The Great Lace held their official tea party on Sunday March 30, 2025 in Chicago’s own Palmer House Hotel’s Grand Ballroom. Per the room name, the ballroom was indeed grand with gorgeous chandeliers, elegant drapery, and intricate crown molding. The special guests were RinRin Doll and Connie of Atelier Pierrot.
Sarah and I came into the grand ballroom early to capture the calm before the storm. Just by looking at the amount of tables, we could tell this was probably going to be the largest freestanding Japanese alternative fashion event ever to take place in the United States.
What happens when you stick over 300 lolitas in a room? Keep reading to find out!
As the attendees entered the room to get seated, the food sat readily on the tables. The catering included finger sandwiches and small desserts. Since the Palmer House Hotel was the birthplace of the brownie, it was one of the star desserts.
At each seat, attendees also received a few gifts including keychains and postcards from Atelier Pierrot, Kittykaya, and Kaitlyn Illustration.
History of Chicago and The Palmer House
Aka Chicago lore. Once everyone started their meals, in the midst of the tea party, The Great Lace event organizers Conner and Allie presented a speech about the city of Chicago and the history of the venue. Did you know that the brownie was invented at this hotel? Now you do! As a first timer visitor to the city, I learned a lot!
Q&A with RinRin Doll and Atelier Pierrot
Second in the programming, RinRin and Connie had a Q&A session. The audience asked a few questions; some about their personal likes and some about the lolita industry in Japan.
Raffle Prizes
The raffle happened after the history lesson. Atelier Pierrot gave away 2 prizes. RinRin’s raffle prize was a fashion magazine. Some of the vending indie designers also contributed prizes such as Neant Glass and Mossbadger.
A Special Announcement
Anh (@stelli.ferous) came on stage to talk about another lolita event: The Gilded Age! The Gilded Age will take place in Boston, MA on November 16, 2025.
The cross promotion was really sweet. Without community, these types of events couldn’t exist!
Tea Party Street Snaps
Attendees dressed to impress for this event! We saw a varied mix of lolita, ouji, and gyaru. Between the programming, we were able to capture some of the outfits. With over 350 attendees, we did our best to document as many outfits as possible.
When the programming finished, there was a rush to the second floor. Understandable; it was the best view of the Grand Ballroom!
Connie wore an angelic coord using Atelier Pierrot’s Mini Corset OP and new Nocturne Tulle JSK.
RinRin wore an all pink princessy Angelic Pretty dress and bonnet.
My roommates Ann and Juxica!
The Chicago lolita community were very welcoming. This is their group shot.
The California lolitas were ready to go for photos.
Except for one. One of them was on the ground.
Some common themes showed up as I photographed:
A good number of people wore Metamorphose’s Antique Bouquet Princess Sleeve OP. I think there were even more, but I wasn’t able to snap them.
The newly released Haenuli and Atelier Pierrot Secret Chamber Collaboration JSK also made a few appearances.
Stained glass
Classic lolita really fit into the building’s historical elements. Some of them even matched the carpet perfectly!
Red main pieces were also really popular.
mylesjennifer
These lolitas wore white.
The theme of the tea party was floral for spring.
Cupcake Kamisama of Cupcakes and Unicorns from the UK embroidered her cape.
Wearing other pieces by Atelier Pierrot, all coincidentally paired with roses.
Both of these coords featured mint and pink OTT hime lolita. One in elegant Baby, the Stars Shine Bright style; the other in maximalist Angelic Pretty style.
Some more solo snaps.
Some more group shots.
The final group photo. I still couldn’t believe how there were over 300 lolitas in one place!
It was lovely photographing everyone! I tried to photograph as many attendees as I could, but there were so many people though that I just ran out of time. Thank you to The Great Lace for allowing us to cover the event!
I wasn’t able to catch everyone’s names. If I missed your handle, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to add it in! If I missed you this time I hope I can photograph you at a future event!
Buy me a coffee
If you like these photos and want to see more, consider buying me a coffee on my Ko-fi!
![Haru Nemuri – Shunka Ryougen Tour 2023 @ Scout Bar Houston [Gallery]](https://stephano.me/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/haru_nerumi_-39-300x200.jpg)
Hello stephano! Wonderful pictures as always. if you could tag my instagram handle @ltracks (L, not I) –i’m the classic lolita in the gold juliette justine and with my ouji accessory in a red velvet roland <3
I was curious if you took any pictures at the fashion show, I modeled for Atepie. Thanks again for all you do for the community!
Atelier Pierrot pictures will be the next post!
Thank you for the wonderful report and photos! It was nice to read and relive the memories from this event.
Aaa, thank you for the shoutout! I’m so glad that we got to meet and thank you for such wonderful photos <3
Amazing photos! I’m lolita #8 under “Some more solo snaps,” wearing BTSSB Gingham Rose Ribbon in red. Folks can find me at https://www.instagram.com/rosyaura/ ! Thanks so much ❤️
Gorgeous photos! Thank you so much for your hard work in capturing these coords. I am the third Haenuli x AtePie collab dress. My instagram is phantasmicplays ^_^
These are all amazing! I am the one in purple Twinkle Journey with the white long vest and tiara. Insta is @teseyafairy