Boden: Spring 2016 Preview Picks!

Real quick, before I start, Boden rolled out another winter rollout on Tuesday.  There seems to be lots of cute items, but I do tend to like their sparkly, dressier offerings for holiday parties, and usually end up grabbing something from them year to year.  (In 2013, I wore this dress to my 20th high school reunion, and last year, I wore this dress to my kids' Christmas pageant.)   


Okay, so the Spring 2016 preview has been up for a while, and I know I could be all "my work kept me from doing this post earlier," but if I am being fully honest, I am not all that wowed by the offerings.  I mentioned that the blue backgrounds seemed to dull everything down, but I noticed some other things that bothered me.  I don't love the fit of some of the garments on the model.  She has a great figure, but I think they may have chosen to size down on some items rather than size up and the pull lines on many of the garments are distracting.  Girlfriend has beautiful curves, an actual butt, a small waist, and longer legs, and so I feel her particular fit issues, and dude, if I were a model and they shoved me garments too small and too short, I would be irritated.  I think either fit the model properly to show the garment off best (or use a couple of different models), or just show the item as is, no models needed.  But on the bonus side, I definitely now know which garments best suit those of us with a shorter torso, bigger bottom half, and longer legs.  :-)

The 20% off code expires tomorrow night, so if you do plan to preorder, bear that in mind.  The code is 9R7C.

Onto my (slim) pickings...

Dresses

Martha Dress. This cotton sateen classic sheath dress with inverted pleating at the waistband is precious.  That use of a border print is genius and will likely flatter many shapes.  I would like to give this one a try but will need to wait until Boden publishes the garment measurements so I can see how much wiggle room I would have in my hips.  There is also an all-over dotted version and a plain navy version.

Molly Dress. I probably could get away with ordering this early (if I felt like chancing preorder and the usual snafus that come with it), but I think this color is tricky for a lot of folks to wear, so I will wait until it comes out and get it then.  The garment measurements are not published on this one either and this dress looks to be super short on the model.  It is supposed to hit at the low thigh, and if that is the case, then this dress may not work for me as I don't know that this silhouette will work on me, personally, that short.

Floral Jacquard Dress.  The styling of the model in the blue version of this is WOOF.  Who in the world would choose to wear that dress with those animal print tie up flats?  Maybe I'm the insane one, but I think it looks HORRIBLE together.  Anyhow, that said, this dress is lovely, and would work very nicely in many office environments, but is still dressy enough for many more formal gatherings and parties.

Sophia Shirt Dress. Once again, Boden delivers an exceptionally pretty shirt dress.  I have at least five shirt dresses from them, and would be happy to add this sunny version to my closet.  They usually fit well, flatter most, and come in the best prints and styles.

Pants, Shorts, and Shoes

Woven Jogger.  This is made from a viscose crepe, so be prepared to size up for potential shrinkage, especially if you dry yours in the dryer.  (Do not recommend, fwiw.)  The style is cute, and I like it on the model (barring the weird styling).  Don't know if they're for me, but I like them overall.

Richmond Shorts.  Of course I love the crazy printed shorts.  :-) To be fair, I also want them in black.  The change this year is from the designation of petite, regular, and long length.  Now they have a four inch, six inch, and nine inch choice.  Clearly I can wear a 9 inch inseam, but I actually prefer to have a five or six inch inseam since I think it flatters my frame more, so I definitely will be getting the six inch inseam instead.  I do have friends who wear the 9 inch for modesty reasons, and I so I am glad they kept that choice for their sake.

Keira Stud Ankle Boot.  The studs on this boot look less obnoxious than they do on the other items studded up.  I think the studs suit a boot, and on the other versions (the heel and the flat), they look like sad versions of that Valentino "Rockstud" which is everywhere.  (Blegh and ugh.)  I know some of you agree with me.  ;-)

Tops and Tees

Ravello Top.  The Ravello top has been around forever, so the silhouette is clearly not new, but I adore this print in this colorway.  So pretty and fresh feeling.  It definitely will be welcome in the greyer days of winter.  It may have to be the first Ravello top to enter my wardrobe!

Tamara Top. This top I decided to buy in the green floral version from this winter season (I chose a size 4, found the armholes were too tight, so exchanged for a 6, which fits great).  I like this small dotted version.  It has interest, but can still be paired with printed items since the print on this is understated.  Great choice for a formal office setting.

Drop Shoulder Cowl Neck.  This is normally not a kind of item I would be attracted to, but I love the mix of dot sizing with the black background.  It kind of looks like stars.  It seems like it would flatter a variety of shapes and sizes, too.

Okay, those are my picks.  This may be my smallest "picks" post ever.  Hurrah for less work on my part, but sadness over the lack of real pretty and unique.  :-(

Anything I missed that you love?  Anything you loathing?

OOTDs: School Style September and Early October.

Quick reminder: Boden's big mid-season sale ends tonight. The details about the sale are in the original post here with updated information in the latest BWRR.

The extra 20% off Boden's spring 2015 preview ends on the 15th.  I have plans to do a picks post tomorrow or Wednesday.

Onto the latest teacher outfits.  :-)  Note, unless I have something to mention outside of the teaching arena (after school and with family and friends), there won't be any anecdotes of the day in the teaching ootd posts. 

Day: Thursday, September 3, 2015.

Where:  First Day of Teaching and a baseball game.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) I have made this skirt for myself before in a pretty blue and brown and white floral (last time I wore it and the original sewing review), so I expected this version would be a slam dunk fit-wise.  (It was!)  I love the stretch cotton sateen, it's even from Joann's, which if you are a sewer, usually indicates a fabric that may not be up to snuff.  This one is...so pretty and looks like it will last a while.

Outfit Details: Skirt, handmade (Vogue 8916); Top, J. Crew; Shoes, A2 by Aerosoles; Shorts (from last photo), Boden; Necklace, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day: I was so stinking tired after school that day that I was *this* close to skipping out on the game.  I probably should have, I actually closed my eyes a few times while watching the game, and considering I normally can't sleep anyplace other than a quiet, dark room in my bed, I nearly fell asleep in those hard chairs in the bright baseball lights.  Yow.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Friday, September 10, 2015.

Where:  Teaching and church.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I felt fine, but I was worn out from the day before, so the tiniest bit of irritation felt enhanced.  This time it was the dress being just a skitch too tight on the upper hip.  Since the dress is made of a cotton, it stretched out and was fine an hour after putting it on, but still.  Boo.

Outfit Details:  Dress, Boden; Shoes, J. Crew; Necklace, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Thursday, September 17, 2015.

Where:  Teaching.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Well this *dress* keeps getting shorter, but I am thinking I was more daring with my skirt length before I was teaching at the Catholic school.  You really do need to have the skirts as long as the knee (or right there close to it), unless you are wearing it with leggings.  So leggings it was!  The whole outfit is wonderfully, deliciously comfortable. And it's a pretty print, so yay!

Outfit Details:  Dress, J. Crew Factory; Shoes, J. Crew; Necklace, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Target.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Friday, September 18, 2015.

Where:  Teaching, Church, and CW's birthday dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)

Outfit Details:  Dress, Ideology (from Macy's a gazillion years ago); Shoes, Cole Haan (similar here at amazon.com); Necklace, Tiffany's; Sunglasses, Target.

Anecdote of the Day:  CW's middle name is in honor our great grandmother (many greats added to it, of course) who had an apple variety in Minnesota named after her by my great grandfather (many greats there, too).  CW's favorite color is pink.  It was also her birthday that day, so wearing a pink, apple printed dress seemed especially appropriate.  I also love that I looked like Ms. Frizzle.  (#msfrizzleforever)

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Thursday, October 8, 2015.

Where:  Teaching.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Lands' End really has something special with this ponte sheath dress. So much so that I plan on going back for another version of it soon.  I wish it was a touch longer, but Lands' End lengthens their torsos on their dresses in the longs, so I can't purchase the long without it being too long in the bodice.  Sigh.  I am fine with it where it ends but would add an inch in an ideal world.

Outfit Details:  Dress, Lands' End; Shoes, Boden; Cardigan, Anthropologie; Sunglasses, Target.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Friday, October 9, 2015.

Where:  Teaching and church.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Well I caved on this year's version of the Casual Weekend Dress.  I love last year's so much, and I love this green polka dot print (I have a long dress from Boden in this exact print from 2006!), I knew I would love this dress.  I do!  It is super cute, and the pockets are fab, of course.

Outfit Details:  Dress, Boden (here on clearance); Shoes, J. Crew; Necklace, Stella and Dot; Cardigan, J. Crew; Sunglasses, Target.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

I hope you have a great night!  :-) Thanks for reading!  I am glad I am back with something other than Boden sales alerts for once.  LOL.

Boden Weekly Review Roundup: Abigail Goes Way Down (in Price).

Hi, all!  Happy Saturday.

I knew that if I was to do the BWRR that I promised in this sale post from Monday, I would need at least a few hour period to get it all arranged.  Thankfully it appears I can do it this morning.  There are only a few days left of this sale, but so far, I have to say it's been a decent sale, Boden-wise.  It's not quite the glory days of "Catch of the Day," when we could take 40% off an item and then an additional whatever off an item, but it is really close.

Yesterday, the folks at Boden upped the ante and decided to give us an additional 15% off all items in the sale, so even if the item you want is only 10% off, you can still get a decent amount of savings off the item.  (Most items that are 10% off are that way because they are newer or more popular and can and likely will sell out before they could get reduced more.)  The extra 15% off does not apply to clearance, though.

Okay, so there is a lot to cover.  If I forgot your review, please forgive me.  I would have liked to get everyone's review, but I *know* I didn't grab them all.

As a reminder, the #bodenbyme at Instagram has a lot of photos of people wearing both past and current Boden items.  They are not reviews, but at least give a sense of how an item looks on someone before you purchase it for yourself.

Regular Boden:

Abigail Tunic Dress. Size 8 Long.  This item has one of the best savings in the sale right now.  It debuted at a price of $148 and is now at a price of $88.80 (after 40% off).  But with the additional 15% off, it becomes $75.48.  I paid $103 for it (so around 25% off) and I am happy with that price, so had I gotten it for $75, I would probably be ecstatic. 

Both colors are $75 off, btw, so if this pastel version isn't for you, the brown and blue one may work better.

I have other knitted tunic dresses from Boden, and I knew that if I wanted to be able to wear them to school without leggings, I would need to make sure they were a long length and sized in a way that it was fitted without being obscene.  So I went with a size 8 Long, even though the 6 Long would have been a better fit for my bodice area.  Having said that, I really like the way the shape is on me, so sizing up didn't make the bodice appear too comically large.

From the back you can see that it fits my more ample assets around my hip and rear area.  THIS is why there are a few negative reviews.  The Boden folks made this tunic dress in a slim bodice and waist and curved skirt portion silhouette which works amazingly well for us pear shapes, but not really well for anyone else.  They ABSOLUTELY pinned the model's version on her.  She has a very boyish figure, and if the dress was presented as it is in real life on her, there would be wings hanging down from her waist to her knees from the side curve this dress actually has.  Don't be fooled, non-pear shapes.

If you look carefully you will see this is an outfit change-up.  I have worn the dress twice now, and this is how it looked post washing from the first time. So, um, basically the same.  :-)

That's a good thing in my book.  No substantial shrinking and the fabric looks as good as new.  I do not dry these kind of items in a dryer, though.

I wore this to a school meeting, just like I did the first time.  I don't know that I will wear it for school teaching until I can wear tights with it as I feel exposed a bit (it technically is fine for school to teach in, but I prefer it a bit closer to the knees if worn bare-legged).  I do plan to wear it to teach school in, so hopefully when I can get back to teaching ootd posts, you all will be seeing it.

The pattern is awesome at hiding the exaggerated curve my lower half is and for that I am grateful to Boden for...I love the mod print, too, so the dress was probably meant for someone exactly like me.  (Pear-shaped mid-century modern design freak.)

I have no plans to grab the brown and blue version, as I don't think those colors would look nice on me, but I can see why people would like them.  The colors on this one are a light jade/teal and true pink with pure white accents.  The fabric is a knitted cotton mix, so truly a nice transitional piece.  (If I can wear it in summer here, it is a four season wonder.  Most knits can't be worn by me in summertime here.)


Abigail Tunic Dress.  The blue/brown is selling better than my version.  If you are on the fence you could probably wait for a better price (in clearance, if it hasn't sold out, it may be down to 70% off), but if you are like me and can and will enjoy it now, the price is decent.  :-)


Strappy T-Bar.  Lou has just done a review of these, this morning.  Love it when I can get a really recent review into the BWRR!


Cordelia Heel. Lou received these in a nut brown color a few weeks back.  She gave a nice thorough review of these.  (BTW, does anyone think of Cordelia from Buffy and Angel when they see the name Cordelia?)

Be prepared, lovely folks, below is the Avril (School Gate Style) massive try-on she does a couple times a year for all of us Boden fans.  It's awesome, but daunting.  Enjoy!







































Charlotte Cape, Sienna Coat, Velvet Coat, Velvet Jacket, Chelsea Jacket, Duffle, Windemere Down-Filled Coat, The Mac, Fair Isle Sweater, Animal Intarsia Sweater, Mia Sweater, Alexa Sweater, Relaxed Stitch Coatigan, Ravello Top, Tamara Top, Rosalyn Top, Square Tee, Gwyneth Top, Ottoman Top, Dobby Panel Top, Dolly Top, Boyfriend Shirt, The Shirt, Annabel Knitted Skirt, Cambridge Skirt, Julia Patch Pocket Skirt, Nora Ponte Crossover Dress, Boho Tie Neck Dress, Hartland Dress, Retro Hotchpotch Tunic Dress, Lara Sparkle Dress, Jodie Dress, High Waist Super Skinny, Jade Joggers, Alexis High Heel Boot, Scallop Point, Court Shoe, Beatrice Midheel, Bloomsbury Bag, Chancery Clutch, and Berkeley Zip Bag.  Avril, the champ of the Boden home sales, has given us a look at all these items.  You are the best!  :-) 



Velvet Coat.  Gemma, of Jacquard Flower, shows us a pretty fall outfit featuring this coat in a pale pink.

She also wears it here.



Olive Top and Boho Boots. Gemma wears this one in a grey and hot pink along with the Boho boots.


The Shirt. Gemma chose a crown print version of this shirt.  If you look closely, you will see a pink crown every so often in the print.  :-)



Annabel Knitted Skirt and Julia Patch Pocket Skirt. Amy tried both of these on for us at her blog.  The two she received didn't work for her, but she has some excellent tips in her review if you are interested in either.

Okay, that's it for now.  Did you all make it through okay?  :-)  Thanks again to all my blog friends who gave reviews.  They are all super helpful!

The link below gives you access to the sale with the additional 15% off.
Up to 40% off! Plus extra 15% off at Boden! Valid 10/9-10/12. Clearance Items Excluded