Back in August 2025, another member of my fashion community planned a meeting at Witch B*tch Thrift which is a size and gender inclusive thrift store in downtown New Haven. Witch B*tch Thrift not only sells used clothing, but also has lots of accessories from local vendors as well as books and housewares. Besides being a thrift store, they are also a welcoming community space and have a Black Box Theater at the back of the store, where local groups can host craft nights, open mics, as well as movie showings. 

The film of the day was Kamikaze Girls which is based on a novel written in 2002 about an unlikely friendship between two teenage girls, Momoko, who is a "Rococo-phile" into EGL fashion, and Ichigo, who is in an all girls street gang. The film was made in 2004, and its that early aught's film style where something is explained, and then it goes back in time, shows a vignette, fast forwards to the character talking about themselves in the third person, and back to the main plot, kind of on repeat. Also, in the early 2000's, EGL fashion was just starting to become more popular, and some folks internationally started collecting pieces. I was in Japan in 2005 and I did visit many EGL shops, but I didn't buy anything. Part of it was that I believed my body was "too big" for Japanese clothing, and the other was that it was extremely expensive for a full-time student.  In the film, Momoko buys exclusively from her favorite store, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, which is still known today for making beautiful but high end EGL dresses and accessories. 

A lot of people showed up to the meeting! I think it was because it was easy to get to because you didn't necessarily need a car to get there. Some people drove. Some people took the bus, or the train. Others used ride shares and/or Uber. Some of us went to the ice cream shop first, and more went after the film. It was kinda good that we went in waves, because it was pretty small on the inside and our clothes tend to take up a lot of space!

Now you might be wondering, what exactly was the fashion prompt for the meeting? Since the meeting was held at Witch B*tch Thrift, we were told to wear anything Gothic, Witchy, Summery, and/or early Halloween, to match the theme of the shop. However, EGL fashion from the early 2000's (like what is seen in the film), is now commonly referred to as Old-School style. Old-School EGL is focused more on construction details like ruffles and lace and has simple solid colors of usually black, white, pink, sax (which is a light blue), red, and beige with either black or white lace. 

I wanted to pay homage to the early Old School style while also incorporating witchy accessories into my coordinate. I started with a sweet style tiered cotton JSK from Chinese Indie brand Infanta. I really like the black lace over the black cotton detail. I paired this with a white short sleeve cotton blouse, white under the knee socks that have black ribbon lacing at the sock tops, a black and white rectangle headdress, white wrist cuffs with black bows, black and silver earrings, a black and gold steampunk skeleton necklace, a large black magical book purse with silver design on it, and black tea parties (mary janes). I also used a black lace parasol to keep the sun at bay--because it was still pretty hot at the end of August!

This year my birthday was particularly special because I turned another decade older. Believe it or not, I am now forty years old. It may be hard to discern this in the fashions that I wear sometimes, because many of the pieces are inspired by children's clothing of the Victorian era. I sometimes wonder why I am drawn to wear these pieces with such fervor. Perhaps it is a reconnection to my inner child as I have spent significant time and energy working on healing that part of myself through the usual methods like cognitive behavioral therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. The planning of a coordinate, actually getting dressed up, and going out to various places just to have fun and be whimsical are in essence another type of healing modality. 

For my birthday this year, I really wanted to focus on more adventuring and dressing up, but I still wanted to get together with friends. I offered a Sunday at the Wadsworth Atheneum complete with snacks at the cafe, 2-3 hours in the galleries, and a conclusion at Parkville Market (an international food court about 8 minutes away from downtown Hartford).  I invited friends that I've met throughout the last 12 years or so, so there were new faces for everyone (some more than others). It was a wonderful way to get everyone together and to enjoy spending time with each other and not having to worry about things like cleaning my house or what food to prepare or order.  

For my coordinate this time, I am wearing the Sailor Tiered OP in black and gray with silver buttons by Japanese brand Metamorphose with the matching hat as well. I had found the set on the Japanese used website Wunderwelt, and my partner purchased them way before my birthday this summer (because we wanted to purchase before the end of the de minimus exemption and before the custom duties went into effect). The OP is made of lightweight cotton, has a pocket on one side, detachable sailor collar, and removable front bow as well as a waist belt. For an OP, it is pretty customizable to swap out or add other accessories for the look. I am also wearing short white socks, white lace wrist cuffs with black bows, and shiny black tea party style mary janes. In fact, the brand's comment, "The cool feeling lining has a light and soft texture, and has breathable-moisture-absorbing and quick-drying. You can dress it comfortably even on hot days", was imperative to me as we were going on this outing the first weekend in July 2025, and it was starting to get hot and humid in my region.

My friends know that I like to dress up and encouraged me to give them a dressing prompt for my birthday. I pretty much told them to dress whatever felt comfortable for them on a hot July day. Some asked me what I was wearing, to better match me. Pahl went ahead and also dressed like a sailor, but like one of the crew to my more tailored officer looking role. Since my outfit is black and gray, some interpreted that as goth, and about half the folks that came were wearing a mostly black outfit. However, most of the outliers are pictured above, with the exception of my friend Kirk who had a lovely outfit that echoed the complementary colors of orange and blue that I also enjoyed. 

I was delighted to find a number of paintings about the ocean, sea-faring, or boating that Pahl and I were able to pose with throughout the museum. In this photo, we are aghast with horror as we look on at the shipwrecked boat and survivors. 

In an idyllic off shore moment, the officer obliges the crew member and feels how strong and muscular he is. 

It was Kirk's idea for us to be kissing in front of this painting. Pahl's striped shirt and the degree of tailoring in my outfit, echoed different elements of the scene behind us in the painting. 

Of course we worked hard to match other folks outfits with the art inside the museum. The Wadsworth Atheneum has an extensive European porcelain collection. We were in it for over an hour and I still don't think we saw all of it. I loved looking at all the porcelain characters and their garments of the era. It was inspiring to see what people wore preserved in the porcelain perhaps better than actual garments of that era. 

Colleen's flower crown and light pastel bodice echo the colors and flowers in this Monet water lily painting. 

Overall it was a very fun day juxtaposing fashion with art, introducing my friends to one another, and living my best sailor life. I look forward to more adventures as always and more ways to coordinate this new piece.  

The end of June/beginning of July is always a favorite time of year for me, not just because it's around my birthday, but also because that means the Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire in Ansonia, CT is happening. I love this faire so much. I believe it's a combination of the stage acts along with the fact that I always run into so many people I actually know, so it feels a little like an annual homecoming to catch up with folks I haven't seen for a year or more!

This year the faire decided to offer themed costume weekends with a costume contest as well as the Very Inspired Shopper raffle each day. We attended the Summerween weekend as well as the Heroes and Villains weekend. I had purchased both of my dresses in spring 2024, and by the time they had come, it was already too cold to wear them. So I really wanted to wear them in 2025, and these themed weekends provided the perfect opportunity for me to do so. 

I have been very inspired by cirque and harlequin designs and patterns as of late. I had seen this OP (yes that's right this whole dress is one piece...not separate skirt, corset, etc.) when I first got into EGL fashion some 4.5 years ago, but I didn't realize it was a pre-order and I missed the deadline. Around 2 years later, the brand decided to re-release it with some new color ways. I still had my heart set on the pink and teal color way, which was one of the original choices. I saw it was available again in early March 2024 and I messaged a shopping service in China to acquire it for me.

The shopping service was able to order it just in time before the pre-order closed, but I did not get my item until October 2024...it apparently was the 8th patch of the pre-order...the item was so incredibly popular!!!  The dress is quite a complex piece. It has a real corset style bodice with an embroidered tulle-like halter neck attached to the bodice, as well as a flared skirt with alternating colored down pointing triangles and heart shaped appliques of flowers and tigers. There are so many details including various pink and gold bows, pink and teal bows, a pink and teal plaid ruffle detail where the bodice meets the skirt, a printed design of an animal carousel inside of a heart shaped section on the bodice, printed metallic stars on all the teal and pink material, printed tiger faces with what looks like whipped cream clouds printed under the main skirt fabric, along with rows of alternating pink and teal ribbon along the hem of the skirt. I love that the various design elements were rendered with as much attention and detail in the final product. It would take me far longer than 6 months to create something like this from start to finish!

If I remember correctly, I think I the pink arm ruffles came with the dress as well, but I had to purchase the head bow, and waist bow separately. I could not believe how big or how well engineered the head bow is. They placed wig clips at the exact perfect spot to get it to attach and not move from one's head despite a lot of walking on uneven surfaces. I  was not able to wear the waist bow this time. The backpack I was wearing interfered with the location of the bow and its hidden straps on the bodice of the dress. The designer of this dress really thought of everything!

Additional accessories I added were a pair of cheap accordion style wrist cuffs, one mint and one pink and white striped over the knee socks, and a pair of pastel pink ruffled combat boots. I also did very light makeup and drew triangles over and under my eyes to look like a french style harlequin. I tried my go at entering the costume contest, thinking surely this gorgeously designed outfit would win, but then a serious cosplayer dressed as a rat warrior showed up and I knew my chances of winning lost all hope!

Pahl had the idea that he wanted to look like he was really from the Renaissance period as his costume for Summerween weekend. He started off his outfit with the lightweight black pirate pants, a cotton blouse, his brown vest with the metal details over it, his newer baldric carrying a dull sword, a pair of black and brown wrist guards, his black leather waist bag, and knee high black leather riding boots. As we walked along the various vendor booths at the faire, we were able to outfit Pahl's outfit even better. First we found a leather maker who specializes in historical fashion. He found these shorter pointier black boots there (a welcome relief in the summer heat), and later we found a brown linen cap that just happened to perfectly match his vest. Also, due to these purchases, Pahl and I were able to almost completely fill out two Very Inspired Shopper Cards to submit in the big end of day raffle.  I bought Jessica's Lucci's latest novel to round out my card and we were all set to enter the raffle!

I may not have won the costume contest, but I won the big end of day raffle thanks to Pahl's shopping and a little bit of luck!!! It was so exciting for me to win, as my big milestone birthday was to occur in just days from when we attended the faire. It seemed like it was a gift from the goddess Freya herself, as there were two Freya themed items in the bag. It was filled with all kinds of snacks, stickers, bookmarks, jewelry, tea, perfume, soap, wooden stout, special embroidered objects, a gorgeous walking stick with a moon and tigers eye theme, as well as a $50 visa gift card and 4 comped tickets to next year's faire!! 

We had already planned on going back to the Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire the following weekend, and I had already been planning to attend as Princess Serenity, the penultimate Heroine from the first season of the Sailor Moon anime series. Princess Serenity and Sailor Moon are the same person, except that they can't manifest as both at the same time in one body. So there are scenes in the anime where Sailor Moon transforms into Princess Serenity because technically Princess Serenity has more power in overcoming the hearts and minds of those with evil intentions. You only see Princess Serenity in flashbacks or final episodes of a series, and Princess Serenity is only the first incarnation of the Moon Kingdom's royalty. Later seasons of the series have her pegged as a Queen or Neo-Queen, depending on the time line. Princess Serenity's outfit is the simplest of all the various incarnations, and that's why I thought this particular dress would work well for it. 

The dress that Princess Serenity actually wears is inspired by a Dior design. It is all white and has an empire waist with gold circle/scalloped designs at the bodice. It has capped sleeves on the shoulders and is a full length gown. There is a large white (sometimes pink) back bow that is pinned to the back of the dress that has very long tails that almost look like wings. She wears her hair in two buns with long hair trailing under each. She also wears moon shaped earrings and a single pearl bracelet on one arm. Princess Serenity also has blonde hair and blue eyes.

Now, when I try to cosplay something, I try to find a character with features I already possess and a simple outfit I can imitate with other things. I already have relatively long blonde hair and blue eyes, and I possessed this Grecian style all white empire waist dress that has ethereal tulle attached in various points at the front of the bodice, cascading down the sides of the skirt, as well as extra pieces that come off the shoulders held together by two white bows. The gold alternating sun and moon waist belt also came with the dress. There were more chains that came with it as well, but they had more of a Greek Goddess of the Harvest feel and I removed them. I put my hair up in "space buns" to the best of my ability, and put on very light makeup. I also drew a crescent moon on my forehead with eye makeup. It doesn't show up super well  in photos, unfortunately. However, many other attendees at the faire knew who I was trying to cosplay as, so that's good enough for me!!

Pahl wasn't specifically trying to go as anything in particular, except to wear a much more comfortable costume in the heat than he did the previous weekend. I showed him this photo I took of him in the throne chair, and he said, "I suppose I look like the Sheriff of Nottingham", which we all know is a Villain.  The outfit is very similar to the previous weekend with the same pants, the short leather boots, a linen shirt under a vest (but this time a lightweight vest), the arm bracers, the baldric with a sword ( a different sword of course!), and a lightweight hat with a feather in it. The expression on his face in this photo says, I am about to collect your taxes and you can't stop me. 

I had a wonderful time at the faire on both weekends this year and since I have my comp tickets for next year, maybe I will be able to bring some friends as well that don't normally attend to have them join in on the fun!!

The second Sunday of June every year is Downtown Milford Business Association's Annual Pirate Day. It's a clever way to get hundreds of people and their families to visit downtown Milford at once for a fun and educational event. And did I mention it was FREE to attend?! There's also free parking! 

We went last year for the first time, so this year we had a much better plan of where to park, where the historical society was, as well as in relation to the Milford green. I drove us this time, and I lucked out getting parking at Lisman's Landing, which is where the pirates come in with the Mayor at around 1:00 pm. The actual event starts at 9:00 am. I have never made it there before noon. Maybe next year.

The pirates announced their incoming arrival as they fired off unloaded canons and pistols while sailing into the harbor. The pirates give the Mayor the keys to the city back, while he thanks them and declares an annual celebration of pirates in gratitude. This year a fife and drum group also performed afterwards, while other pirates handed out candy and coins to children.  

After the official ceremonies, we made our way to the Milford Historical Society. There were Free Men of the Sea with a booth in front of the Eells-Stow house showing instruments, weapons, and spices that would have been used during their actual historical time period. We also were able to get a free tour of the Eells-Stow House, which is believed to be the oldest house in Milford, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Last year we didn't get to see it because we missed the last tour of the day). 

After we got a tour of the house, we headed to the Milford Green to check out the vendors for shopping and a late lunch. We got rice and marinated pork with plantains from one vendor and a giant cup of lemonade from another. We sat on the ground on the green eating until a lone yellow jacket discovered me, and I was no longer hungry. On our way back to the car, we discovered that there was an upper green where a steel drum band was performing as well. The band seemed to be made of community members of all ages. It was neat to see so many people come together at this event. We still haven't done the scavenger hunt at area businesses. Maybe next year!

Now I've been working on my pirate outfit. The last couple of years, I was more of a pirate wench with a long skirt with a bustle, fishnets, and a handkerchief tied around my head. Last year I wore a real corset for the first time as well. How was I going to update my look this year?

Pahl said I really needed to get a tricorn hat to look more like a pirate. I spent a lot of time thinking about the tricorn hat I would need to acquire. Now this isn't just any old costume tricorn hat. This is actually a custom made wool hat, with grey gross grain ribbon, black cotton lace, a silver rose, and a large black peacock feather. I designed it to match an ouji coordinate that I haven't worn yet, but also to be neutral enough in color to be worn with a variety of other outfits.  I daresay it is more of a Rococo style tricorn, rather than a pirate or a patriot. 

For my full look, I donned the Alice Girl Hunter set which includes an all in one corset and mini skirt with shoulder straps, a matching hooded bolero, and short frilly bloomers. I wore this set once before, while giving a presentation on Cautionary Tales in Oral Tradition.  I am also wearing a short pannier, which is basically a short wide petticoat to flare out the skirt a bit more. To look more like an official crew member, I added arm bracers from Miss Point, off-brand under the knee black socks, and my trusty coven boots from Strangcvlt. Neutral eye makeup and a bold red lip complete the look. 

Pahl's pirate outfit was updated as well this year. He has had his heart set on all things Rococo, so the waist coat is actually from a Rococo set that he purchased earlier in the year. (Does it look familiar? He also wore it at the Tudor dinner!) Another thing Pahl did differently was to grow out his beard for two weeks. He really wanted to make sure he looked scruffy to really lean into the pirate lifestyle. His tricorn hat is bigger, yet lighter in weight than mine. It has a big red peacock feather and he put a pin of a skull and cross bones on it. In one way it is slightly more versatile than mine depending on what he pins to it. But mine won't blow off my head in a brisk sea breeze, so it really depends on the level of function over fashion you are committed to.   

Pahl's updated look is quite superb. He's got all the elements he had last year like the pistol, skullcap, waist sash, lightweight linen shirt and trousers, and leather boots, but also he has an over the shoulder belt that is holding a dull full size sword as well as a dagger. He is truly  outfitted for any serious pirate action!

Who rightly knows what I'll wear next year, but it was certainly fun to wear this outfit again with the updated accessories!  Maybe I'll get extra bold and even choose a color scheme that isn't red and black.  But I'll likely still wear my tricorn hat!

Our last event in May 2025 was the Tudor Dinner at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, CT. This was a special event that the museum created in honor of receiving Hans Holbein's 1540 portrait of Henry the VIII on loan from the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. The description of the event was "to experience a Tudor-style banquet and meet Henry the VIII!  The castle comes to life through music, culinary delights, and speciality drinks. Period costumes are encouraged."

The event cost $75 per person (or $65 if you were a Hartford resident or museum member), and it was worth every penny. We were seated in the main gallery right next to famous paintings, like the one that Pahl and I are standing in front of. I had never been so close to the art! Across the room from us, a lute player performed while we ate. A large banquet table was laid out with turkey legs, bone-in hams, stewed beef with mushrooms, bread, fruit, roasted vegetables and fruit pies. We could go back for as many servings as we liked. 

To start the feast, Henry the VIII arrived in the flesh along with some of his wives and local dignitaries of the age dressed in period costume. These folks were not just mere actors, but actual museum scholars presenting lectures at various art works in the museum during the feast. 

​The Tudor period occurred between 1485-1603 and included the Elizabethian era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). The Tudor period is characterized by the rule of the Tudor family following Henry Tudor's victory over Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth. This era marked the conclusion of the Wars of the Roses (a series of civil conflicts between the Lancaster and York houses). The period began with King Henry VII and continued through his son King Henry VIII and his grandchildren Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. The Tudor Period remains significant for its profound influence on English history, culture, governance, as well as reflecting the complexities of monarchy, religion, and societal change during that time. 

Fashion was actually extremely important during the Tudor period, because rich people used their clothing as a sign of how wealthy they were. Their clothes were made from fine wool, linen, and silk and often decorated with gold thread and jewels. Men wore white silk shirts with frills at the neck and cuffs and loose fitting trousers. Women wore corsets under bodices to make their waists look small and padded underskirts to give more structure to the floor-length gowns they wore over them. There were even special rules called Sumptuary Laws to dictate what the different social classes could and could not wear. Only members of the royal family could wear purple silk, only those above the title of Viscount or Baron could wear cloth of gold or silver, and only those who earned over 100 pounds a year could wear satin, damask, silk, or taffeta. 

Based on the Sumptuary Laws of the Tudor era, Pahl and I are posing as a wealthy couple where he has a title above that of Viscount. 

Pahl's outfit consists of a blouse (not sure what color to be honest) under a dark brown gambeson that has additional metal details sewn into the sleeves. Over that he is wearing a red and gold embroidered long waist coat with a damask pattern. This is perfectly layered over a pair of dark red loose fitting trousers. Other accessories that repeat the red trousers include a soft red hat that is a little bigger than a modern beret but fits like one (they called them bonnets back then) with embroidered designs at the base of the cap as well as white and brown feathers coming off one side, and a paisley cravat at the neck. Also at the neck is a ruff, worn backwards so that the tie is facing forward. He is also wearing an elaborate green silk sash over all of these elements which appears to have a three-dimensional cross and other embroidered symbols as well as metallic fringe at the bottom. He completes the functional parts of the look with leather riding boots and a black leather waist belt with pouches. 

I am wearing a long floor length dress that also has a damask pattern in dark green, brown, and gold. The dress has long sleeves that wrap around my arms so that only my hands are visible. Around my neck is also a ruff, the same one in fact as Pahl's, but I am wearing it with the tie in the back and lower along my neckline. On my head I am wearing an elaborate crown complete with beige felted elements, off-white roses and metal chains with pearls hanging off them. An off white veil with gold stars covers the back of my neck and wraps around to the front as well a little. The look is complete with white short heels with gold stamping on them.

I cheated a little bit as I was entirely reliant on the corset lacing at the front of the dress to achieve the waist cinching look and I am not wearing a padded underskirt to give the bottom of the dress more shape. I did this mainly because true corsets and padded skirts are highly uncomfortable elements while driving a vehicle, and I didn't have any time to even attempt to put them on in the parking garage or restroom once I got there. 

We only caught a tiny bit of the lecture about this painting because I am a painfully slow eater.  But what we did learn was that the outfit that Henry the VIII was wearing in this portrait was physically very heavy. All of the layers and jewels would weigh quite a bit, and he must have had to pose for the portrait for awhile while wearing it. Talk about heavy metal!

The museum staff was pretty jazzed about our costume efforts. I think not only do both our outfits work well on their own, but together it is a wonderful complementary contrast of green and red with similar elements of brown and gold. If there was a prize for best costume, we would have won it. But the best prize is knowing we were the best! I hope the museum continues to come up with fun events like this one!

The second major dress up event we attended in May 2025 was the Spill The Tea: Jane Austen Tea Tasting co-hosted by Savvy Tea Gourmet and Lyman Orchards at The Lyman Homestead in Middlefield, CT.  Savvy Tea Gourmet is my favorite local tea shop as they source tea and make their own blends from all over the world and everything is super fresh and eco-friendly packaging. The owners of the Savvy Tea came up from Madison to offer delightful Jane Austen inspired tea pairings as well as tea education, while Lyman Orchards Apple Barrel Farmers Market provided the accompanying quiche, tea sandwich, and scones with strawberry jam in the historical Lyman Homestead. The Lyman Homestead, built in 1860, is one of the best Gothic Revival structures in the greater Middletown area. It was built to a design by New Haven architect Rufus G Russell and was completed in 1865. The 2 acre property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. 

Now this event just happened to also occur on the same day that our Dances of Bridgerton class over in nearby Middletown was to take place. Dances of Bridgerton is a bit of a passion project dreamt up by master dance instructor Susan de Guardiola. Imagine learning the  dances from the Netflix show Bridgerton, other dances by the same choreographer, and some actual Regency dances with a real time instructor and a bunch of other people at the same time!  Did you gush at Simon and Daphne's couple dance in Season One? Or did you love the dance in Episode 6 of Queen Charlotte between Charlotte and George? I've learned them both and we frequently go over them in class as well as learning new dances too!  If that sounds like an amazing time to you, the class is open and looking for more attendees. The next one is actually next Sunday, August 10, and walk-ins are welcome! 

Since pretty much everyone who attends this dance class is into dressing up in period fashion, drinking tea, and socializing, I proposed to Susan that we should let the other attendees know about it and see if they also would like to sign up. Susan was able to get the Spill the Tea event to allow us a table of 10 rather than the purported maximum 6, but every single one of us dressed in our Regency finest. It was like we absolutely stepped back in time from the historic home itself, to our fashion, the tea service, it was truly a magical moment!

After we enjoyed our tea pairings and food items, there was still time to wander around the interior of the building. The historic home caretakers didn't seem to mind us wandering around to the different rooms and posing in our outfits with the furniture. 

This is my friend Nina from my CCSU days. She is excellent at sewing and drafting her own patterns. She looked at historical regency patterns and drafted this one for herself. She also has a matching petticoat she made to wear under it. The blue cotton of her dress matched the wall pretty well and I thought she should stand in front of the fireplace to show that. I asked her if she would like to go to the first "Dances of Bridgerton" class with me last year because Pahl couldn't make it and we've been hooked on the class ever since. She's also teaching me basic sewing now too!

Now you must be wondering, is my outfit actual Regency after looking at Nina and Pahl's outfits? No, not really. It's an EGL dress from the Chinese indie brand Miss Point's Sally Gardens Series. The dress is described as an "elegant vintage one-piece dress", that features a square collar, lotus root sleeves, an empire waist, ribbons+ flower decorations at the chest and cuffs, and a long length. I am wearing a 78 cm daily wear petticoat under this dress for the poof and flow at the bottom. The straw bonnet, additional chest flowers, and lace choker are also from Miss Point. I absolutely could not forget my teapot bag, which is actually pop culture merchandise from Bridgerton via Hot Topic. It is a white teapot cross body purse with purple and green printed petals and says "Diamond of the Season" on it, which if you've seen Bridgerton, you know is the Queen's pick of female debutante each year. It was just so meta to be at a tea party with folks I learn dances from Bridgerton with while carrying around a purse dedicated to those two ideas. 

I have actually worn this brown and cream dress so frequently to dance class (I love the way it glides in the Queen Charlotte dances to be honest), that  Pahl and I normally go out to the same restaurant after class and the staff there knows us by our outfits and greets us very warmly and always asks us how our dance class was!  We haven't been to class for a few months because we missed the one in June for Downtown Milford Business Association's annual Pirate Day (a future blog post) and there wasn't one in July.  The goal is to learn enough dances and dance them well enough for a dance focused Bridgerton Masquerade Ball in October! I am so looking forward to it as well as planning a new EGL Regency inspired outfit for the ball!

I ended up doing several dress up events in May 2025, and the first one I was the host! I had it in my head that I wanted to plan a karaoke meeting for my fashion club. I knew I wanted to do karaoke for us somewhere semi-private, rather than your average dimly-lit American bar, but I didn't think we quite had the funds to rent out a private booth plus snacks and drinks for the evening. Luckily RoiEt Cafe in Hamden, CT allowed us to rent the "VIP" area for free for 3 hours, and provided several delicious dinner items inspired by Thai and Japanese street food to purchase as well as a variety of drinks (alcoholic as well as non-alcoholic like bubble tea, etc) that allowed us to get our fill and loosen our lungs for a fun night of singing! The menu includes such a range from pad thai to sticky rice chicken wraps to onigiri and Japanese bread. It is easy to order a full meal as well as snacks and desserts here, which is nice if you're not really into imbibing or a stereotypical bar scene.

The VIP area was actually quite well lit, and we also had our own private bathroom. The lower level supposedly fit up to 15 people, but we cozily sat off to the left side for eating and moved closer to the grass wall for singing and photos. I can't lie, the karaoke set up is about as bare bones as you can get. They have a couple of mics and you're supposed to search on YouTube for the song you want to sing. I was honestly surprised at how many obscure songs were already converted to "Karaoke versions" on YouTube. 

The outfit suggestion was to "wear a style that represents the music you like to sing or listen to".  For myself, one of my favorite types of music that I like to listen to is industrial, electronic, and punk. So of course I had to incorporate as much black, plaid, and metal rivets/ zippers, and grommets into my look for the evening. Pahl likes punk too and wanted to make sure he matched me, so he also wore black and blue. Nomi was also channeling a similar vibe with their Atelier Pierrot Decay Gauze Skirt paired with a light pink t-shirt, black harness, and black leather choker. 

Sarah has a thing for strawberries and quite deftly worked them into her main dress as well as a pin on her sweater. Cute black tights with red hearts, red shoes and a red hair band complete the look. I wouldn't be surprised if Erik also wore black and red to match his lady. 

Maxie wore a beautiful classic floral style dress. She sang September from Earth, Wind, & Fire, which is an American pop, soul, and jazz fusion band, and then proceeded to sing an operatic song from Muse, which is an English band that fuses rock, electronica, and opera together. If anything, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that she really enjoys complex music that combines many genres. 

Jax represented the country genre and added stylistic details such as a tiny cowboy hat, gingham scarf, corduroy jacket slung across one shoulder, and Timberland boots to their otherwise sweet style coordinate. Jax did not disappoint with their selection of a country song that was so funny as they did stereotypical mannerisms you see in country videos for the male singers especially. Later they did a duet with Sarah of Dolly Parton's "9-5", as an ode to my last post about getting dress-coded at the office for looking too much like a doll. 

Now you might be wondering more about my coordinate. Let me tell you, I had this outfit in my head for months. I ordered the dress and matching blouse from Chinese indie brand Alice Girl in Spring 2024, but I had to wait a little longer to get the matching accessories. This dark but  brighter than navy saturated blue is called Klein blue. It is used in a lot of alt fashion garments across brands, often specifically for gothic looking styles. So, naturally, I also started collecting accessories that incorporate klein blue as well as main pieces. 

For my accessories I am wearing a black pleather bow headband that has a metal heart and 3 kinds of metal crosses hanging from it. Under that I have a white wavy bob wig with 4 long braids at the ends. For wrist cuffs I am wearing long black fabric gloves that have 3 short belts with gromets as well as a long visible zipper on the outside. For socks I am wearing the lace up ones from Moi Meme Moitie. You lace them up yourself---but they look so good! For shoes I am wearing black shiny pleather platforms that also have metal studs and crosses hanging from them. For my purse I have a black rectangle satchel with rivets around the edges and a centralized silver metal crown. 

You might be wondering if I sang any industrial songs while I was at the meeting. I did not...but I did sing Lady Gaga's two most recent singles off her new album Mayhem, "Disease" and "Abracadbra". My voice cracked a bunch and I was a little embarrassed, but those are pretty hard songs to sing at the range that Lady Gaga does. I already look like her, I thought maybe I could try singing like her too. But there is only one Lady Gaga. 

I had a lot of fun seeing what everyone wore to the meeting and talking about music, literature, and other great places to eat, etc with attendees. I don't know if I would go back to this particular spot just for karaoke, but if you want a relatively quiet area to catch up with some folks and have choices for both dinner and snacks, this is a great hidden gem! 

Now the April 2025 Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival had actually been canceled this year due to predicted weather. It wasn't actually THAT bad on the day of, but the festival committee had called it two days in advance just in case. However, I still wanted to go and view the blossoms in a cute outfit.

From mid March-end of May 2025, I participated in a fashion challenge called the "75 Hard Fashion Challenge" with a small group of international EGL enthusiasts. The challenge is to document what you wear for 75 days straight without purchasing any new pieces into your wardrobe. I was doing this challenge with some folks who wear EGL and/or ALT fashion daily, and I wanted to start incorporating some of my most what I considered benign office friendly EGL dresses with light green, pink, violet, cream, and sax blue as solid colors and/or mixed florals into my office clothes rotation a few times a week. They didn't say anything for weeks, but this is the outfit I got dress coded for.

To this day, I still can't exactly figure out why I am not allowed to wear this to work. Is it the pastel colors? Is it the knee socks? Is it the shoes with the star buckles? How did this offend someone? How did this break dress code? The best answer I could get was that I "looked too much like a doll".  I understand every workplace is different, and I respect the dress code, but I guess they have to add "don't look like a doll" to the dress code regulations, just after too many visible piercings and articles that are ripped, torn, or have profane words or symbols.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's talk about how magical it was to go to the park after work. Some of the cherry blossoms were past their prime and the petals were already romantically gathered on the ground while other trees still had open flowers. I also loved the fact that there were way less people walking around and that we were able to have an easy photo shoot as well as a few lovely snacks on a park bench to ourselves. 

The cute cafe in my office complex happened to be selling Hanami (cherry blossom) colored Dango (see Hinamatsuri post for more info on that) with honey for dipping and Onigiri (spicy tuna and rice seaweed wrapped triangles) that I picked up for Sarah and I to eat before we started our little photoshoot. 

As I've gotten into the fashion more and more, I seem to be chasing the aesthetic on every level. I am eating and wearing all the colors of this very special time of the year and I'm sharing my knowledge of Japanese customs with friends who are learning about them for the first time. 

I was very proud of how well I put together this coordinate. This dress is the same pink dress I wore to the Witchy Alice Tea , just without the apron. I paired it with light blue-ish gray and white cotton knee socks (because it had started getting a little warmer outside) and then I had a vision to repeat the light blue. Technically the cardigan and shoes are considered sax blue, and are a slightly brighter blue than on the socks, but when you put everything together, close enough becomes rather cohesive. I added a gold, violet, and pearl long necklace as well as a cameo barrette in my hair. I am also wearing a plastic pink and sax striped star ring, to echo both the main colors in my outfit and the star buckles on my shoes. 

I had actually worn this same dress with the same cardigan in violet to work a different time during the fashion challenge, but I wore it with nude colored tights and oxfords... and that was somehow more okay. Is it the visible knees this time that got me? Perhaps it is the fact that it is actually too well put together. In the earlier incarnation, I wasn't wearing jewelry at all and I plopped an off white beret on my head, while wearing tights and shoes that were two different shades of the same color. I feel like this dress has tremendous potential, and more outfits to unlock, but just not at the office. 

Pahl and I went to the Old Lyme Inn for their Alice themed afternoon tea in April 2024 as a reconnaissance mission to see if it would be a venue and theme my fashion club would be interested in. We had a blast last year, and as a result of my mission, I ended up hosting 2 other teas at the Old Lyme Inn while waiting for the Alice Tea theme to come up again. Last year I went as a interpretation of Alice with a white dress with a blue architectural print on it, the matching head bow, printed blue and white tights and a storm blue wool coat. Pahl was a version of the Mad Hatter. 

This year, when I presented the theme to my fashion club, Sarah R thought we should all go as different characters from the book, to make things interesting and creative. I knew that this year, I was going to change my tune. I would no longer be Alice, but instead I would be an interpretation of the White Rabbit. And I wasn't going in a dress either... I was going to don pantaloons, knee high socks, a waist cinching elaborate tail coat, and a medium size top hat.  

If you thought I had started planning this outfit months in advance--you are correct! The first piece I acquired was the tail coat from Chinese indie brand Immortal Thorn. I have an affinity for this style of diamond pattern, which is considered a harlequin style or sometimes referred to as rhombus pattern. The coat itself is white with gold lace and embroidery of different playing card suits. It's also lined with black and white diamond pattern. It is best worn with a stand collar blouse of various lengths. Just after I acquired the coat in December of 2024, I found that someone happened to be selling a black and white diamond pattern shirt from the brand Lady Sloth on Lace Market. The pantaloons also became available at around the same time, from someone who was selling them used in an international forum for the fashion I am a part of. By January 2025 I had the meat and potatoes of my outfit, but I still needed some accessories to complete the look. 

The boots I ordered in February and it took about a month for them to be made. They are a combination of white suede and scalloped lace cutouts and they do not have a zipper, so they do require some time to put on and lace up. The hat I had purchased in March from Chinese Indie brand Fox Cherry. It is a very versatile piece and comes with two additional attachments. It can get quite heavy, especially when worn to the side, so I only put on one of them. The bag is a very inexpensive clock over the shoulder bag, and it was still available in the white and gold---PERFECTION! The playing card socks that are white and gray I had ordered a few years ago to go with a different dress (that of course I've never worn them with), but they worked with the look. I have since acquired black and white diamond over the knee socks that will really pull this look together next time!

You could say Sarah H had been planning their outfit for even longer than I had with mine. They acquired the blue color way and matching apron and headdress of Japanese brand Metamorphose's "Wondercard" OP over a year ago, and they had been waiting for an occasion to wear it. Sarah wore a blonde wig, a white long sleeve cotton blouse, white and black striped tights and black platform mary janes. We matched really well with our playing card motif, so I asked Sarah F to snap this photo of us together. 

Jax started their coordinate with the purple color way of Magical Artefact JSK, also by Metamorphose. This print features black cats with gold lurex lace, gold buttons and charms and black ribbon. They wore a long sleeve black blouse under it and black tights with different colored cartoon style cat eyes on it. They also have a black fuzzy cat bag with orange eyes, and a pink furry cat ear head band, which also matches their shoes. 

Sarah R decided to style a few different brands together for a sweet style ouji look. The blouse and shorts she is wearing are from the Japanese brand Liz Liza. She is also wearing a waist coat, outer coat, and carrying a parasol from the Japanese brand Angelic Pretty. Gray striped and dotted over the knee socks and pink boots complete the look. 

I really like this photo that Sarah F took of them because not only do they look like the characters that they are representing, but they are also acting in character. Especially Sarah R as the Door Mouse. 10/10 for acting and looking the part!

And Pahl was the Mad Hatter, once again. In fact I made a comparison of every time he's dressed as the Mad Hatter, and ever single time, he wears these pants. He does change up his waist coat, tail coat, bow tie, shoes, and top hat. He's thinking of maybe trying to go as the March Hare next time we find ourselves at an Alice themed event, but he needs to make some rabbit ears and attach them to a top hat to pull that one off!

I honestly really enjoyed dressing up as a whole group with different characters. However, we did confuse OTHER tea attendees with our outfits, to the point that many people asked to take photos with us and had assumed that the inn hired us for the tea. At one point I had to just let someone know that we didn't work there and to ask permission before taking photos. If anyone, the White Rabbit should be able to act as the bouncer!

Back in early March of 2025, about the weekend after I went to the Doll Shop for Girls Day, Pahl and I went on an Afternoon Tea Adventure in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The Hampton County Hexenbruts were having a Witchy Alice in Wonderland themed tea party with an escape room and dance performance. I was intrigued on so many levels and was resolute in attending even though there wasn't a whole lot of information about the event. It turned out it was the very first time this event ever happened.  We learned about the tea party through a Steampunk group we are a part of, who has members that are both Steampunks and Hexenbruts. Hexenbrut is both a German dance group and a specific dance which originated with this group with the song, Schuttel Deinen Speck, "Shake your Booty" by German rapper Peter Fox.  This particular dance is loosely choreographed and Hexenbrut groups throughout the world perform it. We were lucky to see a live performance by the Hampton County Group at the conclusion of the tea event. And what was also great was that if you knew the dance and had your own broom (or something broom-like), you could also perform the dance with the troupe because it is universally the same thing throughout the world. Unfortunately it was maybe the second time I'd seen it performed ever and I had never learned it officially, so I was simply enjoying the performance. 

Every table was uniquely decorated with a time piece, a teapot, flowers, unique tea settings and a little goodie bag. There were plenty of specifically Alice in Wonderland themed teas to choose from and lots of tea sandwiches and sweets to eat. In fact they had a lot of leftovers and encouraged us to go up for seconds and thirds. It was AMAZING in that aspect as Afternoon Teas are not normally a gastronomically filling endeavor.

We only knew two other people who attended this event--Alan Kendzior and Kit Catlett, who both took amazing photos, for which I sourced throughout this blog post. We met them at other Steampunk events in the past so we all sat together for the tea. Kit also tried to help Pahl and I solve the puzzles in the escape room, but we were pretty much lost with the second puzzle with the cipher. There were 3 additional puzzles afterwards and well, we didn't get those either. It was a very hard escape room! But luckily it wasn't a serious one and if you had to leave early, you could without an issue. 

Now this was the second Alice in Wonderland themed tea I have attended, but the first one with a Witchy twist. I was excited to put my creativity to good use. I decided to start the outfit with the Gloomth Pink Cotton Maid dress with the original "Cake" artwork matching apron. The dress is innocent enough, but the Apron shows a woman wearing a bonnet with cloven feet about to cut a layered cake, while a skeletal figure (also wearing a dress and a bonnet) and several wrist watches waits in anticipation. It's morbid and weird, and kinda witchy. To drive home the witchy aspects, I added black and white striped tights with lavender scrunch socks at the base. Then I decided to make it a little punk. I added lavender and black mary janes that have spikes, a duo belted waist belt with excess rivets, a coffin shaped necklace with a real spiderweb in it, a headband with a black bow and additionally unnecessary but visually exciting rivets and charms, and a lavender bat shaped bag with spiderweb embroidery on it. Did I need to add lavender to this outfit? NOPE. Did I? Absolutely. 

Pahl likes to go to these events as the Mad Hatter. He's got it down. He started with these striped linen pants, and added his paisley earth toned waistcoat over a white blouse. He is wearing his brown oxfords and a dark brown leather top hat with embossed tentacles and hidden eyes. A blue octopus bow tie and a green velvet tailcoat complete his look along with other eye and octopus rings. He's the Mad Steampunk Hatter this time. 

I loved Kit's outfit as the Queen of Hearts. All of her outfit was completely modified by herself. She had made most of the costume a few years ago for a similarly themed Steampunk event, but added the sash, diamond arm pattern, and the ruff recently when she acquired Valentines themed fabric on sale at a fabric store. I am always inspired when people make an outfit from scratch out of many different materials. I hope to be able to do this someday myself!

"The secret, Alice, is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. It's then, only then, that you'll find Wonderland"-The Mad Hatter. I would definitely say that the energy in the room was amazing and everyone was having a splendid time. The costumes other people made/wore were so incredibly creative too--I felt that my coordinate while carefully planned was simple in comparison. That's why for my next Alice themed tea (in April 2025), I made sure to dress up as a different character other than Alice. Between Steampunk, EGL fashion, and any other local tea place that has monthly themes, we are sure to run into more opportunities to reuse and rework our Wonderland outfits or generate new ideas completely as this is a theme we adore and apparently other people do too!