Discovering Fluevog
When I saw them on the shelf at my local thrift store, I recognized myself. This is what I would look like as a shoe. And though I didn’t know it yet, they were designed by John Fluevog: the Mansfield from his 2008 Listens line. This pair of shoes was unique in The Rummage Room’s thrift-store sea of Nine West, DSW, Jessica Simpson, the occasional Chanel or Prada (sometimes in a style I would consider wearing, but more often not). I held my breath as I tried them on and felt like Cinderella. They were exactly my size.
I looked up the brand, as any good thrift shopper does, to see how The Rummage Room’s price compared to retail, and I found myself on Fluevog’s website for the first time. Scrolling through the current styles, I saw price tags ranging from $100 to $500, and I started to worry that the volunteers at the store had also done their research. The Rummage Room is cash-only and I only had $60 with me. I went up to the counter and asked the price, then almost immediately pulled out my wallet: they were $40.
A few months and many non-Fluevog Rummage Room purchases later, I once again found myself at the shoe rack in the back of the store, and, once again, I was faced with a pair of shoes that spoke to my soul.
These were, I would later determine, the Faraday from Fluevog’s 2013 Big Presence line, and they, too, were exactly my size. I walked up to the counter: $30. It was impossible to stop feeling like Cinderella – these shoes are so beautiful they might as well have been made from glass by a fairy godmother, they fit me as though custom-made, and when I put one on my foot, I knew that I had found my prince.
If you spend any time exploring Fluevog’s website, you will see that the styles I found are not necessarily the norm. It’s hard to pinpoint what the “norm” of Fluevog is, actually. Many styles are chunky, steampunk, grunge, or Victorian, and many are too wild even for me. John is dedicated to the unique, to presenting yourself well, to creativity and individuality, and he has been since his public career began in 1970s Vancouver.
You have seen his shoes, perhaps without realizing it, if you’ve watched Beyoncé’s Formation video (she wore The Seraphina boot) or Madonna’s film Truth or Dare (the singer was in Munsters), if you followed Jack White in 2011 when he wore the Jack boot or Lady Gaga in 2016 when she wore the Cubist Cupcake. You’ve definitely seen them if you went to Summer Breeze in 2019 – Allie X wore a pair of black Munsters.
Earlier this year, I found a third pair of Fluevogs at the Rummage Room that were exactly my size and priced at $40. I couldn’t believe that there were three different people in Old Greenwich, Connecticut who all had my shoe size and taste, so I asked a friend who volunteers there: is there someone in the town with a closet full of Fluevogs? The answer: yes.
I then did what any serious thrifter would – I gave them my name, phone number, and email address. Whenever my mysterious benefactor makes their next Fluevog donation, I will be The Rummage Room’s first call.
