I hope everyone had a lovely St. Patrick's Day weekend. :)
Where: Dinner out with my dad and stepmom.
Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) This outfit was very comfortable. The upbeat kitten heels (Boden fall 2011) were a bit snug, but they always feel that way at first. By the end of the evening, they felt fine.
The Audrey dress (review here, on clearance here
I will admit to being a bit chilly at the end of the evening when the temps dipped into the 30s. The leather jacket with ruffle detail (still available here) was not the best at keeping me warm, but considering how much I adore this jacket, the little bit of chill I felt on the five minute walk back to the car was okay by me.
Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) I gave this one almost a perfect score. I think had I worn a pair of booties, I could have given this one a 5. :)
The jacket is insanely cool, and combined with the floral scarf, it looks as editorial as I am ever gonna get.
I would have not known that jacket existed had I not created a polyvore set for a blog friend who asked me to put together a few looks with the LouLou dress, which I had fun doing. I was searching for the exact right look for one of the dresses, when I happened upon this pretty beige leather jacket from Zara. I hemmed and hawed over purchasing, but decided to give it a try since I had no idea whether it would sell out (still don't, in fact, since I have no idea how Zara's stocks are).
I could get it as long as I was able to pay it off, and by continuing my closet cleanout (many trips to the consignment store later), I could afford it, so I grabbed a small and went on my merry way.
Then I realized by reading on-line reviews of Zara's sizing that I had probably made a huge mistake since Zara runs really really really small. Eek.
I got the jacket three days later (super fast and free shipping, btw) and try it on and OMG, it was wee. Indeed, very wee. It fits at the shoulders and arms, but I cannot zip it up to save my life. I can't even do up the zip beyond the first two inches, and since I actually want a jacket that does what it supposed to do, I know the small won't work, and based on how the small was fitting, the medium would fit, but just barely. I was sure the large would be sold out (and it was the time I ordered the small), but when I got online later that day, there was a large in stock, so I reordered.
The one I am wearing is the large, and as you can see, it fits exactly right. Reminder...I wear a size 4 in J. Crew perfect shirts, a 4 or 6 in Boden tops, and a size extra-small in J. Crew knits and tees. Based on that, I would agree that Zara may run a bit small. LOL. ;)
Anecdote from the day: How did we celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Well, we went to a Moroccan restaurant, of course. It was next door to an Irish pub, so that sort of counts, right?
Mr. Dina stayed at home with the kids, including little Angus who had come down with a fever. Poor kid still has it as of a couple of hours ago. Blegh.
Speaking of Angus, I can't believe it, but one year ago exactly, I was heavily pregnant with him.
Above is the polyvore of the outfit, which also has a direct link to the Zara website.
Where: Sewing Class (last one).
Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Hard to feel uncomfortable when you are wearing the world's softest leggings and a super-stretchy tunic (Boden Spring 2011--worn here in a similar way).
Even the Garnet Hill wedge boots are easy on the feet.
Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) I like this outfit and the jacket and boots help really up the cool factor, but it is still like I am wearing a slightly dressy pair of pjs underneath those two cooler pieces. ;)
Anecdote from the day: I finished another skirt, this time using Simplicity sewing pattern 1887
I will be making the pants from a very nice cotton lawn that I found at G Street fabrics that looks a lot like the pepper print from Liberty (but not being so very expensive, of course). That one I may photograph each step so I can show how I made the pants, but it may be that when I actually get down to the process, I find it too time consuming to bother photographing the sewing "journey."
My stepmom and I are planning on doing the sewing class again, even though we technically are too advanced for the class. The teacher is great, she lets us do what we want and serves as a technical adviser on the projects, which is handy since we still get confused by some parts of the process.
You all have a great day! And a belated Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!
