FlueFan Guest Post: Vintage Vogs, Pointy Edition

As part of our feature highlighting fellow Flueddicts, I’m happy to share Sarah O.’s story of her favorite vintage Vogs. Sarah is one of our readers on this site, and I was excited when she agreed to share. The MotleyFlue in general aren’t huge fans of pointy shoes; while I love my pointy Vogs (particularly in the Coffee family), I don’t like pointy shoes as a rule. Your humble web mistresses here recognize that there’s some love overdue on this site for pointy Vogs. I mean, the Swordfish family in particular is one of the most distinctive and popular Fluevog shapes. So, special thanks to Sarah for spreading the love!

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I’ve been wearing Fluevogs since the mid-1990s. Here are four of my favorite pairs.  As you can see, I love the pointy styles most of all (the pointier the better, I say!), and Swordfish are my very favorite Fluevog family.

These are my first Fluevogs, purchased at the Boston store in 1996-7ish.  I’m not sure what family these were from, but a good friend refers to these as my “angry fairy shoes.”  There are many miles on these and they’ve held up beautifully.

These are vintage Swordfish, purchased on Ebay a few years ago.  I’ve gotten burned on size with these before (the old ones run really, really, really small!), but these arrived in near-mint condition and fit like a glove.

These are my beauties, my pride and joy, my very favorites: my red Swordfish.  I have worn these as much as possible since I bought them in the Chicago store in 2004.  They’ve been resoled at least three times now, and traveled all over the place with me, but they’ve still got lots of life in them.

And last but not least, my wedding shoes!  These are Coffee Macchiatos.  They were perfect for our casual, beachy summer wedding.  And they were my something blue!

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Those are all such gorgeous shoes! I can see why the red Swordfish are her pride and joy. And those icy-blue Macchiatos make my heart beat faster! I have that style in a lovely brown, but I do wish I had them in that blue colorway as well.

Does anyone know which family the first pair above (the wingtips) are from? Any expert Fluevogologists in the house?

As always, we welcome your stories of your favorite Vogs  or how you became a Flueddict! Here are some of our previous fan spotlights. Send us an email at: fortheloveofvogs@gmail.com.

xo, Gladys

FlueFan Spotlight: Stacey K.

Hello Fellow Flueddicts! We are so happy to introduce you to a new feature. Since there are so many folks out there who share our Love of Vogs, we wanted to give you, our readers, the opportunity to strut your stuff and tell us who you are. Today, we have our very first FlueFan Spotlight. We are very lucky to feature Stacey K., whose Everyday Fluevogs were featured in January 2010!

Name: Stacey Kuhr

Hometown: Discovery Bay, CA (now shacked up in Phoenix, AZ)

My Super Fluevoger Life: Single gracefully aging 40-ish gal, raised a Nor Cal Delta-Brat. Relocated to Phoenix in 01, dig the desert but still miss having a boat docked in my back yard. Professional Bad Ass Operations Mgr for the last 20+ years mostly in Custom Home Industry.  Besides the shoe fixation (now solely focused on Vogs) that goes back to at least 1st grade when I got caught trading shoes with other kids  my main hobbies include but are not limited to cars and my car clubs (most notably the 20 years of dedication to my Samba Green Del Sol). Reading, Racing, Road Tripping, Herps, My Corgi-Monster, anything to do with water and spending quality time with my diverse herd of friends of 10-30+  years or more.  Optimus Prime has been my dream man since I was 17 and I’m a total Trekkie and FF geek. I speak fluent sarcasm and live by the Do Unto Others… and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff philosophies which help me preserve the remnants of sanity I have left.

How I Became a Fluevoger: Bored one night in 2004 and did a google search of “funky shoes” and the Vog website was at the top. Had never heard of them before and became instantly obsessed; not only the cool and unique designs but the whole attitude of the company and good ju ju it projects to the world. My first pair (The oh so lovely Mini Bebe in black) was purchased on sale on 7-9-04 for $99.00 and came to me via Haight St. (Yes, I am a big enough geek to track my shoes in a detailed and comprehensive Excel spreadsheet)

What I look for in a Fluevog: At first I was overcome and wanted them all and had no plan of attack in my selection process.  If they caught my eye and fit me well I got em (assuming $$ were there as I vowed never to charge shoes). Since being diagnosed with Plantar Faciiatis 5 years ago I have had to adjust my scope to only include Vogs that my feet can handle standing in for normal lengths of time.  Also reaching nearly 80 pairs I have started checking myself as to whether I already have a Vog that serves a purpose in design and color in the collection so as not to repeat myself and keep the variety going. (Though to be honest, I still want 99% of them all)

My Namesake Fluevog Would Look Like….: My namesake Vog doesn’t “looks like” but IS the Listen Up | Stacey (1st Gen released in Fall of 2006 and 2nd Gen released in 2011?)

About My Collection: My collection is all over the place though I have more Minis and Fellowships than any other family. I have a little bit of everything from platforms (Summertimes/Munster) to Peacemakers to a 1 of 13 custom Vogs made for Canadian fashion house Com Rags 2004 fashion show. My favorite Sole is the Choice (which I will get inked someday). Most of my shoes come from Haight Street where the BEST crew of Dealers take up residence led by Denny G., a guy whose awesomeness would take too many words to describe. My favorite pair?…. Hmmm… Well if my house were on fire the first shoes I would save would be my black Choice Hi | Jolene and red/orange Thanks | Amazing (a box under each arm)

My Personal Style: My personal style ranges from funky when it’s not 200 degrees outside (gotta love living in the easy bake oven of the southwest) to average when the sidewalk is melting.  Being a top heavy fluffy girl with no bottom to even it out it makes it hard to find clothes that fit well and are flattering which is probably why I rely on a great collection of accessories (shoes, hats, shades, bags, jewelry) to really display my personal style more than clothing ever could.  Besides, they last longer.

*** Vog Quickies ***

Coffee or Tea: Tea

Color or Colour: Green

Prints or Solids: Prints

Half Empty or Half Full: Full

Heels or Flats: Flatter than I’d like nowadays.

Share the love of Vogs or keep your Fluevog secret?: Share of course! Must spread Sole Gospel and convert the world, Amen.

Fluevog that most likely needs a new sole: Will either be my Bobbi or Chinoa boot I’m sure as I practically live in them in the winter.

If you’re interested in being featured in the FlueFan Spotlight, please send an email to: fortheloveofvogs@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fluevogs in the Workplace

A few months ago, we met Laina, who was spotted at the Oakland airport in a gorgeous pair of Bunnies. Shortly after, she kindly shared her story with us. Today, Laina shares some pointers on how to sport your Vogs at work. Again, many thanks Miss Laina. Your outfits are adorable! One day, we expect to see you featured as a Vogunteer! Check out Laina’s tips for putting together Fluevog outfits for work!

This year I decided to up my game at work. Even though casual attire is completely standard at my workplace, I have a lot of nicer clothes in my closet and I want to wear them! Fortunately my Fluevogs are perfect companions in my new endeavor and they’ve been getting a lot of wear.

My Vogs tend to get a lot of notice and compliments when I wear them to work, and I wear them often enough that several of my coworkers are now familiar with the brand! Usually I start with a color and try to put together an outfit with one or two main hues that play off of my Fluevogs.

A pretty patterned pencil skirt, gray top and funky white jacket pull together the right elements to go with my Mollie Johnsons in blue and grey.

For my Baroque Cortonas I found all I needed was a splash of pink and a bold necklace. I like long coats with shaping at the waist for the office because they keep me warm in the AC environment and are flattering to my pear-shaped figure. 

Sometimes I start by deciding which pair of Vogs I want to wear and build an outfit around them.  For example, my blue and yellow Mini Bunnies can be a challenge, as they aren’t traditional heels, so wearing them with nylons or tights can sometimes feel a little clunky. But, I’m an unrepentant dress-over-pants wearer, and with a pair of yoga pants (so comfortable!) they work great. (So far nobody has called me out on wearing yoga pants to work!) I like to wear them with a blue blazer and a stripey dress – this dress is too short and snug for me to feel comfortable wearing to work without pants, but with this outfit it takes on the role of a tunic. I’ve worn these shoes with blue, yellow and teal as the main colors in my outfit and they work with all of them. One interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed when wearing the Mini Bunny – women invariably LOVE them and tell me so, and men seem to be confused by them. They aren’t sure whether they like them or not, and they can’t quite tell if the shoes should be considered weird or outlandish –  or maybe perfectly normal! 

My red Operetta Illeanas are the foundation to my husband’s favorite outfit of this set – he loves red and black together, and I can’t say I blame him! I picked up this skirt at a thrift shop, and pair it with a white collared shirt and black sweater. These shoes are easy to style with almost any skirt, dress or pants. They probably get the most workday wear of my Fluevog collection.

P.S. Yeah, I totally dyed my hair blonde halfway through the week!

– Laina W.