Cherry Blossom Festival

Wooster Square's 51st Cherry Blossom Festival

Danielle & Pahl posing under the blossoms

Now I've known for a long time that the Historic Wooster Square neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut has a cherry blossom festival every year. It's even listed in a National Geographic article about "Best places in the United States to view cherry blossoms". The park itself isn't even 20 minutes from my house. But when this festival happens, traffic stops and it's very challenging to get in or around the festival. You might as well plan to park at IKEA and walk eight minutes under the overpass to get to the park, as parking is VERY LIMITED and often zoned for residents only. Luckily some of Pahl's family are residents of the neighborhood, and they were able to lend us a parking pass so we didn't have to walk too far. 

Most of the cherry blossoms this year were at peak bloom during the festival. The weather was sunny for a bit, but then it became overcast, and even rained a little. There were HUNDREDS of people at the park, surrounding the park and on side streets taking photos with the blossoms. There was also a blocked off street filled with 14 different food trucks, with lines wrapping around each truck onto the sidewalk. There were different bands playing about every hour of the festival in a staged area with fold out plastic chairs near the center of the park. There were also lots of info tables set up in different areas of the park to educate visitors about the different ways they could get involved with the community and giving out free swag like tote bags and pens. 

Pahl's family and some of our mutual friends brought picnic blankets and snacks to share. We sat out on the grass together. It wasn't exactly like a traditional hanami or cherry blossom viewing because of all the extra stuff going on with the food trucks, the band, the info tables, and the hundreds of people walking around. (When I studied in Japan almost 20 years ago, I did attend hanami at an ancient Buddhist temple--and it was much quieter and people were mostly sitting with small groups drinking canned cocktails and eating snacks). 

Danielle, Pahl, and Whitney on the blanket

Looking off into the distance while the petals of my skirt float in the wind

Since I had the luxury of close parking and a protective escort, I went really over the top with my look for the festivities. I chose to wear the Alice Girl ~ Bloody Rose Gothic Lolita Dress JSK set in the light pink. I've been slowly adding more pink goth or shiro (white) goth looks to my alt wardrobe as sometimes I still want to be goth, but not all in black. What makes this particular set gothic as opposed to sweet is the cut of the bodice (which unfortunately you can't see in my photo because it was too cold for me to wear it with the matching bolero yet), the type of pink (it's more of a mauve pink--not saccharine at all), the skirt is a short tiered ruffle with the texture of brocade roses on it with an additional train that looks kind of like trailing gauze with wine red roses attached to it. Ethereal looking "petals" uniquely fit around the waist adding an air of mystery.

I decided to repeat the pale pink and the wine red colors in the rest of my accessories to put the look together. The Red Maria ~ Lace Printed Bow 80D tights in Wine Red are definitely a bold move that helps move the eye from my rose head dress to the roses on the skirt then to the legs and back again. The pale pink platform shoes are actually the very first pair of shoes I I ever bought for this fashion. They are probably 3 inches high but fairly comfortable. They have pink bat wings with heart rivets around them on the top. If you could see the bodice of my outfit, you would know there were also pale pink bat wings on it as well. Any print or design with bats is a sure sign it is a gothic outfit.  

But here's a curveball. The cardigan is actually a sweet style. Again, it's one of the earlier pieces I purchased for myself before I knew what I really wanted and how to get it. It's a very soft light pink with white hearts between the buttons. And it's insanely warm to boot. It was perfect for the unpredictable weather of the day. 

Lacking a wine red or light pink bag, I opted for my beige violin. I swear this bag gets the most action and is a fan favorite. I will be wearing the most over the top outfit possible and someone will say, "I love your bag!"  I'm not sure if that is because that is all they feel comfortable seeing, or if that's truly the best thing about my outfit whenever I wear it with my coordinate. I'm not going to dwell on this. 

Pahl putting together historical fashions from different time periods

Pahl looks dapper in his green and gray outfit. He is wearing a white shirt, the Regency style waistcoat I got him for Christmas, striped gray and black pants with black shoes and a slightly different striped pattern for his spats which I believe are more Victorian era. He leans on a nice wooden cane with a working metal compass and small range telescope (probably a steampunk accessory), and wears an early American style tailcoat, straw boater, and floral bow tie. He appreciates when others dress fully historical, but he's a well-dressed punk through and through. 

Most people felt much more comfortable approaching Pahl and complimenting us on our outfits together, but there were a few brave people that knew that I was wearing Japanese street fashion and complimented me on my coordinate. 

One of the reasons I had to wear this outfit was because the colors match the cherry blossoms so well

A slightly different view of my full coordinate. I must admit, I do look intimidating in this one.

If you get up close, you can see my makeup is kind of sweet

Pahl's glamor shot as it starts to rain

This outfit took me a long time to put on. The skirt is especially layer heavy and does need to be floofed between each layer to get it to lie correctly. But it was amazing to walk around in it. I felt like Venus, embodying the goddess of Love and Beauty spreading the joy of the coming of Spring around the park and surrounding areas. I look forward to wearing the bodice and skirt and all its pieces again in the warmer months and styling it a little differently.