My dearest Diary, I am so, so sorry for my negligence these past two weeks! I have been most dreadfully busy, and when I haven’t been busy, I have been ill. As such, the events specified in this entry actually occurred over a week ago; I do hope you’ll forgive my tardiness. 
Last week was my college’s spring break, and I celebrated with a short vacation to San Francisco with my significant other. While there, I went to many places (and perhaps more importantly, ate many things)–but I will only provide the details of one small part of the trip here, as I feel they are most relevant to the theme of my blog. That is, I was lucky enough to visit San Francisco’s BABY, The Stars Shine Bright location, which is as of the time of writing this, the only BABY location in the US.
It was not my first time going to a physical BABY store; I have also been to the La Foret and Kyoto locations. But that did not make the occasion any less exciting, and furthermore, it was a joy to visit a location with the familiarity of my home country and language. The store is located on the top floor in a small, Japanese-style mall in Japantown. Like its Japanese counterparts, there is a strict no-photography policy in the store, so unfortunately I do not have any pictures to post here, although you may look at many photos on their official Facebook page.
It may sound silly, but it really does feel magical to be in a physical lolita store, not to mention that of your favorite brand. 
I spent far too long just admiring the details of each dress. The stock photos on their website really never do the pieces justice!! There are so many dresses which I thought looked ugly or busy from photos on the internet, but were surprisingly beautiful in person. One dress I absolutely loved was AaTP’s Silver Spoon of Blessing JSK. I thought the stock photos made the print look somewhat muddy and washed out, but in person, it is such a lovely and elegant dress….unfortunately, I am currently restricting myself from buying more main pieces until I build up my basics (namely, shoes, legwear and bags). But I did make one purchase, this Usakumya cross-body bag! He is so fluffy, and surprisingly roomy as well. I love him very much
After this purchase came my reservation for two at the Crown & Crumpet, a small tea parlor located right underneath BABY. I really applaud whoever planned that out, because it could not be more perfect. From what I hear, it is not uncommon at all to see lolitas stop here for some tea and cake after a trip to BABY. 
The decor of C&C is so very appropriate for BABY’s aesthetic—look at my pictures below for reference. We enjoyed two pots of tea, their special house blend, as well as “Paris”, a black blend with vanilla and caramel, along with two plates of sweets.
Below is my coordinate for the occasion. Appropriately, everything is from BABY, except my shoes, which are from Metamorphose. The dress is BABY’s Rosellina Fleur JSK, a recent purchase which I am utterly in love with! And the Usakumya bag is the one I purchased just an hour before this photo was taken, hehe.
For lovers of sweet lolita fashion, if you are in the San Francisco area, you absolutely must check it out 
There is also an Angelic Pretty store there, although in a different area of the city. I did not have time to visit there, but to be completely frank, I heavily prefer BABY over AP, so I wasn’t too upset about this. (Sorry, AP fans!) As an East Coast lolita, it is hard to say when, if ever, I’ll be back…here’s hoping they try opening another location on the east coast (rest in peace, NYC BABY…). Where do you all think the next BABY location should be? I personally think one might do well in Philadelphia~
