Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Maiden Friday, Fluevog Silver Style Party, and Shopping in Snakeskin

Hello, my friends! Woo, it has been a heck of a weekend, starting off with a very busy Friday, followed by some shopping on Saturday and now chilling out on Sunday. 

Here's a little tease - I met one of my idols on Friday night! 

And what kind of shenanigans are these? Well, you will just have to read on to find out!

This is my entry for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style this week! Go!

For my workday on Friday, I took advantage of Casual Friday and pushed the envelope.

The Iron Maiden is in the house! Yes, I wore my tour shirt to work.

• Iron Maiden "Legacy of the Beast" tour shirt - Portland, OR; purchased here for $45 US
• Skirt - Mexx, consignment; first worn here in July with tweed and dots
• Lace tights - Dim, thrifted; purchased here for $1.95
• Boots - BCBG Max Azria; last seen here (4th outfit) in April with a dress that looks familiar
• Coat (below) - Vassali, consignment; last worn here in March

I won't be wearing it again to work (it's now sleepwear), but I wanted to show it off to my coworkers.

 There was much love in the office for this look.

I was asked a few times if rock tees were office-appropriate.

"Only if you dress like me," was my answer.

Rock on!

 I put my hair up in clips for curl while I did my make-up.

Outerwear - yes, it's nearly 100% coat season.

 We've had off and on sun plus torrential rains for three days.

When it's gloomy, it feels colder here, as it's so damp (being right on the ocean).

 I blew the colour and contrast out on the above picture so that you can see the two textures of this amazing coat. It's lined in cream satin - all the solid black parts are velvet with wide pinstripes, and the plaid sections are done in spiderweb-woven wool. It tips down in a point in the middle back too.

The stuff:

 It was a good day for flat boots. The new-to-me lace tights were wonderful, until Vizzini snagged them and put a hole in the front. Arg! That cat!

• Chain bracelet - thrifted
• Gold hoop earrings - gift from L, 5th anniversary

I rushed home after work, fluffed out my hair (you can see that I have almost zero curl left), redid my make-up, and changed for our evening event.

 The Fluevog Silver Style Party!

• Burnt orange dress - vintage, thrifted; purchased here for $29.99
• Tights - Celeste Stein
• Shoes - Listen Up O'Hara, Fluevog; last seen here in May with circus stripes
• Coat (below) - Club Monaco, thrifted; last worn here a couple of weeks ago
• Shoes (below) - Half Truth Veda, Fluevog; last seen here in July with my stained glass dress

The Silver Style Party was a free event hosted at the Fluevog store in Victoria. I thought it sounded like fun, so I sent the invite out to our crowd and nine of us partook in the fun.

L and I both wracked our brains for What To Wear - word on the street was that John Fluevog himself would be there!

I decided to go with a fairly simple outfit to show off my shoes, one of my older and rarer pairs, the Listen Up O'Hara. I bought them on our annual pilgrimage to the Gastown Fluevog store in Vancouver in March 2011, and first worn them here.

Ha, I noted in that post how comfortable they are - but I am 8 years older, and my feet are much more fussy...

This lovely dress is a burnt orange colour - I like the gathered sleeves, and the empire waist with the slightly flared shape of the skirt.

I'll probably wear a necklace with this dress next time, but I went with a vintage brooch on the boob-seam (technical term) to give some extra visual interest.

Very excited about my shoes and tights combo.

 Many shiny rings on too!

This is how I looked at the event, carrying around my massive green suede/brown leather bag.

I needed a big bag - I had an extra pair of shoes to carry.

Remember that rain I mentioned? I threw my hair up in a loose twist and jammed my hat onto it to keep it dry. I shoved the hat in my bag when I got to the store.

 A light coat for warmth in the drizzle. And you may have noticed...I have different Fluevogs on!

• Hat - Deluxe (had it forever, first seen here in 2009)

The stuff:

These are amazing shoes. But they are not wearable for longer than an hour and a half for me, sadly. I plan to Zentangle them in the future, as they have a few marks and black scuffs on the insides from the black soles.

Silver bling:

I see a signature! 

• Swear rings - Wendy Brandes
• Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver earrings - Brenda Schoenfeld, 1992, vintage mall
• Brooch - Sarah Coventry, vintage fair

Stuff, part two:

I wore these shoes to the event, changed into my O'Haras there (stashing these in my purse with my hat), and then changed back for a walk to Clive's Classic Lounge afterwards.

Hence the big purse.

L looked absolutely awesome, as he always does.

Red shirt, brown vintage vest, fun Endangered Red Wolf silk tie, Etro wool trousers (from Florence, Italy, classy), and his Idol Iggy shoes (named after Iggy Pop, the Godfather of Punk Rock).

You're so handsome, love!

I took a million pictures of the event, and missed L in nearly all of them, so I'm glad I took these before we left the house.

Now, y'all will indulge my fan-girling, and I'll mention again, before we dive into the pictures, that I don't get any kind of discount or freebies from buying Fluevogs or mentioning them. They're just my favourite shoes. By the way, I got permission for 99% of my pictures, forgot 99% of the names, and gave out 100% of my blog cards that I'd brought - hello!, if any of you are checking me out!

Here's Katie (our usual salesperson) and my dear friend Casey.

 Katie's vintage 80s beaded dress is from the Patch and goes so well with her gold-dotted boots. Casey looks like a rock star in his groovy blazer, ribbon tie and fabulous cream and pink Fluevogs.

Karen and Nick, dear friends for 25+ years.

Dang, my friends are so good-looking! Isn't Karen's outfit fabulous? From her fascinator, to her gold belt, to her vintage purse, to the leopard tights and floral shoes - she is a vision!

I gasped when I saw this lady come swooshing in - look at this lovely dress!

I want to swan about in it! I totally barged into her conversation to gush over the dress and ask if I could take her picture. I babbled that I'd heard John was coming, hoped he would sign my shoes (I brought a pen), barely caught that her name was Ruth, and then ducked away in my awkwardness.

Here's a look at the early crowd. I love the metal sculpture of the birds flying across the ceiling (it continues out a hole in the front of the store. above the doorway).

There was food, beer and wine and a draw prize for a free pair of shoes (none of our crowd won, which is totally outrageous!), and much mingling. I've never seen so many well-dressed and snazzily-shod people in one room before, in Victoria. It was really cool.

I babbled, and nerded out over everyone's footwear and took lots of pictures of the lovely people I met. Again, forgive me, but I've forgotten your names.

The lady on the right mistook L for John Fluevog, I found out later. The woman in the background in the black Munster boots was lovely and rocked those boots so hard!

The fashionista in the middle decorated her green and blue shoes with hundreds of crystals!

They were awe-inspiring! I feel like I need to bedazzle some shoes too.

And then...John was there! Thanks to Cat for being my wing-woman and taking pictures while I rattled off my introduction and request for him to sign my shoes.

 Conversation:

Me: John! I'm Sheila and I'm so pleased to meet you - I love your shoes! Would you sign my shoes? I'm going to draw on them and make them special.
JF: Sure!
Me: Thank you! You're so nice!
JF: I'm really not this nice.
Me: Me neither! 

Introverts bonding!

He suggested we sit down, so I got into a very awkward pose on a bench in front of the "Flue-seum" display in the store. 

I brought my own Zentangling pen, but John had a handful as well.

I guess he's had this request before!

I think I was the first shoe to get signed that night, but I wasn't the last.

There was a big crowd watching and everyone was very boisterous.

I love this picture! 

A perfect signature. 

My pen was a lot finer than the ones John had.

I'm happy I was prepared and worked up my nerve to ask for a signature.

I'll be working on decorating my shoes over the next few months, and will show you pics when they are done. 

Some more pictures of the fun folks there.  

Two lovely ladies - I had such a nice time chatting with everyone I met, although as mentioned, I was babbling away for most of the night. I babble when I'm nervous.

John did the draw for free shoes...and it was at this point that I realized that Ruth of the long pleated metallic dress...

...was his wife (you can see half of her head above). Oops. Sorry for barging in on you!

I loved this woman's dress. She told me it was a Betsey Johnson - I would totally wear it.

 If the boots look familiar, it's because they are the same family as my white Zoomies shoes and my Chatterbox blue velvet boots.

Some of my posse: Cat, Yvonne, Randall and Karen.

Souls Rejoice!

Cat's wearing one of my old pairs of Fluevogs, and don't you love her sequinned UK flag purse? Yvonne has an awesome pair of the Swordfish toe booties on that she bought with a birthday gift card - her first pair ever! Love Randall's skull and roses shirt.

Randall took over camera duty, as the other gals and I headed for the photo booth. 

The classic overhead shot

 You can see John's being swamped with people (he's in the light blue coat).

A slightly blurry shot of us.

 Did I mention the drinks were free?

Goofing off in the photobooth. It's set up in front of the old photo of John from the 70s.

 The giant mirror reflects the rest of the store.

It was chaotic!

 Also, I am a ham in front of the camera.

Vizzini has nothing on me. 

 There's Ross on the right, watching us be silly.

These are the best photos of us as a group.

My, I have a lot of teeth!

Say cheese!

We each got a photo strip from the booth. What a great idea!

Karen had to say hello to John too.

 I like that John is wearing a pair of shoes that L owns, with gold heels and gold detail on the vamp/lacing area.

Signing another fan's booties with a silver pen (he had black and gold too - it's like he's done this before!).

 By the end of the night, there were a dozen or more pairs that he'd signed.

I loved this woman's fabulous attitude, and her steel blue hair.

Those yellow-black tiger-striped shoes were the only duplicate pair I saw all night.

Everyone was having a blast.

L has the same boots at the above gent, only in blue instead of white.

Adding the guy who kicked his red boot into the above pic.

 Rejoice in our shared love of 'Vogs!

I drooled over this midnight blue velvet slouchy suiting on this funky lady.

I made her hike up her pant-leg to show her shoes.

A fantastic bag that one of the gents was sporting.

 I'm not sure if it's Fluevog (they make bags too), but that metal angel is a cool detail.

Casey and Nick.

 Two of my oldest and dearest friends (I met them both just before I met L, back in 1995).

Another long-shot of the store - I hit it off with Carol in the pink sweater, who is a new employee of Fluevog. I'm sure I'll see her and Katie soon, as my birthday is coming and that means gift cards!

See the orange arrow in the centre? That's me in the mirror on the back wall. 

The above is the only picture that caught L, bizarrely. I see your plaid pants, my love!

Casey was a bit shy, but I passed along the wing-woman karma and maneuvered him into saying hello to John and taking a picture.

That was such a fun night, and such a memorable event! I can't believe I met my shoe idol, and he signed my shoes! Eeee!

Phew! After all that excitement, now we take a breather for my Saturday outfit, which was worn to the Ultimate field, and then out shopping afterwards.

 It was a weird day: very foggy, but warm out, and also slightly chilly.

• Dress - T. Babaton, yard sale; last worn here (4th outfit) in April for theatre with Mom
• Boots - Ash; last seen here (2nd outfit) in March for brunch and a movie with L

This is my view of the Castle from the stairs.

You're not blind; the Castle is hidden in the fog.

I'm wearing a black tank under this thin silk dress, plus a black half-slip to cover the thigh area.

 It still feels like a lot of leg. I think I need tights with this, or a longer layer.

My feet were in agony after standing in my 4" O'Haras the night before for 3+ hours. I was also sore and my body was sore from both my Mental Health Walk after work on Thursday and my back aching from my aged body wearing really high heels for far too long.

 I didn't play my best at Ulti (and I'm still quite sore today), but it was still a fun game.

No rain, but foggy/cloudy.

 This grey snakeskin felt appropriate.

The stuff:

 I bought these boots in October 2014 after seeing similar styles all over Italy - now, they are finally "in" over here! I had tons of comments on them while I shopped.

• White gold hoops - Frances Jewelers, 10th anniversary gift from L

I walked (slowly) down to Turnabout and House of Savoy on Oak Bay Avenue for a browse, and found a few really cool things.

This skirt is 100% silk, with pockets, and do you not LOVE the print?

It's called the "Library print" - check out the frames and cozy book-themed settings.

I've helpfully pointed out the cat in the chair for you.

It's by J. Crew Collection, and is from 2007. The size tag below is covering up the content label (the lining is 100% polyester).

It was over $200 new, and was marked at $49.99 - a bit high, but the print totally sold me.

I also bit on this amazing jacket.

 It sits weirdly on the hanger because it is really structured, and the cut is meant to sit off the body in the front. They had it buttoned up on the hanger, but it looked quite odd. Once I tried it on, I realized that it's supposed to sit open and drape in a very architectural way at the front.

Back detailing - you can see the shoulders better there (they are bold, with big pleats), and slight peplum and box-pleat detailing on the lower back.

 It's by Vivienne Westwood "Anglomania".

 Showing the "arm and saber" design on the label and woven into the lining.

The fabric looks slightly shiny - here's a close-up of the weave. I like the nice personalized buttons too.

This was $129.99 (ouch!) but new Anglomania jackets start at retail $765 (for polyester) and go up to $1,050 (for wool blends). Mine has had the content tag cut out, but it feels like a cotton/poly blend. I feel better knowing that this is a good price!

This is my 3rd piece of Vivienne Westwood: I also have these shoes (also Anglomania, + Melissa) and this Red Label blazer (found for a steal at $27.99!! See how I get spoiled?).

From Turnabout, I crossed the street and spent some time going through House of Savoy. First thing found:

It's a faux-fur infinity scarf/collar in pale grey.

New with tags on! It was $28.00, which is more than I usually pay for a scarf.

However, when I found the original price tag, I knew I'd gotten a good score. I would not pay $119.50 for this. I'll wear it a ton this fall/winter, I'm sure. Snuggly!

I loved the texture and fit of this black and magenta-striped sweater.

 It fits well at the waist, and this is a good neckline on me.

The stripes are fuzzy angora!

Someone cut every tag out of this, but I'm sure it's cotton/viscose (the black parts) and angora (the stripes), probably with a touch of polyester. It's very soft.

They did leave the "Michael Kors" label on the back of the neck, though.

 This would have been around $175 new - it was marked down to $18.00. Score!

I can't resist a kooky skirt. This one is a high-low ruffle-trimmed hem, lined with tan taffeta ruffled lining.

 The fabric of the skirt is sewn into angled strips around the body, so that it has enormous swooshing power.

All the stitching is contrast, and there are 3 large belt-loops on it. No tags on it anywhere, but it feels like quality. It was $38.00.

I fell hard for these boots, no surprise.

 I think you can see why! My crow-brain goes "CAW!" Shiny!

The two reds (all leather) are: metallic textured with holes, and straight up red with gold drippy designs.

 Look at that cool heel! These boots are Wonder Woman-worthy!

They are by Eject - I also have these shoes by this brand, and remember admiring these/similar boots in the store where I bought mine, in Gastown in Vancouver.

 These have very little wear.

They were $75.00, which is a STEAL.

 These boots retail for $600-750+!

I was so excited, I took a picture of them on, despite my unprepared appearance in my striped linen/cotton sweater dress (which is lovely to wear around the house), and the pant-hanger still sitting on my closet door.

"Seriously, Woman, come cuddle with me!"

Vizzini's right - I need some kitty cuddling and relaxing.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by!