Hyper Japan 2011-Final Day!

Hello readers! Today I'm making a post about the last day of Hyper Japan, including the tea party with Kanon Wakeshima.

After the fashion show, my friend and I took our seats for Kanon right away. We couldn't see much the day before, and we didn't want to miss our chance again! Since we were seated so early, we were able to watch the Square Enix cosplay contest, a very interesting experience! I haven't seen this sort of thing before, I didn't know that cosplayers do a little performance on stage. They were rather good I thought. My favourite was actually one of the judges:

Not a clue I'm afraid, but very very cool. I wanted to ask for her picture afterwards, but I was too shy.

The last photo is my friend! It was fun to see him in character. The second is another of the judges- his costume reminds me of Gackt! The fellow in the first photo had a very positive reaction from the crowd, though whether or not his bare chest had anything to do with it I really couldn't say.....

Next was the moment we'd been waiting for! A huge crowd gathered, I think even bigger than the day before. 

We had seats right by the cello! Today Kanon's performance was even better, and featured more cello-playing, which of course is the highlight!

She looked more herself today in the long brown wig, again with a nice 'midi' hat and the killer boots! The glittery underskirt made her look elegant.

At one point she was handed a Spanish flag from the crowd and waved it around! Well done Spain. I think the audience was more enthused today and it made her really happy.

As I recall, the set began with Kajitsu no Keikoku, followed by Lolitawork Libretto, and finished again with Princess Charleston. Thank you Kanon, for another beautiful performance!

What happened later?

The tea party!

This was held in Hyper Japan's maid cafe. I suppose there were about 15 Lolitas attending? We were each given a pretty cupcake and a raffle ticket and sat down in tables of four. 

Mae and Amy were at my table! Happy happy!

I'm afraid I didn't quite catch the name of the girl I was next to. I liked her yellow and blue outfit a lot- she even matched her eyeshadow!

Kanon came in, now sporting a dark blue outfit and her own hair, a pretty milk tea colour. She picked out the winners of the raffle- Amy was one of them! The prizes were some small goods from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright- phone straps, stickers, postcards, hair pins and so on.

Each table was allowed a little time with Kanon. We could ask her questions though the translator.

Everyone was a bit shy, including Kanon! She's a really charming girl though, she must have been very tired but she still gave long answers to our questions. I noticed that she has a brace- very cute! I asked which was her favourite ouftit that she's modelled for Baby, and she said a 'mizu iro' (light blue) jumperskirt. I can't quite think which one she means, but I love that colour too! Does anyone know? 

She also said that apart from Baby she likes Jane Marple. She has good taste! Kanon also talked about her musical influences, including classical composers and French artistes. French music seems to be very popular in Japan. We hardly hear about it in England, despite being so close by! 

When we had all had a chat with Kanon, and after taking photos, she left to go to the judging of the UK Kawaii Star of the Year contest. She certainly had a busy schedule! It really was so nice to meet her, and though the tea party was quite short it was very enjoyable. I feel very lucky to have had such an opportunity! Thank you to the organisers, and to Kanon herself. And thanks to you for reading!

PS: Kanon wrote about it in her blog here. I love her regimental stripe onepiece at the end of the post!

Elegant and Sophisticated Lolita Fashion Show at Hyper Japan!

Hello readers! I think the fashion show at Hyper Japan deserves a post all to itself, so here it is! Thanks again to my lovely Asako for her photos.

This photo courtesy of Saoirse Clohessy

All the models, minus Wing! I'll show you her beautiful coord a little later. Doesn't Amy (second from the right) look like she stepped out of a painting? She designed the dress and bonnet, and her mother made them. She also made a bag out of an antique book! I think her book bag beats Innocent World's and Alice and the Pirates', much as I love them both.

The show started off with an introduction from Tania (left) and Kyra (right). We're so lucky to have these lovely girls in our community, they organise so many wonderful events including those at Hyper Japan. And of course they are both very pretty! 

Tania's looks remind me of Arika-sama, so I really think these kind of aristocratic outfits look very good on her. The print of her Moitié skirt looks gold in this picture, but in fact it's silver and matches her shoes and the ribbon decorating her bonnet perfectly. I don't have a good picture of her by herself yet, but I'll add more photos later!

Oh, I don't think I've ever been so jealous of another girl's outfit in my life! This beautiful coat and dress set is from Juliette and Justine, and they remind me why this is one of my favourite brands. These items are not the only thing to be admired however- I loved Kyra's hairstyle too!

Dodo is so cool <3 I love her eclectic and exciting style, and her hair and make-up skills are amazing. I think the Vivienne Westwood sandals make this look, and she is someone who can really carry them off!

Pretty Chrissi again! It's a simple outfit, but beautifully put together and stunning on her.

Mae is so cute! She had an adorable character onstage (and off).

Wing seems to look more and more amazing each time I see her. The golds and browns of this outfit are a beautiful combination, and make for a really gorgeous and rich impression. I want to try to introduce more gold into my wardrobe! But I think I'll leave that until Autumn. Rebecca looks very cute in the background! She was wearing a strawberry print, with strawberry buttons and strawberry cake accessories. She even had a strawberry hairpin to fasten her headbow!

Finally, my outfit!

Onepiece, hair accessories- Handmade

Parasol and necklace- Innocent World

Everything else- Offbrand

I tried shiro-loli for the first time! I'm very proud of this coord, because I made the onepiece myself (it's the one I wore for graduation). Although I did enjoy making my final collection, I feel that this is the prettiest thing I have ever made, and now it has so many good memories associated with it. I want to make ever so many more clothes in the future, and I want to improve my skills in design and making. Lolita fashion has been around for many years now, and I hope someday I'll be one of those people who will help keep it going. Lolitas and Lolita designers have given me so much inspiration and happiness, so it's my dearest wish to be able to do the same for others in the future. 

All the Lolitas watching joined us on stage for the finale. One of the Baby staff picked out her favourite and awarded them a prize! The elegant girl wearing the black onepiece and floral garland was the well-deserved winner. Katie (the model in the red Metamorphose blouse) looks very aristocratic in this photo! I love to see blonde girls wearing Gothic, I think it's so striking.

My dear Amy, Rebecca, Katie and Tania, I'm sorry I don't have non-blurry individual photos of your beautiful outfits yet, but I will post them when I have them! Also, if anyone wishes to have their picture removed from this post, please let me know.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the fashion show! I certainly enjoyed being in it.

By the way, my livejournal is down at the moment, so I'm sorry for not replying to comments there. I feel very rude! Hopefully it will be sorted out soon.

Hyper Japan 2011- Saturday!

It's the first part of my little Hyper Japan write-up!

When I arrived at Kensington Olympia (late!) it seemed that this year's Hyper Japan was in a cheerier part of town, and the venue looked more impressive. There was a huge queue! It moved quite fast though, and when I got inside the venue was much bigger than before, with two floors, and more stalls. Also, there were so many Lolitas! I was so excited to see them all. 

Sadly thanks to my lateness and the queue, I missed Saturday's Lolita fashion show! Such a shame, I really wanted to see it and support the UK Lolis. Luckily I managed to take some pictures with fashionable Lolitas later on!

One of my favourite coords was Jess' Western-themed outfit! It suits the season and fits the theme without being forced. I love the combination of the different sizes of gingham! And of course it's blue <3 

I had a look at the JP books section, and flicked through some GLBs. It was a good opportunity, since they are usually in plastic at the Japan Centre and you can't sneak a look inside! I also went to see the Lolita bring and buy stall. I was quite tempted by an IW skirt and an Atelier Pierrot OP. There were plenty of things to look at and buy, most of them pink (!) but many different items and a variety of brands. There were many other stalls nearby selling accessories and some clothing, some very cute (such as sweets jewellery), some more antique style (cameos and so on) and some beautiful traditional Japanese items too. There were a lot of Lolitas looking around the stalls, and I saw lovely lovely Chrissi!

She made her Sweet dress look really modern by coordinating with grey. She's so nice to talk to, I hope to see her again soon.

My friend Satoko recommended that we watch the anime screening at the main stage. It was the first episode of Tiger and Bunny, which started airing in Japan this year. As I have found before with some anime, the first 15 minutes were a bit bewildering, but after that it became funny and quite charming! I'd really like to watch some more. 

Satoko was delighted to meet some Tiger and Bunny cosplayers! They made a very cute group together.

Don't you love her dress? It's vintage Laura Ashley! She's a very talented illustrator as well as being stylish and pretty, please check her blog here.

We sampled some of the lovely Japanese food available (and there was lots!) and then went to take our seats for Kanon Wakeshima's performance. We went half an hour early, thinking we'd be in good time, but all the seats were taken and the whole area was packed! Everyone was looking forward to seeing Kanon. 

Her songs were played over the speakers as we waited for her to arrive onstage. Staff set up the stage with a piano stool and brought out a red cello. Smoke began to billow onto the stage, somewhat alarmingly at first! I'm glad to say it was an intentional part of the performance....

Finally Kanon came to the stage! She was wearing a long white wig and a white outfit with blue rose accents. She carried a black parasol, and as Still Doll began to play she sang and danced with movements like a mechanical doll. 

I was a bit suprised by her appearance, having been expecting her usual long brown hair! I think it worked well for the Still Doll performance though. I'm quite keen on that hat too! I don't know if mini hats are a good idea for me though, as I have a rather mini head. Perhaps this one is more of an opera hat, or a dress hat? Hm.

I don't exactly remember the order of the songs she played, but I recall her singing LOLITAWORK LIBRETTO, Suna no Oshiro, and perhaps Marmalade Sky? She talked to the crowd a little in English, which was very brave of her. She seemed shy and very sweet! 

Her final song was Princess Charleston, which I think was a good ending! Thank you Kanon, for your lovely performance.

I bought her second album at the Wasabi Records stall, and I was able to get it signed! She was so pretty and lovely, and the staff were friendly and kind. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Lots more coming in the next entry about Hyper Japan, including the second fashion show, another performance by Kanon, my first experience of watching a cosplay competition and the wonderful tea party. 

Thanks for reading, and see you again soon!