Planning a Tea Party: Part Two

Types of Afternoon Tea

Full Tea

This is what Americans think of as a "high tea". Full tea is often served on a three tiered tray with a variety of light snacks, including savory as well as sweet.

Full teas are typically served with:

• Variety of Tea
• I prefer a Chai blend, but if you want to serve a traditional array of tea, go for:
• Assam- A malty flavored Indian tea
• Earl Grey- A blend of black tea with bergamot oil that gives it a licorice flavor (and Jean-Luc Picard's favorite)
• Darjeeling- Another Indian tea with a hint of almond
• Lapsang Souchong- A Chinese tea that is dried over smoking pine needles
• You can choose your own favorite, but consider how the flavor will work with your food choices. If you're having a lot of rich flavors, I might not go with a green tea. However, a white tea, or floral tea, would be a light flavor to counter the richness of any rich food you might serve.

• Scones
• Sweet, vanilla scones served with clotted cream and jam
• Savory scones served with butter

• Finger Sandwiches
• Cucumber and cream cheese
• Smoked salmon
• Chicken or egg salad

• Miniature Savory Snacks
• Quiche
• Soup

• Deserts
• Petite fours
• Brownies
• Miniature Cakes

Light Tea

A few steps down from the full tea, the light tea is served with scones, clotted cream, preserves, and a variety of small deserts. If you don't have the means to serve a full tea, the light tea is the best choice. You can still have the elegance, without the expense or as much effort.

Cream Tea

A cream tea is well suited for a small gathering. Only tea and scones, with clotted cream and preserves, are served with this tea. It's perfect for an afternoon refresher before or after a meet up.

Good Tea Brands

• Teavana
• Lupicia
• Numi
• Harney and Sons
• Taylors of Harrogate
• Tazo

Recipes and Tutorials

• Petite fours
• Scones
• Tea Sandwiches
• Mini Quiche
• Clotted Cream
• Lemon Curd
• Preparing different types of tea

Thank you for reading! I'm sorry it took so long to get this post up, please check out the first post in this series and read about the History of the Tea Party.

-Lunette <3

Layering Hair Accessories

One of the features of the OTT look in Lolita, whether it be sweet or classic, is all the layers of hair accessories. If you want to attempt it, I suggest you get a large wig to help balance the proportions on your head.

        

Stephanie(Vanilla Milk) in her Lady Rose OP

Stephanie used several roses, bows, and birds to make this layering happen. She wore a hime style wig to keep the accessories from overwhelming her head. The mint bows and pearl drape were handmade by me, the birds are available in crafts stores that have a floral section, as well as the roses, and there's a pink chocomint, plastic, bow clip with a crystal drop.

 

Wunderfluff in her Decoration Dream JSK

Wunderfluff isn't wearing a wig this time, instead she accommodates all of her accessories with a handmade bonnet. The bow in the middle is the Decoration Dream headbow, the candies were handmade by me(it wasn't my intention to make my accessories the trend of this post lol), the gems are just stickers you can find in the scrapbooking section of craft stores, and it is balanced out with a pink bow on her right side.

Thebitchyteadrinker looking fabulous in pink.

Thebitchyteadrinker's hair accessories include bonnets, rose crowns, strawberry clips, bear ears, star clips, pearls, and yes, that is a tea cup she's wearing on her head. I love her love of accessories. She is the kind of person who always wonders, "Can I put this on my head?" Often the answer is, "I'm totally putting that on my head."

Jordana(right) combines black roses and a veil for a dramatic Gothic coordinate. I think the gray wig was the perfect choice to contrast all the black layers on her head without sacrificing any of the somber tones of her look.

Jordana also has her own Lolita shop! Check out Mossbadger for some beautiful and unique accessories.





Sweetlyspooky also uses black roses in a goth coord, but she went in the punk direction with the skeleton hands and center bow. The symmetry gives the silhouette of having one large bow on her head.


 Thank you for reading! If you have a coord you love, please send it to me at lovelylunette at gmail so I can use it in a future post.

-Lunette <3

Lolita Blog Carnival: 3 Things I Would Never Wear in Lolita

DISCLAIMER: I'm not going to apologize for every single thing I don't personally prefer in my own wardrobe. If you like these things, then that is awesome! I could very well change my mind in the future. It's all *personal* preference.

My style tends to be all over the place. I make most of my pieces, so when I see a fabric I really like, I just go with it. Though, I tend to lean towards dark colors. So, it was hard for me to think of things I wouldn't wear, considering I'm willing to try almost anything once.

Baby/Toy Prints

I consider the fashion I wear an expression of myself. I'm that person who doesn't care for children, can't tell them apart, and refuses to have any. Wearing a toy print would go against my personality.

Plus, Lolitas have a hard enough time trying to convince people we aren't age-players. Wearing a toy print doesn't make it any easier.

Huge Pony Fall Wigs

Here is an example of how I've changed my mind over time. I own a huge, pony falls wig. I bought it from Gothic Lolita Wigs for $40ish. I find it to be too heavy for my head, and after a while it really starts to bother me. It's hard to maintain as well. It gets tangled into a rats nest if I look at it the wrong way.

My issue with the trend over all, is that it's over done. Huge, pony falls wigs are like a new song on the radio. You love it at first, you buy the album, put the song on repeat. Eventually, you are tired of that song, but you can't escape it. It just keeps playing.

I like having a base to layer a bunch of hair accessories, but I think at this point I'll just get a hime wig to achieve the same look.

On a similar vein, I won't wear a bright wig either. I would wear one that has natural color blended in, but a bright pink or mint wig is not for me. Especially one that's one half bright pink and one half mint.

OTT BtSSB

I like the look on other people, but the OTT dresses that Baby releases just don't do it for me. Just stuff on stuff on stuff. 3 layers of ruffles, 4 kinds of ribbon that make up the 20 bows sewn on the bodice and all over skirt, and miles of pintucks. It's just too much. And the price reflects to work involved in the detail, I can appreciate it, but I can't drop $600-$1200 on a dress that I can't wear to the mall for a meet.

I think a dress like this is more of a party dress. Wear it to an evening party or a high tea event, but other than that it would just sit in my closet like a wedding dress.

 

 Thanks for reading! Please check out what other people wouldn't wear:

What The Fluff!
Under the Parasol
Northern Star
The Literary Lolita
New Vogue Children
The Twinkle Boss

-Lunette<3

Etiquette of the Lolita Meet-up

Meet-ups are a central part of a Lolita community, and a Western phenomenon that developed outside of Japan. One thing I've encountered with a new Lolita is their desire to jump right into their local community and attend meet-ups or host their own. However, their enthusiasm is usually crushed by insecurity, shyness, self doubt, or the worry that they will be stepping on the toes of more established members.

It's normal to feel that way and it isn't easy to find your niche in a community that has already been created and has been existing for several years before you joined. I hope I can give you some helpful advice in hosting and attending your local meet ups.




Basic Etiquette for Hosting

• Always follow the rules of the community you have joined regarding the creation or attendance of meets. For example, in my local community, we prefer if you check with the hostess before bringing a guest that isn't a member of the community.
• Be reliable
• Don't be late to your own meet
• It helps if you open a line of communication, such as a phone number
• If you're eating somewhere, be sure to provide, in the description of the meet, whether it's vegetarian friendly, gluten free, etc
• Be aware of when others are hosting events and pick a day that is free. If you feel that yours has to be a set date, send the other hostess a message and discuss it with her. She might be able to reschedule, and if she can't, respect it. Either compromise a reschedule, or have two meets on one day and let people choose.

Basic Etiquette for Attending

• If you have a problem with the restaurant/venue, especially for a large event, go through the proper channels. It is super rude to bypass the hostess to complain or request special things from a restaurant or venue. Let her know, calmly and politely, what your needs are. Do not assume she already knows your needs, don't feign an emergency situation(like if you eat gluten you have to go to the hospital), and if she can't meet your needs you can politely ask for a refund and not attend the event. That's it. No one is under any obligation to cater to you specifically.
• If you plan on making a big announcement, let the hostess know. Even if it's super secret, tell her that you plan on making one, just don't say what. It can be frustrating if you're trying to make the whole day go smoothly(especially if there is a schedule) if someone suddenly demands speaking time and the attention of the whole room. 
• Fashionably late is only a thing at large parties. If people are waiting on you to move to the next venue, it's rude to be late. From my experience, I've waited on people for a few hours. Not fun. Don't be surprised if they move on without you.
• If you have something to say that isn't so nice, wait until you leave to say it. The car is usually a safe place, not the bathroom. You never know who will be listening.
• Be self aware and aware of the others around you. No one likes an attention hog.
• If you don't plan on attending a meet, or you aren't paying close attention to it anyway, don't RSVP "yes". In most situations it is totally okay to put "maybe". Don't be a flake or a phony.
• In public places, act with decorum. People already assume some crazy things about you because of what you're wearing. This probably isn't the time to loudly state the names of genitals.
• The hostess is allowed to set a dress code, if you wish to attend do your best to respect it. If there is something hindering you from completely following it, let the hostess know and ask for her thoughts. 
• Note: For clarity, if the meet is strictly Lolita, but all you have is Dolly Kei, etc.
• If you slip up and feel you have been rude, privately apologize to the person, or people, you think you've wronged. Own your actions and take responsibility. 

Basically, if you're honest, genuine, and keep others in mind, you shouldn't have a problem. Thanks for reading! <3 Lunette

My Favorite, Non-Tradional Kimono Snaps

All images taken from Tokyo Fashion

-Lunette <3

Lolita Links

As much as I hate it when blogs just link to a bunch of links, I'm afraid I'll have to do it. F Yeah Lolita already made a huge list of tutorials that are specifically made for Lolita: Click here

But, what I can do is link to a few patterns you can buy in craft stores that might be helpful:

Simplicity

Dresses

• 1353 Leanne Marshall
• 1606 Amazing Fit
• 1652 Amazing Fit
• 1688 Cynthia Rowley
• 2176 Project Runway

Other

• 2777 Bloomers
• 4092 Rococo
• 4136 Dorothy

McCalls

• M6770 Ruffle Apron and Aristocrat Jacket
• M4698 Cape

Burda

• Vintage Lace Blouse
• Blouse with Neck Bow

Of course, these aren't all the possible patterns you can buy and of course you will most likely have to alter them to fit the Lolita aesthetic. Take a look through the Fyeahlolita blog to get a good idea on what you would have to change to the patterns you choose to buy.

If you have any more questions, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer it!

<3 Lunette

                                          

MomoCon 2014

Thank you all for attending my panel on Intro to Lolita Fashion! I promised I would have links up, and I will very soon! Please keep checking back and feel free to add me on Facebook <3