Every month, Japanese fashion fans gather at the Little Tokyo Galleria for an afternoon of shopping, photos, and socializing. It is not strictly a lolita event, but plenty of lolitas attend and vend.
Harajuku Day begins around 12, but I don’t usually want to stay the whole time. It can get a little overwhelming! I was particularly excited because I knew that at the May event, I had chatted with two people visiting from out of town that I was excited to say hi to. While people at the event are friendly, I also know that it can be intimidating if you don’t know anyone at a meet, so I introduced myself so they would have at least one friendly face.
I picked up my friend Himani around 12:30 and we got to the Little Tokyo Galleria around 12:45. There’s a k-pop/boba shop downstairs, so we grabbed a boba before we headed up to the main event.
Expanding event
Harajuku Day recently expanded and the Little Tokyo Galleria agreed to open one of the vacant spaces to vendors at the event. The space for vendors and swap meet sellers nearly doubled, so everything was more spread out. Very quickly, I saw Vanessa, who was visiting from North Carolina and graciously agreed to let me get a quick video of her coordinate.
Theme
This month’s theme was “Twinning” so there were lots of people wearing matching coordinates running around the event. While twinning might seem like a restrictive way to dress, it was so cool to see how different people interpreted the theme. While some twins wore the same print or same clothes, other people wore the same colors, alternating colors, or alternate cuts of the same print. It really highlighted the creativity involved in creating coordinates.
Outfits
As usual, I tried to capture as many cute outfits as I could on video. I always end up with mostly lolita coordinates, but this time I also got some gothic fashion, decora, casual kawaii, and jirai kei. (You can always find my videos on Instagram and Tiktok.) Everyone is always so gracious to allow me to capture their outfits, and people tend to really enjoy the videos!
Shopping
I also said hi to Paulina of A. Gato Designs, a vendor visiting from Washington DC. I’d seen their pieces before at the Bay Area Kei Holiday Pop Up, but it was really nice to see them again! I walked away from a cute tea pot enamel pin.
The damage to my wallet didn’t end there. Newcomer Little May Bells had some very cute lolita accessories, including plenty of strawberry items. Since I just got a new strawberry jam skirt from Jane Marple, I picked up a necklace so I had something to match. Their accessories are definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for sweet lolita pieces!
Lolita Pop Shop has vended at Harajuku Day before. This time, one of their solid colored head bows caught my eye and ended up coming home with me. Matt and Michelle’s art prints are also great if you’re into lolita fashion.
Finally, I sample one of Fairy Tale Maid Cafe’s cake pop’s for the first time. If you’ve walked by the booth and though it was decoden pieces don’t be fooled, those are real baked goods to enjoy!
Heading home
Around 4:00, Himani and I decided to call it a day. As we headed back to the parking lot, we ran into Mambastic, photographer extraordinary, so kindly snapped some photos of us before we left.
I always leave Harajuku Day a little overwhelmed and tired, but with a full heart. If you’re in Los Angeles the third Saturday of the month, be sure to stop by. You can find more details on Harajuku Day‘s website.