Included in today's BWRR include these IRL reviews from me: the Reindeer Yoke Sweater, the Printed Sweatshirt, the Zoe Coat, the Hettie Dress, and the Swing Tunic. Most of these I have worn fairly recently and would not have been included in the last BWRR. I would have showed them off in an OOTD post, but those have sadly been neglected lately. Sigh.
The Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale from Boden was rolled into one and is for 30% off.
I discussed it in more detail at this blog post. Now that a few days have come and gone since that post, I can tell the % off is decent enough for many items to sell out or go to low stock. Most of the items that have sold out include the items that are already proving popular, but even some less popular items are selling well, too, including the Printed Sweatshirt, which I reviewed below. That one was not selling out at all about a month ago, and now some sizes are gone in the color I purchased.
Don't forget that you can look at the Instagram #bodenbyme tag to see other styles that are on bloggers/non-bloggers that aren't part of this roundup. :-)
Onto the roundup!
Reindeer Yoke Sweater. Size 6. As promised, I brought this darling festive/not quite ugly sweater to Mississippi with me, and since at least one day was *almost* cool, I decided to wear it that day rather than wait. (The temps have been in the 70s the whole time other than the first two days I was here.)
I really can't speak to how warm it keeps one in really cold weather, but I can speak to not wearing it in weather that is warmer than the mid-60s. I wore the sweater on the day it hit the low 60s and I was fine, but the next day I wore it for a brief few hours in the mid-70s and holy cow, I was itching and annoyed by it. Never again, no matter how darling it is.
It is a mix of nylon/cotton/wool, so not the world's "itchiest" combo, but definitely not smooth like a baby's butt, either. I say if you are prone to itching with wool products to possibly avoiding this one or wearing it with an undershirt.
Size wise it fits exactly like my other knitwear from Boden. I think, though, if you have a stronger/broader shoulder line, you may want to size up since the yoke bit (especially where it attaches to the body) is not especially flexible and stretchy, and if you size improperly for your frame there, it will probably be uncomfortable. I am fine, but even still, I feel it in a more pronounced way than other sweaters I own from them.
The colors are true to the Boden website. Very pretty pale ivory color, with varying greys and a pretty red. The pompoms are precious and not overtly twee or juvenile. The length is fine on me, hitting at my high hip, but I have a short torso, so this may run too short on you if you have a longer torso. The sleeve length is dire, way too short for me, but I have that problem in most items, so I just suck it up.
One more photo at Instagram if you are interested.
Reindeer Yoke Sweater. This one is not even close to selling out. Apparently reindeer are not as popular as penguins (the one that sold out last year) or Boden overordered. Hmmm.
Printed Sweatshirt. Size 6. I had nearly forgotten about this sweatshirt, but I was doing some research work at Boden for the last BWRR and I remembered how adorable I thought this British themed sweatshirt was. It was a good price (and still is there at that price, at 40% off instead of 30% off), so I bit. So glad I did. This sweatshirt is not especially bulky, very nicely shaped (even for those of us with pear shapes), and dressy enough to be worn in dressy casual environments (like a school, which is when I wore it here for a meeting).
The material sort of conforms to the body since it is a bit stretchy, but it isn't so stretchy that you can size down. I have a bit of a booty, and while it worked for me in this size since I don't mind it hugging my bottom a bit, if I really wanted to look as the model does, I would likely have to size up to a 10 to make my sweatshirt look like that on me. (But then the top would be huge in the bust and shoulders, which I don't necessarily want. I'll just be fine showing off the curves!)
The print is the same front to back, and only shows off England and Wales, and maybe a touch of Scotland (not enough in my opinion). I lived in Grantham and am sad to see they didn't memorialize that cute little town on the map, but whatever. I do appreciate the inclusion of the GORGEOUS York Minster, though.
Instagram photo is here for those of you interested.
Printed Sweatshirt. Sold out in many sizes in this color, but the floral version is still fully stocked.
Zoe Coat. Size XS. I took a chance on this coat with the size XS. The garment measurements seemed to indicate that I would do fine with the XS, even in the hips, so I gave it a shot. I received the coat and they sent an XS in name (even on the tag), but it was clearly a size L or larger. It was like I was a
flying squirrel wearing it, so I figured they had made a mistake. I called them, and they happily sent me the XS again, but promised to check it wasn't a mistake again, too.
I received the correctly named XS and it fits great. It is very boxy, but a boxy that works on my frame (provided I accessorize and dress the outfit properly). Unfortunately, this means that for a good many of you reading this, the coat will not work for you, since the smallest size they carry is an XS and as you can tell, though I am smaller up top, anything XS that fits well over my (
most definitely medium) hips, will probably be too big for a lot of you.
The coat sits right at my upper thigh, and it properly skims over my bottom and also closes fully in front. It is a bit large through my shoulders, but not excessively so. I think pear shapes can buy this one and revel in a straight silhouetted coat that isn't really, just appears to be that way.
I appreciate the careful placement of the plaid on the back of this coat. With such a large plaid, it could go terribly wrong, but they balanced it just right to not look ridiculous.
The coat looks silly without the scarf. I think if I were to wear a turtleneck with it, and a hat (like the beret or a beanie), then it would look fine, but on its own, just buttoned up like that, meh. I can see why this coat is not everyone's favorite. The navy blue version would likely look better plain like this.
It does have shorter sleeves, about a 3/4 sleeve. I wore a glittery pink sweater from J. Crew from last year with it, and it was a great match for the pink in the coat. I actually really loved the outfit as a whole, the coat/scarf/sweater/pants/shoes/beret combo.
The colors are a brighter pink, a heathered medium grey, an ivory, and a nut brown color. Lots to work with, and I was so happy to see the cute floral scarf I own that I bought a few years ago from J. Crew was such a good match.
Love the pockets, nice and deep and super soft (the material is the best, a lovely double cloth wool).
I find it hard to wear it open like this, but I think if you have broader shoulders, this would be easier for you to try. I kept feeling like it would either slip off or was going to close back up. If I am feeling super crafty, I could add a closure of some sort to the plaid in the front (a closely matched button sewed just so to the upper front chest on either side) that the buttonholes could work with, but for now I will just wear it closed.
Instagram shot is here for those of you interested.
Zoe Coat. No surprise here since the XS is so large, but the only size sold out is the XS. Considering anyone from a size 4 to a 10 can wear the XS, that is going to be the one that sells out first. It may pop back, though, since it obviously doesn't work on everyone.
Hettie Dress. Size 8 R. I normally buy these kind of jersey dresses in a size 6 L, but I looked a the measurements and realized that though the 6 L would be fine, I would feel a bit conspicuous if I were to wear it to school, since the skirt portion would likely be a bit figure hugging in the 6 L. The L length is also quite long, and would hit right at my knee.
Well...I did fine buy choosing the 8 R (plus the size 6 was sold out, so there's that), but the 8 L would be better for me for school. It will be fine with tights, but I don't know that I will wear this without tights to school. Maybe a school meeting (no kids), but not likely to school.
One more thing on fit. Though I like the 8 R, the waist is super loose in this size on me, so I can't do the "blousing" of the bodice thing very well. It's fine, but it makes this dress more of a straight silhouette than I had wanted.
We had the hardest time getting the color of this dress on the day we took these photos. This one is the best representation of the marsh folk color (dark green). It is a very deep green, with pretty deep red/pink and ivory Scandinavian printed motif. (At least it reads Scandinavian to me.)
The pockets are awesome, super deep and useful, but do not in any way distract from the line of the dress.
The fabric is a lyocell/cotton mix, so it is super soft and neither too heavy or too light. It glides rather than sticks, so it is a nice fabric if you want to wear tights with it. (It was way too warm to wear tights that day, though I did bring a pair of deep green tights to pair with it.)
This proves the 8 R was a better choice. My curves need to not be more encased than this for any teaching environment. :-)
There is another shade of this print, a navy/purple. I wish they had done this print in more items. It is beautiful and "Boden," without being too in your face.
Instagram is here if you are interested.
Hettie Dress. Sold out in all the smaller sizes, with a scattering of prints available between size 10 and 18. The black has been sold out since it came online. I can see why. That black would be a great dress to accessorize with other items. They really should have made more of this dress, in all colors.
Printed Popover Shirt. Though this is not a jersey, and a woven viscose, it features the print. So pretty. It is only available in the smaller sizes. (So weird!)
Swing Tunic. Size 6 L.
Though I wrote up a review of this recently, I wore it out for a whole day of activities yesterday with all three kids in tow, so I feel like it awesomeness at being super versatile needs to be shouted about here.
I went on a two mile walk (in those shoes, I know, they were fine, as was I), a trip to the craft store, a visit to a playground, to church for Saturday vigil mass, and to McDonald's. It was so comfortable, easy, but because of its swingy nature, did not cling or constrict. It looks like it is a touch short here, but was actually fine for church (the next picture shows the length IRL a bit better).
So still above the knee, but the extra volume on the bottom really keeps this on the more conservative end. Not exactly "modest," but fine for what I needed to do yesterday.
Instagram here if you are interested.
Swing Tunic. So sold out in most colors and sizes. There are a few 4s, 6s, and 8s. The green shade I wear is the "least" popular, but regardless, still popular enough to be sold out in almost all of the sizes.
Boucle Jacket. I reviewed it here.
Julia Patch Pocket Skirt and Fringed Loafers. Amy reviews both of these items for us. Her skirt review is actually her second for the same item, but this time she tried it in a regular length.
Ottoman Zip Top. Lou wore hers as part of a dressier outfit look. Very cute, and I wouldn't have thought to layer a button up underneath. (Hers is in the blue, but the affiliate program only had a shot of the yellow.)
Jodie Dress.
Lou's in pink is just spectacular on her. I think if you are on the fence about this one, you should go for it. Very pretty!
Her original review is here.
Short Sleeve Breton. Lou wore hers with a cute cardigan and a mustard colored skirt. Very pretty combo!
Printed Scarf. Gemma wears her icon printed version in a cute casual day look.
Clearance (not included in Sale):
Patchwork Dress. Gemma reviewed this clearance dress here at her blog. Good on her to figure out a way to wear its cute summery-ness in the cold!
Sale ends Monday night, fwiw.
