A Woman Around Thirty, Her First Time at Laforet Harajuku | Part 1

Are you familiar with the commercial complex called Laforet Harajuku?

It is one of the representative commercial facilities in Harajuku, a hub for fashion and culture, and a source of fashion trends.

I’ve never been there before, not because I’m out of touch with trends... but rather because I felt intimidated about going to a place that is at the cutting edge of fashion, but I finally visited it the other day when a friend took me.

It all started with a message from a friend saying, “I want to go to this shop.”

When I opened the URL she sent, it was a shop where you can enjoy what is known as afternoon tea.
The sight of sweets that are not only delicious-looking but also cute and beautiful, piled up on a cake stand, is enough to get anyone excited just by looking at them.

And another thing that caught my eye was the photos of the customers. Everyone was dressed in such adorable Lolita fashion.

The friend who invited me has one foot (or maybe both) in the Lolita swamp. In other words, wanting to go here meant she wanted to go dressed in Lolita fashion and immerse herself in the atmosphere.

Now, I thought that I shouldn't go in casual attire if I were to walk next to a Lolita.

Someone might say, “Isn’t it fine not to think about that?” I think so too. Why not just wear what you like?

However, I am a woman who worries about strange things. I feel hesitant to stand next to a Lolita in sloppy attire.

Also, since I’m going to such a cute shop, I want to dress at least a little bit cute myself.

And so, I decided to dress in a way that wouldn't look out of place next to my friend, who wears clothes covered in the frills and ribbons typical of Lolita fashion.

A soft, flowy blouse and an A-line skirt. Wouldn't it look the part if I added white socks, too?

And I have a special blouse I've been saving for a day like this. This is it.

This is surely, without a doubt, the real deal!

By the way, this blouse isn't from a Lolita brand. I just happened to find it at titty & Co. PETIT while browsing ZOZOTOWN. Isn't this just so cute??

Once the plans were set, my friend said something like this.

Wait, wait, wait. So many words I don't know are coming out.

I think 'headwear' is easy enough to understand, but in short, it's an ornament for your head. And since it's Lolita, it's not just hairpins or hair ties, but huge decorations like headdresses or bonnets.

And apparently, the Gothic Lolita Market is a convention for Gothic and Lolita fashion that is held in Harajuku twice a year.

And Closet Child (commonly known as Kurocha) is a secondhand clothing store that specializes in Lolita fashion.
(It's apparently famous as the Second Street of the Lolita world)

While my friend taught me various things and I did some research myself, I thought, 'Wow, Lolita fashion really is cute...', and suddenly

I blurted that out.

From there on, everything went smoothly.

At the time, I didn't think deeply about the meaning of 'check the retail prices at Laforet once,' but on the day of our shopping trip, I would come to understand it very well.

It looks like it's going to be longer than I thought, so I'll stop here for today.
The rest will be posted at a later date!

[11/30 Update]
You can find the second part here!