2014 Year in Review

Last year, I had a lot of fun going through old posts and picking the events that were the most memorable and enjoyable, so I figured I would do it again this year! I picked out ten of my favorite fashion or cosplay-related activities from last year to remember. I also shared ten of my favorite coordinates on tumblr, if you want to check them out~

The Getty Center Meetup

At the Getty Center meetup, I met a new local Lolita for the first time, and got to catch up with some LA friends I hadn't seen in a long time. The Getty is where my husband proposed to me, so it has a lot of special memories for me. It was a really great place for a meetup, too--the location is very elegant, and I genuinely enjoy art museums. There was a really cool temporary exhibit with stained glass windows that I liked a lot, in addition to the usual stuff.

Extraordinary Desserts Valentine's Meetup

Since Extraordinary Desserts is a great local specialty, we like to have meetups there every now and then. This year, our Valentine's Day meetup was there, and then my friend showed us to this cute little park. I wore one of my two Sweet-style dresses with a chocolate-themed coordinate.

This was the best picture from the whole meetup--she told us to act like we're grabbing the person whose coordinate we like best on the count of three, and snapped the picture as we moved. EVERYONE wanted her outfit!

Anime Conji

For Anime Conji, we ran two panels, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Everyone looked great and did really well at the panel! We also made some new friends. Running panels at conventions is such a great way to bring people in to the community who might otherwise not know that it exists.

We also made friends with a very nice photographer couple. They came again to the SDCC meetup, and were great both times.

Lolita Weekend in Tijuana

The girls in Tijuana throw amazing events, and this one was no exception! My Lolita Style (the Mexican online community) invited Misako Aoki, the popular Japanese model and Lolita spokesperson, and she did some special panels and Q&A at the tea party as well. We went for two days, with panels on the first day and the tea party on the second. They always do such a lovely job! Honestly, I probably wouldn't go to Mexico at all if it weren't for their amazing hospitality and beautiful parties.

Anime Expo

Anime Expo, the highlight of any anime fan and cosplayer's year! This year was amazing as well. I debuted two new cosplays, Nuriko and Satsuki, and brought Uranus back to great response. I had a very busy AX this year, with running two meetups and organizing my Senshi cosplay group. It was so much fun going to all the panels, and I really loved the positive response that I got with all of my cosplays.

One of the best parts of Anime Expo was being able to meetup with so many of my friends that cosplay. I especially loved doing photos with Aira Masquerade, since we really only get to see each other at conventions! Her Uzu was so amazing. I'm looking forward to doing Assassin with her Fate/stay night group this year.

Comic-Con

San Diego Comic-Con is a special convention for me, since it's local and the convention that I staff (volunteer staff). My sister came from out of state for two days during the convention as well, which made it extra fun. I cosplayed two days, and wore Lolita the other two.

Highlight of the convention--finding (and immediately buying) a Sailor Neptune body pillow. My waifu is real~

Sunday was our big annual Fashion Walk, this year to Seaport Village. Bridget and I wore matching coordinates as the organizers, both because it was fun and to make us easy to find.There were so many lovely people that came to the event.

Moon Crisis Art Show

Who doesn't like an excuse to cosplay? We used the Moon Crisis Art Show as a good reason to get dressed up and go somewhere fun. After the event was over, my good friend Xanadu wanted to try out her camera on us, so we did a impromptu photoshoot in the dark with the beautiful full moon.

Disneyland Lolita Day

Another new yearly tradition for me is Disneyland Lolita Day! Like Dapper Days and Bat's Day, it's an "unofficial official" event at the park, for Lolitas. This year I did a Disneybound coordinate with a Jack Skellington theme, and finally went to meet the Marvel guys in Tomorrowland.

Pacific Media Expo

The guest of honor this year at PMX was Innocent World, so Yumi Fujiwara was the guest of honor at the tea party and fashion show! She was really lovely and soft-spoken, and had such a ladylike sensibility. I asked her if she had any pets, and she said that she has as small dog and two goldfish!

At first I was kind of annoyed that I couldn't really come up with anything super fancy, but at the event I was actually glad that I didn't go for a super OTT coordinate. Fujiwara-san seems to like more understated themes, so I think that it ended up working well.

Then, of course, there was the fashion show! This was my second year modeling, and I was so excited to be modeling for my favorite brand, Alice and the Pirates. The BABY staff picked an amazing pirate outfit for me, and I had so much fun wearing it.

All of the other BABY/AatP models were really lovely--some were my friends already, but I also made some new friends. I also made friends with a few of the Innocent World models, and my makeup artist. The show went really well, and I really hope I'll be able to do it again next year.

Chantilly Holiday Meetup

Fairytale Boutique planned a lovely Christmas meetup with the designer of Enchantlic Enchantilly, Fumiko. I didn't have much of a chance to try to talk to Fumiko-san, but I did get to meet some new LA girls which was a fun.

Overall, 2014 was an excellent year for fashion and cosplay. I also got to do a lot of non-hobby related things--I traveled to Russia with my family, made Thanksgiving dinner for my husband's family all by myself, and so much more. I made lots of new friends, completed so many projects, and celebrated three years with my amazing, patient husband.

Thank you, 2014!