantown to visit the New People mall. We went into the shops, including Baby The Stars Shine Bright!

Nicole got a picture of all four of us outside AP on her Instax camera. She also gave me the free pins she received with her purchase!

Our hotel was across the street from a big shopping mall in Japantown, so we got to check it out as much as we wanted! This area is designed to look like you're walking down a traditional Japanese streets with izakaya restaurants everywhere, it was so cool! 

That night, we visited this amazing speakeasy in San Francisco called Bourbon & Branch with our friend Rachael. It's reservation only, and when you make a reservation, you get a password. You can only get in with your password, in true speakeasy style! The bar has a list of rules, one being no cell phones or photography. The entire bar was lit by candlelight, and we read the menu (which was enormous and only drinks) by holding a candle over it. We also got the chance to visit the Library, a smaller room in the back hidden behind a secret door. Our server brought us to a bookshelf on a wall, and suddenly swung it open to reveal another bar! 
There was a selection of non-alcoholic drinks too, which is what I went for. Even without booze, it tasted amazing! I also tasted my friends' drinks and loved them too! This place was so interesting, even though I don't have any pictures I just had to talk about it!

We went to bed early to prepare for the grand event, Angelic Pretty's tea party on Sunday.

On Sunday morning we walked to a local brunch place not far from our hotel. We waited 45 minutes, but it was amazing! On the way, I had to take a picture of the beautiful Victorian houses. House goals!

After brunch, we headed to The Ritz-Carlton for the party.

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Laura and Kim!

Nicole's insane hat! She made it all herself! The candles were LEDs that flickered realistically, too.

It was so cool being in such a fancy hotel! The doormen opened the big double doors for us and welcomed us to the hotel, and we were greeted immediately by an employee who said we were in the right place and to relax until it was time for us to go in. The lobby was beautiful, but the ballroom that the party was in was somehow even more breathtaking.

Kim and Ariel!

Nicole and Laura!

Lily, Katie, and Lulu!

After everyone had been seated, we were presented with an exclusive fashion show of some of AP's 2017 dresses. No photos were allowed, which made the experience feel more intimate. Risa Nakamura was the first model, and she was just as beautiful as she looks in pictures. I think I may have fallen in love, lol. Most of the designs weren't my style, but there's one print that I'm excited for...!

Kim and I had been joking during the trip about "I want my Ritz-Carlton steak," but oh man... It was AMAZING!

Their vegan and gluten-free meals looked delicious as well! My steak was like butter, it was so tender and delicious. I kept looking around while eating, seeing all the beautiful lolitas eating a formal meal under chandeliers... It was a dream come true.

After we ate, we had time to mingle and get a photo with Asuka.

One of the walls was covered in mirrors, I loved it!

Nicole and Laura were ahead of me, and I caught Asuka taking a picture of them.

Myself and Asuka! I wasn't really interested in Rose Museum, but seeing Asuka wear it has made me want it.

I tried to talk to people but mostly just kept looking around at how beautiful everyone looked.

We got to talk with Vanilla Bear aka Ashlyn! I really like her style and that she wears glasses a lot like mine with lolita!

After meeting people, we finally had the long-waited raffle. There were a lot of prizes, starting with small ones and gradually getting bigger. The biggest prize was a Rose Museum set, and the winner was Nicole! Our whole table started screaming when we realized she won, and she was awarded the prize by Risa. So exciting!

After changing into leggings and sweaters, we decided to get dinner together. We got dinner at one of the izakayas across the street, and our entire tea party table ended up reuniting at the restaurant! After eating, some of us went to do karaoke and ended up having an adventure in a small Korean bar. We finished by doing face masks in our hotel room. A great final night in SF!

I ate a lovely apple pastry for breakfast on Monday morning before checking out.

AMAZING mochi/dango that Nicole turned us onto! The same booth had handmade onigiri that I'm still dreaming of.

After our final sweep of Japantown, we headed to the airport. However, after checking in to our flight, we didn't find out that we were delayed until we were supposed to be boarding... We had already arrived early and planned to chill, but we ended up spending something like five hours in SFO! We made the best of it though, making each other laugh the whole time.

Overall, we decided this trip was a success! We had so much fun, met new friends, wore lolita a ton, and got to experience SF for ourselves!

I seriously can't wait to visit again. I'm thinking of planning a trip in March for my boyfriend and I, I desperately want come back!

xoxo
Katie

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Tea & Anime

I have two outfits for you! First a coord from afternoon tea service, and then a coord from Anime PDX.

Rundown
Headbow: Sweet Mildred
Blouse: Infanta
Bolero: Angelic Pretty
Jsk: Angelic Pretty
Socks: Baby The Stars Shine Bright
Shoes: Secret Shop

Accessory details!
Blouse Clips: Her Sweet Embrace (Use code KATIE10 at checkout to get 10% off!)
Brooch: Shy Lapin
Ring: The Candy Nebula

My friends and I went to Hotel deLuxe for tea the day before Danielle moved to Japan as a final Portland get-together!

~the end of an era~

A while ago Laura hosted a lolita panel at Anime PDX about the basics of the fashion as well as its history and evolution, and had a group of us representing various styles. I picked OTT sweet, and I tried to go for the crazy 2009 early decololi look!

Rundown
Headbow: Angelic Pretty
Bolero: Angelic Pretty
OP: Angelic Pretty
Socks: Angelic Pretty
Shoes: Secret Shop
I'm wearing like 4 rings, 2 necklaces, 6 enamel pins, and a ton of hair clips. If you want to know where something specific is from, leave a comment!

This weekend is like the first time in forever I haven't worn lolita. It feels good to just veg out with my boyfriend and not worry about getting dressed up! But I like being cute too. The eternal struggle.

xoxo
Katie