So this might be an annual thing, where I feel obliged to update my blog only once a year on a specific date, and this date is of course Davey Havok Day! Too bad I deleted my blog and you can’t go back anymore xD

I feel like this year was particularly successful because a few of us ‘celebrated’ in different parts of the world! My day was filled with pictures of my friends enjoying the day in their own special way and that made me soooo happy!

This year marked a realization that we’ve been doing this for 8 years already! That’s a lot of time of crazy fangirling. But it’s all in good fun.

This year is also a year where I felt a confrontation with the other day going on. The last years I did not really pay much attention to the outside world, safe in my little cocoon of pink, Davey and AFI goodness. But moving to another country, being surrounded by new people [who have no clue what Davey Day is...] and also being single, opened my eyes to different things. In the English speaking world, V-day is much more of a big deal. And of course in Japan, it’s also a big deal. I also noticed this through Instagram, because my feed was filled with reminders of this celebration.

I have mostly successfully ignored V-day, even while I was in a relationship. I still think V-day is a dumb concept, why wouldn’t you love your partner every day of your relationship? And for me, friendships are just as important. Looking back over the years, I have so many happy memories of spending Davey Day with my friends, which I appreciate much much more than if I would have gotten chocolate from my partner just because of the date on the calendar.

Today, I thought to myself “What if I would have done something more special for that one person, like the rest of the world…?” as if that would have made a difference! No. My life is not about doing what the rest of the world does. My life is about doing things my way. Spending the 14th of February with cake, drinks and friends and the most amazing music of Davey Havok is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Of course I hope my friends will still be as enthusiastic as I am!

For me, this day was magical and I’m looking forward to many more years to come! Many, many kisses.

As you can guess from the title, this was a striped-socks post.

einn. DRAMAAAAAAA! Online, real life, old, new, warranted, unwarranted... It's tiring.

tveir. Having to go to the toilet when not at home, and worse, when on periods. Hate it so much!

þrír. The entitlement some people feel. *shrug*

fjórir. Unnecessary strictness on some parts, and lack of creativity. It's a street fashion, girls. Not a contest. Have fun! Online it's certainly not a trend to be very experimental... and that's a pity.

fimm. HEAT. I can take cold, but when it's too hot... T_T;;

sex. The amount of time it takes to make myself look presentable :> Haha. Sometimes I like putting in a lot of time and effort... other times, not so much. [And then I see photos and regret all my decisions later. Fun!]

sjö. The battles for items... why are there so little of everything? Seems like there are so many popular things that a lot of us want, and only a few get them. Makes me sad!

átta. Obviously the price tag. And issues with customs. Oh customs, I HATE YOU SO MUCH!

níu. Negative attention and the unwarranted 'harassment' kind of stuff. From outsiders and insiders alike, it's not nice. Wish that could stop already.

tíu. I don't necessarily hate this, and doesn't apply only to Lolidom, but I sometimes dislike the work that goes into the organisation of things and find it annoying when people spend too much time arguing instead of making things work. [This is totally the reason why I take breaks from the forums and communities. I apologize, but I'd rather take a step back and come back fresh than to get too caught up.] That said, I also hate that I sometimes give up too easily and get so caught up it's hard to go back! Should work on this.

een. I love the escapism. Dressing outside of the norm is a form of escaping the dreary 'normal' contemporary society, and having meet ups is a form of escaping mundane life. I have always loved creating my own little world.

twee. I love the historical part of Lolita, e.g. Classic or when there are hints to 'old' values and morals. I never wish I could've been born in earlier eras, I always wish that people from this era just put as much effort in their appearance/lifestyle. I love hoopskirts and corsets and bloomers and pettis and lace and colours. I also love going for a stroll with a parasol.

drie. For obvious reasons I love prints because it enables me to express my fanism over certain stupid things like cakes and apples and strawberries! Hurrah. Wearing art is fun!

vier. I love meeting friends all over the world! It's super fun. Post on the Internet before leaving somewhere and you're sure to have a lovely day with like-minded people. I'm so grateful for having so many friends! I love being friends with a lot of different individuals and being connected through this special thing that we love.
Also, meeting very interesting and intelligent people who don't necessarily end up being your best friend, but who help you along your path.
Meet ups, events, tea parties... it falls under this too! LOVE IT.

vijf. Twinning. When done in a proper, fun way. [So not the "oh hey, accidentally same dress lolol" thing] Huuuuhuuuuhuuuuu I love it so much - as if nobody had noticed that yet xD but I also really love doing multiples, like with Milky Planet! ♥

zes. I love putting together outfits - also for other people -, and Lolita really has taught me that. It's also the most fun to do in Lolita I think. Sometimes I wish I could be a visual merchandiser [the people who dress up mannequins or style shop windows] or personal stylist, I could literally piece outfits together allllll dayyyy.

zeven. This goes without saying, but... The prettiness. Whatever the style, whoever the creator, whatever the occassion... I love looking at pretty things!

acht. Jumping. There's just something magical about jumping in Lolita - floating like a balloon ^_~ Mid-jump photos obligatory.

negen. Making someone's day, but I already said that. Making my own day! I feel so much more fun when wearing it, so that's what I love about it too.

tien. I love having found a place where I belong. I took so long trying to find my spot and never getting it quite right in other styles, never being accepted and never feeling comfortable. Now, I feel comfortable. And it's amazing, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I deliberately tried to find a picture of before I got the FRUiTS book, because then I had no idea of the existence of Lolita at all, and I found out that I actually wrote on this journal about buying that book! How cute.
{{Note to clarify: I was in my height of hating everything, especially high school because I had to resit, and it was before I met Muffin and I was going through a lot of thinking.}}

Here's a photo of a liiiiittle bit [days, weeks] before I got the book, it's kind of a dumb 'me' photo because it's a group shot, but it's one of my favourite photos in life.

This was in 2005, it was the night of Y's birthday and we'd gone to see The Grudge together. After that, we spent time at Y's house and goofed around. I was genuinely happy that day, and happy to be with my friends, which is why I love this dumb photo so much.

You can tell it's a long time ago because I'm wearing jeans, that particular pair I got in a secondhand shop and I bought them waaay too big. That was my style for a little while: big stuff. My hoodie is also the worst thing in the world: ugly colour, too big, weird fabric, no shape. But it was my favourite hoodie for quite some time. And of course that scarf. I wouldn't go anywhere without my scarf. I wore it everywhere, everyday. Literally everyday, also in the heat of summer!
That scarf was my thing, together with the spiked necklace. [Then I lost the scarf and got a new one, and dyed it purple, and then I lost that one, and got a new one... eventually I got over my scarf thing.]

I didn't wear make up and my hair was long and boring!

And, as you can see, still wearing braces.

It's not like I changed my style overnight after getting the FRUiTS book - but I don't have many 'outfit' like photos from that time and if I do, then the outfit is horrible xD.

un. It was a very conscious decision to start wearing Lolita - but then again, it must have been like that for everyone?
I got into Lolita through the FRUiTS book, and I got into that through my friend Tadhg, back in high school. My interest for Lolita was definitely sparked, in 2007 I made the conscious decision to stop looking and lurking and just go at it - I haven't looked back since.

dau. I always feel like "the outsider". Not that I don't feel integrated or loved within a group. It's my own fault for moving around so much and wanting to be part of everything, then I end up not feeling like a real part of anything. ^_~
[Note: I've also always felt like an outsider within my school and tight group of friends, so this is a very deeply rooted thing and probably won't go away. It's not limited to Lolita, either.]

tri. I've done some pretty 'bad' buys in the past, only recently have I done really good deals, now I feel stupid buying things I never wear anymore at such high prices - it makes me wish I'd thought about some things instead of impulse buying. Lolita is not a good fashion for impulse buys.

pedwar. Very vital point of my Lolita life: I go through bursts of obsession and activity. Sometimes I get spurs of being very active and I can't imagine anything else in the world. I have never fallen out of love with Lolita yet!

pump. I'm going to miss my Belgian loli family a lot after I move. That's for sure. T_T;

chwech. Even though I may be a total shopaholic and be useless with money... There is only one item I would pay more than 500 euros for - given I have the money - as a single item. Guess which one?

saith. I'm in a constant battle with my hair and Loli is not at all helping. Haha.

wyth. My biggest wish for the Lolita community is for everyone to co-exist in happiness. Everyone doesn't have to be friends, just tolerant co-existence is enough. [A girl can dream... ;D]

naw. Lolita is a really, really big part of my life and I have no regrets. I do however feel ashamed sometimes if I think about the big picture and the materialistic side of it all. Honestly, I sometimes feel overdressed when hanging with my 'childhood' friends, and wonder if they find it annoying that I dress in Loli.

deg. Just one smile or compliment can make my day and confirm that I'm not only wearing Lolita for myself, but that [street]fashion and self-expression are vital parts of human life! This has always been the reason for me to do the things I do in the way I do them, and I hope I'll continue doing that for quite a little while.

I’m writing this post in English, despite my wanting to use a French title as it was a French event and I love the saying Il était une fois! Haha.

( Insert a cut here. Too bad you won't see the nice before-cut-image I use on s-s, but okay. )