Shoes & Pie: The Blog

It’s not that you plan your entire wardrobe for months, but you’re always keeping an eagle-eye out for The Viva Dress. The flashy, knockout number you’ll wear on Saturday night. But then, as the weekender gets closer, you flip through your closet and you make your plans. Have to start early, to make sure everything fits, that everything is complete. Mending list. Accessories list. Do I have the right shoes? Handbag? Earrings? Takes time to hunt down the pieces, to fix it all, to sew up whatever is missing from The Plan.

This year, my Plan holds a day for a sweet ’60s-vintage dress I picked up many months ago. Sky blue, with a full, pleated skirt finished in a border print of springtime flowers. The sleeves are tattered, so a fix is necessary. The Plan is made, but still the dress kicks around the house for a few weeks until I finally “get around to” the repair. Finally, done. I source matching shoes, and pay a few extra dollars to expedite the shipping so I’m sure to have them in time for the weekender. I hunt for and successfully find a perfectly matching vintage purse. Nine days to go, and I borrow an appropriate necklace from a friend to finish the outfit. Completed. Finito. End scene.

Then, typical of Viva Planning, with one week before we get on an airplane and head to Las Vegas and a hundred other things to finish up before we leave town…I scrap the entire outfit in favor of a different dress.How about you? Are last-minute changes part and parcel of your Viva Prep?