National Post: ‘Coffee’ Fluevog pumps up groggy, guilty mornings

National Post coverage of Fluevog Shoes

Addicted to shoes? Addicted to coffee to get you out of bed and bravely face the day, puffy eyes and all?

Don’t fight it — there are far worse things you could do  — feed your needs with a saucy pair of heels, ladies, from John Fluevog’s Coffee collection. The Tenango pump ($265), in OJ-bright “Orange Cairo” with a do-able three-inch leather-wrapped heel, suits that morning dash to the subway, portable coffee in hand. The orange colour is energizing, in case you’re late and have no time for that bowl of Bran Buds. Add in strong caffeine and you’re wired, for the first part of the morning anyway.

Not just any caffeine will do, especially with these fine strappy heels. Ideally, you should have ground the beans fresh for a cup, or cups, of JJ Bean Coffee Roasters. The West Coast chain is a favourite of the man himself, Vancouver designer John Fluevog. The story behind the shoes goes something like: while Fluevog was working on designs for a new shoe “family,” he sipped from the wrong mug containing an Americano instead of his usual cappuccino. His drawings became bolder, sharper, blacker — and there you have it, the Coffee collection. The bottom of the shoes are tattooed with an old-fashioned coffee grinder and the script, “Take the time and do it right.”

Now, that does not mean primping at the mirror to put on full makeup when you’re running late, but brewing and savouring that delicious hit of java — even if you’re knocking that first cup back like you’ve been on a hunger strike or, more likely, a late-night pub crawl. Enjoy it. Then put on these standout pumps and get to work. They’ll both, theoretically, jolt you into action.

Coffee Pumps Designer Shoes by Fluevog

I’d say these pumps are cheery and sexy, in a witchy kind of way. They’re definitely Fluevog, artful and bold, with a pointed toe tilting up and bold navy topstitching on the “Cairo imprinted leather with patent trim.” There’s a good-morning sheen to these that lasts all day, so if you need a boost, you just need to look down at your feet and smile. They don’t require a stunning skirt or sheath dress to match (although you certainly could do), because they bring fabulous to an ensemble no matter what you’re wearing. Handy.

And people will notice you in these, so don’t be shy. These are the kind of shoes Lucy Van Pelt of Peanuts fame would have worn for her psychiatry practice, if that psychiatrist booth from the comic strip was the sign of things to come. Confident, self-assured with edge — have a third cup of coffee and march into that boardroom with sass. I wore these to the office, out for lunch and then out to meet a friend for a drink on a patio, all while people were surely noticing my wicked witchy shoes.

Then I went home and did two loads of laundry. Pumped, and then some.

, The Ampersand &,  July 22, 2010 – 1:30 pm

khawthorne@nationalpost.com

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