12 Fashion Ads You Wanted to Live In

It's easy to lose yourself in a sea of pretty pictures on Tumblr and Pinterest these days. Still, there's something special about being able to hold an actual book of pictures between your fingers. (If you lean in closely enough, you can almost feel yourself stepping into its pages.)

For old time's sake, here's a look back at some of the greatest print ad photos we've all wanted to step into over the past 14 years.

Prada - Late 90s

It's 1999 and you're in bed in ratty pajamas, flipping through a copy of Vogue. You turn the page and find yourself staring at a brown skirt and tweed shoes, and a woven bag dangling just behind the model's ankles. If only you could have that bag, everything in your life would be okay. If nothing else, the bag would at least give you some semblance of being put together--in a Mrs. Dalloway sort of way. This photo is just a Muppet Babies' view of what your life would look like in Prada.

Jelly Sandals: A Love Story

I grew up in inner city Baltimore during the mid-90s, when glass hair "ballies," sectioned ponytails, and "jelly" sandals reigned supreme. I remember one of the first times I really noticed those plastic, transparent shoes on the feet of one of the most popular girls in my class: she'd paired them (or her mother had) with the cutest jean jackets and sunflower print dresses. And of course, those jelly sandals matched every effin' outfit. 

One summer afternoon while my mom and I were in Sears, I asked her to buy me a pair, but she was all, "you'll step on [drug] needles wearing those." And so I had to resign myself to voyeurism, looking on as my friends played tag in their jellies--they even had the ones with glitter inside the straps! Life wasn't fair :-/

Jellies went out of style for awhile after elementary school (at least, for people my age). When I entered middle school, in fact, bragging about one's "butters" [Timbaland boots] became the norm. I guess we all had kind of outgrown those fragile shoes, wanting more durable ones to establish some sense of status in our little social spheres, perhaps. 

Just when the memory of jelly sandals was fading from my mind, I saw a yellow pair dangling from a shelf in Aeropostale, the other day. Then I spotted some green ones in Aldo. (It was then that I wanted to give the merchandisers the highest of fives for bringing these shoes back in style). Instead of the squishy soles of our youth, plastic sandals are now reinforced with hard bottoms--totally upcycled if you ask me.

And so, the love story between me and these sandals is nearing its culmination; I plan to wear them on a sun-bleached sidewalk somewhere in the middle of a city summer :-)