My Kind of Pie: The ModCloth Good Old Days

A recent Poshmark acquisition has me strolling down memory lane, so today I thought I'd pay homage to an oldie but a goodie, this pretty little My Kind of Pie dress made by ModCloth's own label, Bea & Dot.  Bea & Dot was such a gem of a brand, and ModCloth was too before the owner and founder, a.k.a. "Mod Susan," sold out.  "Sold out" has some really negative connotations to it, and I don't mean to throw any shade at Susan.  She built an empire and then made a profit by handing it over to someone else, in other words, she did what she thought was best for her and for her life, and that's ok.  But, for the rest of us, the magic ended.  Susan must surely have been the heart and soul of ModCloth because after she sold to Wal-Mart (who then sold out to someone else, I think) the brand never really recovered.  

Those magical years of checking the shop every week to see what new and beautiful things they had discovered, and creating fun outfits with my purchases to upload to the customer gallery, were some of my most favorite hobbies during what was otherwise a very lonely and difficult time in my life.  Seeing like-minded others get excited too and create their own unique looks, was also part of the joy.  I was lacking connection every which way I turned but suddenly I found a place filled with fellow fashion lovers and felt a small connection (even if it was an internet connection), and felt a little less lonely for a moment while simultaneously building my dream wardrobe and being the envy of all I encountered.  It was a special time.  *Sigh*  And now it's over.  

I knew when I went back to ModCloth, after Susan was gone, and saw it smeared with polyester and basic florals (they were still charging $100 per dress though) that the magic was over.  I checked in on MC every few months over the course of the next year, but it was all the same over-priced boring junk I could find everywhere else on the web or in stores, so I gave up.  Then when Wal-Mart sold it, things got way better, but I could tell that it was still lacking whatever Susan had brought to the table.

I have so many happy memories from that sliver of time in my life, The ModCloth Years, as I like to call them.  I remember when my mom and I first discovered MC and since we were thousands of miles apart, we sat on the phone shopping together for hours, just picking out all our favorites and sharing links back and forth.  She actually bought my first two ModCloth dresses for me for Christmas that year.  We were just getting ready to move to Japan and I remember packing the dresses in my carry-on because they were so precious to me I didn't trust anyone with them.  

I remember first discovering artists like Kate Gabrielle and influencers like A Clothes Horse, Southern California Belle, and The Soubrette Brunette from ModCloth's customer gallery.  I remember seeing Zooey Deschanel wearing something on New Girl and then scrambling to see if I could find it on the site before it sold out.  I remember opening each new acquisition with my then very young daughters and the way their faces lit up before they exclaimed, "oh, it's so pretty!" and shared in my joy.  But, most of all, I remember that after so many years of struggling to not only find clothes that fit but that also brought me joy, when I found ModCloth I finally felt like me, the me that was always there just waiting for the fashion world to make the things that would help me properly express it.  Tasteful, whimsical, vintage, modern, modest, playful, and all the good things and most of all, in the right size!

As sad as I am that fashion trends didn't continue in the direction of this vintage revival with modern flare and instead slammed into reverse extra hard by way of everyone wearing stretchy pants and crocs all the time, I suppose all things whether good or bad must eventually end and the only thing that ever stays the same is that everything is always changing.  We don't get to choose which way the winds will blow, we only get to decide whether or not we bend with them.  I'm agreeable to going with the flow now and again, but current trends are one thing I will gladly stand tall against.  Yes, I know these dresses have had their moment in the sun and now the sun has set, but I'm not letting go until something better comes along.

Outfit Info:  My Kind Of Pie Dress by ModCloth, Sweet As Cherry Pie Bag from Betsey Johnson, Honiara Vintage Heels