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Hey all, Gee here! Long time, no post!
Yeeeaaahhh, May was... Quite a month. And then June has barely let me breathe either. My last post was a really long time ago, and I was expecting to do a Naka-kon recap, maybe a cosplay review, how I'm building my first PC with my brother... But unfortunately life threw me about 60 curveballs in quick succession.
Luckily, I was able to get enough off my plate to be able to attend Paradiso! Paradiso, for those who may not know, is a Midwestern lolita gathering, where the first day is mostly shopping, fashion shows, Q&A's, etc., while the second day has a massive tea party and the Midwest Ouji pageant! Back in 2020, I purchased a day one pass, and it rolled over to this year.
Paradiso is hosted in the beautiful Union Station in Kansas City, MO. It's a 4 hour drive for me, so I was up suuuuuper early and didn't bother wearing a full face of makeup. I still think I looked alright though!

Coord rundown!
Nostalgic Matryoshka Dolls JSK by Metamorphose temps de Fille
blouse from Sentaro (taobao)
offbrand tights and boots
Headscarf is vintage!
basket is actually one of my mom's Christmas decorations lol
Please see more photos and talking about Paradiso and my experience of this year's event as a whole under the cut!
So an exciting thing about Paradiso is that it's one of the only official lolita events in the Midwest. We don't have any brand stores or lolita focused conventions, so unless you go to a panel or a tea party hosted at an anime convention, you're pretty much reliant on small community events.
My comm had so many members attend Paradiso! I won't post their photos without permission, but here's a photo of our shoes (a classic lolita comm pose)

and a photo with my dear friend Anne (‘∀’●)♡

Fun fact, Anne was one of the first lolitas I ever met! She and I got into the fashion and our local comm at around the same time, and she's been such a big part of why I love the fashion so much. She really embodies the spirit of lolita, especially the motto of her favorite brand (Angelic Pretty). Seeing her at PAradiso after not seeing her since before the pandemic was so special for me.

Another coord pic! I felt so cute. Babushka-chan~ (✿◠‿◠)
One of the major brands vending at Paradiso this year was Triple Fortune. I have always admired Triple Fortune (their bonnets are to DIE FOR!!!). I missed out on buying from them Paradiso 2019, so I beelined straight for their booth the second I got there.
The head designer Kaie and director Babi were guests! They were taking photos of coordinates for their YouTube video for after the event, and they ASKED ME FOR A PHOTO!!! Along with a ton of people from out comm! I felt like a proud stage mom watching my friends get their pictures taken ♫꒰・‿・๑꒱
After our photo, I asked their translator to ask if I could take a photo with them and they very graciously said yes!

Babi, myself, Liv (dreamy_pastel_princess on pretty much everything), and Kaie!
I was fangirling so hard aaaaaa~
After taking our photos, a few of us in the comm decided we wanted to eat and cool off (it was SO hot in the room where Paradiso was taking place. The second I got into air conditioning, that long wig was OFF lol) so we headed over to the hotel a few of my friends were staying at. Apparently, there was a mall connected to it(!) with a LEGO STORE (!!!!!!!!!!!) but we ended up just grabbing cupcakes and a few pictures at this adorable bakery before getting actual real food from a vegan burger joint.


I got an Oreo cupcake and it was SO sweet, but very yummy!
After eating, we went back to Union Station for a little more shopping before I had to make the long drive back home. I did... a LOT of shopping.

My main purchase that I made sure I got first thing was this BEAUTIFUL Triple Fortune headdress.

It's black and gold, and has such a gorgeous veil and all that lace (°◡°♡)


I also got this beautiful t-shirt from Lulu VanHoagland (she didn't have a business card, but that was the name on the front of her booth!)

Her art is a mix of creepy and cute, and I just adore the style. I hope I can get some pins or maybe another shirt in the future!
I also got these strawberry Enchanted Dream Couture bracelets!

This adorable Matryoshka pin from Sweet Mildred!

(another artist I absolutely love! I own one of their rosettes too - so pretty!)
This print and bookmark, but unfortunately I must have lost the business card and I can't recall the artist (´_`)

My dear friend Regan got me this sticker! She knows how much I love JoJo and lolita ♡^▽^♡

And this is going to be a gift for a friend for their birthday! It's Zagreus from Hades, and the artist is Lavendorium!

And that's my haul! It was so fun to go to Paradiso one last time. I'm extremely sad that this will be the last one o(TヘTo) We're losing such a fantastic event, and not to mention it'll be more difficult to meet other lolitas from other comms now.
I don't want to end this on a sad note thought!!!
This year's event, even though I only went one day, was so much fun! The vendors were lovely and the different coords I saw were so inspiring! From what I hear from my friends, the second day was just as incredible.
I will cherish the memories I made at the Paradiso events I've attended, and I look forward to making new ones at new events~! (♡-_-♡)
Thank you for reading! Cheers, dears!
Yeeeaaahhh, May was... Quite a month. And then June has barely let me breathe either. My last post was a really long time ago, and I was expecting to do a Naka-kon recap, maybe a cosplay review, how I'm building my first PC with my brother... But unfortunately life threw me about 60 curveballs in quick succession.
Luckily, I was able to get enough off my plate to be able to attend Paradiso! Paradiso, for those who may not know, is a Midwestern lolita gathering, where the first day is mostly shopping, fashion shows, Q&A's, etc., while the second day has a massive tea party and the Midwest Ouji pageant! Back in 2020, I purchased a day one pass, and it rolled over to this year.
Paradiso is hosted in the beautiful Union Station in Kansas City, MO. It's a 4 hour drive for me, so I was up suuuuuper early and didn't bother wearing a full face of makeup. I still think I looked alright though!

Coord rundown!
Nostalgic Matryoshka Dolls JSK by Metamorphose temps de Fille
blouse from Sentaro (taobao)
offbrand tights and boots
Headscarf is vintage!
basket is actually one of my mom's Christmas decorations lol
Please see more photos and talking about Paradiso and my experience of this year's event as a whole under the cut!
So an exciting thing about Paradiso is that it's one of the only official lolita events in the Midwest. We don't have any brand stores or lolita focused conventions, so unless you go to a panel or a tea party hosted at an anime convention, you're pretty much reliant on small community events.
My comm had so many members attend Paradiso! I won't post their photos without permission, but here's a photo of our shoes (a classic lolita comm pose)

and a photo with my dear friend Anne (‘∀’●)♡

Fun fact, Anne was one of the first lolitas I ever met! She and I got into the fashion and our local comm at around the same time, and she's been such a big part of why I love the fashion so much. She really embodies the spirit of lolita, especially the motto of her favorite brand (Angelic Pretty). Seeing her at PAradiso after not seeing her since before the pandemic was so special for me.

Another coord pic! I felt so cute. Babushka-chan~ (✿◠‿◠)
One of the major brands vending at Paradiso this year was Triple Fortune. I have always admired Triple Fortune (their bonnets are to DIE FOR!!!). I missed out on buying from them Paradiso 2019, so I beelined straight for their booth the second I got there.
The head designer Kaie and director Babi were guests! They were taking photos of coordinates for their YouTube video for after the event, and they ASKED ME FOR A PHOTO!!! Along with a ton of people from out comm! I felt like a proud stage mom watching my friends get their pictures taken ♫꒰・‿・๑꒱
After our photo, I asked their translator to ask if I could take a photo with them and they very graciously said yes!

Babi, myself, Liv (dreamy_pastel_princess on pretty much everything), and Kaie!
I was fangirling so hard aaaaaa~
After taking our photos, a few of us in the comm decided we wanted to eat and cool off (it was SO hot in the room where Paradiso was taking place. The second I got into air conditioning, that long wig was OFF lol) so we headed over to the hotel a few of my friends were staying at. Apparently, there was a mall connected to it(!) with a LEGO STORE (!!!!!!!!!!!) but we ended up just grabbing cupcakes and a few pictures at this adorable bakery before getting actual real food from a vegan burger joint.


I got an Oreo cupcake and it was SO sweet, but very yummy!
After eating, we went back to Union Station for a little more shopping before I had to make the long drive back home. I did... a LOT of shopping.

My main purchase that I made sure I got first thing was this BEAUTIFUL Triple Fortune headdress.

It's black and gold, and has such a gorgeous veil and all that lace (°◡°♡)


I also got this beautiful t-shirt from Lulu VanHoagland (she didn't have a business card, but that was the name on the front of her booth!)

Her art is a mix of creepy and cute, and I just adore the style. I hope I can get some pins or maybe another shirt in the future!
I also got these strawberry Enchanted Dream Couture bracelets!

This adorable Matryoshka pin from Sweet Mildred!

(another artist I absolutely love! I own one of their rosettes too - so pretty!)
This print and bookmark, but unfortunately I must have lost the business card and I can't recall the artist (´_`)

My dear friend Regan got me this sticker! She knows how much I love JoJo and lolita ♡^▽^♡

And this is going to be a gift for a friend for their birthday! It's Zagreus from Hades, and the artist is Lavendorium!

And that's my haul! It was so fun to go to Paradiso one last time. I'm extremely sad that this will be the last one o(TヘTo) We're losing such a fantastic event, and not to mention it'll be more difficult to meet other lolitas from other comms now.
I don't want to end this on a sad note thought!!!
This year's event, even though I only went one day, was so much fun! The vendors were lovely and the different coords I saw were so inspiring! From what I hear from my friends, the second day was just as incredible.
I will cherish the memories I made at the Paradiso events I've attended, and I look forward to making new ones at new events~! (♡-_-♡)
Thank you for reading! Cheers, dears!