My Little Pony Fair 2011 in Rhode Island!

This past Saturday was the official My Little Pony Fair and Convention in Pawtucket, Rhode Island! I went with my dear friend Victoria of Parfait Doll and met up with Lindsay of Pretty Pop Designs! We all got in our pastel best and headed to the Hasbro Factory for some fun with all the Equestria girls and more

There were many fun sights and sounds at this so called Pony Con, but the point was really to bring on the nostalgia and magic of these incredibly simple but yet beautiful toys. Basically this was all held in a large room where multiple booths or "stables" as they were called would be set up where you could buy anything related to MLP you wanted. There were older ponies, newer ponies, tiny ponies - pony watches, pony bags and even as you can see pony chocolate candies!

There were lots of contests to be had like custom made ponies (one of them showed here), a costume contest, even one for stables! There were even some small panels and discussions. The best of the panels was one held by Hasbro where they unveiled some new details for the coming toy season and more. My only complaint as I've been to multiple conventions is the lack of activities outside of the "Fair". Personally if they want this convention to be even more successful I think it'd be best to involve more workshops and panels that are in seperate rooms. Something I know I would have enjoyed is a panel strictly about Friendship is Magic (the new TV series) and possibly talking to voice actors and the creator. But this is something I think Hasbro can work slowly to getting right and eventually it'll become a much more successful event on that regard.

So the verdict? I would definitely go to the My Little Pony Fair again but only if it was nearby. I don't think this is the sort of convention to invest a lot of your time into unless it grows more in size or is given more of a convention feel. Our drive to Rhode Island was about 2 and a half hours but was definitely worth it and I would go to it again if it was in a location just as close. But unless you really truly are a big MLP fanatic then this isn't exactly something to get tide in a knot over. I would highly recommend it for the Nostalgia but otherwise it just depends on your taste!

So curious, are any of you big MLP fans? Do you collect ponies? Write a comment below!

Anime Next 2011: A Little Frilly Adventure

A few weeks ago I went on a surprise adventure with a few of my new and old friends to New Jersey. The occasion? Anime Next, an annual convention and one of the biggest in the tri-state next to New York Anime Fest. The convention was full of improvements from the first year I went back in 2006, including a new location that I had never been to and a much more easy to find set up! The best part about Anime Next though? Lots of Lolita friendly events! Though I didn't get to go to all of them I did go to some and the ones that I made my way to were very special memories I'll keep with me forever.

First off it's best to note the guests that were in attendance at the convention. Kanon (from An Cafe) and Mr.Sakurai (a fellow journalist and lover of japanese pop culture) were making the trip to Jersey bringing with them a love of Lolita and Jrock to the event. Also the h.Naoto spin off brand Sixh was there, selling tons of clothes and even having their own fashion show. But the one I was the most excited for? Yu Kimura. You might know this adorable idol from Kera Magazine and I'll be honest that she's my favorite model and one of my lolita inspirations. With that in mind I just had to go to Anime Next!

My first stop at the con was going to Kanon and Sakurai's panel. Though I had been to one of their panels before at Otakon of last year, this was a treat to get to hear them speak again. I asked them if they were wearing Alice and the Pirates that day to which I got a very enthusiastic yes! The rest of the questions were about Kanon's An Cafe work and some cosplay related questions. Though these were really things of my interest it was neat to hear them speak about anything.

Then came time for the Tea Party. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to go since usually I'm a bit more into going to fandom events at conventions then more fashion events, but I changed my mind when I started to follow the crowd of frilly girls into a supposed "secret area". We continued to walk down the Double Tree Hotel's hallway and noticed further and further that we weren't going to any normal location. Turns out we were going to the Presidential Suite of the hotel which has always been a dream of mine to go into!

Inside a whole party was set up for us with tons of sweets and varieties of tea. The best part was seeing them being put out for us by Kanon and Mr.Sakurai himself. We entered into the tiny kitchen of the suite and there you could see Kanon preparing the treats onto plates for us and sort of just hanging out when finished. For me this was the best treat of all, getting to see a fashion celebrity that I admired just relaxing with us and being a normal person when he would be thought of to be otherwise.

Then we were told to enter the social area of the suite. Unfortunately it seemed the hosts weren't expecting that many people to come to the party so not everyone had a chair, but Kanon tried his best to make up for it by carrying chairs to the rest of us who didn't have one. I can't exactly put into words who cool it was to have Kanon personally bring you a chair, it's one of those moments that'll stick with me for a long time. Next Mr.Sakurai asked us what we do in terms of our Lolita lifestyles which was really neat to speak of with him. I sort of wished there had been a few less people or enough space for us to even more intimately speak with him on such things but the amount of interaction we got was amazing and more then I ever would have thought possible.We then proceeded to take lots of pictures and even had a special appearance by Yu Kimura herself, who was completely decked out in Angelic Pretty's French Cafe. I even got a special picture with Mr.Sakurai and Kanon by myself!

Later on in the day I got to meet Yu Kimura again. I did get two pictures with her but they are on my friends camera and hopefully I can post them here soon since they are pictures I'll treasure forever. Ms.Kimura is beyond the sweetest girl I've met. I told her how much she means to me as a Lolita and how I only came to the convention to see her, which then she replied with the biggest smile and a big hug! I even got her CD which is adorable and I definitely recommend getting. I also was lucky enough to see her mini concert during The Masquerade and she did a great job.

Overall Anime Next was a great experience and if they get more cool guests like this next year I'll totally go again for sure. One more thing to note, I decided right after the convention to send a thank you tweet to Ms.Kimura. I just so happened luckily enough to get a response:

Dreams really do come true sometimes~!

Otakon: The Frillz-Con

My 7th Otakon just passed. It was glorious to say the least. The best thing is this years Otakon had an incredible amount of frills to share and to be celebrated. With guests such as goth/punk lolita designer H.naoto and model/musician kanon, along with tons of events (two fashion shows, a swap meet and a panel on natural j-fashion) it was definitely the frilliest of cons to happen this year.

Though many of us from the East Coast have been jealous of the West Coast and French girls for getting so many fabulous events, we finally got a bit more of a taste of the con culture cattering to our interests. The best I could say came from Kinokuniya Bookstore's brand booth, sponsored by my favorite magazine Kera. Featuring my two favorite brands, Angelic Pretty and Baby, along with punk brands Sex Pot Revenge and Black Peace Now, this was the place to shop at. Sadly, the prices were extremely jacked up, but I did manage to make one purchase. I got myself one of AP's glitter bow hair barettes that went with Jelly Jewelry oh so perfectly.

The other booth that was amazing was none other then h.naoto's own spot. Selling from very trimmed down to regularly priced items, I made my first official h.naoto purchase and fell in love with his designs. The purchase was a heart shaped purse, decorated in lace and Alice in Wonderland elements. I found out some interesting information, h.Naoto is trying to bring more awareness to a Western market and is trimming his prices to make a better profit. Though not my favorite brand, I'm glad to know naoto is taking a notice to our wallet size and interest in purchasing the real deal rather then knock-offs because of the price. My purse, which would usually cost $70 - $100, only cost a nice $40 with taxes. So yes girls, there is hope for reasonably priced brand soon!

Both Fashion Shows were fantastic as well. I helped with the Ultimate Fashion Show this year, and other then a annoying techniqual difficulty on part with the technology (which will be fixed for next year.), it went great. The designs themselves were great. My personal favorite was The Moby Dick Print by Morrigan NYC along with all the work by Perinth and I Do Declare!

h.Naoto's show was a great mixture of his more sophisticated punk pieces with some lolita elements. One piece I truly am craving is an almost jsk piece with a black laced hoodie attached. Naoto then went to discuss his design theories, and his wished adventures to the infamous Hooters, which brought in a big laugh. But truly, it was the best Lolita fashion show I had ever been to in my Lolita life. Though Fashion Festa was amazing to see Angelic Pretty, this was an experience that has yet to be matched.

Then came the Swap Meet. Though I unfortunately attended too late this year, I was able to snag a great deal on a piece I had wanted, for only $60 and a two item swap. It's a red plaid jumperskirt piece from Baby, with an amazing amount of shirring and a bustle to die for (my two favorite things in lolita.)

The best though came from the Artist Alley. Infamous and adorable jewelry designer Minty Mix was one of the stars, selling what I happen to think is her best products ever. From candy hair clips, to cupcake and parfait necklace you'd hope were edible, these items are the cutest to have ever been seen. Other great artists on hand included Lolita's n Cream and Oh So Melissa.

Truly, all of the frills was a sight and a joy to say. I've already booked my room for Otakon 2011, in hopes that it will be another great year of friends, frills and smiles all weekend long. The next big event for La Vida Frills is New York Comic Con/Anime Fest, where I might be doing some special things (keep you posted.)

If you'd like to see the other photos from this year, you can check out my Flickr set here. There also will be a vlog video post soon (One my laptop is fixed so I can go ahead and edit the footage.)

Also, I think it's about time for a new movie review. Don't you? Here's a clip from the next post coming up.

(Photo of I Do Declare from Best Photography)