Autumn Tea & Wee Faerie Village

Autumn Tea & Wee Faerie Village Exhibition

Sarah, Sarah, Jax, Danielle, Jeannette, and Ren

One of the exhibitions that I always wanted to see was the Wee Faery Village Exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, CT. This is a special exhibition that happens every autumn and is comprised of over 30 fairy style homes that are created by local artists as well as families and classrooms throughout the region. They are placed all along the outside trails and paths of the Florence Griswold Museum. It is a special event and museum admission is twice as much as usual for the event.

I had it in my head that I wanted to go with a group of friends way back in August. So, naturally I hosted a fashion club meeting for it. Jax gave me the idea to do a double meeting--why don't we go to the Old Lyme Inn's Autumn Tea first and then catch the exhibit at the museum (literally 500 ft across the street) afterwards?  We both really enjoyed the Wizard of Oz Tea in the summer, so why not try their autumn offerings too?

Autumn Tea at Old Lyme Inn

Jeannette, Jax, Sarah, Sarah, Danielle, Ally, Addy, Ren

This photograph was taken right outside the front of the Old Lyme Inn. This was essentially part one of our meeting, but for some attendees it was the only part. I made attending both parts of the meeting optional, as it could be a potentially all day affair, and I know not everyone has time for that.

As far as the fashion choices for the meeting, I asked attendees to really hone in on the autumn or fairy theme with colors, prints, or styles evocative of autumn. As usual, everyone brought it in their own way.

Jeannette wore a sweet style yellow dress from the brand The Angelic Forest (which is a Pacific Northwest Indie brand) with a pastel purple, blue, and pink print of mushrooms with a pink blouse and accessories.

Jax wore a black dress with flames on it that they got from The Black Ribbon, which is a US based Indie brand. Jax made themselves look more fae like with elf ears and colored contacts that looked more animal than human. 

Sarah R evoked the spirit of the Amanita/ fly agaric mushroom in her Angelic Pretty red dress with white polka dots. She even wore leg warmers that have a similar visual texture that echo part of the amanita mushroom's stem.

Sarah H was autumn personified while wearing their Metamorphose Gobelin tapestry style print dress, rich with wine red, sage green and other autumn colored flowers with its matching bonnet.

I was going for dark autumn fairy, so I incorporated autumn colors of ivory, black, and wine red with a print of dark roses and butterflies. The dress, blouse, and "apron" is a Classic style dress set you can purchase from the Chinese Indie Brand Sweet Date. 

Ally has an adorable orange Country style outfit from the Chinese Indie brand Strawberry Fantasy. It is the perfect color for autumn and I love how it ties in orange and white gingham accents in the apron, bows, shoulder straps and triangle head scarf in the set. 

Addy is wearing a medium pink and black outfit that has different textures incorporated in it. The whole coordinate is dedicated to a sweet yet slightly edgy look which can be seen in the pink chain of the heart bag, as well as the criss cross straps on the skirt and some of the metal details on her shoes. 

Ren is wearing a black dress with a perfectly dark chartreuse blouse and gold heeled booties. They are also wearing the Black Conjuror's Bow from American indie brand Dandy Puppeteer. 

Sarah, Danielle, and Sarah enjoying tea

Candid of Jax, Jeannette, and Ren enjoying tea

Our tiered tea trays-Photo credit to Jax

The Autumn tea at the Old Lyme Inn was perfectly decorated and of course the menu changed significantly from our last visit in the summer. This time we were able to taste seasonal flavors like root vegetables, cranberry and apple, cinnamon and pumpkin in both savory and sweet delights. I was absolutely unprepared for the amount of horseradish in the ham and cheese sandwiches. It's almost a month later when I am writing this blog post, and I can still not forget how strong it was! Jax made a comment that this is the kind of sandwich their granddad would prefer!

Danielle in front of the fireplace at the Old Lyme Inn

We had a slightly larger party than last time, and the inn's staff was gracious enough to seat us in a room that was a little more private. I could actually have a conversation with everyone in my group (as the tables do tend to get a little loud in the larger room after awhile). We all took turns taking these photographs in front of the fire place before we left for part two of the meeting. This is my demure headdress--so I hope you're paying attention to an important outfit change!

Wee Faery Village Exhibit 

Danielle inside immersive exhibit by Adrien Broom

One wonderful thing that I didn't know about the Wee Fairy Village Exhibit back in August when I planned the meeting, was about this immersive Enchanted Environment that Adrien Broom was tasked with creating inside the museum space as part of the exhibition this year. In Adrien Broom's "Mystical Murmurs: An Enchanted Environment", audiences were invited to "experience the mystical world of the forest and imagine themselves at faerie-scale. Drawing on medieval European folk beliefs and superstitions, faerie-friends are enticed to step inside the colossal mushroom ring, which triggers entrancing songs that infiltrate the circle and seduce guests to dance beyond time."

Honestly, when I saw the darker autumn colors of these larger than life size mushrooms, that's when I decided to wear this outfit as opposed to a mauve and ivory dress that I also own with a fairy print. And then I decided, you know what, I want to wear my duo-horned headdress too to evoke the kind of faery that is mentioned in those medieval European beliefs---trust me they are not all sunshine and roses and can be quite dangerous and deceptive if you don't adhere to certain "rituals of engagement" with them. 

Sarah interacting with the immersive exhibit Photo credit to Jeannette

After exiting the Mystical Murmers portion of the exhibition, we proceeded to the Wee Fairy Village. I will highlight some of my favorite houses from this years exhibit below. This is such a great exhibition for children as well, as every house comes with a little rhyme about something you should try to find in it. I enjoyed Sarah and Jax taking turns reading the guide and finding the items with them. 

Steampunk themed house Photo credit to Jax

You'll get mail...eventually...snail themed frame

Inside hair salon Photo credit to Jax

Aether Aerodome

Mikado house

Back to front: Danielle, Sarah, Ren, Sarah, Jeannette, Jax

Overall we had such a fun time! I did not expect the weather to be so warm, so my outfit was a little hot for me and I was very excited when Jax found a snack shack with cold beverages halfway through the fairy house exhibit!  I would definitely go back to this special exhibit again, especially knowing that it changes every year and that I can get lots of walking in around the museum! I will be sure to plan my outfit around the weather the day I decide to go next time too.