La Mode + wardrobe

That Dream Evaporated in a Snap...

My dream

My father's girlfriend flew for Pan Am back in the day. Her main connection was New York to Paris, before the 1980s hijack, and she tells me stories all the time about the glamor of it all. In high school I wanted to be a flight attendant and work the New York to Moscow connection (I still have big hopes Moscow will become one of the coolest cities on the map...) but she told me the new realities of the underpaid, overwork shifts flight attendants face and just how plain crummy the flight industry has become. So, was I excited to see one of the new shows this fall to be centered around the days before pat downs, when bags checked for free (liquids included), and you could always ask your attractive stewardess for more peanuts!

When Simplicity came out with the Lisette collection I rushed to the store...

Simple pattern designs with multitude of options! Has my name written all over it! To make it even better they've introduced their own fabric line to correspond with dresses on the pattern envelope! I knew the first pattern I'd want to work with was the Passport dress. It certainly was the best dress to make after my long absence from sewing. It literally only took a day to sew and only needed to do one minor tweak in the shoulders. This is probably the best dress to sew for absolute beginners who want to make something fast, easy, and stylish and to the experienced seamstress who wants to do some no-nonsense 'fluff' sewing between complicated projects. It's a flattering style to all. I highly recommend it.

I traveled upstate for the weekend, a little mini-break before finals

Saturday I drove up into the mountains to visit my hermit of a father and his new companion, Buddy. He is the friendliest four-legged creature I've ever come across. We went for a stroll down the private drive and it wasn't long before he was pulling me across the road into the neighbors' pond.

I'd like to say some amazing starlet is my inspiration to love vintage, but it isn't true, it's always been my mom. We've had some tough times. After my parents' divorce I rebelled a bit, dyed my hair pink, fell into the wrong crowd, skipped school, stole a car, you know, the usual. I ended up living with my dad, away from the bad influences. However, he couldn't take in to school on time so I'd have to go over to my mom's house in the early morning. I'd sleep on her couch until it was time to get ready, she'd fix me breakfast and drop me off 5 minutes before first bell (because the least amount of time I was in school, the better!). I don't know why, but the simple act of just being there for that hour before school tied us as tightly back together like our differences never happened.

I've lusted after Sweedish Hasbeens for more than two years after countless style bloggers have worn them. How was a college student afford a pair of awesomeness at $300? I left it in my style depository for maybe when I had a career and student loan debt-free. The price tag was pretty steep for me. However, I still watched, maybe thinking that over the winter maybe they would be on some ridiculous sale that only existed in my mind. However, only the unusual, eccentric pairs were ever on sale. You know, the lime green pair? Even on sale they were way out of my budget.

I don't remember what prevailed me to look on Amazon, but I did...

A pair of Sky High Hasbeen clogs, in my size, in a nice color for only $99. You're still probably thinking that's expensive. I was, until I remembered I had a $50 Amazon credit from their buyback program (sometimes being a college student has it's perks, you're constantly selling textbooks and supplements at the end of each semester for any pocket change).

And they are! I practically wear them everywhere! I was hesitant about the Sky High, I really wanted to find a pair in High or Super High. But believe me, Sky High isn't as high as the pictures online seem. They are very reasonable to walk in. I spent a whole day at the Cloisters without much trouble, albeit a hill or two to get down was a bit of a feat but I'm getting better at it. I feel like my imaginary wardrobe is finally coming to fruition.