Lolita Meets - A Questionnaire

I found a little questionnaire about lolita meets and thought I'd share my experience here.

Tell us about the last meet you hosted, what went wrong? What did everyone love? 

The last meet I hosted was the historical home tour which I mentioned in a previous post. The weather was perfect a picnic on the grounds and we got to do some shopping afterwards. Nothing really went wrong, but I did wish we had more time together, however, it worked out anyway with half of our group needing to go home since they were coming from out of town, and the rest of us went out for coffee.

Are games important? What games are better, in your opinion?

They are and they aren't. Games are great for  meets that aren't centered around a specific activity (e.g.: museum visit, shopping, etc.) and useful for meets that have more new comers than long time participants because they can help break the ice. Not all games are made the same. I wouldn't recommend a lolita version of Cards Against Humanity when a meet has more newbies than veterans because there are a lot of inside jokes involved. Card and board games in general are good, so long as they don't take up much time. One should try to make time for socializing at meets.

I like the Chicago Megameet tradition of Lolita Bingo: each space has a clothing feature commonly seen in lolita and you have to go out your way to find and greet people wearing those things. I've always wanted to play a lolita version of Pictionary or Pin the Bow on Mana-Sama.

What happened at the last meet you attended? What did you really want out of it that you either didn't get, or didn't expect to see there? What was the most memorable part of your experience?

The last meet I attended was really a private get-together with two others friends for tea at Vanille Patisserie. We were bummed that one of our friends couldn't make it so it ended up being the three of us, but at least we got the special treatment of moving into the (semi) private room usually reserved for larger parties. As we were making moves, we met a older lady who mistakenly thought we were Mori-Girls (maybe my coord kind of gave off that idea?). It was pretty surprising that she even knew what that was.

We received one tiered cake stand of food, and in spite of sharing it among three of us, I didn't expect to be stuffed for several hours. The staff gave us perhaps one of the best services I've ever had and they even gave us a free macaron to take home (which I accidentally smashed on the way home T_T). The only thing I didn't like was having to deal with a live musician while we were eating/socializing. It couldn't really be helped since they tend to do live open-mic performances at the cafe anyway, but it was pretty distracting. One thing I've learned over the years is that music can enhance or distract (a meet up), and sometimes it's best to avoid the latter by not using it at all in times of eating.

After tea, we walked to the Lincoln Park Zoo (though it was closing) and the gardens in front of the conservatory for photos, and then hung out a former hotel across the street (mostly to use the restroom), and we were pleasantly surprised that the lobby and public corridor were well decorated - the lobby was made to look like an old fashioned library (I believe the books are fake though) and there was a replica of a Baroque painting tapestry. Toward the end of our meet, we ended up browsing through Closet of Frills together in the vacant breakfast lobby before splitting up.

What was the most satisfying/impressive food set up you've ever seen?
Hmm, this is kind of tough because I've been to many tea rooms and meet ups involving food. I would probably say this year's Chicago Megameet (sorry, I don't have photos!) because we had the space to place potluck dishes in three different areas: one for non-gluten free foods, another for gluten-free, and a space for drinks, including hot tea (in which a member even brought in teacups and saucers to use), and fortunately for us, we had a stocked kitchenette to prepare, set, and clean up everything. I'm still a little bummed that I wasn't feeling my best that day because there was so much food and I couldn't bring myself to sample everyone's dishes.

I would also say that tea at the Drake was very satisfying because I was able to eat my fill without feeling overwhelmed by carbohydrates and sweets - it was probably one of the more healthier of afternoon tea set ups I've encountered.

Meets in private residences, are they ever a good idea?
They can be. If the place is spacious enough, and the host(ess) puts an effort into decorating and keeping the event running smoothly, it can work out. I usually like private meets because I like being able to be with my community and friends without being bothered by curious onlookers.

I've never run across anything bad going to private residences for lolita meets, but I can understand why some people are leery about the whole idea. Most people prefer to reserve it for those in their inner circle to avoid potential drama and/or damage to property, and hosting a private meet like that is difficult to do unless you have the space for entertaining - and unfortunately, many of us can't exactly afford to be home owners, let alone are lucky enough to pay rent with lolita roommates or for oneself.