After giving myself a couple weeks to let things sink in and rub some of the gild off my awe for the gilded 19th century, I've decided to go over my experiences at The Great Lace. In short: I had fun! In long, well. . .
I had fun with reservations. This is the second year of The Great Lace, as well as my second year attending. I have to say, the organization (read: crowding) has improved a lot since then! Geopolitics and the anxious environment in DC have made it that I don't think I've unclenched my jaw fully since 2024, so this was a welcome respite to the unending nightmare of reality.
The first day of The Great Lace this year was Friday, starting bright and early with the Enchantlic Enchantilly bear tote bag DIY workshop. It was extremely well-organized, it was so fun interacting with other fashion enthusiasts, and my bag didn't turn out half bad!
The other panels, by contrast, suffered from the same issue as last time, one which affects many fanfictions: there was only one room. Between problems with projector positioning (it hadn't been set up at all for at least one panel!), a too-short HDMI cord, poorly placed emergency lighting shining directly on the screen, and the complete absence of buffer/room clear blocks, the panel setup was challenging for attendees and panelists alike, but we persevered! This old venue simply was not made for modern cons.
I went to several panels, but I was most focused on my own, "Medieval Peasant versus Lolita Dresses". The format is a little experimental-- well-researched historical lecture at the beginning, silly tierlist at the end-- but it appealed pretty well to the audience, I think, and I got some great questions and some good engagement! I was so glad that I worked as many of the attending brands into the slideshow as I did. I hope I can so another fun participatory panel for future fashion events.
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| the completed ranking from my panel |
The Dealer's Room was amazing as expected. Although the location was a little tricky for the vendors to find, spreading it out separate from the swap meet location gave us all plenty of roaming room. I bought the Ode to Mossbadger JSK from Mossbadger, which seemed like a personal attack (turn of the century sheet music AND fruits AND cats?), but I was relatively sane in my purchases otherwise.
I escaped completely unscathed from the swap meet, but it was pretty tempting! I just didn't budget space or money for some of the excitement in store. I did have a fun little interaction with a couple of lolitas grading an OP based on the medieval laws and limitations I set forth in the panel, which really shows that I must have made some sort of impression.
The Sanctum Vampire Ball wasn't part of the event, but it was a lot of fun! I met up with a dear non-lolita friend and starved because there was no food, DESPITE WHAT THE TICKET APP SAID. This enabled me to get spectacularly tipsy while listening to some bands that I never thought I'd see live. Plus, I got to wear some more eccentric romantic goth clothes, which were a fun change from the proper ouji and lolita coords that I wore in the day.
The tea party was, for the second year in a row, a little bit disappointing. Because of the late requests, my comm was spread throughout the hall instead of being centered at one table. My comm-mates were pretty displeased about this, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from the other two comms at my table-- after all, I see my own DMV crew at least a dozen times per year, but this might be the only chance I get to hang out with lolitas from further climes! The food was once again solidly mid, though we did get our own individually-packaged brownies this year. The worst part was the venue's handling of food restrictions-- one of my dear friends has a strawberry allergy, disclosed well ahead of time, and they were initially served the standard dessert plate, which was liberally decorated in strawberry sauce. She had to get the dessert swapped twice; first for an apparent bowl of whipped cream (actually vanilla mousse), then for the same dessert we were all having, just without the decorative strawberry sauce.
I won a raffle prize including a rainbow accessible petti from Puvithel! I rarely win raffles, so I took to insisting that the raffle was rigged, that I was a secret plant, and other various lighthearted conspiracies. I think I'll pass my prize on to someone who can better use it, but it was a fun accompaniment to my April Fool's coord (a picture-perfect OTT sweet nightmare meant to prove a point).
The real gem, this year as last, was the opportunity to connect with other lolitas just by hanging out. We're a diverse group, all ages and genders and backgrounds, but we came together with a shared passion. That's why I go to conventions, really-- the opportunity to experience a life away from work, where choices are all that drive me, and where every person is a friend yet unmade. I also had a great time with the friends I brought with me, but that's to be expected! It's the ephemeral convention conversations that truly stand out to me.
All-in-all, the experience was just as gratifying as I expected. Chicago is my favorite city to visit, the venue is gorgeous, and I love getting to goof around for a crowd! I hope I can afford to go to future events with lolitas. Community is a vital part of the fashion, and stepping away from work to just be with my people? That was a dream come true.
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