A Fluevog A Day - Coffee Kope Tiam

After yesterday's crazy-leggedness, I thought I'd class up the joint a bit and reassure my coworkers (visually) that I'm not always a cuckoo-bird dresser. I wore my very plainest Fluevogs, which are new: Look at me, I'm all ladylike!

Before I get onto the bootie discussion, please take a moment to admire my new-to-me amazing marigold skirt. I actually tried this on in the store that sold them new downtown a couple of months ago (there were a bunch of them marked down to $30 from $60, I believe - I guess yellow woolly pencil skirts are not everyone's cup of tea), then spotted it this past weekend at one of my regular consignment stores on the 1/2 price rack for $9.50. And just my size! It's like karma, I tell ya. This is the second wear of this groovy tweed jacket (last seen here, scroll down) and likely the last of the season until Fall. I can't stop admiring my shoes. I got rather warm in the office today (I swear I am going through peri-menopause, egads), so I spent the afternoon with the jacket off:

We had a staff meeting today and I was the only person in the room, out of fifty-odd people (not fifty odd people, hee hee), wearing a colour. Neutral-o-rama! I am going to have to encourage more colour there.

The stuff:

Oh, let's look at those gorgeous booties. These are from the Coffee family (the heel looks like a coffee pot spout) and are called "Kope Tiam" which is a traditional breakfast and coffee shop in Southeast Asia.

As for the style itself, sometimes, simple is just right. I don't always need bells and whistles in my Fluevogs (hee, especially when they are on sale). There are some larger sizes in this style still available on the website, so you can still snag a pair if you have big feet like me. Just like my other Coffee family shoes, these run small. This pair is a size 10 and I usually wear a 9 or 9.5 (40 in Euro sizing), and they fit perfectly. These are a lovely taupe-y shade of brown.

I actually got these cheaper than the price on the website - I found them at a shoe boutique in Vancouver called Gravity Pope. This store is the mecca of shoe stores and is always full of people. They carry all kinds of brands of funky shoes (men's and ladies'), but not full lines. They have stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, and you can also buy online (and no, I'm not getting any kick-backs from them OR Fluevog - I link because I love).

I knew I had to scope out their sale table to see what they had, and I spotted these babies crammed near the middle on the second level. The only size they had left was the 10, so lucky me! And they were only $99 - regular $319. Score!

A close-up of the shiny things:

Pretty necklace - it's a staple.

Some shoe detail:

I love that sole.

And of course, John Fluevog's signature on the ankle:

Megan posted this thing yesterday and late, late last night when I was finally able to get on the computer and thank all you guys for your kind words, I thought, "What the heck," and I wrote this out (you can tell I was tired because I started to write "2." twice. D'oh!

10 points if you know where the quote is from.

Jacket (Zara, consignment), blouse (Esprit), cami (Inwear), skirt (BB Dakota, consignment), booties (Coffee Kope Tiam, Fluevogs), necklace (Melanie Lyne), earrings (Shi Studio).

A Fluevog A Day - Listen Ups O'Hara

Thank you all for your very kind words about my blogging b-day - it was also my 900th post, coincidently. How's that for timing? Today's outfit isn't really what I envisioned. I think I am going to relegate this ruffly sweater to casual wear. It's not quite right with my outfits. I last wore it here. Agree? Anyway, let's move on!

Taking inspiration from the name of today's shoes, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" And "After all, tomorrow is another day." The Fluevog of the Day is from the new and revamped Listen Ups family (I have 3 pairs from the older, now discontinued Listen Ups family, including these ones that I wore last week). It is so aptly named the O'Hara (see the Fluevog listing here).

My tights are not that pink - they actually do match the burgundy in my blouse! I think of this now as my "Lorena blouse" because she wants it when I'm tired of it (no, I have not forgotten that). Last seen here. This skirt is new-to-me. I picked it up a couple of weekends ago for about $18 (I can't remember, and they took the tag off in the consignment shop). It's a really thick velvet and replaces my old white jean skirt that I thrashed.

But back to the shoes. The sweet, sweet shoes.

Oh heavens. Believe it or not, these are super comfortable. I was shocked in the store when I tried them on, and I walked all over my office today with absolutely no pain.

Here are some shoe details. The sole:

Of course, it says "Listen Up".

The heel has John's signature:

And his signature is stamped on the ankle.

I love all these details that they do on their shoes.

The stuff:

Yup, that's stuff.

A close-up:

Pretty standard!

Cardigan (American Rag Cie, consignment), blouse (Zara, consignment), skirt (B.U.M. Equipment, consignment), belt and earrings (Plum), ring (Fossil), wrist wrap (Club Monaco), shoes (Listen Up O'Hara, Fluevogs).

A Fluevog A Day - Memories Madly (and a Small Celebration)

I've had this outfit planned for ages, and have been saving it for the right day. When I saw how awesome my Fluevogs went with it, I was thrilled. My most uncomfortable Fluevogs I own: They look amazing, but man, they kill my feet! They have no padding in them and because they are satin (and not leather) they have never really stretched out. They don't give me blisters, but the balls of my feet get really sore (no padding) and my toes have been cramping up all night. I need a foot massage!

These are from the now-defunct Memories family, and this particular shoe is called the Madly. I bought them on sale nearly 3 years ago, when L and I went to Vancouver to see Alice Cooper in the autumn of 2008 - that seems so long ago! Check out the original post of them here (scroll down past my get-up, hee hee). The soles are long worn off, so I'm really glad I photographed them.

I last wore them here. On to the outfit! I picked up this amazing bright blue skirt in the thrift store for all of $7. It still had the price tag on it - it was apparently two items (can you even imagine what the other piece was? Some crazy jacket? A top? A vest?) and sold for $100. Nice score!

I love how it looks with this green silk top (last seen here). Hee, I didn't know Inigo was there until the shutter went off.

For nearly all of my day, I kept the Most Amazing Coat Ever on. My new office is highly air conditioned, and I was only warm after I'd hauled my WW stuff on the bus and then up 4 flights of stairs (it's a good workout).

I love this coat so much (detail pictures here). I'm not going to be able to wear it for many more times before it's just too hot, though, as it's quite thick and has large patches of wool on it.

All the colours looked so nice. I actually got a few compliments from people today.

In case you were wondering, this is what I lug to work, then to town, then unpack and give a meeting, then lug back up to the bus stop, then back to work, then home.

The rolling suitcase weighs about 60 pounds - it has a full-size medical scale in it, files, handouts, WW products for sale, and other assorted administrative types of things. It's no picnic to carry around! I also carry my plastic scroll case with my flip charts in it, and my purse. It's quite a production.

The stuff:

The light is bad in this picture. The shoes are a dark hunter green and the shirt is emerald green.

The bling:

And those are a frosted white/silver.

Oh, the small celebration is that this is my 3rd blogoversary! Back on March 29th, 2008, I decided to start this thing...I'm not going to do a wrap-up like I did last year, but I would like to thank all of you! You anonymous lurking readers (I know you're there, hee hee), you wonderful commenters, you amazing fellow bloggers. Thank you for being here on this journey.

Jacket (Desigual), blouse (Jacob, consignment), skirt (Cabri, thrifted), shoes (Memories Madly, Fluevog), ring and earrings (Lavishy).

A Fluevog A Day - Bellevues Libby Smith

Is it only Monday? Really? Are you sure it's not Thursday? Dang... Anyway, off to another week of Daily Fluevogs. Today features a pair I bought on sale at the Vancouver store (perched right in one of the bricked-up windows) a couple of weekends ago: They are fabulously comfortable, and I love how they look. These pictures do not do my outfit justice - the colours in the blouse are much richer. I last wore this skirt here, and the blouse here. But anyway, it's all about the shoes, right? Yummm... My sweet, sweet Fluevogs:

Let's just stare at them for a while:

You can read about them here (and they are on sale, and there are lots of other colours!). I fell in love with this rich purple mixed with the caramel and the darker rust-coloured button detail.

The stuff:

The purple is darker, more like the purple above in the solo bootie shot.

The glittery things:

My lovely Myka set that L bought for me years ago.

Tonight is when I do my flipcharts for my WW presentations for my meeting tomorrow. Inigo helped:

He's just been fed and wants to play.

Even a foot in the butt was not enough to make him get off my paper.

Move it, cat!

Blouse (Nolita, thrifted), skirt (Precis Petite, thrifted), shoes (Bellevues Libby Smith, Fluevog), jewelry (Myka, gift from L).

Super Stripes and A Fluevog A Day - Teapot Sencha

And we are down to the last day of Super Stripes Week! Although I do adore a theme week (it really makes planning easier when you have a restriction), it was tricky to work both stripes and Fluevogs together, and as result, three pairs of my new Fluevogs will be worn next week.

Anyway, my stripes today are this glorious yellow shirt (first seen here):
I love the bright yellow, but it's a bit limiting with what you can wear with it. After all, it IS bright yellow with a green and blue stripe. So I went with the bright green cardi (last seen here).

I was a little tired this morning...

I liked how the cherry-red shoes went with this. Lots of people checked them out.

My job is going well, but I really miss the time I used to spend reading all your blogs - and I'm going to try to visit all my favourites this weekend! Thank you for putting up with me!

A shot of my bleary self: I liked the splash of red that the necklace gave.

Here are my Fluevogs of the Day:

They are from the now-defunct Teapot family (see how the heel looks like a teapot spout?) and are called the Sencha. These are probably my most comfortable pair of Fluevogs - I actually ran for the bus in these today! I gave them a polish last night because they were getting quite scuffed, and now they are all fab again. I last wore them here, but here are some shots of the (now worn off) sole and the lovely details.

The stuff:

Fun necklace!

Have a great weekend! I have some exciting news hopefully coming...

Cardigan (Kersh), shirt (Ralph Lauren, thrifted), skirt (Bebe, swap from Caro), shoes (Teapot Sencha, Fluevog), necklace (Plum), earrings (Aldo Accessories).

Super Stripes and A Fluevog A Day - Listen Up Audrey

Today's Super Stripes are my skirt:
I left the picture uncropped because Inigo looks so funny - he's licking his lips after just being fed.

I love the swooshiness of this skirt (last seen here):

And for my Daily Fluevog, I'm wearing another one of my older pairs, from the long-discontinued "Listen Up" family. This one is called the Audrey. They're super comfortable. I last wore them here.

The jacket is also new-to-me - it was $39 on consignment (a little high, I thought), but since I had enough credit to completely cover the cost, I took it. The portrait collar is awesome:

I did feel a little exposed at work - you can bet I stood up when someone came to my desk so that they didn't get an eyeful of cleavage, even though I had a cami on underneath!

The stuff:

My groovy bendy necklace thing.

A close-up:

I also had a snake theme going on.

Jacket (Tulle, consignment), skirt (MNG, consignment), belt (Plum), necklace (gift from Elaine), earrings (don't remember), ring and brooch (vintage 80s).

Super Stripes and A Fluevog A Day - Blind Faith Hi "Rebecca"

Woo, I'm exhausted...both L and I have been having nutty weeks, and our days are way too full. It's past 10 pm and here I am just getting today's post up.

Today's stripes and the Fluevog of the Day are one and the same! I have stripes on my footwear!

I am also wearing my new-to-me dress that I picked up in Vancouver last weekend:

I think of this as sort of a "retro cowgirl" look. The dress is a classic shirtwaist (it has extra pleats in the back to pouf it out a bit more) in a nice neutral colour. I do wear neutrals sometimes! The dress was $21.00.

You can't see it in the above pictures, but I'm wearing my fluffy skirt underneath it:

I'd link to the last time I wore the underskirt, but it has no label so I can't find it when I search. I also have a red cami on under the dress (gotta hide the cleavage at work!).

Oh, there, you can see the striped heels on my boots! These are my only pair of tall Fluevog boots - I got them on sale a couple of years ago. This family is called the Blind Faith Hi (there was also a Blind Faith Lo and Mid, referring to the heel height), and this style is the Rebecca. All the Blind Faith styles had the same striped wooden heel, I believe. These are quite comfortable, but very tight in the calves - the leather is very stiff and even after many wears, they are still a ways to go in being soft.

I last wore them here, and you can see some of the detailing from the first time I wore them here.

The stuff:

That truly is a gorgeously-shaped boot. I love the stitching going up the side, the little square studs at the top and the zipper up the front - rock and roll!

A close-up of the accessories:

My favourite Shi Studio belt buckle, and some stone jewelry. The turquoise necklace is from my "free" haul in the consignment store this last Sunday - it was $20, and I used my credit. It has a real heft to it, and warmed up on my skin, feeling lovely.

Dress (Reitman's, consignment), ruffly underskirt (no label, consignment), boots (Blind Faith Hi, Rebecca, Fluevog), belt (Shi Studio), bracelet (Plum), necklace (consignment).

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).