Our kawaii focused archivist is eager to let you know, the tea was good…in every sense of the word. Read on and sip slowly.
Highlights from the Annual Atlanta Lolita High Tea
This is one of the long awaited events of our fashion community. Eight years ago, Andrea Nicole Baker began hosting these high fashion, high teas at The Four Seasons and followed them up at locations around town including Cafe Intermezzo and now Roswell River Landing. They are quite the spectacle and draw lots of attention from onlookers as the attendees arrive and frolic in their Tokyo Japanese Street Fashion best.
The theme this year was modeled after a circus. But there was nothing funny about this fashion. It was a very serious desfile of frocks that rivaled looks of the catwalks and runways in Nippon proper. The High Tea began with a fashion show featuring Haenuli of Korea (a rising star and popular indie designer) plus designs from artist Mossbadger, both of which can be found on StoreEnvy.com. The work was exquisite and featured really gorgeous attire that each model displayed with great care and thought. Please enjoy the montage below.
Food, Glorious Foooood!
Following that beautiful fashion show was a three course tea that lasted well into the early part of the evening. At 4pm sharp the tea was served, first course were 2 scones (one savoury and one sweet). With a nod to our pals across the pond, scones are pronounced scohns vs. scoehns. There was also butter, an assortment of tea in packets vs. loose leaf or sachets…and cream. Cream is good. Missing was the clotted cream which is something that usually appears at this event. It was missed but the butter sufficed and we enjoyed the course. Something that we hadn’t seen since the tea that took place in Northeast Atlanta, the year between the last Four Season’s tea and the ones at Cafe Intermezzo, was a return to buffet style for the second course. On the table were chicken salad stuffed miniature-croissants, turkey and cheese rolled puffed pastries, mushroom (and spinach?) stuffed pastries plus the most adorable chicken pot pies with lattice work one has ever seen. There were also fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes and sweet pineapple on the spread. It was delicious and there was plenty more for those who wanted to back for seconds. I know our table did and the second helpings were as good as the first.
Dessert was also amazing! Miniature cakes, tiny eclaires, petite macarons francaises, pearled chocolate malt balls, salted caramel chocolatees, milk chocolates, lollipops, cherry pies and sugar cookies!
Prizes, Prizes! Step Right Up!
To top it off there was yet another great surprise, door prizes and raffles. As with the year before, there were about 20 prizes to be given away which meant nearly everyone in the room was able to take something nice home. It was almost awkward because there were so many prizes that it was rare if someone didn’t get one and made me think in hindsight I should have shared my win. Andrea, the host, has a book on how to host a tea party and she gave away two signed copies of her work from that series. There were also Hello Kitty themed items and really cool keepsakes. The prizes saved for last included discounts to wig shops attached to large decorated bags filled to the brim with really cool things including Sanrio cutlery, cookies, Pocky, phone cases, kawaii planners, eyelashes, night masks, stickers and even soft clay. It was pretty darn sweet and I was happy to have won the $25 prize pack in blue. Felt really good.
Unlike, years past we did our group picture early and indoors. The photographer took lots of single shots earlier in the day and then left just before the dessert portion of the event. We didn’t spend all night snuggled together chatting nor did we go outside and do fun shots by the river. This was a pretty straightforward event that stayed on course. We enjoyed it and then headed out to Lips Atlanta to spend time with our family of drag artists which has become tradition for us immediately following the tea.
So…What Did I Really Think?
I often do a separate post regarding the pros and cons of the event but I’ll keep it all in place here. I don’t have much more to say other than I had a really great time. Andrea did mention that we will have the tea a little later in the year going forward and she re-introduced the Southern Tea Party Club to which RNG already belongs. It’s certainly something to which to look forward as it’s a great event. We’re appreciative of Andrea’s work, that of her volunteers and how she goes against the odds to do this because no matter what anyone says, the economy is still pretty rough and the states are going through serious changes. It has touched our wallets and our emotions but this Japanese Street Fashion community pushes forward regardless and brings the tea.
Thanks for reading! See you at the tea table!
#HappyRebellion bliss!
-RNG Entourage
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