Good Buy/ Goodbye Summer Sandals

It's halfway through the June and time for another episode of Shelbee and Nancy's Good Buy/Good Bye Book. The theme this month is Sandals.

I have many pairs of sandals that I love dearly. My most favorite pair has to be the Fluevog Sandals that I purchased in 1992. They were the second pair of Fluevogs that I bought.

Here they are, freshly back from the cobbler in 2017
These have been rejuvenated by cobblers twice!

I got these signed by John Fluevog himself when he came to the Venice Fluevog shop during his book tour.

December 2019

John has since released an updated version of these, and I wonder if I had a small part in that happening...

When I started sketching Fluevogs as part of an A-Z blogging challenge in 2017, little did I know I was starting a series that is still ongoing! I now offer my sketches on Redbubble products and on Spoonflower home goods, fabric, and wallpaper.

These sandals were the second item that I sketched, and I got myself a dress to go with my sandals!

2017

Obviously by now, you have figured out this was a Good Buy!

And they cost under $100 in 1992. A Good Investment too!

2025

Here are other posts that include these sandals:

March 29, 2013 - Foot Fetish Friday: Fluevog

April 2, 2017 - Vintage Vogs: Clog Sandal #ifjm2017

May 27, 2017 - The 70s Called - They Want Their Fluevog Clog Sandal

June 26, 2017 - The Fluevog Sandal Clog Has Risen

August 1, 2017 - Is It Wrong To Match Your Shoes To Your Dress?

May 4, 2021 - #thevintagefashionchallenge Day 4: Yellow

Linking up with

Shelbee On the Edge

Happy Lunar New Year!

 2022 is Year of the Water Tiger

Water Tiger things available on Redbubble

There was a student-sponsored event at Otis, with dumplings and packets of Lucky Money.

This is the outfit I was intending to wear

But it's all an illusion. We had a water heater disaster and couldn't go to Otis. Sigh.

I took a "Make Space for Grace" decluttering course with Katie Rogers in preparation for Chinese New Year, and I'm very proud of my achievements.

The studio/bedroom became especially improved (after on top)

(A lot of those boxes have relocated to the living room. Going slow and steady and one space at a time).

One's entry is an important space to tidy up. Ours looks great at the moment.

Before:

It's been a lot of work, and well worth it.

Mr Lou agrees:

Linking up with

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Michele's Potpourri

Fine, Whatever

Furloughed! Am I using my time wisely?

Yep, it finally happened.
Over the the past few months, my paid hours at the day job have been steadily dwindling
2/10 - no more than 19.5 hours/week (was 32 hours/week prior)
6/21 zero

sigh

So what have I been doing instead?

Scrappy Squares!

test models

"Wendy" the first official piece for the 50|50 Exhibition

This is an ongoing project that officially started 6/28/21.
Each artist juried into the show will be creating one new piece of art on 6x6" panels for 50 days.

I'm rug knot weaving textile scraps onto the panels.
Here's what the back looks like:

The exhibition will be at Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, CA, 9/10 - 10/10/21

All the art will be uploaded on my Art website on a daily basis. Click here to see them all!

The Big Blanket Mend

I decided to join two old twin "horse blankets" that are both full of moth holes into one.
As always happens with things I repair on the coffee table, Mr Lou thinks it makes a great bed.

note how he plants himself exactly where I'm sewing

Fluevog Shoe Art

I have sketched Fluevog shoes going on four years now.

Uploading the art to Redbubble and Spoonflower helps garner some income.
Happy to report that all of the 2021 sketches and repeats are available on both sites.

Now working my way through 2019's sketches.

There's more, but I think that's enough news for now.

Linking up with

Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

My COVID Uniform

This came up in a textile group I'm in:

Hi All!
My name is Stephanie, I am Costume Designer/ Historian based in Los Angeles. I'm curious about your wardrobe! As we've been sheltering in place we've been curating a new type of uniform that we wear indoors, in our homes.
I'd like to invite you to share with me 3-5 pieces that you've been wearing in heavy rotation. It's an exercise to further consider the garments on your bodies and clothing that surrounds you at this specific time.
This is a time capsule project of mine that I intend on publishing on Medium. All the details can be found in this form, please feel free to share with others as I'm attempting to capture stories from around the world.
Thank you, hope you all remain healthy and safe at this time.
Best,
Stephanie

These are my regular "lounging around the house" garments.
COVID didn't change anything, except for the color chart tees.

1) Michael Brandon Chenille Sweater
I purchased this at a shop in Venice, CA in the late 90s. Been wearing it a lot since then. It's a non-wool blend (Nylon? Tags removed long ago) so it's perfect for SoCal weather. So comfy.
2) Color Chart Tee. 
I have two of these, which I had printed by Redbubble and Society6 last year to test how various colors print on black. The cotton jersey tees are super soft and nice, the printing is not. They're presentable enough for Zoom, so they're my "upscale" Zooming tops. They always get nice comments!
3) French Dressing Lounge Pants
I have two of these as well. Picked them up at the day job from the sample box. They fit perfectly! They've been my standard cool weather bottoms for a while. I will be sad when the spandex dies.
4) Striped Wool/Nylon/Spandex Ankle Socks
I picked these up on sale at Nordstrom's in the late 90s. They used to be in "winter work wear" rotation until the spandex died. Now I've worn holes in the heels. Sigh.
5) Leather Slides (don't remember brand)
Yes, that's gaffer tape holding the right shoe together. I got these new off of a Poshmark seller a couple of years ago (or was it retail at DSW?). As soon as they started getting shabby, they became "inside" shoes.

This is a "walking around the neighborhood" look with the Tee and Pants.

Again, the form link is here.

Linking up with
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Off Duty in Houston in Selfies

My last post showed you what I wore during my exhibition in Room 400 at the Hotel ICON StARTup Art Fair Houston.
What did I wear during my leisure time?

I didn't plan this well:

Thursday afternoon, cold brewing teas in the bathroom.

Thursday night. In the main lobby with the StARTup signage.
Can you tell that the hotel's ground floor was originally a bank?

Friday morning. 4th floor landing.
Wait, isn't that the same outfit as Thursday night?

Saturday morning, outside the ICON's main entrance.
Those weird steps over my shoulder almost did me in, I slipped on them
but was able to grab onto the decorative architectural element to avert a face plant on the bricks.

Sunday morning. Trying to dry my one pair of socks that I hand washed the day before.
I wore them damp.

Monday morning, elevator area in lobby.
Here you can see the entire "chilly weather" look:
Flannel shirt
Patterned scarf
Red Fluevog Creepex Tee (you can't see the graphic in my pix)
Leggings (second of the two)
The Socks
Leopard Clogs

I packed a tunic and the Fluevog Dress, and I never wore them.
Used the red tee as my night shirt as well. Could have used a second tee!
Really glad I took the clogs (chiefly for airport TSA. Did not want to be barefoot through security). I needed them!

I have an Excel chart that I use for packing and if I'm super organized I'll make notes on it after a trip of what I didn't need or wear. It helps a lot when space is at a premium. This trip, I need all the space possible for art.

Do you have any packing rituals?

Linking up with
Patti's Visible Monday
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike

Summertime Goals: July Summery Summary

Time for a ToDo checkin!
How did I do?
Well, to start, I read an uplifting article in Medium by Benjamin Hardy about taking a few minutes every morning to write ones goals. [I'm not linking to the actual article because I'm not sacrificing one of my 3 free reads per month on you all. Sorrynotsorry]
I've been trying it out, it's maybe turning into more of a journal of idea catching, but, whatever.
I'll keep it up for August at the very least.
Here's my journal cover -- perfect image for goals, yes?

Available on Redbubble, I get 20% commission.

The exciting new creative development this month was a return to fashion sketching!
I'm now doing them in Procreate on my iPad.

At first, I was selecting Insta-friends who first showed up in my feed. Then the algorithm kept sending me the same friends, so I looked for friends to sketch, and then I got A BIG IDEA that has to remain TOP SECRET until late October. It will keep me busy, my goal is 53 sketches! (Adding to list).

Daily Goals:
Do a Daily Drawing. 28/31
Create a new Waterlogue from old road trip photos. 15/31 -- too difficult to do every day, need to come up with a weekly system
Post a piece of art on Saatchi Art. This goes hand in hand with above. Removing from list.

Weekly Goals:
Sew and/or repair at least one garment. 1 done (link), 2 more started
List at least one item on Poshmark 21!
Upload new art to Redbubble. um, 1
Sew one patch onto Crazy Quilt (new). 0 (out of sight, out of mind)

Summer Goals:
53 FASHION SKETCHES 1/53 
Get taxes done. not yet
DeClutter the living room (again). started and needs more constant/consistant work
Get sewing machine repaired. (how many years has this been broken now?) not yet

Do you have any sort of "To Do" list for Summer? Or maybe a "Honey Do"?
I'll report back again at the end of the August, progress or not.

AND, you still have a month to link up any summery themed posts or Instagrams.
Multiple submissions encouraged -- links are randomized.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking up with
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness
Catherine's #shareAllLinkup

The Fluevog Dress Visits Fluevog Manhattan

I just returned home from a wonderful two week trip East.
Many, many different meetups and museums -- eventually I hope to write about them all.

Today, it's all about The Dress and its debut at Fluevog Manhattan:

Photo by Paul, who sent it to John Fluevog, who responded: "Does she do those drawings herself?"

I posed with the Investigator, as it's one of the styles sketched in the repeat.

From the 2017 Fluevog Sketch series. See the entire set on Pattern Recognition

To commemorate this auspicious occasion, I (finally) made an individual Investigator sketch that's available on Redbubble (I get a commission for purchases):

Fluevog website Investigator link

In addition, I wore The Dress yesterday to an event that I chauffeured Ruth to in Pasadena.

My Fluevog Peacemakers pair perfectly with The Dress.
I obtained them on Fluevog Day at the Abbot Kinney store.
Here is The Dress link.

Don't forget -- I've got a Summer-long Link-up Party happening.
Link as much as you'd like. The more the merrier.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Linking up with
Patti's Visible Monday
Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike
Shelbee's Spread the Kindness

Ambulatory Portfolio at a College Reunion

Yesterday I attended a 50th year celebration of the first college I attended,
the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

[reactment of outfit, one day later -- forgot to ask someone to take my picture -- 

what kind of fashion blogger am I?] 

IF I had stayed in school, it would have been my 40th reunion.
But at age 20, I was too much of a smartass, and moved to NYC instead.
However, I think it all worked out in the end!

I planned my outfit deliberately -- for starters, I wanted to wear one of my custom prints and my 52 Blogger scarf.
Genius idea: wear the repeat I made from a piece I did AT SCHOOL!

"Reflection", Lithograph, silkscreen, watercolor on paper, 1976

The scribble leggings and silkscreened bag were last minute additions.
While chatting with someone, I realized I was wearing an example of every Print on Demand site that I use!
I was a walking advertisement for myself!

Spoonflower fabric
Redbubble scarf
Society6 leggings
[I get a small commission on all sales]

I had a good laugh at that!

Here I am, with my reunion carpool buddies and classmates Lani and Stanley:

I'll be writing up more about the reunion itself over on my newly fresh art website that, yes, has a blog. (Blog #8?)

Meanwhile, linking up with Patti's Visible Monday
and Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike

Fantasy Tights

This is what I wore on Thursday for my teaching gig [Digital Fashion at Otis].

I lack decent legwear to coordinate with the burgundy/navy dress and had to resort to boring black tights. Despite that fact, I got my Fluevog Enthusiasts captured by the roving Otis Instagrammer @designschoolshoes Woohoo!

I coordinate so nicely with the wall.

I recently made a print for this week's Spoonflower design challenge that would work perfectly:

Alas, custom tights have yet to appear on either Redbubble or Society6, so they are only a Photoshopped fantasy. (Yes, I've had custom tights made before, but there's a minimum order of 6 pairs and I still have inventory left from that endeavor. Not something worth repeating).

The print IS available on all the Redbubble things in the original Black/Red colorway [I get a commission]. 

AND the Navy/Burgundy up for voting in the Spoonflower Challenge. May I solicit your vote? Voting is open until 2/20, 3pm EST. Keep scrolling until you find my submission!

Linking up with 

Patti's Visible Monday

Catherine's #iwillwearwhatilike

Summer Fun: August Update

It's time to check in with my goals for the summer.
How am I doing?
Um...

Weekly Goals:

Sew and/or repair at least one garment. 3/4
I went to a Mending Workshop, which got the needle (slowly) moving.

7/23 Chaotic Stitching at CAFAM

7/25 sewed a button on, got shirt all bloody.
[Shout out to +Suzanne Carillo for recommending OXO Brite to remove the stains]

8/12 stitching up side seams on my Ketzali Ruana at Lisa and Tim's.
This was item #1 for my Meet and Mend event in Seattle, which didn't happen.

List at least one garment on Poshmark 6/4

Vintage Asian Print Top

High Top Sneaker Print Socks

Dr Scholl's Silver Fast Flats

Kashi Kicks Pattern Mix Sneakers

90's Stretch Corduroy Swim Shorts

Vintage Mexican Handwoven Belt

and one on Trendlistr [if I can ever get back into the site, that is].
Officially putting that on the back burner for now.

Upload new art to Redbubble. 3/4

ABC-123

Quilted Clouds

Fluevog Enthusiast Black/Pink

Summer Goals:

Get taxes done.
Made minor progress, had to file state sales tax return which required adding up gross business receipts.

DeClutter the living room.
Sorted both Repair Mountain and the Resale Foothills thematically.
It's a tiny bit better, though still colossal.
The current state of the clutter magnet coffee table:

Laser-eye Lou says: You will do my bidding and feed me more treats.

Get sewing machine repaired.
Not yet.

Here are progress reports from fellow Summer Challenge participants:

An InLinkz Link-up