Happy Halloween!

On me:

Dress: Kling via ModCloth; Bandana: Bought at the summer fair for $1; Boots: Fluevog PRI (Radio family); Cardigan: Freeloader via Amazon

Hope you're having a fabulous Halloween! These photos were taken on Saturday when we went with friends to the local Halloween street fair. Hanging out with our friends was more fun than the fair itself, but it was nice to dress up for a bit. (The purple boots are also what I wore to the Fluevog store yesterday.) Time to hand out candy tonight. Cheers!

xo, Gladys

9 of 30: Fluevog Love

Today I made a special trek to L.A. to meet up with Shirley, the lovely lady who introduced Fluevog shoes to the person who introduced Fluevogs to me. She drove down from the Bay Area this weekend for a birthday treat -- she's a Halloween baby! -- and was kind enough to make time to see me during her quick trip. Of course, the setting had to be the Fluevog store on Melrose Avenue! Shawn, my favorite Fluevog specialist a.k.a. "dealer," was there, as well as the awesome Kate. I hadn't been to the store since the amazing new fall 2011 styles came in, so it was time to try some on for size.

I didn't get a chance to take good photos of my 30 for 30 outfit with the DSLR, which means that you just get some blurry iPhone photos of the tunic and jeans, but the purple boots that I wore will be featured in tomorrow's Halloween post. :-) Without further ado, here are the awesome shoes I tried on.

Delicate and sassy: Pearl Hart mary janes in black (Bellevue family)

So dangerous because they're finally making them in my size!

Having a (Bellevue) ball: Pearl Hart on one foot and Libby Smith boots with red spats on the other

Such a beautiful heel on this family

Cowgirl time: Monday boots in black (Another Day family)

Very comfy! Yee-haw!

Stompy suede: Halt ankle boots in black (Stop It family)

These have fabulous zigzag fabric-covered buttons, but sadly even the smallest size of this family is too large for my feet

Super hot: Jolie ankle boots in black (Attention family)

These are named after Angelina, and OMG the profile of these 4-inch heels is spectacular -- this photo doesn't do it justice

Fun(ky) stripes: Splendid ankle boots in stripe (Perfect family)

I LOVE these -- sturdy solid-rubber heel for comfortable walking and carefully hand-crafted leather for a perfect match between the left and right shoe! Amazing!

Another view of the Splendids -- perfectly-matched stripes, see?

Gorgeous slouch: Volunteer boots in burnt orange (Prepare family)

These boots from my I Want list (on the right) are even more amazing in person

Jaw-dropping scarlet: Lourdes boots in red suede (Miracle family)

This particular color is actually from last year's line -- still amazing to look at, and still not in my price range, unfortunately! Shirley really wanted me to get them, but can you blame her? :-)

Fancy shoes: Cana pumps in black suede (Miracle family)

Also from last year's line and on clearance...I'm in the market for some really fancy pumps like these, but the fit for my feet isn't perfect -- they run narrow while my feet are wide, so my feet look a little bit like they're getting stuffed into the shoe :-(

Sophisticated flats: Huallaga ankle boots in black and brown (River family)

Another shoe from last year's line and on clearance -- I actually love these as they're really comfortable BUT they're still too expensive, darn it! Maybe I can get them for Xmas...?

Another view of the Huallagas

Fluevog flower wheel with (clockwise from left) Shirl, Kate, Shawn, and yours truly

One last (candid) photo of Shirl with the hot new Fluevogs she bought for herself as a birthday treat: Certitude ankle boots in red (Faith family). HAPPY HALLOWEEN BIRTHDAY, SHIRL!

xo, Gladys

8 of 30: Lace, Floral, and Dots

Top: Comme Toi via ModCloth; Skirt: Down East Basics via ModCloth; Tights: Urban Outfitters; Ankle boots: Fluevog Raphael (Earth Angel family)

Fun outfit today! The clothes look a bit bedraggled in the photos because they were taken at the end of the day, but you get the gist. This top is actually quite long, with an asymmetrical hem that is longer at the back like a tux with tails. The best part about it is the lacy floral layer on the front. It is semi-sheer so I wore another one of my skin-colored Patagonia tanks underneath. The skirt is a little too long for me, but I love it because of 1) the beautiful colors and pattern and 2) the black waistband that acts like a wide belt and cinches perfectly. And the shoes...ah, the shoes. Maybe you can see why I love Fluevogs so much? :-) These are just gorgeous with the black suede and "unisexy" shape, but they're also supremely comfortable -- and I'm not exaggerating here. This particular family (or shoe shape) is vintage now, meaning they've been discontinued, which is a shame. At least I have two other pairs from the same family.

I wore this outfit to a movie date with the hubby. We finally watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. and I thought it was really good. I liked the way the different threads of the movie came together near the end; it was a little farcical but it reminded me of the old TV show Seinfeld that way. The movie is a story about relationships with some dark insights about love and aging, but tempered with a LOT of lighthearted and laugh-out-loud moments. Some of my favorite actors really shone, like Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, and of course Steve Carell. The added bonus was that it made Ryan Gosling less creepy than I usually find him. O.o

Anyway, speaking of slightly creepy but cute, here are some last photos of my son the photo-bomber. :-)

xo, Gladys

7 of 30: Floral Buttons

Dress: Lovely Day via ModCloth; Cardi: Uno Core via ModCloth; Belt: Urban Outfitters; Flats: Blowfish via TJ Maxx

I have to admit, this is not the most flattering combo overall, but it's the little details of the dress and cardigan that make me happy inside. Specifically, the unique collar and floral buttons of the dress and the strips of vintage pattern, lace, and mesh on the cardi. And I really like how the floral buttons on the dress echo the floral pattern on the shoulder of the cardi. This is another wonderfully soft and comfy dress, and it's quite flattering on its own. The problem with the cardi is that the buttons don't stay closed, so I decided to belt the whole thing -- I'm ambivalent about how well that worked.

Bottom line for me: all of the details on the cardi were competing too hard with the dress collar. I think the cardi would look really great with jeans and a simple tank, and the dress with some olive or peach tights and more simple outerwear -- a couple of good ideas for later 30 for 30 outfits. Let's chalk this up as a learning experience. The lesson learned: stacking the interesting details in the same place (in this case, my shoulder area) creates noise rather than harmony.

xo, Gladys

P.S. I'm almost 25% done with the challenge!

6 of 30: Monochrome Mosaic

Dress: Patagonia "Margot" (ON SALE!); Tank: Patagonia; Cardi: GAP; Tights: Sockdreams; Booties: Blowfish "Hichi" via Amazon

This is a GREAT dress. Not only is it made of soft and comfy organic cotton, but the cut is flattering and the mosaic pattern in black and white is striking (I tried the same dress in coral and white, but the pattern looks washed out somehow in those colors). At some point, however, I will need to shorten the straps to fit my shoulders better, hopefully before next summer when I will want to wear it without a cardigan or sweater. Speaking of which: YAY! It's cool enough for a cardigan today!

Also, I'm not sure why these tights look bluish in the indoor photos because they're reeeaaally purple, almost bright purple. The last photo above is more true to life. It was taken outside on my porch.

I wore this outfit for another visit to the eye doctor (to finalize my contacts prescription and get a pair of non-prescription sunglasses). I'm currently shopping online for a new pair of prescription glasses (or two)...the lovely and ever-stylish Katrina of the blog the demure muse has been kindly giving me some solicited advice on how to shop for specs online on a budget. If you check out her blog, you'll see why I've asked her for advice in particular (thank you, Katrina!). And when I finally make my decisions of course I will share photos here.

Hope you're all having a great week! Happy Hump Day! ;-)

xo, Gladys

Mini Project: Gingham Jumper Alteration

Before and After

OK, so I haven't been very good about avoiding wishlists (particularly on ModCloth and Amazon, whose Universal Wishlist button I now use for Speedy Girl too, yikes!), but at least I haven't been buying anything. One thing that has kept me somewhat busy and away from the computer has been working on the clothes in my to-be-altered pile. Even with my unspectacular thrifting skills, I've still managed to rack up quite a few items that need some sort of help before they're ready to be integrated into my wardrobe.

BEFORE: Don't I look happy?

I bought this cute dark-navy gingham jumper for $1 at the local consignment store during their semi-annual clearance sale. Even though the tag said Small, it was a little too large. I'm happy with an oversized fit for an item like this, but it just looked frumpy. The straps were too long and consequently made the waist-tie too low, thus causing a weird bunching-up above the waist-tie at the back. I bought it anyway, thinking it would be an easy fix. And it was!

BEFORE: Bunching at the back that bugged me (nice alliteration, eh?)

So I chopped about 2 inches from each of the straps and sewed them back together with a half-inch seam allowance -- for a total of 3 inches taken off each strap (if you've done a project like this before or you know how to sew, then I know you get the math). Given that the straps aren't perfectly rectangular, there is some mismatch in size between the newly-connected edges. But no one looks that closely in daily life, right? (And something I've learned since I began sewing recently is that no item of clothing is made perfectly, particularly mass-produced clothes. Given my perfectionist tendencies, this knowledge really takes a load off.)

TODAY'S SEWING LESSON: Just a little can go a long way...

The added bonus to shortening the straps was the overall shortening of the length.

AFTER: Much less frumpy now (just ignore the hair/lack of makeup)

Not a lot of bunching at the back -- this is a pretty cute silhouette from the side, if I do say so myself

Plus POCKETS! Big ones! Totally worth the $1

Now what I'd really love to pair with this is a flowy, slightly-sheer, long-sleeved white/ivory/cream blouse with a beautiful collar. You know, something that looks vintage from the Victorian era, so it can CLASH with the 1960s cut and the gingham's country sensibility. Too bad I don't know how to make clothing like that (yet). Sigh. If you find one of those, point me in its direction, would you?

xo, Gladys

P.S. No 30 for 30 outfit today. I need a little break. I'm just feeling gross overall. Gotta quit eating so many carbs.