All of my positions need a lot of improvement. I’m trying to tuck my heel in, but I need to work on my turnout to do it well!
I’ve been taking adult beginner ballet classes for 6 months now~ I can’t say that I’m amazing at it or that I’ve seen all that much improvement, but I am still having a good time attending classes. ♥ The first two months–December and January–were a bit difficult for me to maintain regular attendance in class due to various holidays and spending time with my family. As soon as I was back in the city on a regular basis I did my best to commit to a consistent schedule.
It’s gotten much less scary the more regularly I attend! I look forward to being in class now, rather than forcing myself to go. I’m much more friendly with the other students; I’ve gotten over a good deal of my initial terrified shyness. There are a lot of very nice and very welcoming people that I enjoy taking class alongside. Despite my (understandably unreasonable…) fears, no one teases me or makes me feel like I am wasting time or space. I feel like I mark my weeks with the fun things I’m looking forward to: ballet class, knit night, game night~ 🌟
I picked my accessories and other outfit pieces to match this jumperskirt, as I feel it has a 1920s impression to it.
In February I went to a teatime meetup at the Langham. The theme of the event was “Downton Abbey”, as that was the theme of the tea menu. No one was expected to wear costumes or go to great lengths to fit this theme, but it was something we agreed to keep in mind. It just so happened that I had an Innocent World jumperskirt (a Christmas present from 2013) that seemed like it could be a perfect choice for this occasion~
The jumperskirt in question has a dropped waist with a relatively narrow skirt, a style that reminds me of the popular drop-wasit dresses of the 1920s. It has many tucks, gathers, and embroidered lace adorning it. The off-white colour can be puzzling because the lace is a slightly different shade than the rest of the dress. Ultimately, this made it easier for me to match it up to other things in my wardrobe!
It would have been more period-appropriate to wear the dress without a blouse and with long gloves. However, I didn’t have gloves and worried about when I would ever use them again. I also prefer not to have bare shoulders even in warmer weather–and it was still frigid in February! It was a pretty mild day that day, still requiring being bundled up to avoid freezing.
I have such fond memories of this tea experience~ I hope to go back sometime.
In early February I went to tea at The Langham. I adore having tea service at hotels, and this was one I had not been to before, so I was very excited. (Also, it had been quite a while since I had tea at a hotel, as my financial situation has changed and I have to take care in regards to this kind of extravagance.)
The Langham serves their afternoon tea in the “Pavilion” space. This was a lovely dining area with large windows and bright design. With off-white chairs and couches, marble tabletops, and lots of shiny chrome, it looked very open and illuminated.
I have really missed writing here. I know I’m not the most interesting person in the world, but chronicling the things I’ve done or writing about topics I’ve been thinking about provides a unique outlet for me. I am looking forward to using this beautiful WordPress setup to do so. It is very different from the options I had with Blogger!
There were a few hiccups moving the content and comments here. If you find something that’s not working properly, please take a moment to let me know.
Last night I saw the Joffrey Academy of Dance perform Sleeping Beauty. I’ve been itching to see a ballet performance, but lately that has not been fitting into my budget. As this performance involved students from the school, not the professional ballet company, tickets were very affordable ($15). At that price, I thought it would be worth the risk even if the performance was not very good.
Doing something fun is always a wonderful excuse to dress up, so I did.
I’ve rejoined Instagram, although I tried to resist. It’s just so much fun~ I do love the filters and what-not, even though they’re gimmicks.
I spent the day sitting at my desk in my office and obviously I’d be sitting for the ballet, so I opted for a more casual style of outfit. For those reasons I chose not to wear a petticoat, even though petticoats are lovely and wonderful fluffy clouds of lolita prettiness. No one can see it when you’re sitting down, and I didn’t want to be an annoyance to other theatre patrons by having “skirt overflow” onto a nearby seat. (I’m glad I made this choice, because the seats in the black box theatre were very narrow non-permanent bleacher-style seats that were very close together indeed.)
We barely managed to snap this picture before the rain picked up again. It was very off-and-on prior to the performance time! You can see how dappled with rain the sidewalk is.
I have two ballet-themed pieces, but I chose not to wear them. Instead I opted for this skirt, which was a present from my mother a few years ago. I have a bit of a hard time coordinating with this skirt due to the blue. This time I highlighted the black in the outline of the artwork. The weather was just barely warm enough to get away without wearing a coat as long as I wore enough layers. This ancient sweater is one of my favourite things to pair with a skirt for a casual outfit–it’s just the right length for a lolita skirt and it’s warmer than most of my brand cardigans. I pinned a few ribbons on it for an extra little touch~
I really enjoy contrasting these black socks with lighter shoes, so I went ahead and did so. The socks and shoes were very popular with my coworkers; I received positive comments on them all day. XD
I ultimately didn’t wear a hair accessory because I was worried about obscuring the vision of anyone seated behind me. The audience consisted mostly of relatives and friends of the students performing; I didn’t want to ruin their experiences. I packed a bow in my purse, thinking I’d put it on after work but before the ballet, but it was more convenient to omit it entirely.
We had an absolutely lovely time at the ballet–the students were very skilled! I was very impressed. The Lilac Fairy, Princess Aurora, Carabosse, and Prince Désiré danced beautifully~! ♥ Watching Prince Désiré perform his jumps and leaps during the wedding act made everyone in the audience marvel; he was able to get so much height and maintained lovely form. I’d definitely see the academy perform again; it’s clear that the school puts a lot of time and effort into their student productions. Even the pre-pointe children playing sheep and trees did an excellent job with their roles. Even though I wasn’t related to any of the performers, I felt very proud of how well they did! I hope they and their families felt that way, as well. ♥
This blog expresses the opinions of one girl. Neither she nor this blog is affiliated with any companies listed. Content may not be reposted elsewhere unless by the author herself. The term "lolita" in this blog refers to the fashion style and not any sexual activities or fetishes.
