A Renaissance Faire is mainly a United States phenomenon (which can also be enjoyed in some places in Europe, Canada, and Australia). It is held outdoors as a public gathering with entertainment, vendors, and contests. There's usually a storyline at each faire with scenes played throughout an entire day of events. Renaissance Faires in general try to reimagine the best parts of 16th century England (loosely based on the reign of Queen Elizabeth I).  People dress up in costumes of what they imagined people might wear at the time. Historical accuracy though isn't terribly important. What is important is being comfortable and having fun!

When I'm at the Renaissance Faire, I love to see the vendors, listen to the actors re-enact scenes from the land, and attend the various musical and comedy acts performed throughout the day. Pahl likes to dress up as a Knight or some kind of swordsman, eat a turkey leg once a year, see live animals, and interact with the on-site actors. I don't have a specific go to costume or persona for these events, but I pretty much like to dress up as some kind of lady, so you'll always see me in a dress or a skirt/shirt combination.

The first two times we went to the Renaissance Faire this year was the Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Festival in Ansonia, CT.  This is one of the smaller faires you could attend by far, but it has plenty of heart and is conveniently located near a major highway. I love this faire, but the beginning of July is basically sweltering. What do you wear to stay cool and look cool in the heat?

The answer for me was lightweight layers and sandals with accessories and a few trusty parasols. [Pahl didn't care during our first visit about feeling cool, he was more interested in looking cool]. 

The look on the left, I am going for more of a courtesan persona to accompany my Knight. I'm wearing the shirt I bought last year for the Lavender Farm meeting, paired with a black boho one size fits all skirt I got back when I was in high school. Yes, you read that correctly. They are a great investment those boho skirts...very lightweight with a bit of interior lining where it counts! The coin skirt was actually a gift from my cousin way back in my early 20's when I told my extended family at some holiday gathering that I wanted to learn belly dancing. The skirt looked pretty frumpy and was dragging on the ground, so I pulled it up and put a girdle around my waist (one that came with an elegant gothic lolita OP actually). I wore a subtle silver head necklace, large dangly brass hoop earrings, a large pendant necklace, and a waist pouch that matched my sandals. I had been walking around with a very cool looking stick both of those weekends---to be honest, for me it was more functional than just fun--I had actually broken one of my toes and it was only the way to achieve balance on the uneven hill of that particular faire. I also grabbed my gothic umbrella out of my vehicle in desperation to try to deflect the incredibly hot sun.

Another hot weekend followed, so I wore even less than the first week. This time I went for a persona of fairy queen. The dress was actually given to me by a friend, and I already had a matching waist belt long before the dress and I were united. I wore a necklace that I acquired when I worked back in my retail days (you know those chunky statement necklaces were all the rage back in 2011), earrings I acquired at a different faire, and yes, my smoky quartz crown I also wore on my birthday. I managed to do my makeup too this time. 

Pahl had decided that it was actually too hot for armor, and chose a much lighter weight costume to accompany me this weekend. It seems roughly based on Robin Hood, especially with the hat he chose. However, my niece said that we looked like Zelda and Link from Breath of the Wild and you know what, she's not wrong. 

Our last visit this year brought us to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, which is toted as Connecticut's largest Renaissance Faire. [It's still way smaller than other states by far]. This one seems to be located in a large field with dedicated structures in an agricultural town over an hour's drive (backroads ONLY mind you) from my house. But here you can see the Knights of Gore, bigger musical acts that don't go to the Midsummer Faire, and actual jousting.  Pahl wanted to make it count, so he updated his Knight costume with real chain mail and new black leather arm gauntlets, and a cape, for an added flair.

That particular weekend was the last weekend of September, and in alignment with Oktoberfest celebrations, so I pulled my Miss Point Bavarian long velvet JSK out for the first time. I guess my persona this time is "beer maiden". This is a fantastic set. I saw the JSK and matching cape available to purchase from 42 lolita much earlier in the year, but I wanted the whole outfit. I used their "Buy for Me" option to ask them to list the matching cotton blouse along with other accessories. 

(Basically with Buy for Me you can email customer service some screen shots of what you're looking for and try to provide as much information as possible like the name of the brand, name of the design, and what size/color you want and they can check and see if it is available in the first place and then list it on their website so it is easy for you along with anyone else who might want it to buy it off their website). 

I paired it with a daily A-line petticoat, the matching blouse, and the matching velvet cape.  I didn't wear the other accessories I purchased because of the weather. The Renaissance Festivals basically happen rain or shine (unless weather is particularly inclement) and I knew this day would probably be kinda muddy and it might rain again. (I was correct in both instances), so high leather boots and a leaf shaped leather waist belt completed my look. I received many compliments on my "skirt"--many people did not know this was actually a jumper skirt and a separate shirt because of the cape. I did take the cape off later, but it did come in handy when it rained a bit to keep me warm and dry. 

There's another Renaissance Festival that happens in the spring that I haven't been to yet. I also acquired some new accessories and main pieces at each of the weekends I attended this year that I have yet to include in my alternative fashion pursuits. So stay tuned! Maybe I will get a chance to wear some of them in late autumn/winter/spring!

It's not every year that my birthday falls on a Saturday. In fact it's once every 6 years. And I always have to compete with America's Birthday too as far as who's in town to celebrate with. Pahl really wanted to celebrate my birthday. So much so that he decided he was going to host me a birthday party on Saturday afternoon at my house. 

Look at this stunning invitation. He hand drew all of these characters and then colored them in Photoshop. OBVIOUSLY the lady in the elegant lolita dress is loosely based on me, and I'm assuming he's the Regency style man to the left. The other characters are "from the imagination". The party theme was dressing up in either a costume or a fancy dress/outfit.  Let's give those pieces you bought but have never worn, or the one that you bought for a wedding two years ago some love, shall we?

Not only did Pahl make the invitations and handle all the RSVP's, but also made me cupcakes, procured pies from the local farmers market, and set up the most thoughtful piñata ever. On the outside it looked like a mermaid shell with a mermaid tail, but inside it was filled with Halloween toys and candy. Because let's face it, I'm a mermaid on the outside and a spooky babe on the inside.  He didn't stop there though. He gave me a variety of gifts of jewelry as well as a commissioned drawing of a water dragon that he forgot about and gave me later. 

You know how I said on my last post that you'd be seeing more Miss Point dress designs? Well here's another one.  This is the Miss Point Dusk Bester Egyptian Casual JSK in the black colorway.  I saw this dress for sale back in December 2022 and absolutely had to have it as soon as I was able to procure it. I'm very into mythology and occult symbolism and this dress is full of it it. 

First off, the design is an ode to the Egyptian Cat Goddess Bast. Bast was known as the Egyptian Goddess of Protection and Cats. What could be more fitting that getting this in the black colorway (as black is also a color of protection). Then there's the Seal of Solomon (hexagram), which is described as giving Solomon the power to command the supernatural, and the ability to speak with animals. And there's also a heavy influence of sun and waxing crescent moon motifs. The sun is seen as a symbol of vitality and life (hello I'm born 10 days after the Summer Solstice) and the waxing crescent specifically about positive thinking and action, increasing happiness and joy, and increasing love in your life. 

Secondly, the design is absolutely gorgeous. Who can go wrong with black with gold, cream, red, and cyan accents? (I feel like I've been collecting these colors all my life). There is careful consideration to visual balance on both sides of the dress. It's says it's casual, but that's only because the design only repeats twice. There is absolutely nothing casual about this dress otherwise. 

I paired it with the matching halter shirt with detachable sleeves, and the rhombus brooch from the collection. I'm wearing a crystal crown (smoky quartz points to be exact) that I got at the local Renaissance Faire the year prior. I remember asking my friend Ave if I could wear it with a coordinate, and she said "maybe"? Well I'm here to tell you that sometimes the dress just comes later and to have faith you'll be able to wear it with a coordinate. 

I also am wearing a standard hoop skirt as my petticoat of the day. I noticed that you have to start getting pretty creative for events in the third fiscal quarter as it's just so incredibly hot and sunny during the day you have to make health based choices to stay cool. Halter shirt or just a shawl? Petticoat or Hoop Skirt? Socks & Shoes or Sandals with painted  toenails? 

That's right, I painted my nails a metallic gold to match the gold detailing in the dress and I used the  Anastasia Beverly Hills Cosmos Palette. I was super excited about that release because I love anything celestial themed and their formula is great. The colors in that palette paired perfectly with this dress and my eye color!  (You can also see that the crown has the exact same sun motif as the dress--what a coincidence)!

Overall it was a wonderful party and just the right amount of activities and socializing. I loved having someone else handle the details to be honest. I am a planner of many events, but it is nice to just enjoy the event as well!!

It has always been my intention to wear elegant lolita fashion pretty much any time I feel like getting dressed and going out. It didn't matter if I had a boyfriend or not. It didn't matter if my other friends I was meeting with were dressed up or not.  I just have this thing about being a bit eccentric and standing out (in a good way). It just sort of worked out that Pahl feels the same way about his "costume" collection. [We call them costumes for other people, but to us they are just extensions of our regular clothing collection]. 

Pahl has been collecting Regency fashion for at least 20 years and is a fond admirer of all things written by Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters. When we found out that there was a live production of Pride & Prejudice at the Little Theater of Manchester this past spring, we had to jump on that opportunity.

Pahl claims that his look is early Regency. He said that he was inspired more by Lord Byron than that of Mr. Darcy or Mr. Bingham. He is wearing a white blouse,  black trousers, a black corduroy waist coat (with suspenders underneath), and a long black tail coat, with I believe a fall collar. He also pairs his look with a white cravat and black leather riding boots.  

I'm wearing the French Rose Elegant Lolita JSK Dress from Miss Point in the black color way.  The listing says this is a JSK, but it's much better worn without a blouse underneath. I wore a 78cm daily petticoat underneath (which peeked out a bit) as well as the Miss Point Rhine Riverside Summer Bow Lolita Top Hat in black.  I love the headpieces that Miss Point comes out with, but I always feel it's best to mix and match them with other designs. This one went particularly well with the lacing on the black color way of the French Rose dress. I also paired it with slightly heeled black oxfords, real pearls, and gem fishnet gloves for a fun embellishment. I chose a classic smoky eye and natural looking makeup. 

The production of Pride & Prejudice was over 3 hours in length and it covered everything except for meeting Mr. Darcy's sister. The costumes were superb and the choreographed dancing was pretty darn good for English Country Dancing of the era. The actors, especially Mr. Bennett and Mr. Darcy's aunt played their roles particularly well. I received many compliments from other theater attendees for my outfit. No one said anything to Pahl about his. 

All in all I would definitely wear this piece again for any spring time or early summer activity. I think I'm drawn to Miss Point as a brand in general, because a lot of their pieces can be used in various costume contexts. However, other people in the fashion will say that Miss Point is more..."lolita adjacent" as they tend to choose eclectic cuts or patterns for some of their pieces. For instance they even have an entire empire waist line that they claim is a lolita dress...but is much closer to Regency period in my opinion. Will you be seeing more Miss Point designs in these blog posts? Absolutely! You can count on it!