Dickens fair Deventer

One of my new year resolutions is that I make this blog work. And I would love to report about events here in the Netherlands but also in other places in Europe. A few days ago the Dickens fair took place in Deventer, in The Netherlands. This was the second time I visited the fair and once again it was a lot of fun. As you might know, Victorian times are a big inspiration to me. Of course a big reason for this is the epic, big dresses, but the stories that we still have from that time keep the Victorian times alive. Charles Dickens was one of the biggest writers from that time. We al know his stories from Oliver Twist to Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol.

This last one is what the Dickens fair in Deventer is al about. In the Netherlands we celebrate Christmas for two days. And as I am writing this, it is the evening before Christmas. This evening people are just together as a family or as a couple. Just like myself and my boyfriend. The tree is up and everything is warm. We have nice food and some of us have even presents. It's a magical time. The time that Dickens liked the best. He made stories about the difference between poor and rich but above all about people. Now, many years later, the difference between rich and poor is a big as it was in his time. I think that is one of the reasons we still like this story so mutch.

This lovely day in December me and my boy went on a trip with 2 of my my best friends. Deventer is just a two hour ride from our home city in the north of the Netherlands. So we were there before we knew it. There was a line to enter the fair, which was about 3 hours long.

I was dressed up like a Victorian Lady. This is not common behaviour for visitors. Because normally only actors on the fair are dressed up. It's a bit like Disney Land ;) But one of the actors picked me and my friends out of the crowd. She said: "What are you doing here? Come with me we will sneak you past the line". I thought about it for a minute because it is not really fair to skip the line but I fear big groups of irritated people. So I decided that it was better for me to come with her. Next to this it is an honour that people like the stuff you make so much that you can work with the actors. It made us skip 1,5 hours of waiting.

A few years ago a went to this fair with my parents. I saw a lady with a beautiful bonnet. She gave workshops to make them but I lived a two-hour train ride away. I really wanted to learn how to make bonnets. I was so sad. Now, years later, I was wearing my own bonnet and I loved it. It was not exactly like bonnets from that time but I liked it and that is the most important. I want the upcoming year to be full of dreams to come true. I want to learn more about making bonnets and sell a few more. I would love them to be worn by other pretty ladies. That would make me so happy.

This was what I looked like. Next year I will make a dress with a crinoline. One of the acting groups said they wanted to work with me next year so I had a great day! 

 Here some more pictures of the day:

Me and my love

My pretty friends. They are going to marry next summer. Aren't they perfect together?

Hot chocolate is so so nice when it is winter.

my sweet dog likes to travel with us. He was so happy to join us this day.

One of my bonnets from the back.

My love and one of the other gents. I think he will look a bit like him when he is older. 

more pretty pictures of the fair by other photographers:

I hope you guys and dolls have a super Merry Christmas and a happy new year! If you would like to learn more about Charles Dickens I can advise you these websites: link and this: link

The magic of flower crowns

This new blog I just made is for me to write about my inspirations like fashion, art and fantasy. I love all things pretty, creepy and all things that are related to fairy tales. Let's start with something that mixes just that, flower crowns:

In Lolita fashion flower crowns are really popular and are popping up everywhere. The first time I saw one used in Lolita fashion was back in 2011. 'BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT' had one of their first tea parties with a fashion show. Of course I wasn't there myself but they uploaded a series of videos of the party. I saw it the day after and I fell in love. The show came just in time. I had just fallen out of love with Lolita and this turned it around and made me dream wearing pretty princess dresses again. I have been looking for the show for hours because I wanted to show it to you guys ^^ I heard a rumour a couple of months later that BABY had to do the fashion show to be able to pay the rent that month. Weird to realise that a brand that is so big in Lolita land was (supposedly) so close to closing down. I'm glad they didn't. Even when I can't pay for any of their work they make the world just a little bit BRIGHT'er.


I wore my home-made first one 2 moths later at a meeting in the Netherlands. Pictures are sadly lost in time. Maybe one of my readers might still have them. It was at Damien's b-day party in Utrecht. The theme was OTT ^^ If you have them please share them with me :)

Let's talk about the rest of the history of this hype. If you ask me, 'Lana del rey' is to blame for this. She wore it in one of here video clips. In reaction to this regular fashion picked it up quickly. And when we see more of the crowns around us we think that it is more or less OTT to wear them. So the shyer girls of us dare to wear them too :)

Flowers and roses are really popular in the lolita community. I think because it makes us feel more feminine and gives us more of a Marie Antoinette feel. Now we have more Rococo influence than we had for years we look at rococo art and brand even print real paintings on dresses. Flowers have a bigger role in these paintings so in the fashion. To finish a true OTT outfit we need an item that matches the yummy but ridiculous OTT dresses. I found a few pretty pieces to give you an idea of how that could look:

Did you pretty Roselynn Hoogeveen in the picture (like a real fairy^^)

As a fairytale fan I must say that flower crowns make me think of Fairies. I fell in love with the look of fairies when I was a little kid. I think I was seven. I went on my best friends b-day to a dutch theme park called 'de Efteling' It is al lot like disney land but than based on the drawings of a Dutch illustrator/painter 'Anton Pieck'. One of the attractions is called 'droomvlucht' or in English 'Dream flight'. In this attraction you make a trip through a fairyland. Pretty but a bit scary fairy dolls wave at you and they had flower crowns and pretty pink dresses and I fell it love with the creatures.

Here a vid of the droomvlucht. Skip the first minute ^^
I made these. You can find them in my shop. On the left you can find links to my shop. (If you are from the Netherlands and you like one and you are from the lolita community that I can bring them with me to meets. For dutch people I can make you one of these for only 10 euro.)

A few months ago I made a vid about these flower crowns. I made a few of them for in my craft shop "Atelier Dornröschen". This is my first try so it's not perfect but it might be cool to see.

I think I might upload a tutorial about how you make these pretty things.

Do you girls have flower crowns and do you make them yourself? Show me the pretty crowns <3