A Late Overview of a CGL Meet-Up

Hello cuties! As you all will soon find out, I tend to be a terrible procrastinator. I think one reason I wanted to start this blog in the first place was to start a new habit with regularity (which has gone so well, so far, heh). In any case, I attended a meet-up with the Colorado Gothic & Lolita Society in early January (January 2nd, to be precise) called "Frillies At the Zoo!", my first meet up in proper Lolita (unlike what I wore to a meet-up I attended 4-5 years ago, mentioned in a previous post). It was held at the the Denver Zoo and included a walk through an event called "Zoo Lights" and a trip to a little cafe nearby. Let's get started!

Several days befor the meet-up, I worked rather hard to lolify a dress from the taobao site Red Queen, which I had bought at an anime convention last September. It was a bit too short for Lolita, so I ended up adding some ruffles, and removing some decorations I thought were unnecessary to the dress. I was a bit nervous, but I ended up getting it ready just in time. I also would be wearing fake eyelashes for the first time, aside from wearing some at a New Year's party even two nights previous. I meant to bring my parasol with me as well, but I forgot last-minute.

Here's what I wore to the meet-up! I went the Gothic style route this time around. It was taken after I got home. Not an excellent quality pic, but it will do...

I ended up wearing a cape to the meet-up as well. I was really glad I did after it got dark, as it can get really cold at night in Colorado, compared to the sunshine we're lucky to get during the day!

I arrived a little earlier at the zoo than others, as some of them had some issues with traffic, so I ended up waiting a few minutes before I sited any other lolis. It was actually also my first time wearing Lolita in public, so I was a bit nervous, but I felt rather comfortable after only a couple of minutes. When I finally did meet up with the other girls, we introduced ourselves, and I could barely contain myself - everyone looked so cute! I had already purchased my tickets, so when everyone we knew would be there at that time had shown up (we began around 3:30, but the zoo would shut down for a few hours in preparation for the Zoo Lights part of the night), I waited as everyone else got tickets, and we began to meander around the zoo. We got through a pretty good portion of the zoo before it started getting ready to close, including the big cat buildings, and foxes, and the reptile house.

By that time, it was getting a little chilly out, and we had a little time before the zoo would re-open, so we headed to a cute little cafe only a couple of blocks away from the zoo (I believe it was called "Under the Umbrella"). One lolita and her boyfriend were sweet enough to let me ride to and back from the cafe with them in their car, who is also one of the group's facebook admins, and it was nice to talk one on one with her about her experience with Lolita. After we got there, we all got something to eat and drink, and were able to talk a bit more with each other face to face than while wandering the zoo. I ended up getting a quiche and a soda, and then a mocha to keep me going and warm me up. Everyone I met was very kind and welcoming, and one thing that was nice was there were lolitas of all lengths of experience there. It was also really, really wonderful to talk with others in person out loud about the brands and clothes I had been obsessing over primarily in solitude for the past year or so. Having the internet for meeting other lolitas is great, but it's hard to replace being able to be around other who share your interest in person.

Group photo compliments of one of the lovely girls over at the CGL facebook page. The lighting was a bit off because of the time and location of the meet-up, but I think it was still worth it!

After the cafe, we went back to the zoo to meet with the others before starting the Zoo Lights walk. Again, there were so many well-dressed lolis there, and it was a pleasure to meet every single one of them! We started to walk around when the majority of us had gathered. The lights were really lovely, even after the holiday season, and I was able to exchange information about buying services and all manner of things, and just chat in general. I also learned through the walk that walking in a large group of lolitas can feel a bit like herding cats. XD We had a few opportunities for photos, and eventually we came to an inside area, where there were still animals awake and on display. We lingered for a bit there waiting for more of our group, and to warm up, before we moved on further through the zoo, eventually getting back around to the reptile house. Even though it was a bit crowded inside, we had a great time looking at all the different animals. Here and there, a few lolis needed to leave for the night, and after we finished going through the reptile house, we started making our way toward the front of the zoo to say goodbye and disperse. It sounded like some of the others were going to go somewhere else afterward, but I unfortunately needed to leave for the night, so I gave out some of my cards with my info on them before departing.

Compliments, again, of one of the members at the CGL facebook page. Awkwardly figuring out where everyone would go made this picture a lot of fun to take. XD

After attending this meet up, I'm sort of sad that I will be moving away from Denver in the next few months. I really wish I had gotten into Lolita more and tried to get into the scene earlier than this year, but I exchanged contact info with several of the people who attended - my hopes are that I can still keep in contact with some of them after I leave, and hopefully start some new friendships in the community local to where I'll be moving soon!