FlueReview: Spring 2015

Joanne and I, along with friends Cheryl and Mae, visited the Melrose store during Joanne’s brief visit to Los Angeles about a week ago to try on the new styles, and we were not disappointed. This Spring, the shoes range from cute and quirky to sleek, from romantic and flirty to downright sexy.

This is a continuation of our review of the latest Spring styles — see Joanne’s lovin’ lala land for the first part. In this post will be the shoes that Cheryl and I tried on. Cheryl’s up first, so here are her sizing notes:

Cheryl is a US 7.5 street size with a medium arch, medium wide feet, and a longer second toe. She seems to run on the lower end of 7.5 (perhaps 7.25), so she stays true to size when others have to go up half a size.

Soprano | Angelina in black. Size 7.5. Cheryl found these true to size. All of our jaws dropped when she tried these on. Let’s just say these wouldn’t go amiss in a bondage-friendly film. Very sexy and va-va-voom. Joanne calls them over-the-shoulder shoes.

Mezzo | Callas in blue. Size 7.5. These were also true to size for Cheryl. I think these are in the romantic and flirty category, and they look adorable on both Cheryl and Mae. The soft laces and this colorway in particular — the dusky blue with the turquoise soles — evoke spring very strongly for me (they’re not as green as they appear in the photo).

Soprano | Carey in black. Size 7.5. Another true-to-size Soprano for Cheryl. She found these very comfortable even though she was worried at first about the height of the heel. She was looking for shoes to wear in the courtroom, and these certainly look like they mean business.

Mini | Elif in black/ivory. Size 7.5. Cheryl found these true to size (others usually go down 1/2 size compared to other Minis). She ended up taking these home. Between the Carey and the Elif, this style had both the business factor she was looking for and the wow factor that Fluevog is known for.

KKBB | Sam in blue/navy. Size 7.5. Cheryl found these just a smidgen large; if they’d had a 7.25 they would have been perfect. The Sam is one of the more delightful additions this Spring. Joanne thinks that this style will definitely come back in future seasons in other colorways. Given the reception they’ve already received, I’m with her on this.

***

Here are the styles I tried, including the Sam in the other colorway. My sizing notes:

I am a true size US 5.5. I have relatively-flat arches, wide toes, and narrowish ankles. I regularly wear 5 in the Operetta, Mini, Attention, and Baroque families; 5 or 5.5 in the Bellevue and Fellowship families; and 6 in the Radio family. I gained a bit of weight in the last year, though, so I think my feet are a little wider now, which makes me want to go up in size more often when I try shoes.

KKBB | Sam in cherry/blue/white. Size 6. I tried on my usual size in the Liz style of this family but found that the Sam fits slightly bigger. It’s possible that I could comfortably wear a 5.5, but since the Melrose store didn’t carry anything smaller than the 6, I can’t be sure about that. I wanted to show you this angle because of the straps. With my flat arches, I had to use the tighter of two snap buttons, which meant that the straps kind of winged out to the sides. I personally don’t mind this, but I can imagine that some people might not like this particular silhouette for themselves.

Earth Angel* (not on the website) | Budapest in turquoise. Size 6. Half size to full size small. We’re not sure if this is the correct family because the shoe isn’t on the website yet. I have three pairs from the Earth Angel family, which I thought was retired a few years ago, and the fit on the soles feels very similar if not the same. This particular style isn’t as immediately comfortable as my older pairs, but if I went up a full size to 6.5 and wore them with cozy socks, I can see them becoming a go-to ankle boot. The leather is very soft and velvety and would break in easily. This colorway is fabulous.

Rules Low | Gardiner in brown. Size 5.5. This is the same family as the Joni and the fit is the same for me, true to size — although my toes look incredibly close to the edge there. These were comfortable upon first trying on, and I really like this darker brown.

Rules Low | Gardiner in floral. Size 5.5. True to size. Joanne asked me to try on the floral. I think they’re prettier than the brown, but I find that they’re too close to “nude” for my skin color and basically get washed out. Still a very comfortable sandal, though. The heel on this family is great because it’s fairly low and stable but has an interesting shape.

Petit Talon* (not on the website) | Gladice in white/black. Size 6. Runs a quarter to half a size small. I was really excited to try these on because, hello, they’re kind of my namesake (Gladice is the French spelling of my name). PLUS I love kitten heels and the soles of these are adorable (Petit Talon is also French for kitten heel, although I’m not positive that this is the family name because it’s not on the website yet). I totally forgot to take a pic of the sole — next time! — but it says something like big surprises come in small packages “Small Things Can Bring Big Pleasures.” Love! And seriously, look at this colorway. It’s very striking. I’m not a white-shoe person at all, but I think I’ll have to make an exception for these. When I asked how I could style them, Mae immediately suggested treating them like a neutral.

Petit Talon* | Gladice in black. Size 6. The white/black colorway wowed us, but the black one not so much. It’s because the interesting detail of the patent-leather toes gets muted. It’s still a great shape, however, and I think this would look wonderful with the right ankle-length trousers or skinny jeans.

Swordfish Women’s | Rococo Taco in black. Size 6. Maybe a quarter size small (I felt like I had a bit of room in the 6, but these don’t come in smaller sizes). I saved this one for last because it’s the one that was furthest from my style preferences but ended up surprising me. I think it looks both tough and sexy, what with the tongueless peekaboo going on there with the detailed straps. The surprise came with the comfort factor — it didn’t feel like a 3.5″ heel at all, and the pointy toes were also comfortable for me. They were also fairly easy to put on because of the inside zipper. I was very impressed. I have nothing like this in my collection, yet I can see myself creating outfits around them, from casual to clubbing to the opera. Hmm, we’ll see.

Living | Anton in grey. These were worn (and bought) by a lovely lady we met during our visit, Trish, a longtime Vogger who lives in the area. We enjoyed talking to her so much that we asked to take a photo of her wearing these shoes. These are supposed to be grey but they’re really more beige (the lighting makes them look even darker than they are).

Here’s the requisite flower wheel from the end of our visit. Thanks once again to Fluevogologists Ali and Jonny for taking care of us and working so hard to help us try on so many pairs. I found out that Ali and I are basically size twins, so I hope that the Melrose store will carry the smaller sizes in the future! *crossing fingers* 🙂 Jonny, who is very tall, took this photo because he could get all of us in the shot. He’s at the 6 o’clock position (forgot to ask what shoe he’s wearing), and going clockwise from there is Ali in the Liz, Cheryl in her new Elif, Mae in the Woop Woop, me in the Sandra, and Joanne in her vintage Rayelle.

Let us know in the comments which pairs you’re lusting after!

xo,
Gladys

for the love

Happy Valentine’s Day, Fellow Flueddicts!

I’m not gonna lie. Valentine’s Day is a sham of a holiday! I hated it when I was single, and being in love does not make me despise this holiday any less. It’s a sham, I tell you. A SHAM!

The only thing I value about this holiday is having a simple reminder to honor those you love – family, friends, SOs, etc. While the candy and flowers are nice, 50% markdowns on candy the day after Valentine’s day is even better!

Anyway… though the holiday is a total sham, I do want to pay tribute to our loved ones for making our lives fantastic. For me, I’m happy to have an amazing Manpanion who puts up with all my craziness. My dear Manpanion: Thank you for making me the lucky gal who gets to walk through this life with you (while wearing our fantastic Fluevogs).

For the love of those who put up with our special brand of crazy,

j-ro

(you may barf now)

 

lovin’ lala land

Hello Fellow Flueddicts!

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to be in Los Angeles for research. It’s been a while since I have spent any substantive time in the area. Naturally, I carved out some much-needed gal pal time. On Friday night, I met with Miss Gladys and my college besties Mae and Cheryl. We headed out to Melrose with two objectives: 1) find me a wedding dress and 2) visit the LA Fluevog store!

We reached the store at around 7ish and basically closed out the place (they’re open ’til 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays). I want to give an extra special thanks to Ali and Jonny for all their hard work. They brought out dozens of boxes for us and patiently let us try on numerous Vogs just so we could provide these FlueReviews for you. If you’re ever in the LA area, please do not hesitate to visit the Melrose store. Tell them that the MotleyFlue sent you!

To make the posts manageable, Gladys and I divided the pics. She will be sharing what she and Cheryl tried on. I will go over what Mae and I tried on. I know you all have been anxiously waiting to see the spring collection. Here it goes!

Mezzo| Callas. Size 6.5. Mae went down 1/2 a size in this one. She says it was a little tight on the right toe (and admits it’s a personal thing). For me, I’m not big on laces, but I do think these are so cute! The color is amazing and the pop of turquoise on the soles make it extra special!

Kitschy Kitschy Boom Boom | Sam. Size 7.5. For Mae, these needed to come in quarter sizes because size 7.25 would have been perfect! She described them as comfy-ish (likely because of sizing). I think we can all agree that these are soooo cute! They remind me of something that came from the Hopes family years ago. Like many things in the KKBB line, I think Sam is here to stay, and that she’s coming in other colors (don’t get me started on the Raspberry Heels colorway; it’s to die for!). Dear John Fluevog: I’d like to see this in a burgundy/grey or purple/grey combo. I also hope you you bring the Raspberry Heels colorway to your stores.

Tasty Vogs | Dorothy. Size 7.5. Mae went up 1/2 size and says they are really comfortable. In fact, she kept these on her feet for quite a while. My spider senses tell me that these could potentially be on Mae’s want list. I really like these. They remind me of my mother, and I’m sure lots of Filipina moms would be proud to see their daughters sport this:) They have that nostalgic feel and I wouldn’t be surprised if my mom owned a pair like these! The MotleyFlue would like to think that these babies were named after our very own Dorothy, the Artful Voger. (Yes, it’s been ages since you’ve heard from Miss Dorothy. She’s been super busy.)Bellevues | Mollie Johnson. Size 7. These are from Mae’s favorite family. They fit true-to-size and the color combination is fantastic! The patent leather navy blue with magenta/pink really make these stand out. (They also match Mae’s socks perfectly!)

Family TBA | Budapest. Size 8. These are so new that they’re not on the site and we don’t even know the family name yet. (I think they’re from the Earth Angels family, but I could be wrong.) In truth, I was surprised that the gals tried these on because they’re not exactly the cutest things in the store. (That’s about as nice as I’m going to get with these.) Mae had to go up a full size. She confesses that they’re really comfortable and will grow on you – even though they look like aqua socks.

Sopranos | Angelina. Size 7.5. Online, these don’t look like much. However, the story is day-and-night different when you see these in person. Mae went up 1/2 size and did not want to take them off. In fact, she loved them so much that she tried them on in BOTH colors! My spider senses tell me that these will also make it to her coveted list of acquired Fluevogs. These reminded me of a very conservative version of the famous Grand Nationals. It’s the tongue-less boot that makes me feel this way.

*****

Below are the Fluevogs I tried on. As you will notice, I only tried on three pairs. It was a long day for me (up at 2am to pack and arrive in LA by 9am; headed to the museum and spent the day there; checked in to the hotel; met the gals…) and since the other gals were doing some serious searching, I opted to lay low with respect to trying things on. Also, we had just come from the Tatyana Boutique, where I managed to find my wedding dress (yay!). Since I kinda hogged everyone’s attention with my wedding needs, I wanted to let everyone else get their fair share of shopping love. Finally, because I was so tired and dehydrated, my left leg started to cramp really badly! It made the latter part of our visit miserable for me. Again, I want to thank Ali for helping me out by making sure I was properly hydrated. It really helped alleviate a miserable situation.

Truths | Bekkie. Size 10. I have been wanting to add something from the Truths family to my collection for a long time now. I’m still kicking myself for not investing in the Pilgrims. Oh. My. God. Bekkie – look at these shoes! I like these Vogs and I cannot lie… (okay, I’ll stop). The low heels makes these super comfy. I love the look of the open spaces and I really need a pointed toe in my collection. Even though I went up a full size, there was still slight pinching on the sides of my feet. If I were to get these, I’d need to stretch them. Yes. These are FABULOUS! If you love printed socks and tights, these are an amazing compliment!

Kitschy Kitschy Boom Boom: Liz. Size 10. I typically have to go up a full size in these. This color was no exception. Much to everyone’s surprise, I do not have this Vog in my collection. Though this is a nice color combo, it’s just not me. I’m still waiting for the perfect colors before I commit to Liz.

 Prepares | Guide. Size 9.5. Truth be told, I broke my no doubles policy when I put these on layaway in San Francisco. They are gorgeous! I have been wanting something with this print, but nothing quite suited me. I’m so glad that these are available and I’m sure they have been selling well. I went up 1/2 size on these. The top part seemed a little snug, so it will need some stretching before taking these home. I couldn’t go up to a 10 because the footbed would be too long. Sigh. I love these!

I hope you enjoyed checking out the spring collection as much as we loved trying them on for you. In comments, please let us know what you have your eyes on. Also, what color combos are you looking for?!

For the love of Vogs,

j-ro

Note: In Fluevogs, I’m a women’s size 9. Depending on the fit and family, I size up or down from there. For example, in most Minis, I’m a size 8.5. In the Fellowships, I’m typically a size 9.5. However, I do have wide, flat feet and Morton’s Toe, which makes sizing a little strange for me. 

Mae typically wears size 7. The Bellevues are her favorite family.

the fluevog traveler

This past fall, I was traveling and had the honor of visiting three different Fluevog stores in two different countries (It’s not as exotic as it sounds: one was in Canada, the other was here in the U.S.). The first of my travels was in Toronto, where I attended an academic conference. Since the Fluevog store on Queen Street was a healthy walk away, I couldn’t possibly pass on the chance to visit. It’s a cute little store that for some reason, reminds me of the LA store, but smaller. Actually, I really loved the area because it reminded me of San Francisco. (In fact, a lot of Toronto reminds me of San Francisco.) Naturally, visiting the store made me homesick.

I thought I was finished with visiting the Fluevog store that day. However, I went back to Queen Street the next day because my new friend Monica wanted to know what the Fluevog hullabaloo was all about. While Monica was checking out the Vogs, I met the lovely Sarah O. You may remember her from her guest post on pointy Fluevogs. It was so funny because she was at the same conference I was attending. Naturally, great academic minds think alike, which explains why we were at the Fluevog store at the same time:)  I LOVE meeting fellow Flueddicts!

Anyhoo… The lovely Monica fell in love with Idols | Freddie in burgundy. Unfortunately, Queen Street didn’t have her size. Therefore, we had to make our way to The Distillery, where the other Fluevog store is located. (Oh shucks – twist my arm!) I must give thanks to James (Queen Street) and Andrew at The Distillery for making sure Miss Monica went back to England with an amazing pair of Fluevogs. Here she is:

Since I was in Toronto for an academic conference, I did not get to do much sight seeing. I can’t say I’m disappointed because I was really happy to have visited TWO Fluevog stores. (Yes, this confirms my love of Vogs. Seriously…)

The next trip I took was to Chicago, where I was at a conference at DePaul University. It was super cold and on the last day, it started to snow. While I liked experiencing the first snow, I was a bit over the whole “layering of clothes” thing. Seriously. Those of you who live in four seasons – especially snow – have my total respect. I couldn’t stand the two days I had to pile layer upon layer of clothing just to keep warm. Bleh. I know. I’m a two-season whimp!

Anyhoo…. I did make it a point to visit the Chicago Fluevog store. I must say, it’s one of the biggest stores I’ve been to. I guess it used to be a theater that is now converted to the store. The Distillery was big (and gorgeous), with high ceilings and such. I quite liked it, but there was a lot of empty space. Chicago is big, but I didn’t feel like there was as much empty space.

While there, I did not try on any Vogs. (My trips to Toronto and Chicago were on back-to-back weekends.) Instead, I just walked around and checked out their displays and such. The workers were nice. Unfortunately, I didn’t get their names and wasn’t chit-chatty. (Yeah. That can get weird. How would I start that conversation? “Hi. I’m Joanne – the Flueddict that runs this blog and….”) Still. It’s a GORGEOUS store.

I know that spring is slowly trickling in and there are some AMAZING new Vogs. Like Gladys, I agree that there are some amazing things that are still on sale. Sigh. What’s a Vog lover to do?!

For the love of Vogs,

j-ro