Paradiso Decadence Adventure Report Part 2

Welcome to the second installment of my Paradiso 2019 summary!

This report will be divided into two parts as well. The first half, I will be talking about Day 2's morning at the Miniature Museum, while the second half will contain my thoughts on the Tea Party in the afternoon. Let's get to it!

Day 2 - Morning

We woke up at 6AM and were barely ready on time for our trip to the Kansas City Museum of Toys and Miniatures at 10AM. I never get up that early, so it was a bit of a challenge to get ready while being so tired. We managed to get there on time but, because we only had 10 out of 30 people, we ended up starting the tour quite late. There was so much to see, even if they only took us to see the museum highlights.  I would honestly recommend saving this destination for a separate occasion --specially since I could have used the extra sleep! On account of the people's lateness, the tour felt rushed and I felt like I was missing some things. However, the museum itself was very interesting and had some beautiful displays.

My favorite part was the moving sculpture at the heart of the museum. It had hundreds of toys people in the area had donated over time.

Coordinate for day 2 in front of the moving sculpture

Day 2 - Afternoon

The tea party was the main event. We arrived at the Little Theater just in time to queue up. There were so many beautiful coordinates, and it was obvious that people had put their best foot forward. I was very tired, so unfortunately that colored my memory of the experience. Because I'm hard of hearing and there was a lot of echo in the venue, I had a really hard time understanding the MC and the guests answering questions in the beginning. This extended to the ouji and judge responses at the start of the pageant as well, unfortunately.

Beautiful venue for beautiful people

The food seemed to be okay. I'm very picky with what I eat, so I didn't really enjoy it much, but I knew it was coming and that it was nobody's fault. It didn't really feel decadent, though, as the dishes were rather simple. They included fruit, some vegetables with dip, strawberries, and chia pudding, if I remember correctly. The pudding was probably the least popular, as nobody in my table really finished theirs.

Picture from Bodyline Website

The venue was stunningly beautiful, but the caterers seemed overwhelmed with the amount of people they were serving. While most of the audience was enjoying the ouji pageant, I missed a good portion of it due to being unable to follow the conversations that reverberated off the walls. Still, all the princess wooing performances were adorable and, in some cases, hilarious. My favorite act came from Prince Lapin, the eventual crown winner. They met their bunny princess and danced to the Waltz of the Flowers together until the bell rang and the princess had to go in a hurry. It was doubly cute because both prince and princess were wearing the bodyline print 'Bunny Cinderella'.

The other performers were creative and comedic as well, and all the oujis' coords were impeccable. They sang, rapped, dropped packages, and seduced with puns from what I could tell. It was enjoyable to watch and a good distraction from the socializing that was going beforehand.

Look at all the wonderful princes and princesses!

Overall, the event was fun to attend, and it was inspiring seeing so many amazing coordinates. If you are an introvert, I would recommend going if you already know some people there. To me, it felt like people go in groups, and it was intimidating to break those small cliques to get to know people. Otherwise, it is a great event to attend and save your social and physical energy for.

Paradiso: Decadence Adventure Report Part 1 (Picture Heavy!)

Hey everyone!

I am here to tell you about my time in Kansas City, Missouri as an attendee for Paradiso: Decandence.

It all started in January, when my friend Denise (Ruffle Road) and I decided to attend the event. We descended upon those General Admission tickets like rapacious birds of prey --by which I mean we unnecessarily waited for their release and bought them right away without knowing they'd be selling well into May.

We immediately made plans for travel arrangements. A cheap, red-eye flight to make the most of Monday, a well-located Airbnb to split with a third person (who ended up being another member of our comm!), and an itinerary later, we were ready for the trip somewhere between March and April. All that was left was to wait.

I never wake up early enough to see sunrises

Day 0

We arrived early in the morning and visited some food places and the Noir Oddities physical storefront. They had all sorts of antique and creepy items for sale, including fragrances and pagoda umbrellas, but I wanted to save my money for the main event.

Noir Oddities had some lovely display

It was also the night of the Pre-Party swap meet, where we met with the rest of our travel group that had driven nearly 7 hours to get there. The most lolitas I'd ever seen -a number that would change as the event happened throughout the days,- gathered at the designated swap space. There were brand, indie brand, offbrand, and handmade items from all styles. I was most drawn in by some oldschool skirts I was looking for for a friend, some decoden phonecases and resin jewelry someone made by hand, and Baby the Stars Shine Bright's Elizabeth OP in red. It was so cool to see that dress in person! I sold part of what I brought and got myself a black BTSSB umbrella that ended up being the night's MVP during our trip back to the Airbnb in torrential rain.

A comforting sign when we were lost

Day 1

Denise left early for the fashion show, leaving bat-or-sweets and I to get ready. Bat-or-sweet had been sewing all night and through her 7 hour cardrive, but she still helped me rip some seams in my apron to make it look better, and she also sewed up my parasol! Real MVP for day one. 

We made our way to Union Station around 11AM, where we got breakfast,coffee and saw the biggest group of lolitas I'd ever seen. Then, around noon, the exhibit hall opened and Paradiso began.

I was too busy furiously running from one booth to the next to take pictures of the merchandise. By the time I was done getting my haul together, it was time for the fashion show. An hour felt like enough time to shopo back then but, in retrospect, I realized I had missed several places I wanted to stop by. Fortunately, it wasn't a big loss, as my money reserves were exhausted pretty quickly.

We sat on the third row of the fashion show, which unfortunately made it difficult to see and take pictures because of all the bonnets and tall headdresses. If I had a suggestion for next year, it would be to look into raised seating. I will include some of the better pictures I took here. I unfortunately wasn't able to get good pictures of all the lines, much less particular outfits. But here is what I do have:

The Bloody Tea Party's models rocked their poses

Denise rocked her Ikemen Mode outfit!

Ikemen Mode did a denim ouji collection

Elegy Clothing's popular Albino Accord dress 

I Do Declare x Voodoodolly collaboration

I Do Declare x Voodoodolly collaboration

Chiropteran Garden by Mossbadger

Datura Doll Designs - Datura even made the bonnets!

Starry_Seiun modeling "Royal Bee" in a beekeeper look by Lily of the Valley

"Kitchen Herbs" by Lily of the Valley

Lastly, there were three Q&A panels with the participating designers from the fashion show. It was very interesting to learn where they drew their inspiration for and how they completed their lines for the event. After closing remarks, I met Tyler from Scarfing Scarves and took a picture with her. I was being painfully shy and she was an great sport anyway, so I'm really grateful I had the chance, even if I forgot to bring her her gift I had drawn.

At the end of day one, my friends and I went to have dinner at a barbecue place and returned to the airbnb to sleep. It was a late night and an early morning into day two. But that's another story altogether --another story I will continue on part two of this report.

Until next time~