I went to AB about a month ago! I meant to write this post afterwards but kind of had forgotten I set this up. Anyways, this was my first time wearing lolita outside my house, lol. I was really excited to meet the other girls in my local comm, Boston Gothic & Lolita. I actually had tried to go to a secret santa meet nearly 2 years before, but it was snowing that day and I was unable to go to the meet, then for about a year afterwards I was a bit afraid to go out. Mostly because I was unsure with my coords and every time a meet came up I wasn't really ready - I didn't have good shoes, or I didn't have a blouse I liked, I wasn't happy with the coord I came up with, the accessories I wanted didn't come in time, etc. When I started buying lolita pieces I was also slow to buy in general so when I had 2-3 main pieces I didn't have a complete coordinate ready at any given moment - definitely a noob mistake I think and these days I encourage other girls getting into lolita to get 2 or 3 pieces that can have interchangeable accessories, shoes, blouses, etc. so you can get a few different coords out of them.
Anyways, I was pretty satisfied with what was my first complete coordinate at this point this year so I decided to bring it out for the con and also sign up to be the gothic model for the comm's Lolita 101 panel. I was so excited to be picked but was worried it would be awkward since I didn't know anyone. However, I think it was a really nice way for me to meet people in the comm, just talking to some of the other models. I almost had a meltdown that morning on my way to the panel though; I thought I had gotten ready early enough but Anime Boston has these goddamn bag checks that I completely forgot about and I didn't really have time to go around another entrance/other entrances were closed because it was a bit early - like 9:45 AM. I thought I would get to the panel early in no time but I just got there with roughly 5 minutes to spare before it started at 10. Definitely leaving much earlier next time to account for walking time + waiting time to get into the convention. The panel itself went really nicely I think, and there were also many more people than from what I remember in last year's panel (though I was told that last year's panel had a bunch of mishaps, so it wasn't the greatest.) Last year it seemed like just 1/3 of the room was full, this year it was almost entirely full! I was surprised too just because of how early it was - I was worried not a lot of people would be in attendance because the panel was starting at 10 AM, but I was proved wrong! Lots of young girls, newbies, and people from the comm there to watch and give support. Afterwards people hung around taking photos. Didn't get a photo of everyone, but here are some snaps of people's coordinates after the panel:
After the panel, some of us went out to lunch at Max Brenner's, this really cool chocolate themed restaurant on Boylston St. I know it's a chain, so if you have one near you that you haven't been to, definitely check it out! I got a panini (which was super delicious) and because I was a little stuffed and not up for a full desert, a banana hazelnut milkshake. It was super rich and flavorful, you could really taste the hazelnut. Kiki, one of the mod's of the comm, got a salted caramel milkshake which I took a sip of, also pretty ace. I also tried a little of the fondue two of the girls (Jaydah and another girl whose name I didn't catch unfortunately) at my table ordered! Definitely would like to try one of the bigger desert items next time - I've got my eye on those waffles. Gratuitous photos of the restaurant and yummy food:
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| me and kiki! |
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| me and leah! |
We were there for roughly...two, two and a half hours? I don't think we got back to the con until 2 PM. We all kind of split up after that, I ended up walking around the artist alley and dealer's room with one of the friends I made that day, Leah! While walking around I also was able to buy a necklace and some earrings that matched my coord. All in all I had a really great time and couldn't wait for the next meet. I look forward to future gatherings and meeting more people from BGALS :)
A selfie and coord photo to end the post:
- Kristi
