Episode 604: "Layover" - August 2, 2010

I'm not too young to remember a day, not long ago, when ladies and gentlemen dressed to travel. Hats and flowing dresses on a cruise ship. Sportswear, which in the day meant cotton dresses and white gloves on a cross country train trip, pedal pushers and gingham blouses and sensible shoes on a road trip, motoring from state to state and tailored suits, stylish pumps and kid gloves on a jet plane taking you anywhere in the world...and the flight crew: pilots who were a step below an astronaut as Captain Wheeler stated, in tailored suits, starched shirts and shiny brimmed hats; the stewardesses, make that flight attendants in wool, not poly-blend skirts and jackets and prim white blouses, silk scarves and pill box hats and gold wings pinned to their lapels, hose and garter belts and playtex girdles and weigh-ins and height restrictions...and now there's Ashley and Linda!!! AND Flynn and Provenza. I guess that gracious, gentle era of travel really has become just a big bus with wings!

A Flynn and Provenza episode always promises hilarious characters with rich, humorous story lines. When I shopped for the stewardesses I figured that the girls, on a layover, wouldn't have time to go to Beverly Hills, Melrose, or The Grove, so they might shop near the Los Angeles International Airport at the Westfield Fox Hills Mall and since the girls might rather spend their layover sleeping in or partying the night away they would be careful as to how much they would spend on their clothes. They would want cute and cheap and I walked right into Forever 21. If you want up-to-the-minute and ahead of time fashion, go to Forever 21! And when you see it you better buy it then and there because go back in a few days and likely your hotter than hot item will be gone! So I channeled Ashley and Linda and chose pink and red stretch tops and white jeans and military inspired puff sleeved jackets and lycra tanks and disco era fish net flash dance sweatshirts, and platforms and stilettos and cheap throw away accessories with rhinestones and dangles and glitz and glam. Linda did break the Forever 21 code and wear a Juicy Couture terry cloth romper and metallic striped zippy hooded sweatshirt. What fun to shop among the tween set looking at this odd man fighting them for the of the minute bandeaux top and micro mini skirt!

Brenda met Flynn and Provenza and Ashley and Linda wearing a caramel short trench coat with black stripes from the Jean Paul Gaultier for Target collection. She pulled from her deep closet a new Pure Collection Mushroom twin set and selected a "vintage Brenda" swirly whirly print skirt and peanut brittle sensible shoes both from the first season, the skirt from Macy's and the shoes from Barney's! James Duff loves to have Brenda "dress the part" when she interviews a suspect, recall, in the pilot, Brenda resembled a nun when questioning the good Catholic girl and so for Layover, Sir Duff offered that Brenda Leigh should emulate a stewardess...make that flight attendant, so from Season 2, I steamed out a vintage wasabi mustard wool cropped jacket and sheath so that even though Brenda may be too good for the beauty pageant she can say "bye bye" with the best of the mile high gals!

So, whether you like the high seas, the rhythm of the road, the whistle stops on the rails or flying the friendly skies sans meals, peanuts, cocktails, paying for carry-ons, suffering through lines and security check points and waiting on a tarmac and missing your connections and sitting cheek to cheek, and I don't mean the ones across from your nose, with folks that could care less that they look like they just rolled out of bed rather than dressing for travel...well, go ahead, book that flight and really think about an Ashley or Linda that may or may not be doing something on the up and up and I'm not talking about that something being up in the air! I've tried all of these modes of transportation and yes, I still dress for travel, it may not be a suit and tie, but it is stylish, comfortable and respectful...not many gloves or girdles in the air these days!