Boden Weekly Review Roundup: Sixties Special.

Good morning, all!  I hope everyone is having a lovely Sunday, and if you are in the path of Hurricane Sandy/Frankenstorm that you and yours are safe and sound.  We are technically in the path of the storm, but after last summer's derecho and the Snowmaggedon of 2010, we made the executive decision to leave town and stay with our relatives in western Georgia.  I know my dad is only three miles away and his house rarely loses power, but even with that insurance, and as much as I love my dad, my childhood home's small three bedroom/one bath would be very cramped with all five of us plus my dad, my stepmom, and my brother.  Hence our trip to see Mr. Dina's sister...which we will chalk up to a mini-vacation if our power doesn't go out.  But since we lose power if the dog down the street sneezes on the power line, I have a feeling our decision will be justified.  ;)

Anyhow, I have a portable hotspot on my new cellphone, so I figured I could publish this week's BWRR on the road.  (And a big ole thank you to I-81 for their cell towers!)

Alrighty, so here goes.

1.  On Friday Boden sprang their Spring (get it?) Preview on us, and from the looks of it (go here to see more), there are some very lovely and classic pieces out there for us.  I am seeing bits of Boden circa 2008 or 2009, just cleaned up and simpler.  I am also seeing more of what they gave us this fall, very mod/retro shapes with bits of edge (well, edgy for Boden).  From what I am hearing from all of you, there is quite a lot that you see that you love, too.  I hope Boden can keep this momentum going, it is great to see our favorite purveyor of womenswear finding a very solid ground to stand on, tying what they used to be with what they hope to become.

2.  CC gave us a code that can be used for 20% off with free ship and returns, so definitely enjoy that if you decide to pre-order anything.  The code (PRV3) expires on November 9, so you have a lot of time to decide on what you would like.

3.  Speaking of pre-ordering, I am going to publish a "picks" post, but I will actually publish that on November 8, the day before the code expires.  Until then, I will put one "pick" from the collection at the bottom of each post I publish daily, starting with today's post and continuing on until two Thursdays from now.  I normally wouldn't do this, but with my wonky crazy schedule, it will help me get it done, rather than try to get all of them up at once, this will help my brain work through all the pretty one piece at a time.

4.  A few days ago I was contacted by the author of Poppy's Style and she invited me to join Avenue 57, which is a website where women can publish their outfits daily.  It emphasizes a supportive atmosphere amongst women who love fashion and being stylish but also want ideas on how to dress for their own unique body types.  I have joined and I happily inserted my body type as I wanted to be sure that not only could I search for other women with "big thighs," but that they could search and find me as well.  It is a UK-based website, but they welcome all from around the world.  Definitely join, especially if you don't have a blog but have a desire to show off your outfits daily! 

5.  Right now I have a coupon in my sidebar for 15% off with free ship and returns.  I have also included the coupon down at the bottom of this post for all mobile users.  That is the best that is around right now, however I did receive a catalog with a "20% off any order of $175 or higher," so if you have one of those catalogs, make sure you put the code into the shopping bag if you plan to buy more than $175 worth of Boden.

Okay, now that the wall of text is done, onto the reviews!  :)

Regular Boden:

Sixties Heels.  Ooh, look at the pretty.  Love the point, love the delicate buckle, love the perfect patent leather. 

Okay, that's not a review, more a love letter, but yum.  Yum.

Alright...now for the review part.  I ordered these in a size 41, unsure if I would need to send them back for a size 40, which I end up having to do around 60% of the time.  Boden's shoes always run too long and too wide for me.  This time the shoe is a great length, perfect for my size 9.5 (J. Crew ballet flat, anyhow).  The shoe is a titch wide in the heel, but I am going to give it another wear or two before I inset a heel pad to make it a bit more narrow, as the extra width is not bothering me right now.

The buckle can be adjusted, which I may end up doing as I can also try and get it to be a bit more narrow that way.

The shoe is all leather, from the upper, through to the insole, and the sole.  Very well made, gorgeous patent leather, and exceedingly comfortable.  I could have worn these all day as a teacher and not taken them off. 

The height of the heel is very small, maybe 2 inches, and well-balanced with the ball of the foot, so the height is not even close to causing discomfort.

I adore tapered cropped pants, but when worn with a flat can make me look stumpy, so the bit of a lift that these heels give me help my silhouette a lot.

These pants are the Tie waisted tapered trousers from Pure Collection in black (I did a review of them in navy, and since they were such a great price and a staple, I bought them in black).

The top and cardi are fairly old, but since I love them, they still make rounds in my closet.

Detail of the lower-half of my outfit.


Sixties Heels.  Nice long wait for these in red and the mid-brown color, but black is back in stock--woo hoo!


Funnel Neck Jacket.  I wore this recently and blogged about it here.  :)



Jewel Neck Top.  Shopwithm did an amazing review of this top here at this post.

I was also e-mailed a review by a blog friend, Ann, who had this to say about this gorgeous top:

I received the Jewel Neck Top, and it's beautiful.  It's made of a very light, nice, high-quality fabric and is fully lined (very comfortable and not itchy).  The impressive thing about it is the jewel neck...it's really well done, goes all the way around, and the neckline where the jewels are is thicker than the rest of the top.  It is shaped and structured, and there seems to be a layer of something else inside the neckline.  I'm not describing it well, but I wanted to try because this doesn't show in the photo or the description.  It really contributes to the quality look and feel of the top.  I ordered my usual Boden size and it fit well.  This top was still on the pricey side ($110.40 after discount), but I feel it was worth the money and will enjoy it for years to come.

Skinny Jeans.  Lou wears these in loganberry cord with a very pretty Anthro blouse and adorable booties from a French supermarket (?!?!?).  Love!




Printed Scarf and Favourite Cropped Cardigan.  Lou wears both of these with one of my all time favorite Anthro skirts (the Tria skirt from winter 2010).

Thank you to Shopwithm, Ann, and Lou for their reviews this week!

Spring Preview Pick of the Day:

Ballerinas.  At $78 (before any discounts are applied), we are looking at a fairly simple, definitely derivative (hello copy of J. Crew's Cece ballet flats), but very versatile pair of shoes.  And because the price is so low, if you have wanted a pair of Ceces, but were unwilling to pay the higher cost for it (especially since both versions have man-made soles), here is your chance to have them in a very pretty, current color (this is called cypress) for a much lower cost.

Okay, that's it for now. :)

If you are on a mobile device, here is the coupon I promised you (sorry it is so big, still works, though)!