Those fateful Rocketdogs...

Rocketdog shoes, my favorite in 6th grade

The facts were these: Mo and I met in sixth grade, and I knew almost immediately that I had found someone who loved fashion as much as I did. In fact, I believe it was only the second day of school when the girl with the funny name in my art class (soon to become one of my best friends) took a look at my shoes (I was wearing one of my favorite pairs, to make a good impression on my new classmates) and said:
"I love your Rocketdogs! I've been wanting a pair for so long!"
They were in fact pink leather flat ones with many diagonal straps that many people have mistaken for ballet slippers over the years (although I'm sure real ballerinas would differentiate immediately). I still have them in black.
Just months before, in elementary school, I had been criticized by my pears just for wearing a skirt to school, and had received remarks when I arrived on winter mornings wearing a smart plaid trench coat that I resembled Sherlock Holmes. ("Well, I was thinking Ingrid Bergman or Katherine Hepburn, but...")
Besides a particularly embarrassing attached polyester shirt-sweater-vest that she wore that year, I found that Mo was as much of a fashionista as I was, and I had found my partner in crime (of the sartorial variety).
By seventh grade, we were constantly discussing our favorite designers and new trends, and going over each episode of Project Runway after its premiere (that year was season 4, the best one, featuring Christian, Chris, Jillian, Rami, and Sweet Pea; yes, I still remember all their names!).
Now, we'll be including all of you in our fashion-related discussions. We may even need you to mediate some of our disagreements.
We hope you'll enjoy coming along for the ride.