Getting my Funk Back with Fluevogs!

First up, an apology to my mom: I know, I am a bad daughter who should have phoned you instead of you reading about my life on my blog. (I am also a bad auntie, and a bad sister, who never calls). I'm sorry.

Let's move on. On Thursday night, I did another fill-in for one of my fellow WW leaders. We are now getting autumn weather, so I'm having to prepare by doing layers. I got this new dress and wanted to wear it, mostly: That's my Leia jacket by local designer Bonspiel (last worn with the same belt and booties), layered over the dress, which in turn is layered over my navy net underskirt.

I wore the above outfit all day at work (it's rather cool in the new office too), but by the time I got to my WW meeting, the sun was out and it was a big meeting (45 people), so I took the jacket and belt off. Here's a better look at the dress itself.

It's hard to see because I'm looking down at Vizzini, but the neck has high ruffles all around. The material is cotton thin-wale cordury, and it's a deep navy blue. Very soft, and with a bit of stretch.

This is another Smoking Lily find that I was very excited to snag - it was $49.99 on consignment, which is a bit high, but still well under the regular retail for a Smoking Lily dress (I couldn't find anything online about this dress, but here's a recent cord dress by them for $180).

It's a slight mullet dress (just like my skirt):

The back has a bit of a bustle; it's gathered and then poofs out at the small of my back, and the hem hangs down a few inches lower than the front. You can see the ruffle detail at the neck better here too.

I think Vizzini was going for the laces on my booties!

The stuff:

I wore short sport socks with these booties so that my toes wouldn't rub. I love that it's nearly boot weather. Time to clean out my closet and remind myself of what I have! Yay!

Here's a close-up of another special detail on the dress:

That's a huge flower (about 8 x 10" across) that's silkscreened on the back bottom of the dress in a slightly lighter blue. You can just see the ruffly neck folded down above it too (even the button is awesome - it's irridescent and fastens with a loop of purple velvet ribbon).

Jacket ("Leia" by Bonspiel, consignment), dress (Smoking Lily, consignment), belt (Landes, thrifted), booties (Inez Sexton Bellevues, Fluevog).

On Friday, it was back to cloudy, so I busted out one of my thrift finds from a few months ago. I shop for all seasons, all year round, and have a bunch of amazing sweaters and jackets that have been languishing in my closet waiting for cool weather. I'm patient - I know it will come!

This is a 100% cashmere sweater:

Isn't it great? I love the rugby stripes and styling. It's snug but still a bit sexy and sporty. It was all of $14.95 in the thrift store (again, a little high for thrift, but for cashmere? Um, yeah, okay!).

I wore my suede jacket over top of it (it was only $7 back in January 2009), so that kind of ameliorates the dissatisfaction over the sweater, right?

Of course, the real star of the show is the shoes! I usually buy my Fluevogs new, but once in a while I see a pair in a consignment shop...these called to me! They were much pricier than what I'll usually pay for something that is essentially second-hand ($99), but considering that Fluevogs new are usually in the $200-$350 range, I think I did well.

They're from the Minis family, which has been around since 2001, and are called the Qtee. And hey, they sell for $265! I don't feel bad at all about $99 now. Mine are a different colour mix than what is currently available, so they are probably a few years old.

They were insanely comfortable (I ran a block in them!), and the thick soles were sturdy and nicely gripped the sidewalk.

Some details:

Oh yes! The sweater is Juicy Couture, and it seems to be authentic. This link is by eBay on how to tell if it's a fake or not - this cashmere sweater appears to be from pre-2006 - there's even a picture of this label down at the bottom. I'm pretty sure it would have sold for more than $14.95 new. Hee!

Here are the Qtees:

They were in very good shape - a few scuffs and some wear on the soles, but otherwise nicely broken in. Check out the wonderful hourglass heel! I love the red piping too.

Of course, they are signed by John Fluevog:

Classic.

And the soles:

F is for fun!

Jacket (B.U.M. Equipment, thrifted), sweater (Juicy Couture, thrifted), skirt (Smart Set, thrifted), shoes (Mini Qtee, Fluevog, consignment), belt (Plum).