Pretty, New Glasses

I've been meaning to post for a couple of weeks now, but I'm seriously way past a deadline. Trying super hard to finish a dissertation chapter in time to get it to my advisers before the end of the spring semester. I'm thisclose yet still have more to do. I'm only close to finishing because I have pulled back from my workout schedule the past few weeks -- I bruised a rib on my left side (probably from coughing due to allergies, yikes!! and ouch!!) so I've had to take it easy and just stay home. Sad to have missed yoga for two weeks! Anyway, I also managed to deny myself the pleasure of blogging (but not unfortunately the procrastinative pleasure of following Benedict Cumberbatch via his fans on Twitter and Tumblr, argh) just so I could keep working on the chapter. I hope to be done in the next couple of days. Oh please oh please.

Anyway, I'll have to be brief here. Just a few photos featuring my gorgeous new glasses (Tiffany & Co!) to which I treated myself for my birthday this month. They're navy, and they have bling. I haven't had new frames in almost six years so I was way overdue. And yeah, I splurged. I didn't buy these because of the brand, but because they turned out to be the most flattering for my face shape. Of the eight pairs of blue frames I tried on (yes, they HAD to be blue), I thought these looked the best on me. Received compliments from the get-go. My SIL says she likes them because they show off more of my face, particularly my eyes. (And yeah, looking at recent photos with my old glasses, my eyes do look a little smaller, or like my face is obstructed by the old frames.)

Here's a closeup. Aren't they pretty!

Dress: Ya Los Angeles via ModCloth | Sweater: Urban Outfitters | Tights: Foot Traffic via Sockdreams | Shoes: Fluevog Jen via Amazon

This is a terrible photo taken of an outfit that was actually much cuter in person. Wore it for two parties one Saturday earlier this month. I was inspired to put it together because of the color of my glasses. But the lighting was bad at the time (sun too bright) so you can't see much detail, including how utterly adorable the shoes are!, and my hair was messed up completely by the wind (wind is the enemy here in the high desert).

Here's a better photo of me with calm hair and wearing my new glasses, at my family birthday lunch. Also, I love this photo with me and my guys; we don't get to do a lot of family photos, just the three of us. Thanks to my brother for taking the pic.

xo, Gladys

1940s Femme

I was kind of in love with what I wore to my husband's company 1940s-theme holiday party:

Coat with belt: Cherry Koko via Amazon | Dress: Collectif via ModCloth | Tights: ? | Shoes: Fluevog Rubens (Baroque family)

I actually had my hair done by a professional that day. My usual hairstylist went into labor (!), so I was lucky to get her friend, Kim, as a replacement. Using a flat iron, Kim worked curls into my hair like had never been done before. It was fun to watch the magic happen as she sprayed, curled, teased, brushed, and pinned. I was really thrilled with how she managed to turn my short bob into this:

Below is an iPhone pic of me at the event, with my coat open to show a peek of my dress. Only about a quarter to maybe a third of the attendees dressed to the theme, but it was fun to people-watch. I wish we could have gotten photos of the outfit during the day. This year, we were busy for most of the day so we didn't have a lot of time to pretty ourselves up. By the time we were dressed, dark had fallen and we were running half an hour late. (Another thing I wish is that the party had been more fun. Sigh. Most of my husband's coworkers that I knew left the company this part year, and the others didn't bother to attend this year, so we hung out with new people. Unless there's a fantastic incentive to attend next year, we might just skip it. It was fun to dress up, but we could have dressed up and hung out with our friends instead. I would have danced the night away for sure.)

xo, Gladys

Holiday Dress Shopping

Happy December! For those who celebrated, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Coming up soon is my husband's company holiday party. There's actually a theme this year -- the 1940s. How fun! When I found out last month, I immediately thought of going to ModCloth to drool over their vintage-style dresses. And given the fact that I already knew which shoes I'd be wearing (the blue Fluevog Rubens -- currently 30% off until the end of this week! with code CMSHOE30 at checkout), I purchased a couple of blue dresses to try on:

Garden Dreaming dress (only size 12 UK left)

Demure All I Want dress -- currently 30% off, lucky you! (make sure to see Details regarding sizing; this dress runs large)

Sorry about the blurriness. These photos were taken with indoor lighting at night. Aren't the shoes adorable?!

What do you think? My husband and friends voted for the second dress because the shape and longer length match the 1940s better. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it on; it has a great drape and also a flattering v-cut back. But I couldn't let go of the first dress, which I thought had better-quality fabric and construction; I loved its shape, its warm wool blend, and the brightly-colored butterfly embroidery on the skirt. Well, after consulting with my husband and friends (who loved both dresses as well), I decided to keep it, too, so I can wear it for our Xmas house party or to another party this winter. I'll post again on each dress when I've had a chance to take them out!

Here's a bonus shot of another pair of GORGEOUS blue shoes -- very comfy too, I highly recommend -- that have entered my life because of my current obsession with blue. I wore these on the day of the recent 50th anniversary of the Doctor Who TV series (did you see the awesome anniversary episode, "The Day of the Doctor"?!) ... which also turned out to be the same day as my wedding anniversary. Eleven years, baby! :-)

Fluevog Amie in blue snake (only at Amazon, currently 30% OFF until the end of this week with code CMSHOE30 at checkout). Size up at least 1/2 size on these beautiful shoes!

xo, Gladys

Dark Mustard and Navy + Sale PSA! [ENDED]

Dress: Lowie via ModCloth | Ravenclaw rugby knee socks: Sockdreams | Boots: Fluevog Volunteer (Prepare family)

Detail

Dress: via ModCloth | Tights: Sockdreams | Maryjanes: Fluevog Luxon (20% off on Amazon)

Skirt: Old Navy | Boots: Fluevog Bartoli (Operetta family)

MP isn't in this one because she was running late and we didn't have a photographer to take pix of all of us.

Blame it on the upcoming holiday season, on the absolute fun we had the last time, or on the fact that we love to dress up and leave our kids behind for a few hours, but our mutual love of Fluevogs once again led us -- me and my dear friends E and MP -- to the Melrose store last weekend. This time it was for MP, and yes, she did get her second pair of Fluevogs! But more on that later.

I love the dress I'm wearing, which is 100% cotton, lined, and made for cool weather. (The only thing I don't like about the dress is how it squishes my chest area; I think better undergarments are in order.) However, I hadn't worn it in over a year because I wasn't able to fit into it this past winter and spring (late 2012 - early 2013). Thanks to yoga and Zumba, though, I can just squeeze into it again, even with the extra muscle on my arms and shoulders. Hallelujah! This is one of those "just in case" dresses you keep in your closet -- just in case you can fit into it again one day. I loved it so much I couldn't let it go when I did my last closet clean-out.

Speaking of which, the dress that E is wearing and the skirt that MP is wearing were both mine until recently. While I think both items are lovely, they look so much better on E and MP, don't you think? This wasn't a case of the clothes not fitting me; but rather they were clothes that I knew were better suited for other bodies and other tastes than mine. MP simply loves plaid skirts, especially warm ones. And E looks amazing in tea dresses (such dresses don't flatter my quarterback shoulders lol).

Here are some views of the dress from the back, courtesy of E's candid shots on her iPhone:

At the counter with dealer Anthony paying for something very special!

Falling in love with the burgundy Elizabeths (ok, I confess, this was posed.)

So what was that something special? Well, these AMAZING blue embroidered oxfords:

Not only are the shoes TARDIS blue leather, but they're one of a kind -- at least, they're only available at the Melrose store, and there's only one pair per size. I simply couldn't let these get away ... so I put my size on layaway. :-))) I really am obsessed with blue shoes this season, aren't I? Well, can you blame me? Anthony brought them to my attention because they match the navy blue details on my dress, but of course the dealers know how in love I am with the blue leathers at Fluevog this Fall. If you want your own blue Sight oxfords, you need to call the Melrose store!

The Miracle | Sight oxfords aren't available at Fluevog stores in any other color either. The whole style was nixed by Mr. Fluevog for his stores -- but NOT at other retailers. They're available at Amazon in black. Here's the big PSA: This weekend, they as well as almost ALL other Fluevogs are on sale for 20% off for Veteran's Day holiday through Tuesday, November 11. Seriously, Fluevogs in classic colors that will probably NEVER go on sale at Fluevog stores -- the Elizabeth, the Liz, the Viv, the Qtee, the Promise, the Sandra, the Arabella, the Amie -- are 20% off with free shipping. Good luck finding your sizes and happy shopping! There are some blue faux-snake skin Amie's calling my name. :-)

By the way, here's a link to the men's styles on Amazon.

xo, Gladys

Ilona Andrews in San Diego

Posing with the husband-wife writing team, Ilona Andrews

I don't talk a lot about my reading habits on this blog, but it's one of my favorite hobbies in the world and I will always have books to fall back on. It's my fantasy to live in a huge house with its own dedicated library room (kind of like the Beast's library in the Disney Beauty and the Beast). If only, right? Reading was my first love growing up and I even wanted to make a career out of it once; after all, I was a graduate student in English for a long time.

But I definitely don't read high-falutin' books all that much anymore. These days, my reading diet consists mostly of genre fiction. Confession: I ended up as a graduate student in literature partly because I was a romance-novel junkie in my formative years. I moved to the United States from the Philippines when I was about seven years old, and in the ensuing years, I became adept at reading, writing, spelling, and speaking English mostly because I read romance novels all the time. You know, the racy but quick-reading Harlequin Presents stuff. Then I moved on to longer stand-alone historicals, contemporary romances, and then paranormal romances (a subgenre which exploded into the publishing scene back when I was a late teenager). In the middle of all that, I also read the more age-appropriate The Baby-sitters Club series and the occasional sci-fi/fantasy and young adult book (think Norma Klein and Lois Lowry), but it's really the romances that got me started. Once I read Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre in 8th grade, I was hooked into a literate and literary life for good.

In the mid-1990s, while in my tender high school years, I found Laurell K. Hamilton and became a fan of dark urban fantasy. When I got tired of the constant sexxx0ring in the later books of her Anita Blake series, I looked around and found Kim Harrison, who introduced me to a funner and funnier version of the subgenre (I highly recommend her Hollows/Rachel Morgan series -- start with Dead Witch Walking). That led me to several other authors later on, particularly Ilona Andrews, whose Kate Daniels series also had a lot of biting humor and excellent romantic tension that never took over the plotting or world-building.

Reading these novels was my little secret for a long time. You may not know how many people scoff when they hear me talk about romance novels. And this is from people who've never read any (sorry, Jane Austen doesn't count). Only my older sister and one of her friends ever read genre fiction the way I did, and my sister now reads mostly contemporary literary fiction. So you can imagine my surprise and delight when my son and I visited his classmate's house for a playdate last year and I found that his mother's bookcases carried TONS of genre fiction, with lots of crossovers with my own collection. Michelle, the classmate's mom, used to be a young adult services librarian, and she even has a book review blog documenting her prolific reading. We've been exchanging books since then, and I have been happy to get lots of recommendations from her. I slowed down my personal reading quite a bit while working on grad school projects, and it didn't pick up again until this summer, when I managed to knock off at least 6 novels plus several novellas from my mountainous TBR (to-be-read) pile since July. (That's a lot for me, by the way. I'm not a fast reader by any means.) I even re-read a couple of books to remember context. I just wish I didn't need sleep! Anyway, Michelle is a huge fan of Ilona Andrews books, and when she told me about their upcoming visit to San Diego and invited me to go down with her, I said yes.

It turned out to be a grand experience. Her friend Becca kindly drove us down to the awesome independent bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy, and then we met up with Maggie, one of Michelle's blogger friends, after the talk and signing. The talk was really an hour-long Q&A with the husband and wife team that is Ilona Andrews. Ilona is a Russian immigrant with a charming accent and really fun sense of humor, and Andrew is an ex-military guy with a quieter but complementary kind of humor. They were so wry and funny together, and you could see how it's possible that they haven't killed each other working so closely together everyday. It was also fun to see how each of their personalities is built into their characters, especially Kate and Curran (if you're familiar with the series). What was truly wonderful, though, was how nice they were in person. They were so generous with their time, signing ALL the books that people brought/bought, and then taking a little extra time to take photos with their readers. Even though they must be exhausted from traveling (Ilona said she has a lot of anxiety flying on airplanes), they are so good with their fans. If you'd like to get a taste of their writing, you can check out their blog where they have hilarious posts as well as free stuff you can read.

We ended the outing with sushi and a visit to a huge used-book/CD/DVD emporium called Book-Off, which was conveniently across the street from the yummy sushi place we found via Google Local. We stuffed ourselves ridiculously full (I didn't take photos of the spicy seaweed poke salad I polished off) then treated ourselves to even more books. Gah!!

Aside from requiring such long drives (special thanks to Becca for getting us there and back safely as well as going to the nearby Japanese grocery and providing us with fun candy snacks to keep us awake on the drive home), it was a perfect day with new friends that nourished mind and body both. Bonding over good books and good food is no small thing. What a great way to cap off my summer vacation.

xo, Gladys

Fluevog Love: Fall 2013 on Melrose Part 1

Happy August! It's technically the middle of summer in my part of the world, but it already feels like autumn. Weather-wise, it's still very warm here -- so why the cognitive dissonance? Well, my son will be starting kindergarten in less than a week, can you believe it? (I'm a little disgruntled about how early school starts for him, but whatever.) Also, the end of July/early August also means something else for me: the new Fall 2013 collection of Fluevogs has started to arrive in stores. Woohoo!

Last weekend, we were in the Hollywood/Koreatown area to buy a used car my husband found via Craigslist. (I'm happy to say it turned out well, even though the whole process caused anxiety and nervousness all around.) But the day was made much better by a trip to the Fluevog L.A. store on Melrose. I wanted to come in to take care of some layaway business and also to try on some of the new Fall shoes that have started trickling in. I tried on only 7 women's styles from the new collection last Saturday -- there were at least 5 more that I didn't get to -- so this is just a sampling of the gorgeous new colors and textures. At least one fantastic new family, too. (I have a full review/writeup about my recent visit over at For the Love of Vogs and Joanne, one of the co-bloggers there, has her own reviews as well.)

The Fluevog website currently lists only a fraction of what's already available at the stores, but I know that even more will be arriving throughout this month. I've been following the sneak previews via the FlueBlog and Facebook, and I know with absolute certainty that this Fall is going to be an amazing collection. Fluevog has been hitting it out of the park for the last couple of seasons, and this new one is going to be another winner. Here, let me just show you.

Half Truth | Crystal in red. Size 6.

Half Truth | Tanya in purple. Size 6. These photograph blue for some reason. I tinkered with the photo but it turned the whole image orange-ish, as you see.

Half Truth is the new family of Fluevog shoes I'm talking about. Aren't they gorgeous? Sleek, elegant, edgy. Love it! I'm a huge fan of kitten heels; added to this shape of shoe, they are genius. And if you look closely, the Crystal booties have a safety pin with a skull charm. Lol. Imagine wearing these with pencil skirts, perhaps big poufy skirts for a more prim look, and definitely jeans with a jewel-toned top. These will step up any outfit. They run true to size length-wise but are narrow.

Kitschy Kitschy Boom Boom | Viv in brown/navy. Size 6.

The Kitschy Kitschy Boom Boom family is growing! Remember the Liz from last season and how much I loved them? These oxfords are in the same family. Originally, I wasn't impressed by this particular colorway, but after I tried them on, I don't know what I was thinking. The blue is actually more navy than the photo above suggests, but it is still a nice, sharp color that contrasts beautifully with the blond-brown. Also, the piping and dots are sky blue. So, so, so uniquely pretty. Sizing is short 1/2 size but wide. I like the size 6 on my 5.5 feet, but maybe it would be smart to go up another half size if you plan to wear thick socks/tights with these in the fall and winter.

Baroque | Rubens in blue. Size 5.

Baroque | Rubens in green. Size 5.

The Rubens runs a half size small, so I was very happy to see size 5's at the Melrose store. And did you notice the blue Rubens two photos above? That's TARDIS blue, is what it is. The Rubens is a staple in Fluevogdom, particularly in the black and burgundy colorways. I actually put the burgundy with its ornate stamped suede and burgundy leather on layaway in June. Very lovely shoes that I had been drooling over from afar for years now. Those hexagonal heels are works of art. However, after trying on the blue and getting some feedback from fellow Vogers, I've decided to switch over. To jump ship, if you'll allow mixed metaphors. No stamped suede on the blue but just as beautiful -- and more meaningful to my geeky Whovian heart. TARDIS shoes, here I come! I plan to make them my special holiday shoes this year. Already thinking about what dress to wear them with. *rubs hands together in glee*

Bellevue | Libby Smith in patent burgundy/gray. Size 6. Not yet available online. Other colorway here.

Speaking of fancy shoes, get a load of these boots. Um, that patent burgundy is ridiculous. This colorway is also available in another Fall 2013 style of Bellevue, the Laura Evans, but not in as striking a fashion. Need some inspiration for a fancy steampunk ballgown costume? Look no further! I'm sure these would also look amazing in other venues, but seriously, the venues need to live up to these shoes!

Prepare | Leader in purple. Size 6.

There's something special about the Prepare family. I love my blue Guides which are the slingback version of these maryjanes, and I think this new colorway is fantastic. I like the way these look at the end of my legs; they balance my thicker calves by elongating my leg and making my short, flat feet look bigger than they are. And that pop of color on the soles is just lovely. These run true to size, maybe a little small. I could make these size 6 shoes work with insoles, but I would probably take a size 5.5 if I bought them.

Hopeful | Luxon in burgundy. Size 6.

And yet another adorable shoe in the Hopeful family. The Luxons came out last Fall, and they fit 1/2 size small. I like the look of these, but they'd fit better if I had higher/thicker arches. There's weird ruching at the inside of the straps which means they're a little loose there. Dealer Kate says it's fixable at the cobbler's, but yes that means adding another $30 to the cost of the shoes. If they fit you nicely, however, you'd be lucky to get them! This is a really great color for fall and winter.

* * *

Of course I couldn't leave the store without checking out the fantastic sale shoes still available. You see, I changed my mind about the striking Faraday slingback heels I had put on layaway in May (they're on a great sale now, btw). Remember how gaga we went over them? How I feel about them hasn't changed, but I did realize that once I took them home, they'd probably languish in my closet like too many other Fluevogs before them. I have a tendency to look at Fluevog shoes like an art collector, and I simply can't justify that. For one thing, I don't have unlimited funds (if only!), and for another, the shoes need to be worn. That's the reason I sold 8 pairs of Fluevogs via the FlueMarket just this past year. It's silly to hoard Fluevogs and not wear them. And the Faradays, with their steel toes and sleek design, deserve to be out in the world kicking ass everywhere. My current lifestyle doesn't warrant the Faradays.

So I converted my layaway into store credit, which I ended up using. With my sights trained on the coming fall season, I decided to stick to flats. I also wanted flat maryjanes if possible. I tried on several pairs and here's what I ended up with.

7th Heaven | Angela in acid purple. Size 6.

I found that the 7th Heaven | Angela fit me better than I thought; I had tried them on in the green colorway back in May as well and thought that they were too loose, but I managed to secure the purple colorway so that I didn't have to worry about stepping out of them whenever I walked. These run 1/2 size short but wide. I think they're absolutely adorable. I loved the green colorway but I now have way more green and its variants (teal, aqua, turquoise) in my collection than I do purple or pink or even gray. These will be fun to wear this fall.

Presence | Imagine in black. Size 7.

After trying on this black pair of art deco gorgeousness, I made up my mind to spend a little extra and take them home as well. I had tried on the lovely aqua colorway back in March and thought that I would buy that colorway if I bought the shoe style at all. However, given that I'd already gotten the aqua Amies, I didn't want to double up on same-color flats. Besides, not only did I want a darker color for the fall, but I also wanted fancy black shoes that weren't heels, and these fit the bill. They've already been taken out for light contra dancing, and they held up well. They probably need another couple of wears to completely break in. They run about 1.5 sizes too small, though, so definitely size up! They'll be great to wear to parties and other events this fall and winter.

xo, Gladys

New Shoes + Fluevog Party on Melrose

Happy July! If it seems like Fluevog Central over here, I KNOW. June surprised me that way. Since my kid got out of school, my summer so far has consisted of 1) family vacation in Seattle, 2) swimming and potlucks with friends, and 3) Fluevogs. Throw in some extra hours of sleep, and it would be ideal. But I can live with it as-is. :-)

Integrity | Amie in aqua-green. Coffee | Arabica in black/turquoise.

As I previously posted, the Fluevog summer sale opened last Friday. I got an invite from the Los Angeles store to attend their sale preview event last Thursday evening, June 27, which turned out to be a party with sweet giveaways. The deal? The first 30+ people who purchased something (on sale or not) were eligible to pick out a pair of unworn vintage Fluevogs that were languishing in the back of the store for one reason or another. Usually, they were former floor/demo shoes that now showed a mismatch in color between the left and right shoe, which meant that they couldn't be sold. (You probably know it gets really sunny in Los Angeles, so the demo shoes get a little sun-faded.)

I got to the store a little late (it started at 5pm) because of traffic hazards on the freeways (grr, L.A. freeways). Luckily for me, however, my friends Jih-Fei and Francine had my back. Both had never tried on Fluevogs before, but they were game to join me at the party. Jih-Fei got there the earliest and stood in line*, so he was the 24th person in. I was number 37. When it came time, he traded numbers with me so that I could be one of the first 30 people. He said he didn't have a specific shoe in mind anyway and wanted me to get the vintage shoes. (So thank you, dearest JF! I owe you!)

New Shoes: Fluevog Adrianas

Adriana | Beezie loafers (on sale at Fluevog). I reviewed these at the Fluevog store on Melrose last fall and concluded that the size 6 (the smallest size made) was too big for me. However, when both the brown and green colorways went on super-steep sale at Amazon late last month, I couldn't help myself and purchased them both so I could try them on again and see if things would be different this time around. I've found that Amazon's stock of Fluevogs sometimes have small but significant differences from what's available at the stores. When I tried on the brown colorway from Amazon, I was disappointed to find that they were just as loose as the brown pair I tried on at the Melrose store. But the green colorway, amazingly, fit me quite well. Yes! *fist pump* (It's definitely possible that the green colorway just fits smaller than the brown and I didn't know that because I wasn't able to try on the size 6 in green at the Melrose store for some reason.)

They're not snug, but given that I plan to wear them with socks and tights in the fall and winter, they're perfect! That's the reason they're not included in my "What to Wear this Summer" list: they're meant for fall wear, although I may yet have a reason to wear them before then. Who knows?

In short, I'm so very glad I took the chance on these. I returned the brown colorway promptly, and lovingly added the green Beezies to my closet. Along with the Elizabeths and the series of green dresses that I bought and that were gifted to me in the last year, these shoes have finally satisfied my obsession with green. In real life, they're a little more olive than my photos suggest; their color is somewhere between the top photo and the two bottom photos. Overall, they're gorgeous shoes, and it's awesome to finally have a pair in the new and fantastic Adriana family of Fluevogs.

xo, Gladys

What to Wear this Summer: Shoes Edition

It's not just clothes that languish unworn in my closet; it's shoes as well. I've been known to buy beautiful Fluevogs and never wear them, or wear them only once.

(Don't worry -- I've since sold most of my unworn Vogs on the FlueMarket. The shoes simply didn't fit me as well as I wanted, and I knew they needed to go to someone who could love them and wear them as they deserved. I'm glad they found good homes.)

I have a couple of non-Fluevogs that need some love as well. This summer, I plan to wear all of these out at least once, and hopefully more often to break them in properly. I'd love to match them up with some of the unworn clothes from the last post.

Cat heels via ModCloth. Of course I couldn't pass these up when they went on sale, especially when the color scheme matches my real-life cat's. I wish they were comfy enough to dance in, but they'll need to be broken in properly first. Aren't they adorable?

I bought these also on sale from ModCloth when I thought I needed huge platform espadrilles last summer. It turns out no, I didn't need them, and they're a little tall for me. But at least the straps are soft and I won't have to worry about ruining them if I take them to the beach or something.

Fluevog Wearever: Hvala. I bought these when they went on sale at Fluevog around spring 2011. I know, TWO years ago! I got them stretched at the Melrose store and wore them that day, but not since. I don't count that day since I didn't actually wear them anywhere but to go home.

Fluevog F-Shoe: Cece. I bought these on a whim for International Fluevog Day in 2011. I was following the No Pants blog at the time, and Amber wore her Ceces and other kickass Fluevog boots with such flair, pairing them with amazing skirts and dresses, that I thought I wanted to do the same thing. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a boots person when it gets as hot as it does in the summer here. I didn't wear them later in the fall or winter, either, since I kind of forgot about my inspiration for buying them in the first place. But if I make a visit to the Bay Area later this summer as I hope to, I'll bring these boots with me. Bay Area summers are so much milder than Southern California summers. [ETA: I never made it to the Bay Area this summer, and I've decided to put these up on the FlueMarket. Sigh.]

Fluevog Wonder: Everest. (Ivory/black colorway in size 6.5 and size 11 still available.) I bought these when they went on sale at Amazon a couple of years ago. I wore them for a nonprofessional "fashion shoot" I did with my dear friend M, but never actually wore them out since then. These would make great dancing shoes, don't you think? I'll try to wear them to the next contra dance I go to.

Fluevog Frontier: Danielson. This was another pair of whim shoes, bought when I visited the Fluevog store at the Haight last spring 2012. For some reason I haven't put together an outfit for these beauties. After recently watching the biopic on famous autistic scientist and professor, Temple Grandin, I'm inspired to wear cowboy-themed stuff. These are saddle shoes, right? I'd like to wear these 1950s style, with capris or pencil (cigarette) pants.

Fluevog Attention: Paris. I bought these relatively recently, just earlier this year, to fill a gap in my shoe collection. I don't have any classic pumps (most of my heels are maryjanes), and I thought these black suede would be perfect. I think they'd be superb with a couple of the fancier dresses in my clothes-to-wear list. Now I just have to wait for someone to invite me to a wedding or a show!

xo, Gladys

What to Wear this Summer: Clothes Edition

Happy June, everyone! Summer is almost here, can you believe it?! It's going to be another busy summer. We're going on vacation once my baby "graduates" from preschool, then it's time once again for regular swimming lessons and casual swim parties. Add in the usual summer birthday parties and barbecues, and the season will rush by like it did last year.

This summer, I also want to make sure that I put more of my clothing in rotation. I am ashamed to admit that I have more than a few pieces in my closet that I have not yet worn, most of them bought last year or even two years ago. How did that happen? Well, for one thing I've been wearing a boring uniform of jeans and knit tops during this past fall and spring, since all I did was drop off and pick up my son from school. It's also because I bought stuff on sale, which usually meant that they came to me at the tail-end of the season they were meant to be worn in. Or I bought clothes that needed to be altered in some way -- new buttons for that one, this other one needs shorter sleeves -- and by the time I got around to the alteration, the season for their wear was past. Yet another reason was that I bought more special-occasion dresses than I needed, especially last year. (Jeez, I got tired just writing all that out!) Thankfully, I've been A LOT better at controlling my shopping habits this year so far, and when I have bought clothes I wore them almost right away.

That still leaves the stuff I haven't worn yet, some of them so gorgeous that it's truly a shame they've never seen the light of day. Well, here, I'm going to promise to wear these particular pieces by the end of summer. A few nights of dancing with friends, a trip to a beach town, and maybe a visit to a nice teahouse should fit the bill for some of the dresses, although a couple are begging for extra-special events to wear them to. (I also hope I can still fit into these clothes again. Swimming and regular exercise, here I come!)

Finally, I plan to donate or sell the pieces (worn and never worn) that no longer fit either my body or my style. It's time to clear out my closet. It's getting scary in there.

Via Modcloth

1 Emily and Fin (exact) | 2 Sugarhill Boutique (brand)

3 Aryeh (floral pattern) | 4 unknown

5 Moon Collection

Via Amazon, Anthropologie, Patagonia, and miscellaneous

xo, Gladys