Boden Weekly Review Roundup: The Wrap Dress Fiasco. And Some Long Overdue Reviews.

Hey, all!  I know I should just rename the Boden Weekly Review Roundup to the Boden Monthly Review Roundup, but I think Weekly Review Roundup just sounds better...and there is still a tiny inkling in my head that one day I will get my act together and get the weekly review game up and running again.  ;-)

So on Monday I wrote a post announcing the 20% off all full-priced items sale that Boden was having.  It is still going on, which is why I really wanted to make sure you were able to see the blog reviews from my blog friends and myself before the deal ended.  It ends tomorrow night here in the United States, so if you are hoping to partake, you have around twenty-four hours in which to enjoy.  And if you are in the big storm's path, well, I guess that is one way to pass the time.  ;-)

Many of my blog friends were really excited about the new Boden offerings this season, and three of them wrote up "favorites" posts.  You can see Lizzy's choices here, AudreyBella's choices here, and Fashion Mommy's choices here. 

Okay, onto the roundup!

REVIEWS:

Wrap Dress.  Size 6 Long.  I so so so so wanted this dress to fit well.  I mean, look at that beautiful and bright orange geometric print!  And feel the soft rayon blend knit (well, you can't, but it's soft as a baby's behind)!

But ugh.  The sizing is just so wrong on me.  I would dare say this one runs large, especially in length and in the bodice.  I had to wear that *lovely* camisole for modesty when taking the photos.  The top half is so loose, it is pooling and wrinkling and sagging. Not especially flattering.  It doesn't even sag in a way that makes me look like I have something in the way of "girls" up there.  Nah, it makes me look even smaller.  Wah!

I am a size 6 L in most Boden jersey dresses, with an occasional 4 L thrown in if the dress is especially stretchy.  I think that if I were to try the 4 Regular, I might be good, since I anticipate the bodice would be a touch shorter and definitely more fitted.  Yes, I would lose length, but that might be okay since that is a lot of skirt there in the long.

Yes, I know that I wouldn't do this maneuver normally when wearing the wrap dress, but I put this photo out there to show you just how stretchy and loose it was on me.  I think if I had a size 34DD AND had a longer torso, I would have been golden, and the dress would have looked great on me, but at 32B and short of torso, not in good shape.

You can see the big wrinkle there at the lower bustline.

I will say, I didn't HATE it on me, I just disliked that I couldn't wear it without a lot of cover underneath and without a lot of fiddling. Nah, I ain't got time for that junk.

Not terrible from the back, but it is obvious the top bit is too long on me.  Meh.


Wrap Dress.  In stock in most sizes.  I *might* wait for a super sale and try to get the 4 regular at a much better price.  If not, I'm good.

HOWEVER, I know a lot of you out there have the type of body that looks amazing in this kind of dress, so definitely give it a try, especially if you are longer in your torso or have more of a bust to support this kind of neckline.



French Knot Sweater.  Wore this on a recent snowy day.  (One of many, I might add, ugh.)


Tilly Sweater.  Really love the mint shade, it is sublime.  Worn to do typical "momma" stuff.


Rainbow Knit Sweater.  Because I had to wear pink on Valentine's Day, I wore this sweater as a festive nod to the date, even though my reason for going out was for my son's birthday party at a laser tag facility.


Hotchpotch Trainer.  I love fun sneakers, and I really enjoy Boden's first foray into the athletic style choices.  They were very comfortable the day I wore them.


Casual Dip Back Sweater.  Yeah, yeah, clearly I like this blue vine design.  LOL.  This sweater was so warm and cozy when I wore it back in January.












Embellished Blouse, Edith Top, Eliza Top, Polperro Top, Annie Dress, April Tunic Dress, Rose Bow Skirt, Grace Skirt, Suzie Ponte Dress, Westminster Bag, and Verity Dress.  First I want to mention I am jealous of Lou being able to get to the actual Boden store, I mean hello!  Trying the clothes on before you purchase them, that is such a wonderful thing to behold.  :-)  Second, as most of us are not so lucky, her trip has allowed us to see all the clothes in real life, and not just overstyled/possibly photoshopped in the catalog.  THANK YOU!



Long Sleeve Breton.  I love this color lavender on Lou.  It really does suit her!!! 


Eliza Silk Tunic Dress.  Lizzy looks beautiful in this Eliza dress. :-)


Westminster Bag.  Lizzy shows off this bag for us, but in the very versatile navy color. 


Jersey Jacquard Top.  I barely even noticed this top in the catalog and online, but after seeing it on Lizzy, I have my eyes firmly fixed on it. 

Thank you to all my blog friends for their contributions.  :-) 

Hope you all have a great night!

Here is a direct link to the Boden 20% off sale:

OOTD/Made by Me File: The Two Hour Dress: McCall's 6886 in a Colorful Tribal Print ITY Knit.

Day: Saturday, February 28, 2015.

Where:  Mass and Dinner at Chick-fil-A (living the life, you all).

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  If the ITY knit had NOT stuck to my tights, I would have given this a 5 out of 5.  But, nooooooooo, stupid Virginia is going through a stupid cold/dry/winter is NEVER EVER going to end phase, and the static electricity is at an insane high.  My hair, even with all of its thickness, is falling prey to this, too, and will stand on end whenever it wants, usually in front of a crowd of people.  (You should see my kids, it is way worse on them, especially Angus with his baby hair.)


That said, in the house, where the humidifier is properly working to pump moisture back in the air, the dress doesn't cling to the tights, and feels so comfortable.  And crazily enough, for the thinness of the ITY knit, it keeps me warm, too.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) I really love it, and I think the bodycon style works for my frame (which surprised me, especially with my pear shape), but I think tribal prints and bodycon went out a few years ago, so probably not "cool" anymore.

Anecdote of the Day:  Rex hasn't been to mass since the accident since he has either been in pain (first week), or uncomfortable and unwilling to move (second and third) week.  But he had to get out on the 28th since he was set to receive his First Penance that morning, and after we saw he could manage an hour in the handicapped pew (in his wheelchair), we knew he would be fine at the the mass later that night.  The handicapped pew combined with Rex looking older than he is meant that the extraordinary minister wanted to give him Communion, which he has not received yet (his First Holy Communion is in May).  I had no idea they would try to give him Communion, and he stared at the man and was all, "no, I can't get it yet!" 

McCall's 6886.  I made this dress on the fly because I was so sick and tired of working on my son's First Penance blazer project (Burda 9452), which you can see in the last photo at the end of this post.  That blazer is a very classic blazer, which means a two part sleeve, full lining, proper set-in sleeves, darts, roll line, collar, and so on and so on.  I needed the break from all the navy blue wool!

I figured I would like to make up a knit dress in something colorful, since nothing cures the winter "blah" as much as bright cheery colors.  So I looked through my pattern shelves, and into my fabric closet and spied two that would work very well together (at least in my head they looked good together).

It seriously only took me two hours from cutting to sewing/serging to finishing to get this dress done.  Admittedly I decided to leave the sleeve and skirt hems raw (but even and tidy), but even if I had decided to hem them properly, it would have only added on a half hour, tops.  This knit doesn't ravel and it doesn't curl, so it is the perfect fabric if you ever decide to try a raw hem yourself.

A big chunk of the two hours was spent making sure I properly laid out the fabric so I would have the right horizontal lines at the right places.  I knew I wanted the brighter colors at my shoulders, waist, and higher hip, and the darker, more muted colors at my low hip, so that my hips wouldn't be over-highlighted.

I also had to make sure the would match up at the side seams, which you can see in the next photo.

I did make a neckband as opposed to turning the neckline and stitching (that's what the directions wanted me to do).  It looks like it sticks up a touch here and in the next photo, but that is only because I have my hand on my hip...it stays flats 90% of the time, and you can see that in the second to last photo.  I decided to make the neckband two inches tall by nineteen inches long, which when seamed into a circle and pinned into quarters, makes for a non-saggy, flat-lying neckband.  I felt like a champ when I successfully made this neckband, since neckbands are usually my big problem in making knit clothing.  (I really like using the 7/8ths rule for the neckband, seems to be the best solution for making them.)

I sewed up the size 10 at the bodice and then made sure to carefully grade out the pattern from waist to hips from the size 10 to 14 so that my curves would be skimmed by the fabric and not stretched to the full capacity because I chose to let the ITY stretch do its job in the 10 versus cutting my proper size.  I think I made the right choice since the color and stretch stays the same throughout the garment, rather than being brighter and less stretched at the bodice and duller and more stretched at the skirt.  (I hope what I am describing makes sense.)

Here is a close-up of the fabric (bought for $3 a yard at Fabric Mart last year--here is a selection of tribal prints they have right now).  You can also see the neckband laying flat here, too.

I wrote more technical details, etc., here at this Pattern Review if you want to read more about the dress construction.

And before I go, here is a photo of Rex after he successfully gave his First Penance.  :-)  The blazer I made has on its lapel the pin he received for partaking in this sacrament.

You all have a great day!!! Be back later!

Boden: Four Days Only, 20% Off Full Price Items.

Ottoman Shift, Alice High Heel, and Zip Top Pouch.

Hey, all.  Last week, I read that the lucky Brits were able to receive 20% off their Boden orders over at Lou's blog, and I was all, "hey, love for the Americans, please?" 

Well, I think some of us had the potential for 20% off last week, but it depended on your emails.  I received a few 20% off emails at my "never order from Boden" email, but not at my "always order from Boden" email.  CC tells me this happens to her, too.  ;-)  They want to entice all the newbies to ordering more apparently.

Thankfully they got their act together this week for those of us in the frigid fifty states (well except for lucky Hawaii, hello!), and we get to enjoy the 20% off all full-priced items.  I guess that means any item that isn't on some sort of special reduction already (the blue Ottoman shift above is already at a reduced price, so it can only be reduced by the *normal* 15% off, but the Zip Top Pouch and Alice Heel are reduced by the 20%).  Clearance items are  not reduced further, though, sadly.

I have a very long overdue Boden Weekly Review Roundup nearly ready to go (just have to photograph one last dress), and will hopefully publish tonight or tomorrow afternoon.  If you have a review for me, definitely drop it in the comments over at the Boden Review tab, or email me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com.

Until then, let us know if you have any picks on items you think are well worth the 20% off price.  :-)

Enjoy {sale} shopping!

OOTDs: Dressing Up, Wind Whipping Style.

Hi!  Happy Thursday.  :-)  I have been nose to the grindstone, and with great concentration, furiously sewing up my son's suit for his First Confession on Saturday.  I started the project last week, and whenever I could find the time, I worked on the blazer.  I am *still* working on the blazer, but at least the shell is done, I just need to finish the lining.  I am actually insanely proud of the work so far, but I won't exhale until the finished product is being worn by him on Saturday.  Anyhow, wish me luck, and I hope that explains a bit of why I have been away so much lately.

Also, NADA is going on with Boden, sale wise, so there's that, too.  I had plans to do the Boden Weekly (haha) Review Roundup this week, but with the details I need to follow to the tee with the blazer pattern, I realized something had to be given up.

Okay, I do have a few brief moments to show off a few recent dressier outfits I wore in the past two months.  I have definitely been more focused on casual wear, especially since Rex is housebound and I am going nowhere, but there have been a few occasions that required me to give a little more effort than a pair of Turner pants and an embellished sweatshirt.

Day: Friday, January 16, 2015.

Where:  Fairly certain I went grocery shopping with the Angus that day.  This was before Rex got injured (that happened 1/25), and I saw I took photos of him fooling around the house that day, so because I got dressed up and I have photos of him at the house, I have to assume that Harris Teeter was the reason for my "dress up."  LOL. 

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I never know what size to get at J. Crew or J. Crew Factory when it comes to these straight shift style dresses (this one is the Factory Printed Shift Dress).  I always know that the bust and shoulders will be too big unless I get a size 4, but my hips don't lie and are a size 10, so that's what I chose to purchase.  That was a wise choice, but I still could use a half-inch more if I am being honest, I would prefer just that little bit of extra ease.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Love this look.  I need to wear this again before it gets too warm (ha, no threat of that here in Southern Canada aka Virginia).

Anecdote of the Day:  Angus made some cute faces when I was taking photos of him that day.  Other than that, nada.

Day: Thursday, January 22, 2015.

Where:  A friend's father's interment at Arlington National Cemetery.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  It wasn't about ease that day, since the occasion called for very formal.  I am glad I had proper funeral clothing, but with the very chilly day and windy weather, I have to admit that I was close to frostbite (especially on my feet) by the end of the ceremony.  But again, more than okay by me, we were honoring a man's service to his country on this day, my cold feet are nothing to complain about.

Cool Factor: (N/A of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) Again, unimportant.  Not a concern of mine that day.  The look is very proper, very put together, and in sedate coloring.

Anecdote of the Day:  I cried at one point, even though I had never met my friend's dad.  The ceremony was so moving.  I felt honored to be there for her and was in awe of how reverent the military is in honoring their deceased veterans.  And the day, though bitterly cold, was incredibly beautiful, and from what my friend said, she knows that her dad would have been so pleased with both the weather and the ceremony.  :-)

Day: Monday, January 12, 2015.

Where: Subbing.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Super comfortable, and the outfit kept me warm.  Let me give a shout out to the J. Crew Factory Harper Double Bow ballet flats.  These shoes fit well on first wearing and have been worn at least fifteen times since I purchased them in early January.  I bought the 9.5, which is my normal size.  They are great for folks who want something pretty but are also flat enough for those of us on our feet all day.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) Exactly the right look for substitute teaching.

Anecdote of the Day:  Everyone loves that collar necklace from Accessorize that I bought when I went to Ireland two years ago.  I have a pattern for collars from Simplicity, so I bet I could figure out how to make the base from a firm fabric (like canvas) and bedazzle it with beads.  Hmm...

Okay, thanks for stopping by!  Hope my next post is sooner than later, as that means the suit sewing didn't do me in...

OOTD/Review/Made by Me: Knotted and Beaded and Crocheted.

Day: Monday, February 16, 2015.

Where:  Star's Beads in Vienna for a class on crocheted wire beaded jewelry.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Dang boots had to be worn since it was supposed to snow up to eight inches (with it starting while I was in class), so I had to wear them for traction and safety.  The pants have a boot cut but were not super wide, so the pants got a teeny bit bunched at the top of the cuff of the boots.  Oh, well.  Could have looked worse, just wish I could have figured something else out (I was a bit time crunched, though).

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) Meh.  The sweater deserves a cute skirt and ballet flats.  On the plus side, the merino wool/cotton blend kept me warm enough.

Anecdote of the Day:  My friend, A., from high school, invited me to come with her to a class on how to make crocheted wire jewelry.  I am always willing to give something crafty a try, so I said sure.  A. LOVES making jewelry, and is really good at it, so I knew if I screwed up, she could hold my hand a bit.  I can crochet, I didn't even realize it until I was watching a knitting video and they showed the crochet stitch, and I was all, OH THAT'S SO EASY!  LOL.  For the longest time I thought crocheting was harder than knitting.  Anyhow, it was an awesome time, and I loved being able to see my friend and make something really pretty at the same time (photos are at the bottom of this post).

French Knot Sweater.  Size 6.  At least Boden's knitwear is pretty much consistently true to size.  I usually buy a size 6 and all three sweaters I have shown off this weekend (Rainbow Knit here and Tilly here) are this size.

The fit on this one is a touch more fitted, but it is meant to be.  It is not tight-feeling, even with the cami layered underneath, though.  There is a nice amount of recovery in the wool blend that it fits and hugs properly without either stretching out or feeling to constricting.

That said, I do think the fabric is a bit thin, and in the white you can see everything below, so be choosy with your undergarments.  I wore a white cami, but if I had plans to tuck it in, I would wear a nude one.  It also shows bulges from the straps, so I need to invest in a cami with bralette that is also seamless (I am sure that won't be too difficult, chortle).

The length is nice, hits at the high hips.  The sleeves are three-quarters, which on me equals just a bit below the elbow.  They are never the proper length on me.  (Darned monkey arms.)

The French knots are hand tied, from what I can tell, and are a bit delicate, but nothing major.  The consistency of the knots is off, though, see that yellow up there, OFF!  I am just persnickety enough to be slightly bothered by it, but the beta blockers I take (for migraines!) must be helping because I don't care if I can't see it.  ;-)  The rows are very straight, so I will hand it to them on the *level* (slaps knee).

I would say to be careful with the tufted underknot on the wrong side of the fabric, though, and definitely hand wash or hand wash cycle on the machine.

And lay flat to dry, of course!


French Knot Sweater.  The sizes and colors are fully stocked.  Though the 20% off knitwear and outerwear ends tonight, you would be fine to wait if you need to wait for a better deal.

20% Off Outerwear and Knitwear ends at 11:59 pm tonight:
20% Off All Knitwear, Coats, Jackets and Skiwear, Plus Free Shipping When You Spend Over $49

Crocheted Wire Necklace with Pink, Pearl, and Grey Beads.  I am just so excited by this necklace.  It was much easier to do than I thought it was going to be, and am glad I took the time to go to the class today.  I have hopes to make one again in the future.  (But with all my sewing and knitting to do, this will be lower on the totem pole.)

I chose the colors of ivory/grey/pink to match the dress you all saw on Valentine's Day over at Fabric Mart's blog.  My friend, A., had most of these beads in her bead stash (I only bought the smoky grey ones, example of one is front center).

Okay, that's all for now!  Have a great night!