diff --git a/src/FilePathsBase.jl b/src/FilePathsBase.jl
index 8fed5c8..75ba834 100644
--- a/src/FilePathsBase.jl
+++ b/src/FilePathsBase.jl
@@ -99,10 +99,11 @@ function Base.show(io::IO, path::AbstractPath)
     get(io, :compact, false) ? print(io, path) : print(io, "p\"$(String(path))\"")
 end
 
+Base.parse(::Type{<:AbstractPath}, x::AbstractString) = Path(x)
 Base.convert(::Type{AbstractPath}, x::AbstractString) = Path(x)
 Base.convert(::Type{String}, x::AbstractPath) = string(x)
-Base.promote_rule(::Type{String}, ::Type{T}) where {T <: AbstractPath} = String
-ispathtype(::Type{T}, x::AbstractString) where {T <: AbstractPath} = false
+Base.promote_rule(::Type{String}, ::Type{<:AbstractPath}) = String
+ispathtype(::Type{<:AbstractPath}, x::AbstractString) = false
 
 include("constants.jl")
 include("utils.jl")
diff --git a/src/constants.jl b/src/constants.jl
index 359cbe9..53a7d68 100644
--- a/src/constants.jl
+++ b/src/constants.jl
@@ -56,30 +56,30 @@ const S_IWOTH = 0o0002        # write by others
 const S_IXOTH = 0o0001        # execute by others
 
 const FILEMODE_TABLE = (
-    ((S_IFLNK,         "l"),
-     (S_IFREG,         "-"),
-     (S_IFBLK,         "b"),
-     (S_IFDIR,         "d"),
-     (S_IFCHR,         "c"),
-     (S_IFIFO,         "p")),
+    ((S_IFLNK,         'l'),
+     (S_IFREG,         '-'),
+     (S_IFBLK,         'b'),
+     (S_IFDIR,         'd'),
+     (S_IFCHR,         'c'),
+     (S_IFIFO,         'p')),
 
-    ((S_IRUSR,         "r"),),
-    ((S_IWUSR,         "w"),),
-    ((S_IXUSR|S_ISUID, "s"),
-     (S_ISUID,         "S"),
-     (S_IXUSR,         "x")),
+    ((S_IRUSR,         'r'),),
+    ((S_IWUSR,         'w'),),
+    ((S_IXUSR|S_ISUID, 's'),
+     (S_ISUID,         'S'),
+     (S_IXUSR,         'x')),
 
-    ((S_IRGRP,         "r"),),
-    ((S_IWGRP,         "w"),),
-    ((S_IXGRP|S_ISGID, "s"),
-     (S_ISGID,         "S"),
-     (S_IXGRP,         "x")),
+    ((S_IRGRP,         'r'),),
+    ((S_IWGRP,         'w'),),
+    ((S_IXGRP|S_ISGID, 's'),
+     (S_ISGID,         'S'),
+     (S_IXGRP,         'x')),
 
-    ((S_IROTH,         "r"),),
-    ((S_IWOTH,         "w"),),
-    ((S_IXOTH|S_ISVTX, "t"),
-     (S_ISVTX,         "T"),
-     (S_IXOTH,         "x"))
+    ((S_IROTH,         'r'),),
+    ((S_IWOTH,         'w'),),
+    ((S_IXOTH|S_ISVTX, 't'),
+     (S_ISVTX,         'T'),
+     (S_IXOTH,         'x'))
 )
 
-const DATA_SUFFIX = ["", "K", "M", "G", "T", "P", "E", "Z", "Y"]
\ No newline at end of file
+const DATA_SUFFIX = ["", "K", "M", "G", "T", "P", "E", "Z", "Y"]
diff --git a/src/mode.jl b/src/mode.jl
index edb256b..49508a9 100644
--- a/src/mode.jl
+++ b/src/mode.jl
@@ -43,8 +43,69 @@ function Mode(mode::UInt8, usr_grps::Symbol...)
     return Mode(user=user, group=group, other=other)
 end
 
-Base.show(io::IO, mode::Mode) = print(io, string(mode))
-Base.string(mode::Mode) = String(mode)
+Mode(s::AbstractString) = parse(Mode, s)
+
+function Base.parse(::Type{Mode}, x::AbstractString)
+    n = length(FILEMODE_TABLE)
+
+    if length(x) != n
+        throw(ArgumentError(
+            "Expected a mode permission string with $n characters (e.g., '-rwxrwxrwx')"
+        ))
+    end
+
+    m = zero(UInt64)
+    for i in 1:n
+        table = FILEMODE_TABLE[i]
+        found = false
+        c = x[i]
+        c == '-' && continue
+
+        for (bit, char) in table
+            if c == char
+                m = m | bit
+                found = true
+                break
+            end
+        end
+        if !found
+            options = last.(table)
+            throw(ArgumentError(
+                "Unknown character '$c' at position $i, expected one of $options."
+            ))
+        end
+    end
+
+    return Mode(m)
+end
+
+"""Convert a file's mode to a string of the form '-rwxrwxrwx'."""
+function Base.String(mode::Mode)
+    n = length(FILEMODE_TABLE)
+    perm = Vector{Char}(undef, n)
+
+    for i in 1:n
+        table = FILEMODE_TABLE[i]
+        found = false
+        for (bit, char) in table
+            if mode.m & bit == bit
+                perm[i] = char
+                found = true
+                break
+            end
+        end
+        if !found
+            perm[i] = '-'
+        end
+    end
+
+    return String(perm)
+end
+
+Base.print(io::IO, mode::Mode) = print(io, String(mode))
+function Base.show(io::IO, mode::Mode)
+    get(io, :compact, false) ? print(io, mode) : print(io, "Mode(\"$(String(mode))\")")
+end
 
 Base.:-(a::Mode, b::Mode) = Mode(a.m & ~b.m)
 Base.:+(a::Mode, b::Mode) = Mode(a.m | b.m)
@@ -119,27 +180,6 @@ Base.ischardev(mode::Mode) = _meta(mode.m) == S_IFCHR
 """Return True if mode is from a block special device file."""
 Base.isblockdev(mode::Mode) = _meta(mode.m) == S_IFBLK
 
-
-"""Convert a file's mode to a string of the form '-rwxrwxrwx'."""
-function Base.String(mode::Mode)
-    perm = []
-    for table in FILEMODE_TABLE
-        found = false
-        for (bit, char) in table
-            if mode.m & bit == bit
-                push!(perm, char)
-                found = true
-                break
-            end
-        end
-        if !found
-            push!(perm, '-')
-        end
-    end
-
-    return join(perm)
-end
-
 """
 Return the portion of the file's mode that can be set by
 os.chmod().