The Grand Embassy in Madrid

The Grand Embassy. You’ve been waiting for this. I’ve been waiting for it for a literal year, since they announced it in November 2017. And boy, it did not disappoint! Make yourself a cuppa, for like all my event reports, this will be a lengthy one.

Big thank you to Rocio Ponce Photography for taking these on
my phone so I could share them instantly.

I kept my makeup simple and still it took a long time to do!

Mascara on LVL lifted lashes meant no need for falsies.

The inspiration for my outfit came by reaching out to my roots. Although I’m not Russian, I am Polish and wanted to celebrate the traditional beauty of Slavic women: fair skin, ruby lips, gorgeous eyes, long hair tied into braids… The colour palette I used, white with bits of red, was also inspired by my heritage, especially the boots – red boots like this are quite common in Polish traditional costumes and their modern versions. The rest just sort of happened: the print on this dress seemed the most fitting a Russian-themed event, the kokoshnik was a must so that I had some direct nod to the theme, the rose choker for extra red and extra roses… Truth be told, it wasn’t until maybe a month or so before the event that I realised how much my outfit resembled that of the girl in white on the event promo illustrations – which is cool by me!

The Grand Embassy banner, taken from the event Facebook page.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: this was the best event I’ve been to in a long time! There was nothing that I would’ve done differently and nothing that could’ve been better than it was. With a few cosmetic differences, The Grand Embassy gave me the same feels as Wicked and Whimsy did: I was excited to be there, I met new people and socialised with them without feeling like I was missing out on anything and I bought things I normally wouldn’t have. It was also neither too short nor too long, given that everything happened in one day. Socialising and shopping are my priorities at an event, so while I appreciate when people try to do things different or add some extras, if there’s too many of those, they take away the time from what I’m there mainly for (because FOMO will always get the better of me and I will end up overexerting myself), at which point I crash and stop enjoying myself. This is what happened at Dream Masquerade Carnival and, although to a much lesser extent, at Myths of Our Own (though it wouldn’t have if it was spread across two days). So for me The Grand Embassy ticked all the important boxes and I ended up having an absolute blast!

Now for the long version. I picked my hotel to be near the venue, Hotel Tryp Atocha, and it was within around an 8 minute walk (would’ve been less, but it was uphill). Inside we took over several rooms, which were pretty well signposted with banner signs – in case a crowd of petticoats wasn’t a big enough clue for you. Generally, you could tell that Amor Barocco, the team behind The Grand Embassy, had been to lolita events before, because they added some little touches that were genius in their simplicity. Like giving everyone a map of the shopping areas, so you knew straight away which brand was where. Or having a cloakroom, for when you didn’t want to carry your coat or had a change of shoes for later. Little things like this make the day go much smoother and more comfortably, it’s very much appreciated.

How beautiful does that look? Very fitting for the event!

I love this illustration!

Everyone got the red girl on their pin. She's
still cute, even if the white one would've
matched me better. :P

Everyone waiting patiently for the fashion show. Look at all this beauty!

The day kicked off with the fashion show after the welcome, which I feel was a good choice. All the stalls were closed during that time and the photographers were busy snapping the show, so there were no distractions. Having the fashion show first allowed us to really focus and appreciate it, whilst we were still rested, but also without using up too much energy since it’s a sit down affair after all. Especially given that the main guests were indie designers themselves, it did feel like everyone was paying attention to everyone. At events with Japanese brands in attendance there’s a sense that people are waiting for the indie fashion show to end and for the main guest to show their stuff. Which I understand, but it still hurts all the amazing creators who are either just starting, growing or just aren’t the big shots (yet). And trust me, I heard more gasps of amazement and wonder now than I did at any other fashion show. Let the photos speak for themselves, I will share my favourite creations and the ones that made me gasp. Both me and my wallet are still crying – me at the overwhelming beauty of these creations and my wallet at the damage it expects to receive.

The first gasp of the fashion show: this beauty by Jacq the Rimmel.

That green was so royal, I want it!

The Amor Barocco team modelling for I Do Declare. This was a full on
performance, not just showcasing the clothes!

I loved both of these colourways of the Enchanted Dream Couture design.
They were also selling one in dusty green/mint and apparently they're all
made out of silk. Waaaant!

All three models from Advent.

Miss Danger's collection is to die for, can't wait for it to be released!

Pièce de résistance: L'Esprit de la Noblesse models. My heart stopped, I cried (metaphorically), I died and this gave me life, so I could be resurrected. The designers (couple in the middle) are total sweethearts too and KILLED that fashion show!

The designer from My Inspiration also did a dance to accompany her
runway. These pieces are a collaboration with Eat Me Ink Me, where
they provide the sewing and My Inspiration - the embroidery.

And another My Inspiration x Eat Me Ink Me collab. This one I might
even get - I know it's high waisted, but it's more historical, which I
quite like. And the embroidery! Check My Inspiration's IG for details!

Then came the time for a quick break followed by the buffet. I was so glad that I got my professional photo done before going in because the queue was stretching as far as the space would allow it. The photographers were busily snapping away all those beautiful outfits. I had already had a feeling that the attendees of The Grand Embassy would be predominantly Classic and Gothic lolitas – from what I’ve glimpsed of both the Spanish and the Russian lolita communities, those are the most popular styles in those countries. Everyone, literally everyone, brought their absolute A game to the event and everywhere you looked, your eyes were met only with beauty. It made me smile once I realised how few Angelic Pretty prints I saw (from what I can remember, I spotted 4 or 5). You all know that I have nothing against AP, but it was truly inspiring to see the vast majority of attendees arrive in either lesser known/popular brands, indie brands and handmade dresses. These days very rarely do I find a coordinate featuring a big popular brand that makes me gasp and appreciate its beauty – because you see certain prints so often that it’s difficult to create something completely fresh with them. This time I saw so many prints I haven’t before and I feel like 9 out of 10 times I complimented someone’s outfit, it was handmade. I’m also super impressed by the number of gents in attendance, about half of which were clearly there out of their own volition, not dragged by girlfriends/partners/someone else. It did make me wonder whether ouji and aristocrat fashions are more popular elsewhere in Europe (like Spain and Russia) or whether this event was simply much more accessible/better advertised to the male guests.

The buffet was a very nice selection of Spanish food. While it would’ve been nice to have individual dishes labelled, that would’ve been impossible as there were several tables with the foods on and only a handful of items that were hard to identify if you weren’t knowledgeable about Spanish food. The selection was really nice and I enjoyed everything that I tried. Upon entrance waiters served wine and soft drinks, and later you could go to the bar for more. Some tea would’ve complimented the desserts later, but I can see how that would’ve added a whole extra step for the catering team – and the soft drinks selection was large enough too.

Slightly blurry, but the savoury selection was generous, varied and
without exception delicious!

I tried not to be too greedy and only had 2 of the mini cakes. The pots
on the side had yoghurt and some fruit compote.

Plenty for everyone.

Now that I think about it, I like how the event was scheduled to mix busy times with down times. Busy for entrance, then brief down for welcome. Then busy for fashion show, then down for the buffet. Then busy-down for shopping, busy for the raffle and group photo, and then the end. It was very cleverly organised and meant that you were guaranteed some rest breaks and would have an opportunity to chat with people and take some photos with them. It was during the buffet time that I found out that the London comm had come down to Madrid as well (I recognised one of them from Dublin), as well as chatted with a whole variety of people I had either met the night before or at previous events.

I was meant to spend the first hour and a half of the shopping time volunteering. However, on the day it turned out that the brand I was assigned to didn’t need my help and there were enough volunteers to cover what needed to be done at first. So I made myself known to the volunteer coordinator and we agreed that if she needed me at any point, then I’ll still step in. In the end I wasn’t needed, yet still got the volunteer thank-you gift, which I feel a little guilty about – but also very grateful as it’s super cute.

Since I had to be early to volunteer, at least I could photograph the room
whilst emptier.

And check out the stock for things I wanted, of course!

Because even without Japanese brands in attendance, people made a beeline
for all the iconic indie brands' stalls!

And yeah, the rest of the day was shopping, chatting with and complimenting people. No word of a lie, when I chatted briefly to the L’Esprit de la Noblesse designers, I had a major awkward fangirl moment because they looked absolutely divine and made my heart stop during the fashion show. And then it turned out what sweethearts they are and as they complimented my kokoshnik and coord, I turned into a puddle of ‘sempais noticed me’. However awkward it may have been, it’s still one of the best moments of my life and I’ll treasure it forever. Since Dublin I’m trying to be better about taking photos with people, to keep as mementos of the events I go to, so once I did my shopping rounds, I tried to find as many of the people I met and take photos with them.

Andrea is a total sweetheart I met at Wicked and Whimsy. It was so lovely
to see her again. Picture nicked from her Instagram.

I look composed, but I was internally
squeeing so hard! I even match them.
In a 'that cousin who's trying' kind of way :P

With Andrea, whom I only met the night
before the Embassy. She was the most
beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy there!

With Sasha, whom I met through Amino. It's
amazing when you finally meet the people
you've been talking to online and it's as if
you've always known each other.

With darling Sara. She had taken her crown
off by that point, but she's still a true queen!

With Miriam, the designer from Promised
Land Creations. She is super talented, I love
every piece I bought from her.

With Isabella and Sara, two lovelies who
have adopted me into their group the night
before. I can't wait to see them again!

Bonus picture of the Russian squad's group photo. That's too much beauty for
just one picture to take, they're all so amazing! Note the bear-print squad at
the front - they designed that print just for The Grand Embassy. Commitment!

Then it was the usual end-of-event things. Raffle, which I didn’t win anything at (probably for the better because quite a few of the prizes I already had from elsewhere), the best dresser and the group photo. I stayed behind a little to chat some more and wait out the wave of people leaving the building, especially as there were some roadworks outside the hotel, so the streets were narrower. I still managed to catch up with the friends I made the night before, then joined them in a supermarket trip and then McDonald’s (cliché lolita thing to do after a meet/event?). Although there was an afterparty, called The Dark Embassy, it didn’t start until 11:30pm and I was too tired to even try, so I didn’t end up going. Instead, I went back to my hotel room, had a hot bath and a sheet mask (my face literally slurped all that moisture in, it was very much needed) and packed, so that I could sleep in at least a little the day after.

Like I said, I had an absolute blast at the Grand Embassy. It was very well organised and without any hiccups that would affect me as an attendee (you never know what happens behind the scenes). The whole idea of making indie designers the main guests and centre stage was wonderful as I now lust after some of these. I met some wonderful new people and had the opportunity to meet some I had only ever known online before, which is always fantastic, and I bought myself some great pieces (as well as some for the ILD raffle and some for Secret Santa). I will leave you with the haul video instead of posting it separately, and if you’ve lasted all the way to the end, then congratulate yourself. You are awesome!