Boden Weekly Review Roundup (Including the Uplifting Mac)!

Good Wednesday afternoon, Boden Babes!

Untitled by dinagideon featuring mac cosmetics coats

Ready for another Boden Weekly Review Roundup??? Almost there, just hold on...

Couple of housekeeping things:

1. Don't forget to enter my HUGE giveaway of an Arbonne Delights Gift Bag. It is valued at over $100, and I cannot wait until Sunday night when I get to (randomly) pick a winner.

2. I have been a bit under the weather, so I when I said I would take the entire day off yesterday to catch up on commenting, I ended up catching up on some zzzs instead. LOL.

3. Is everyone else SUPER-excited for this Friday when the Boden Limited Edition is meant to be released?  I can barely stand the suspense.  I just hope the items are SUPER-expensive.  (Yikes!)

4. There are the Boden reviews from last week...check it out if you missed it.

Now onto the roundup!

If you would like to look at any of the items at Boden, click on the photos (except the ones of me and Jenny obviously) and a new tab or window should open. If you like it, I have the 15% off coupon on the sidebar, which also includes free shipping and returns (bear in mind that the 15% does not apply to sale items, sadly).


Uplifting Mac.

On Me:

Well, I like it!  It isn't like my most favorite jacket from Boden, ever, but it does a great job of what it is supposed to...it protects from the rain and is incredibly practical.  The little bubbles are also a nice touch of whimsy, and if you are like us here in NOVA, our rainy days are just that...RAINY DAAAAAAAAYYYYYSSSSS.  The days when the rain comes, it just is so long, grey, and wet.

There is no waist definition on this mac, but it isn't meant to have definition.  This is just a prettier version of the same ones that you see in REI catalogs.  :)

Doesn't look half-bad from the side.  Pretty cute, in fact.

Hahahahahahahaha.  No comment.  But, really, if it is raining hard enough that a hood has to be worn, no one, and I mean no one is going to be staring at how silly I look.  They probably look this silly, too.

From the back with the hood up.

From the back, hood down.  I should mention that I bought this mac in a size UK 10, US 6.  It fits great through the bust and torso.  What you see here is me pulling the mac past my hips.  I can also wear it scrunched up at the top of my hips (there are drawstrings everywhere on this mac).

Now for the practical:  It comes with a coating of teflon, to repel raindrops; It has many pockets, including a pocket to "pack" your mac in (which I *thought* was going to be hard to do); and it has zippers that are well-made and don't stick.

This is how the mac looks packed up in its own pocket.  Small enough to be placed in a purse/bag OR you can use the wrist tie instead!  I thought I would never be able to figure out the pocket packing, but it was easy, just fold up the mac real small-like, stick it in the pocket below the fold, and then zip it up (the zipper right there is one of those cool, double-sided zippers).


Stripy Tunic. See it on Ema, from a few weeks back (how did I forget about this review?). Love it on her!


Jersey Top Dress.

On Jenny:

From the side.

From the front.  Jenny says this about the jersey top dress: Jersey top I just got last night. I don't know if its the most flattering on me, but I love it. I got a 6 in this and it seems about right. Its cute to wear w/ sandals in the summer or top it w/ a cardigan and jacket and heels for work. (Note to Janet from me: It is beyond adorable on you!!!)

 All dressed up with a Loft Jacket.


Relaxed Silk Dress.

On Jenny:

From the front.  Jenny has this to say about the dress:  I got the silk dress a while ago. I love the silk - nice and WASHABLE. Its not paper thin or clingy. I ordered a 6. I am usually more a 4, but Boden has run small on me in the past. This was a mistake, I should have gotten 4. But when I thought about returning - 17 wk wait. I decided to go w/ the flowy. I can always belt and/or cardigan, which I usually do. I love the print, it will go w/ so much. (I am so glad you went with the flowy, looks just beautiful on you!)


Speaking of the Relaxed Silk Dress, Shopping With M wore hers out this week, and I have to say, I JUST ADORE the way she styled it!

KittyWitty created a polyvore where she reviewed 5 separate reviews on the following five items. I have compiled them all and incorporated links back to the Boden website:

Breton Top. KittyWitty says this about the top (which she bought in the yellow and white colorway): Love the quality of the fabric. It has some stretch so it's a bit fitted, which I like. At first, the color took me aback b/c I thought the stripes were going to be a sunny, lemon yellow and they are a gold/straw yellow. But when I looked at it again online, I see that the color is true to the photo. Still love the color anyway. Boden's open necklines like this one aren't *perfect* on me...one of my bra straps is usually showing, but I love the fit otherwise and the color, so I'll be keeping. Again, like the blazer, the sleeves are about a 1/2 short. It is supposed to be long-sleeved and the sleeves hit right on my wristbone instead of covering it. I will push the sleeves up anyway, so no big deal.


Laundered Blazer: KittyWitty Says this regarding the blazer (which she got in the sweet pea/pinky-purple color): Really nice! Love the substantial cotton/linen fabric. The body is lined/sleeves unlined which makes them perfect for rolling/pushing up. The color is pretty accurate in the picture...I think it's close to J Crew's Bright Plum from last year. Blazers are always tricky for me b/c they are usually too big in the bust and waist and the armholes are too low. For reference, my bust is 30A and my waist is 24.5." The waist on this could stand to be a 1/2 in to an inch smaller, but the belt helps cinch it in so I love that feature. The bust fit fine...if the armholes were higher, it would be perfect, but I don't think it's noticeable. The shoulders fit great, but may be a little narrow on some--I have narrow shoulders. The length is perfect on me--hits right below the top of my hip bone. I'm short waisted, so those who are long-waisted or tall might find it a bit short. I find Boden runs a bit shorter in length--both in the body and sleeves. The sleeves on this could have been a 1/2 in longer, but I plan to push up and roll the sleeves, so that's OK. Also, the armholes could be a bit higher, but that's probably because I'm built like a petite in the torso. I found the sleeves to be a little roomier than I like, too. They could be narrower and taper more toward the wrist, but I think it looks great when the sleeves are pushed up and rolled. Bottom line: I love the color and fit through the body (thanks to the belt) and the length and it feels like a quality blazer, so it's a keeper!


Essential Short Sleeve Scoop Neck Tee. KittyWitty says this of the tee (she bought the color Edda is wearing in the pic above): Love the faded denim blue stripe on this. The scoopneck is perfect under blazers and cardigans (vs. a crewneck). Not crazy about the sleeve length. The sleeves sort of stick out away from my arms instead of laying flat against them. My mom laughed and said "You are SO picky!" LOL I'm not being picky really, it's just that it's those little things that make a big difference in your appearance. It's just not the most flattering sleeve on me. I look better in a short sleeve that's a little longer or in a cap sleeve. I showed my mom how I look in a tee with a longer sleeve and she saw what I meant. :) BUT, I love the color and scoop and have several jackets and sweaters that will look great with this as an underlayer, so I'm keeping. Maybe I'll like the sleeves better when I put it on again, but if not, it's perfect for layering.


Safari Spot Top. KittyWitty says this of the animal print top (she got it in the grey/navy hue): I liked the fit and length on this, but the stones at the neckline pulled the neckline forward because of their weight and I didn't like how that looked, so I am returning this one. (That's a bummer, as it is a cute top!)


Slingback Clogs. KittyWitty says this (she bought the leopard print calf hair version): Saved the best for last! ;) The leopard clogs are SO adorable!! They are printed calf hair so they look very luxe (but what do I know about luxe? lol). Perfect height...not too high and easy to walk in. Like many slingbacks, I feel like they want to push my feet forward, so I put pads in the front of the shoes to keep from slipping forward and that seems to have done the trick. They fit TTS. Definitely keeping!

I want to thank KittyWitty for a great set of reviews. You have made me think about a couple of these, for sure! :)


Favourite V-Neck Cardigan.

On me (my version is from Spring 2009, but the style and fabric content is almost the same):

I love this cardigan and have worn it DOZENS of times since I purchased it in 2009.  I bought a UK 12, US 8, but it fit just fine still.  If I were buying today (don't have a need for cardigans right now), I would probably buy a UK 10, US 6.

Boden's current version does not include a thick-striped multi-color like this one, but there are thin-striped tonal-colored ones.  They also have solid colors.  The buttons seem the same, but the length appears longer now.  The fabric content is exactly the same, minus a % here or there...in the end, this is a soft, stretchy cardigan that serves a a great staple in any wardrobe.  :)

Very simple, but this is my outfit today.  I feel comfortable, and I would be happy to go outside wearing this.  (Although I am not going to, as it is WICKED cold out and I have a freaking cold--grrr to the preschool run where I no doubt picked up *yet* another bug.)

If you have any reviews to add to this, or you have seen a review that I missed this week, would you mind e-mailing me or commenting back?  If I receive it by midnight tonight, I will include it in today's post, otherwise I will add it to the queue for next week.

Thank you all again for a great Boden Weekly Review Roundup.  This Boden blogging thing is getting easier with great contributors like all of you!!!