Elf Fantasy Fair 2011

Last weekend I went to the biggest annual fantasy-gothic-alternative event in my country, the Elf Fantasy Fair. It was the first time I went there, and I loved it. I went with a group of friends, some of them had already been numerous times. We had a lot of fun just by walking around, watching people and taking pictures. I won't post pictures of other people here, I want to respect their privacy.

One of my friends wanted to try whether lolita suited her. We had to improvise because she didn't have any lolita clothes herself, so she borrowed my navy skirt and one of my petticoats, wore a normal white blouse, black ballet flats and short white socks, and pearl and flower jewelry. It may not have been ~proper lolita~ but it certainly had the same aestethic. I thought she looked nice, but after wearing it all day she said she didn't feel comfortable in it. Too bad, but understandable. She isn't really girly in her usual way of dressing, more a sneakers-and-jeans kind of girl. But I was happy that she wanted to try :)


two Victorian maidens ^^

It was a lovely location to shoot pictures, because the Fair was held on the grounds of a castle. I saw a few other lolita's as well, and I was very happy to see that many of them looked really good! It's nice to know there are people with the same interest in my country. I think I'll investigate a bit more in the national community. But the amount of cat ears disappointed me a little... Well, if people enjoy to wear it, they should, and I'm not the one to judge them.


castle in the background

  

with a cute little princess

What I liked most about the Fair was that everyone was nice to each other. In the normal world, if you are dressed in gohtic, lolita, steampunk or any other alternative style, you'd be stared at and laughed at in a negative way. But here, people stare because they think you look awesome, or laugh because they enjoy your outfit. Everyone put a lot of effort in their clothes or costume, and everyone shared their enthusiasm. There were some great cosplayers too! We saw an amazing Altair from Assassin's Creed. (Some bad ones as well... but at least they had fun.)
A woman was dressed in a rococo dress, and my reaction was like this: "Well, I do think her skirt is a little too sho- SHE HAS A BOAT IN HER HAIR!!" Awesome :D

There were also a lot of people I hadn't expected, but who were treated equally nice. Little children running around with plastic swords or little dresses, really old people in the most exquisite costumes, people in steampunked wheelchairs, a mentally disabled woman in a pretty dress, and even a little person (that's the correct term, right?) who looked amazing! No one would stare at them because they were weird (everyone was weird there, it was normal to be weird), but they were admired because they looked pretty. I loved that atmosphere.
I'll definitely go again next year!