More than a decade ago, Salt Lake City was voted the second worst-dressed city in America. 

Utahns have a distinct style with stanley cups to match your outfit, platform converse, and lulu lemon athleisure sets being the most popular for Utahn women. But dare you break out of your comfort zone or express a new style?

 Utahn men’s style is far less distinct, with women’s style being much more obvious because of mommy bloggers and TikTok videos. But, as more young professionals move into Utah, and the state keeps evolving, will fashion evolve along with it? 

Jasmine and Angelique Gordon are sisters from Ogden who are trying to change the fashion industry in Utah. They started in their attic, but now their business, A La Mode, is located in Sugar House. It is a beautiful boutique with fun, stylish, and bright pieces of clothing. 

A La Mode is not your typical clothing boutique, because they also offer three different types of styling services. Utah Stories had the pleasure of speaking with Jasmine Gordon, one of the owners of A ‘La Mode. 

“There’s not a lot of personal styling in this area of Salt Lake,” Jasmine said. “I think there is a misconception that it is unaffordable so we do take a more affordable take on it with our different types of appointments.” 

Get a “Mini Style Makeover”. For only $100, you can find an outfit for a special occasion, vacation, or a seasonal wardrobe refresh. You simply fill out a style survey and schedule a one-hour private appointment with one of A La Mode’s stylists.

Consider a “Closet Clean Out”, where, after a 15-minute consultation, a stylist will purge your closet of things that no longer suit you, then rework what’s left and donate or discard the cast off pieces. The price is only $270. 

“We have a lot of people, not just ladies, but also men as well, who buy, and buy, and buy, and buy, but they don’t know how to put it all together. So they struggle with that, or they don’t know what shoe fits well with that type of outfit. This is really useful in that sense,” Jasmine said. 

Then there’s the “Wardrobe Overhaul”, where, after a one-hour appointment with measurements and photos, a stylist will collaborate on a custom styling board and shopping road map. The team then creates a four-hour fitting appointment with looks catered to you. The price on this appointment varies. 

“People underestimate how huge this is. I think it’s like when you get that great haircut and you decide to try something new with your hair color,” Jasmine said. 

A La Mode’s focus is to make women with body types that don’t fit the commercial standard comfortable in their own skin. Jasmine described styling a woman with a “gastric pipe” or “feeding tube” and that catapulted her vision for helping women with fashion who don’t fit the standard that society imposes on them.

“When you look at the stats and how many women are in the range of a size 16 or size 14, and how few stores really carry that, it was huge for us, and it brought a more fashionable take on things than what they normally get. We’re huge into self love and self care,” Jasmine said.

She explained that helping her clients feel comfortable in their bodies is amazing no matter what, but that one of her and her sister’s first clients stood out. 

“We had a woman in Texas who was getting a double mastectomy and she wasn’t having any reconstructive surgery. She said, “I’m treating myself, so send me whatever you have for me. I’m really excited about this.” 

We were able to send her some things, and she wrote us a letter back saying that she felt like a million bucks. 

“I’ve been so down, and this has really been amazing for me,” Jasmine said.

A La Mode was originally located on 9th South, but the owners yearned for a bigger space to expand their business, moving to 1121 East 2100 South. But of course, being a business in Sugar House doesn’t come without challenges. 

As Jasmine expressed, “We didn’t know what it was going to be like to have the construction. We’ve never been through anything like that, really. It’s been very, very interesting to navigate through it and try to get creative and figure out where we’re going from here. We love being in Sugar House, we love the area, we love the neighbors, we love our space, we are definitely grateful for the foot traffic and the increased exposure that we get from being here. But the road’s blocked off and no one wants to drive here. And there have been times when the sidewalk has been blocked off too, so nobody’s walking. It puts us between a rock and a hard place,” she said.

Feature Image: Angelique Gordon and Jasmine Gordon, owners of A La Mode in Sugar House. Photos courtesy of A La Mode.