Have my tastes changed, or... - YouLookFab Forum

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Have my tastes changed, or...

Aziraphale

Veteran

...are the designers at Fluevog having an ugly shoe competition?

First off, I get an email from them almost every second day. They are now in competition with J. Crew for annoyingly flooding my inbox with invitations to buy their merchandise. I'm considering unsubscribing.

And secondly, they are outdoing themselves this season with unwearable clown shoes. I mean, even a decade ago, when I first got into the brand, there were always lots of shoes that didn't appeal to me, but they also had many choices that were fabulous. In the pic below, which showed up in my inbox this morning. there are maybe two pairs of shoes that I think are OK.

Sad.

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Shopping

32 replies

Latest reply was from rabbit

catgirl

Veteran

I've sold all my Fleuvogs which were older styles we both liked. I think they have gotten more out there, and our tastes may have become more streamlined.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Yeah. Their handwriting has changed, and so have your style preferences, Elisabeth. It's always - just a matter of time.

Aziraphale

Veteran

I still wear and love a lot of mine. Some get limited wear, it's true, because they are dressier than my everyday life allows -- but a lot of Fluevog's older stuff had a 1920s vibe that I still really like. Or a Victorian granny boot vibe. Those aren't having a moment right now, but I still adore them.

I do wear my Swordfish boots (shown below) every second day, it feels like. They are weird but amazingly seem to work with a lot of my bottoms. And I wear the BBC brown work boots a lot. I still like the red Operettas too.

Angie, Una -- you're right, my taste definitely skews sleeker than before.

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Anonymous

I just ordered the perforated pink ones with the curved heel and aqua bottoms

Anonymous

They are definitely not subtle shoes!

Aziraphale

Veteran

@LisaP: Oh s**t. Inserting foot into mouth.

Well, my loss is your gain!

Anonymous

I have one pair, but that was a bit of a fluke. I do not go out of my way to even look at them in stores.

catgirl

Veteran

I actually like the grey ones with the strap.

Anonymous

I know. There are quite a few eccentric shoes, but I'm thinking it's always been like that.

One particular style I really like are the Angel's (my 90's alternative to Docs) but they're not offered in basic black which is just so weird, since this style is one of their classics.

I do like a lot of their stompy-er boots, if they're offered in black. They have some plain chelseys that seem like a nice alternative to Blundstones.

But their heels have a definite fairytale style to them that I really can't wear.

Love their sales and their quality is astonishingly good, so I still highly recommend them.

All in all though, I'm the same as you Aziraphale: There are really only about 3 or 4 styles out of the hundreds that I actually like.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I can relate. I still have one pair left -- I sold the other two I had collected a few years back. I still have my low-heeled black pointy-toed boots, but they have limited use for me -- with bootcut jeans only. I see a couple in your photo that I like, but nothing I'd be inclined to shell out money for at this stage in my style evolution. My tastes have become more streamlined.

Oops, correction. I have two pairs left! One black ankle bootie with pointy toes, a nicely fitted ankle, and the old thin curvy 3" heel -- they look good with skirts and dresses. I still get compliments on them.

Anonymous

ETA: It seems like we're all picking different favorites from this brand! Maybe it has a little something for everyone

Aziraphale

Veteran

It's true what you all say about how they alway had "eccentric" shoes -- it's just that I think their brand of eccentric is changing. It used to be more in line with my taste.

ETA It's probably also true that what one person thinks is "awesome-weird" is what another one thinks of as "ugly-weird".

Ginger

Veteran

Wow, I haven't kept up with the brand, but this is definitely not what I used to see. The non-stompies have always been too cartoony or too fairytale for me so I've never gotten into them. I've never thought them ugly. But I'm not sure what to make of this set! The gray-green heels in the upper right look nice, although the heel is hidden and I'm suspicious. And objectively I like the two-tone lace up in the center, though I wouldn't use those colors. That's all that remotely appeals to me.

Anonymous

Ha! The ones in the upper left corner of the photo (white with double buckles) are the same ones Duckie wore in "Pretty in Pink"!

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Anonymous

I WAS KIDDING !! Please feel free to increase my meds if you ever seen me in those shoes:)

catgirl

Veteran

HAHA! I knew Lisa was being facetious... Although someone could surely rock those shoes.

I really like these - the buckles is made of skulls.

https://www.fluevog.com/shop/4.....nchor=true

Aziraphale

Veteran

Ohhhhh OK Lisa. Lol. (It's just that I remember a conversation we had about running shoe design and how I thought it looked like they were all done by Hasbro employees on methamphetamines, and then you said you bought and liked a particularly rainbow-y pair).

Keix

Veteran

I loved the mint fairytale pair in the top right corner. In person though the heel is a plastic sky blue, kind of garish. There are a few different styles I saw in a lovely neutral floral print (see Find below) that I would have considered buying if they'd come in my size in store, but I'm not willing to order sight unseen at Fluevog's typical prices.

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Aziraphale

Veteran

Ginger: your suspicions are correct. The heel on that otherwise retro-cute grey-green shoe is extremely strange.

Una: I quite like the skull-buckle ones you posted -- but as you know, I have a weak spot for that funny Swordfish toe point. Er, and skulls.

KL: the grey floral print is, I agree, very nice. They actually made a nice colourful one too a few seasons back, and it's still going strong -- they've been using florals in a lot of their shoes.

Gaylene

Veteran

Actually, I've found more to like in this season's collection, so you are not alone, Lisa!

I've been a Fluevog fan for decades ( bought my first pair waaaaaay back in the 70s!), but found the relentless "grannie" vibe of the 90s and early 2000s rather tiresome. In contrast, the more graphic black and white looks I'm seeing these days really appeal to me. Those Andersons (pictured last) found their way into my closet recently and have become my favorite spring boot--and I'm seriously contemplating those heels in #3!

But I agree the emails are annoying--as are the weird attempts at "humor" which accompany their mail orders.

ETA: Aw, Lisa, I'm disappointed that you were kidding! But, to me, that's why I've always had such a soft spot for Fluevogs. They are such an idiosyncratic choice--my "love it!" Is likely to be another person's "yikes, what an ugly shoe". If you happen to see another person in the same Fluevog shoe you are wearing, it's like meeting a sole mate (pun intended!)

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Anonymous

I totally love the skull buckled ones, except for that toe - I just can't with that. Funny how we all respond so differently to the little details.....

And runners by hasbro guys on methamphetamines? I love that yay for crazy runners!!

Gaylene

Veteran

Oh, and now, I'm ogling these flats. Obviously, I'm a weird senior... they may not let me into any respectable home for the elderly...

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JAileen

Veteran

I've thought they were fun looking. The color combinations were kind of weird sometimes, though.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Gaylene: Those dusty white short boots ARE very cute, and not clownish at all.

They always have a few things I like. It's just that lately, the ones I don't like, I really don't like!

Sara L.

Veteran

I like to look at their shoes but I'm not sure I would actually wear them. It's like looking at art.

Anonymous

It IS fun to go though their site
I found these clogs for me

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rachylou

Veteran

Those are too normal to be Fluevog...

Anonymous

Lol, Rachy. I know I know. I'm not a true fluevogger, I don't think.
I do really like gaylene and KL's choices too and Lisap's new ones.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Listen to Gaylene. You would think she was the most doddering oldster out there. In fact, she is an incredibly vibrant and YOUTHFUL person who -- I probably should not say this -- looks at least a decade younger than her age. So there.

The Fluevogs this year are on the weirder side and your tastes are also shifting because they're not completely out of their normal range. If normal has any meaning...

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