At Pretty Princess Club, we're devoting all of our energy to promoting our flagship event: Royal Vegas Retreat. This is our whole raison d'être, the reason Pretty Princess Club exists in the first place.
So what IS Royal Vegas Retreat, anyway?
In short, it's a 3-day Lolita fashion convention in Las Vegas. It takes place November 20 - 22, 2020. It will take place at the MGM Grand on the Vegas Strip. Throughout the event, attendees will shop in our vendors' room, watch fashion shows from Lolita and J-fashion designers, interact with special guests at panels, show off their best Lolita, Ouji, general Kei, and handmade coords for prizes and bragging rights, test their skills in a trivia challenge on Friday, dance the night away on Saturday, and cap it all off with a sumptuous Sunday afternoon tea.
Yes, that's a lot, and there's still more to come! We're working on putting together exclusive perks for VIPs, photo opportunities, and a fabulous theme and decor to match.
"But..." you hesitate, "this sounds like so much! Why do this now? Why do this in Vegas? What about all the other incredible events taking place in the US, North America, and around the world? Why do we need this event now?"
The answer to that question is a bit longer. It all started when PPC Founder Nif went to Rufflecon (https://www.facebook.com/RuffleCon/) in 2016. At the time, Nif wore Lolita fashion casually; she dipped her toes in by wearing Metamorphose lucky pack skirts and cutsew blouses to work every day. And she loved it (and so did her coworkers), but her circumstances changed, and she ended up moving across the country just a few months prior to Rufflecon. She had to adjust to a new climate - who knew fall and winter could be so rainy? - new attitudes, new culture, and worst of all - new allergens and germs. Nif slowly stopped wearing Lolita fashion to work, and then, two weeks before Rufflecon, she got hella sick.
Sniffling away, trying to perform at her new job, Nif cancelled her flight to Minneapolis (for an adventure completely unrelated to Lolita fashion) the week before Rufflecon in hopes that extra rest would help her recover. A week later, still feeling pretty crappy, Nif hauled a giant bag full of coords and alcohol - which was for a panel that nobody would remember, except for maybe the kind people who helped their drunk friends out of the room - flew out to JFK and took a massively expensive Uber ride to Stamford (the return Uber to LGA - gag - would not be much cheaper).
Thursday night before Rufflecon, Nif landed, got dressed, and headed out into the Sheraton to embark on a solo adventure. She met a few people already there for the con, and a bunch of people there to help open a new Cheesecake Factory. With new friends already, Nif was excited to start her weekend at Rufflecon.
Nif posing at Rufflecon 2017
She spent her time Friday morning wandering around, making more new friends, and taking bathroom selfies of her coord - unfortunately these photos no longer exist. She had her panel Friday night, and due to a miscommunication with the venue, she couldn’t use any of the alcohol she brought for her hands-on kawaii cocktail mixing demonstration. However, the venue provided their own alcohol, and the panel went…about as smoothly as possible, especially since at least 2/3rds of the attendees showed up already tipsy. Nif would end up throwing an impromptu room party with the leftover alcohol for some of her new friends - the band (Ego Likeness) and some randos from the internet.
Nif enjoying the bathroom lighting at Rufflecon 2017
By Sunday, Nif was partied out and ready to return to Seattle for work on Monday. After blearily checking out and Uber-ing up to the airport, she started to reflect on her trip - the friends she made, the fashion shows she saw, the cute things she bought, the parties she had - and she knew she would be coming back the next year. There was no event like Rufflecon, and she was already excited for the next one.
Nif and Ryan at Rufflecon 2017 - she still had not learned to cut her wig bangs, apparently
Rufflecon 2017 was perhaps even more magical for Nif than Rufflecon 2016. She brought her future husband Ryan, who had a blast taking photos with her. She watched as many fashion shows as she could and marveled at the Brilliant Kingdom performance. She’s still kicking herself for not buying Meta’s Holy Maiden OP in Bordeaux while she was there. She saw a few people she recognized from 2016, and a whole lot more people she hadn’t met before. She left Rufflecon 2017 once again looking forward to a Rufflecon 2018.
Unfortunately, Rufflecon 2017 was the final Rufflecon. There would be no more Rufflecons after that. We don’t know the whole story over here, but our hearts go out to the stalwart organizers who put on an incredible event.
While there are outstanding Lolita fashion events in the US - what’s up, Paradiso?! - and lots of anime and Japanese culture conventions have more Lolita fashion content than ever, there are no more 3-day fashion conventions in the US, at all. After talking to her fellow J-fashion enthusiasts, Nif realized she wasn’t the only one who missed Rufflecon. Royal Vegas Retreat is bringing back Rufflecon - the opulence, the spirit, the nonstop fun - to the Western US, where a new group of people will come to enjoy it.
Royal Vegas Retreat will not be Rufflecon. There will be lots of similarities - the duration, the programming, the convention atmosphere - but we’re planning a whole different vibe for a completely new event. We want to up the decadence, with tea included in every GA ticket, new experiences, and a totally different setting than you’ve ever seen for a Lolita fashion event. Additionally, we’re enforcing a strict J-fashion-only dress code, much like Paradiso, that precludes Western alternative fashion.
We’re still planning on our end, so please visit https://prettyprincess.club, our Facebook at https://facebook.com/ppcllcrvr, and our Instagram https://instagram.com/prettyprincess.club for the most current information about Royal Vegas Retreat.