Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Super Stripes and A Fluevog A Day - Inez Sexton

Super Stripes week continues!
Today's striped item is this new-to-me jacket I got this weekend:
I took all my leftover clothes from my closet clean-out and giveaway to my last consignment store - and I got $175 in credit! Everything that's left is going to charity. This jacket was marked down to $18, which I think is a good deal. I love the colour and the subtle stripe that the corduroy adds, as well as the stand-up collar. I do love a good collar on a jacket - it really makes it.

I'm doing all subtle shades of blues and greys to go with the Fluevog of the Day:
Yup, those are pretty darned sweet. They are the Bellevues family and this style is called "Inez Sexton". I bought these at a local store - good thing, as the two Fluevog stores we visited in Vancouver had almost nothing on sale, only new Spring stuff. This style is discontinued, but you still might find some out there.

They were incredibly comfortable today, considering I had to go do my WW meeting in the middle of my work day (lugging around my suitcase of files and my massive scale is a feat!). The leather is so soft and the heel is not overly high. They do fit quite narrow - these were a size 9.5 and I had lots of room in the toe, although they fit very snug over the arch.

To Terri who asked, I've never bought anything online, much less Fluevogs. I prefer the tactile shopping experience. However, as The Waves noted, "Luckily you can also call any Fluevog store to ask for advice when ordering online. The sales assistants are always incredibly helpful and friendly!" I would definitely agree with that!

A shot of the jacket with the accessories:
The big silver buttons are awesome.

Another look at my lovely boots:
They are sort of a grey-blue and the heels have a bit of a turquoise tint to them. They came with both grey and blue laces. The lattice-work leather is a deep blue.

The soles:
It says, "Bellevue. Keep pushing West and beyond your imagination."

The stuff:
I just love that stripe. I also like how the feather earrings go so well with my Grandma's brooch.

The jacket didn't have a label, but I did find this on the inside lining:
Bonspiel! I did a search and got a whole lot of of curling (the sport) results. I did find an Etsy vendor who does funky stuff, and emailed her to see if this is one of her pieces. Edit: Hi, Ellen! I don't actually talk about my city just for privacy, but your jacket didn't make it far (Fort Street!). The jacket is called the "Leia" - love it!

On my foray to the consignment store on Sunday, I also found this trench coat:
I was immediately attracted to the thick, luxurious fabric. Then I saw the Burberry label:
Strangely, the label is sewn in upside-down. I spent about an hour online looking for "How to tell if a Burberry coat is authentic" and although I now feel terribly informed about Burberry, I don't know for sure if this is a real Burberry or not.

The lining is beautiful cotton/poly, very thick. The underside of the collar is plaid, and the plaid on the lining is lined up to the top centre of the neck (shown above). The plaid itself looks right.

Here's a better look at the label:
The font seems to be correct.

The content tag is on the inside right (when wearing) seam, thus:
Again, correct font, with serifs on the "R"s and everything.

The back of the content tag:
That's Burberry's wholsale address in NYC, and the fabric content is in a few languages. Again, that all seems right.

There was also this little tag in the left (when wearing) pocket:
I think that's the size: 10R. I don't know what the other numbers/letters mean.

Every single button on it (and all the buttons are sewn on tightly and have reinforcing buttons on the inside) says "Burberry" in the same font (serifs and everything):
The flap on the front breast side unbuttons so that the coat can be done up to the neck. There is also a large "hook and eye" right at the neck.

I looked at all the seams. There are no loose ends. This is the back of the slit in the back:
Everything seems to be sewn with care (and see how nicely the plaid lines up? not sloppy at all).

The buckle is made of leather:
What do you think? Is it real or just a good fake? It all seems fine except for that label sewn in upside-down (and it doesn't look like it's been replaced - the stitches are tiny and very precisely done). Maybe that's a manufacturer's error? That would be a pretty big error!

If it's real, it's worth several hundred dollars. If it's fake, I didn't pay much:
Yup, it was $89 and then marked down to $60. And I used my credit...so it was FREE. Score! So even if it's not authentic it's still cool.

Edit: thanks to Jody of Couture Allure for this link about upside-down labels.

Coat (Burberry, consignment), jacket (Bonspiel!, consignment), skirt (Plum), shoes (Bellevue, Inez Sexton, Fluevogs), bracelet (St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop), earrings (made locally), pin (vintage 60s, Pastelli, Grandma J).

21 comments:

  1. Ok, I adore that jacket! Loving it madly. The boots are pretty darn cute too.

    Then I'm looking at the Burberry trench. I'm not even remotely an expert, but the quality looks quite high. I mean, really, wouldn't a knock-off be a bit shoddy inside? Some crooked seams & mismatched plaids? You can rip off the real Burberry buttons & put them on a fake, but I know, as a seamstress, it's hard to fake that kind of inside detailing. The upside-down label is the only weird thing, & well, maybe it's an actual Burberry but a factory second? That's my guess. Whatever tho, it's looks like a quality coat - good deal!

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  2. What a find! My vote is that it's genuine... but there is a slight flaw in it somewhere (most likely so small you'd never notice without inspecting every square inch of it under a magnifying glass). I've often found at consignment stores, thrift stores, outlet stores that major brand names will alter their tags in some way (slashing, blacking out, reversing) to denote that it wasn't sold from the store proper, but that it still from that line.

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  3. Yep, I made the jacket all right! It's an original design of mine and one of the first clothing pieces I made when I started Bonspiel about five years ago. It was called the Leia jacket. What city are you in?
    --ellen

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  4. Gorgeous! I really love that jacket - definitely a bargain at $18, and it looks great on you.

    As for the coat - it's puzzling, isn't it? I wouldn't expect a luxury brand like Burberry to have the labels sewn in incorrectly, but as you say, everything else seems good. I think it's real, if only because it makes a better story.

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  5. I love everything that you wear!! The coat looks like an original, but who cares anyway? It looks great! And I really liked your grandma brooch and jewellery! Have a nice day!

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  6. I can add a bit of insight here. I have found several high end vintage coats and suit jackets over the years sewn in upside down. This was done so that when a woman removed her coat while sitting and let it hang over the back of the chair, the rest of the room could see the label, now right side up, and know that it is an expensive brand. Here's a blog post it did about it.
    Upside Down Labels

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  7. Love the jacket, great details. How nice that you located the designer!

    As to the Burberry I'd trust your eye - you picked it out as a quality item in the store, so I bet it's genuine. After all the Chinese seamstresses don't read English; how would they know which way up the label goes? So I vote factory second, and another lucky score for you.

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  8. Hi Sheila,

    I ADORE those boots and that fabulous jacket - you look a million bucks!

    I have no idea about Burberry I'm afraid but it looks lovely quality and appears to fit you exquisitely.

    Sarah xxx

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  9. hi Sheila! i love that corduroy jacket - what a fun way to find a new designer, through detective work!

    as a seamstress here (one who takes every chance to inspect designer goods) i have to agree with Trystan (who is being quite modest about her skills). the whole point of a 'rip off' is to make it cheaper so that you can make money selling it for less - which obviously isn't the case here. it looks like Couture Allure may have the key to the puzzle (i looked for the article but couldn't scare it up - no detective here!)

    next time i'm in the land 'o cash (walnut creek) i'll see if i can find any burberrys and check the labels. either way, you got a steal! steph

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  10. Thanks, Trystan! I love the unique cut of it. Exactly my thoughts on the trench - it feels amazing and the quality is all there.

    Cara, I would tend to agree - I did examine it REALLY carefully.

    Ellen, that's so cool! I got it local, so it didn't make it very far.

    Karen, thanks! I've added Jody's link about upside-down labels to the original post.

    Dimi, aw, thank you! I agree, I love the coat, regardless.

    Jody, that's awesome, thank you so much! I can't wait to do that myself. :)

    Northmoon, thank you! I know, so neat to make that connection. You're right, I do trust my eye - it seems real to me.

    Sarah, thanks so much!

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  11. What a gorgeous trench! The only way I have of finding out if something is real or not is by taking it to work and having my fashion guru (Jason) tell me yes or no. And as you are not even remotely close to MN...

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  12. Love those cuffs on your striped jacket! Nice tailoring. and the fluevogs are adorable. So glad you did a close up--love the cut out detail. Paula

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  13. Thanks, Scary! Ha, you just send Jason up here to check it out, would you?

    Paula, thank you!

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  14. Sheila--thanks for the answer to the question. I had never heard of Fluevogs until 3 or 4 months ago. Historiadora at Fashionable Academics is a big fan of them too. Now, I'm off to learn about upside down labels.

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  15. You're welcome, Terri! Yes, she is. Isn't it amazing what you learn?

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  16. My vote is that it's a genuine Burberry- but even if it isn't, the only thing that really matters is that YOU like it!

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  17. Rita, that's my thought as well. I think it's a lovely coat, even if it's not real. But I'll pretend it is!

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  18. Hey, it's Ellen the maker of the striped jacket. I thought you might like to know I'm having a garage sale this Saturday morning in my new Chinatown loft. I'm also putting a bunch of Bonspiel clothing and bags on super mark-down sale, so if you're interested come on by, it's 1714 1/2 Government Street, 9-12
    Cheers!

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  19. Ellen, I'm so there! Looking forward to meeting you!

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