Lavender Pond Farm Meetup

A Whimsical Photoshoot

Danielle, Sarah, and Marisa

After the success of the Florence Griswold Museum meetup, I talked to other members about what they might like to see or experience in September. Someone told me that they had tried a couple of times to host a meetup at the Lavender Pond Farm in Killingworth, CT, but they had to cancel it twice over once because of COVID and a second time because it was too hot. Now the Lavender Pond Farm is free admittance, but during peak bloom season they would normally charge a photographer fee for taking photos at their farm. The peak season is about May-July, so we were well within the FREE everything mark. Unfortunately though, by waiting until September they had already put away their little white electronic train that gives you a tour around the farm. (Don't worry, it's not a big place for adults...it just would have been cool to take photos on the train).  The farm is set up for many little photo shoot areas though. This tree that we are sitting under has a circular bench built around it. There's even little sit down gardens, a labyrinth, a "child-life-size" chess set, a romantic looking gazebo, a pond with a fairy garden next to it, and a small bridge to a shaded picnic area under some trees. Overall it's a fantastic place to stop with your family on a nice day. There's a shop too, with lavender themed gifts, spices, tea, jewelry, plants, etc. At least by September when there's not as many people going to the farm daily...they offer in store discounts. 

 The coordinate suggestion for this meetup included ideas like country lolita or anything that is lavender. To be completely honest, I really wanted to pull off a true classic look for the first time; but at this point all I had that read as "classic" was the bloomers and the semi-sheer peignoir. Fortuitously, about 3 weeks before this meetup, someone on my community's forum was just giving away things from their closet and this beige skirt was one of the items they were giving away. I then built the rest of my outfit through things you can purchase on Amazon, including the purple shirt, bonnet, gloves, and parasol. The socks were a pair of beige honeycomb trouser socks my mom had bought for me a long time ago that I stashed in a drawer for about 15 years. They came two sets to a pack, but one of the socks ripped open when I put my foot in it, so it's good I had extras to work with. And of course I wore my light colored oxfords as shoes. 

Sarah's outfit also reads as classic, but it's very clever how she put so many different prints together. The skirt and black boots could almost read as gothic, but then she paired it with the plaid vest and a shirt with a bit of extra flounce at the neck and wrist cuffs. She actually had two different headpieces; one was a half bonnet that matched the print on the skirt (which she only wore when we were under the gazebo) and the lightweight hat in the photo that has an almost cloche shape with a panama feel. 

Marisa identifies mainly as a Sweet style lolita. So she was following the lavender theme with more typical sweet colors like pastel pink and purple accents. She coordinates this jumper skirt dress really well. The jsk has a hibiscus pink and purple flower design that she pairs with a half sleeve purple chiffon shirt, a purple waist belt, two different pastel purple socks, pink shoes, and a purple beret with a pink bow attached to it. 

After I saw both of their outfits, I felt like mine still needed serious work.  I later found out that the beige skirt that I wore, is actually listed as an "underskirt" on a site that sells it. An underskirt should technically be worn under a dress or a jumper skirt over a petticoat...not as the main skirt. So I felt like I had committed a bit of a fashion faux pas in that regards. I still wear it now, but not as a main piece as it is quite comfortable and lightweight, especially since it's mostly cotton. 

A beautiful blue dragonfly landed on my parasol just as we arrived. Marisa was able to take this photo on her phone while I held up the parasol for the dragonfly.