sistawendy | lusting after shoes & clothes

But first: my mom is OK. I talked to her this morning. She said the wind hadn't picked up where she is yet.

I heard that John Fluevog, founder of the Fluevog shoe ~~empire~~ cult at which so many of us worship, was going to be at the Seattle store. Yes, the guy who designed twelve (12) pairs of shoes and boots that I've written so much about was there for the meeting. So I took the bus downtown and meet him I did.

I'm not too proud to admit that I fangirled all over him. He seems... like a pretty normal dude in his sixties. I told him that

cupcake_goth was the one who turned me and a whole bunch of other people on to 'Vogs. (I'm pretty sure that's true; it's certainly likely.) I told him about my imminent 50th birthday party and how I'd bought one pair of boots for it - and then another because darn him. His more advanced age made my 50th birthday plans amusing to him. He said he'd reinvented himself at that age, but I paid attention to my funny feeling that I shouldn't ask him to explain. I merely said that I'd reinvented myself once, and I might have to do it again.

Last night, J of J&R fame was one of fourteen designers in the graduation fashion show at the New York Fashion Academy in Ballard. I must say, I saw several looks I really liked and even collected a couple of business cards. J's looks, well, would look fabulous on somebody who isn't me. I think of them as Jackie Kennedy meets David Bowie and they maybe say hi to Piet Mondrian. (J is a huge Bowie fan.) Props to J for originality. Merc'd a bit afterward because I went to the earlier of two shows, having somehow failed to notice that there was a later one that R was going to. Celebratory drinks with J&R were earlier this evening. Poor J has been working late into every night on this show for months, dealing with a flaky model, makeup artist issues, and uncooperative fabric. For her, some well-deserved cocktails and quality munchies.

Fave looks:

Short, straight skirts with feathers. Those are made for someone with relatively narrow hips like yours truly.
Lots of looks inspired by Dior's New Look. I kind of feel bad about that, because even though I love it and it looks good on me, it's been done to death.
One designer, Hai Nguyen, went nuts with the drapery, which resulted in some stunningly original formal wear.
Another, Shanelle Thompson, did a lot of bodycon (if that's the right word) looks with zippers and other details.