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).

Super Stripes and A Fluevog A Day - Sumatra Coffee

And the week begins!
Today, my stripes are on my pin-striped shirt (hard to see in the pictures, but please take my word for it):

The vest is new-to-me; I got it on consignment for $13. It's 100% cotton, but it's a really smooth, almost shiny finish. It still had the extra button in its plastic bag attached to the label, so it's never been worn.

This is my second wear of my suede skirt too (last seen here). I felt a little overdressed for work, but whatever.

Today's Fluevog of the Day are my Coffee "Sumatra" shoes:

I've worn these lots since I got them (last time here, scroll down). This style is no longer being made - Fluevog brings out new styles twice a year and discontinues most of the older styles, but you can often find similar ones in the same family (here are examples - they all have the same last, heel and toe shape). There are still shoes in the Coffee family available (check them out here). I tried on the Macchiato (it was okay, but I wasn't in love with it), and the Breva and Restretto were a little too plain for my taste.

For those of you who asked, new styles are usually cheaper to buy online from the Fluevog website, although they are still really expensive (usually $99 - over $300, with most of the shoes being in the $200 range). BUT, I have often found their shoes, especially discontinued styles, marked down quite low in other stores - and lots of boutiques carry a very small amount of what a full Fluevog store does (check it out - scroll down - even Iceland has a store that sells them!)

Be aware that Fluevogs are extremely erratic in sizing from family to family, and it really helps to try them on. I have bought all the way from an 8.5 to a 10. If you check out the comments on the shoe styles in the same family (for example, in the Macchiato you'd probably want to order a half-size larger), it can give you a better idea of how the shoe's sizing runs. These ones that I wore today are a size 10, and I usually wear a 9 or 9.5.

I also find that some styles look amazing on the website and are a little blah in person - and some styles that I wouldn't look twice at online are fantastic once you put them on your foot.

But enough jibba-jabba! Feast your eyes:

I really love those shoes - they are one of my favourite pairs - so perfect for Day 1.

The sparkly stuff:

A vintage necklace - can't remember where I got it, but I've had it for a few years - a very old gold ring with a banged-up red stone, and my square ladies wooden ring.

Shirt (Mexx, consignment), vest (Jacob, consignment), skirt (Danier, thrifted), shoes (Fluevog, Coffee "Sumatra"), necklace (vintage), ring (vintage), wood ring (consignment).