My First Con: Planning, Femme Failures, and When to Enlist Help

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I'm headed to my first convention this year!

Two of my friends and I decided a little while back that we would be attending Anime Detour this April in Minneapolis. While I don’t naturally gravitate to anime conventions – I enjoy anime but am much more of a science fiction and fantasy sort of girl – this is something my friends and I can enjoy together.

The planning stages for this are starting now because I need time to make a few accessories and to order a new pair of black Mary Janes. As such, I thought I’d share a bit of that planning with you.

To Commit or Not to Commit...

This year at detour, the Minnesota Lolita community is going to be hosting a panel. I don’t know if I am going to offer to participate, as I won’t be able to be a part of the planning and I've never been to a meet before. I'd feel awkward butting into a community activity when I'm not really a part of the community.

However, even though I am unsure about helping with the planning stages, I will definitely be attending the panel and dragging my friends along for the ride. I can’t wait to see what my fellow rufflebutts will put together.

I will also be dressing up. I would dress up even if there wasn’t going to be a Lolita presence at the con, but knowing there will be other frilly folk wandering about makes it an even more enjoyable thought.

If you're reading this and will be at the convention, I'll be the pudgy girl in black and gold (outfit planning pictures to come). Feel free to grab me and say hello, because I'd love to meet you in person.

I am Very Girly, but Sometimes not Girly Enough...

In starting to plan my outfit for the convention, I decided to go toward the OTT side of classic. And, since I'm branching out of my usual casual classic look, I decided that I needed to do up my nails for maximum girliness potential. However, I am awful at painting my nails.

Don't get me wrong, I can do nail polish. However, if I’m not careful my left hand will look delightful while my right will look like it was done by a blind five-year-old with a three-inch paintbrush. This is not a good look, especially when I’m planning to add touches like gold nail decals and maybe even rhinestones.

So I've decided to enlist help from my girls, who are much more talented at nail painting and, thankfully, willing to help me get my frills on. In convention planning, as in life, sometimes my own skills are simply not enough.

Food as Cute as I Hope to Be...

Yes, I plan to make these or something like them.
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I know this isn’t actually about fashion, but I thought it would be of interest to any cute-loving readers of mine that I’m going to pack a large bento for the con. When I say “large,” I mean “large enough for three people to eat.” It’s essentially going to be a bento picnic.

I’ve made very simple bentos before, but doing one on this scale is a new development for me. I’ve got a large bento box, am working on making a bag for carrying that box, and am doing research on new recipes so it can be extra tasty.

I just love the idea of making cute food to share with friends on the day of the convention. Yes, we’re in our mid-twenties, but there’s nothing that says we can’t still enjoy a sandwich decorated to look like Totoro.

In all, the convention should be a fun new experience for me, and I’ll try to make sure there are pictures to show you after it’s done.