Ami in Gyaruland: Believe In Fairytales 🥀

Hello Princes & Princesses!

Super duper thrilled to be finally writing this post. I had the pleasure of being invited to Kelsey's bridal shower! The invitation alone had me psyched. The theme / dress code was Victorian inspired with accents of pink~

Of course I took it upon myself to make this a challenge. I decided to do a Victorian inspired Himegyaru look! I find Himegyaru enchanting to look at, but have always found the substyle intimidating. Also forgive me if anything I say is inaccurate (as well as the look lol). I didn't do extensive research, but honestly speaking don't you think Hime is a reflection of French and English royalty attire? Am I reaching? Idk, but I got to work with finding inspo pics as soon as the idea hatched.

For Hime inspiration I mostly looked towards shop staff of Jesus Diamante and Himena. And for Victorian-esque vibes here are some images I referred to.

And here is the look!

𝓈ℴ𝒻𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻ℯ𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓃ℯ 𝓈𝒽ℯ 𝒾𝓈 ❀

❀𝓻𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓸𝔀𝓷❀

parasol . . . Angelic Pretty

bonnet . . . amazon

shrug . . . amazon

dress . . . Francesca's

bag . . . Betsey Johnson

shoes . . . Gianni Bini

accessories . . . Juicy Couture, off brand

Since it was such a theatrical theme, I come off more Lolita than anything. But my priority was to fit the theme over all. Without the accessories and headdress, I don't think it would look very Victorian inspired. Anyway, onto the makeup!

Kept it to nude tones for the eyes. Wearing Motecon lenses in the shade "Baby Baby" (i still love these). For lashes it's Sugar Pill's Porcelain on top, and aliexpress lower lashes. As usual I used a reddish brown shade under my eye to fill in the gap. Buuuut I think I should've tried black eyeshadow or the Nyx black jumbo pencil. Eye droops aren't typically seen in Himegyaru, but I was moving on autopilot while doing my makeup (lol).

(vroom vroom 🚗💨 otw but first lemme take a selfie~)

Let's talk about this magical evening I experienced! The bridal shower was being held at Four Seasons hotel. Upon arrival, staff guided me through to the 29th floor where I was met with hues of pink and chatter.

The fairest of them all! ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡) Lady Kelsey~

Talk about stunning!! I felt like I was at a fancy tea party~ I didn't snag photos of all the rooms and food spreads but it was so nice! You know I love me a good charcuterie board and there was not one, but three (lol). One room had all hot foods, and another room had a full bar and lounge area. After I filled my plate and mingled with friends, we played some games for prizes!

Kelsey's mother and friends planned the whole shindig! This was for the scavenger hunt (her mom said ignore the typos lol). It was so much fun running around like maniacs. Her family is very competitive (lol)! I love how immersed everyone was. We also played Family Feud Fast Money. I thought my answers were certified gold but I was so off. But my favorite game was Project Runway. We had to make wedding dresses out of toilet paper! My team created this masterpiece.

She was such a great sport volunteering to be the model.

Standing before the judge (aka the Bride)

We didn't win, but we all had a great time goofing around. Lastly we had a fashion show of our own. Who did the Victorian theme best? I think maybe ten people walked and they chose the top 3 for prizes. My friend Maya recorded my runway walk (lmaooo) I was so nervous! I won first place!

How lucky am I to get a scent I already love!

I watched Kelsey waltz around talking to family and friends. Everyone wanted a picture with her~

The View.

I got my turn to take pics with Kels! And then we gathered to watch her open gifts~ So many lingerie sets (lol!!). But there were some really sentimental moments that brought everyone close to tears too.

It was an honor and a pleasure to be there to experience these moments with her family and other friends. I cannot wait until her wedding in late October! If this was just a sneak peak, I know it's going to be gorgeous.

After cutting the cake, some began to take their leave. And I did what I do best, take pictures (lol). Thank you Maya for entertaining me and giving me content to share.

I LOVE this picture because it looks like I'm in the corridors of a grand castle where tons of princesses frolic. ♡

Obligatory bathroom selfie before heading home~

ツ

Points I think I did hit. Hime cut, big curly hair, ribbons, lace and pearls. And big lashes (if we're talking modern himegyaru).

Now lets get critical. I was having a tough time because I convinced myself I didn't need to buy a new dress for this event. So I went with my long white dress from Francesca's. My biggest issue was the low cut front. I noticed . . . cleavage isn't really a thing in Himegyaru (lmfao). I did note that any gals who wore dresses that may be revealing in that way, they wear big bow necklaces. Or they wore shawls / boleros / cropped jackets. But looking back on it, I personally think the outfit looks better without the shrug.

Ah the headpiece. It's more common to see huge hair bows in Himegyaru. But sometimes you'll see a lacy or small hat piece. I did buy two different hair accessories, but went with the bonnet for the sake of the party theme. But this was the alternative option.

Also shoes!!! In the end I wore open toe wedges. But I dropped the ball at the chance of ordering some real deal Hime shoes. Heels like the rose covered ones or the ribbon pair from Jesus Diamante. Or even the heart heels from DreamV.

I waited too long and at that point anything from Shein or Aliexpress would arrive too late. I did however manage to get some shoes on Amazon but I ended up returning them. Along with the outfit it just screamed Lolita. If you're curious, these are the shoes.

Isn't it crazy what a difference open toe or closed toe shoes make? It's those little details that I didn't execute correctly. But I don't think this will be the last time I try Himegyaru. I'll get things right next time (hopefully)!