Friday, November 30, 2012

OOTDs: Keeping Warm.

Good Friday afternoon!

As I mentioned in this morning's sale post, I will be trying to crank out as many blog posts as possible over the next few days.  I hope that I can put a dent in this backlog of reviews, outfits, and fun times I have ready to publish (in my head, at least).

This post features two outfits I wore over the past two days, since my return home from Mississippi.  It was fairly warm down there and I only had to pull out my jacket twice over an eight day period.  Virginia is a touch cooler, of course, and we are currently seeing high temperatures in the low 50s (which is utterly and absolutely normal for December). 

Because I am a wimp, and not a Canadian from the upper parts of Ontario, I cannot handle the frigid mornings where the temperature is right around the freezing mark.  Since I haven't felt properly cold in about a year and a half, I really have been enjoying the cold weather dressing (if not the cold weather itself, remember, I'm a wimp).  My coat closet is full of really lovely J. Crew coats, including a few from the old days that I just love and will hold onto until the end of time.  :)

Wore this ensemble on Wednesday.  Had a day of playing at the Little Gym with Angus, walking in Old Town (including a fortuitous visit to Mint Condition), a kid's bday party, and grocery shopping, so I knew that layers and flexible fabrics would be necessary.

The coat stayed on until midday, the tunic was on for most of the day (except at the birthday party where I was overheated), and the boots made it until Mint Condition.  After my visit to Mint Condition, I swapped out the boots for this pair by Frye that I found for a song.  They looked much better with this outfit than the booties, and the next time I try this silhouette, I will make sure to wear those.  For now, I am planning on wearing the new Fryes with a midi-length jersey skirt and a cropped sweater.

I like this necklace, but it may be too jarring for the overall look.  Next time, I will wear a necklace that hits higher up on the neckline (maybe a statement necklace like this one).

Ah, the old coats.  I love them.  I have this Sybil Coat in yellow, as well.  I like it in yellow so much that when I saw the purple come up on ebay for an insanely great price (wasn't listed as a coat or as the Sybil, had it been, I would not have been able to get it for such a great amount).

This outfit is from yesterday.  I went bowling, so I definitely needed something I could move in (the bi-stretch minnies are wonderful for that).  I also know that the alley can get pretty warm, so layers were positively necessary.  As it turned out, the alley stayed cool enough for me to keep on the cardi (under the coat), but I was ready, just in case.

BTW, I am now sort of kicking Dottie's butt.  She bests me about 2/3rds of the time, but I will beat her 1 of every 3 games.  Progress, people, progress.

This is the Cashmere Wrap from Boden, and like last year's Cashmere Cardi Coat, it feels like a million bucks, all while keeping me nice and toasty.  I have a silver cashmere cardi that is literally on its last legs (pilling horribly and misshapen--guess where from?), so it was nice to be able to replace that one with this one.  Plus this one is longer and thicker, so I will get more use out of it, simply because it is more versatile.

It looks really cute opened, but I wanted to do the whole belt over the cardigan and scarf combo.  This look was "in" a few years ago, but I never did give this look a try.

The scarf is from Madewell and is one of their ubiquitous Storyteller scarves.  This one features a huge map of the UK.  The wool is lovely and soft and lightweight, and the pattern looks wonderful whether laying open, tied up, or partially shown (like in the look I created).

 Close-up of the torso.  I may try a thicker belt next time, so that the belt doesn't get so lost.

From the side.  You can see that this cardigan completely covers my bottom.  This is rare in a long cardigan, for me anyhow.  ;) 

I was very VERY lucky to get this one for near half-price.  On cyber Monday (Sunday night, too, of course), I saw that I could stack 25% on top of the 30% off price (thanks to a wonderful blog friend!), and when I added this to the bag, it went from a price of $218 to $114.  I wasn't sure if that price was going to stick or if it would ship (since the extra 25% off was indeed a glitch), but it did ship and the price did stick, so I was super-stoked.

I bought this in a size 4, which is one size down from normal size, but I read that it ran big (which it must if it fully covers my bedonkadonk).  So if you are on the petite side, this may end up being too big, even in the smallest size.

Alright, that's it.  :)  More to come this weekend.

BTW, I received many e-mails from the Land's End affiliate over the last few weeks, and they seem to have some amazing promotions for their customers available to the publishers (that would be my blog), so I went ahead and accepted them as one of my affiliates.  Like Boden and Pure Collection, I can vouch for their quality, so I don't feel like I am sending you all down some horrible rabbit hole.

Like Pure Collection, I don't have a lot of items in my closet, so I don't do a ton of reviews and/or ootds with their items, but I will happily put their current coupon/promo in my sidebar and in blog posts (as appropriate).

Here is a pretty decent one from Land's End, so if you are a fan, this may be a good one for you!
Lands' End 40% off One