OOTDs: Casual Substitute Teacher.

Hi, all!  Before I start, I want to let you know that I heard from the Boden affiliate regarding Boden's Black Friday sale.  It's decent, but not as amazing as I have seen in the past.  This definitely means Boden is doing well this year, which *yay* for them, but for sale shoppers, *boo*.  Anyhow, it is still better than we have seen for the most part this season, so worth it if you have items you would like to purchase. 

Because of this, I would love to publish a long overdue Boden Weekly Review Roundup tomorrow morning.  I have most of the regulars' blog posts saved, but if you have reviewed something and you are afraid I will miss it, do send me an email at dinagideon AT aim DOT com or go ahead and drop the link in a comment over at the Boden Reviews tab.  If you don't have a blog, you are always welcome to leave a review at the Boden Reviews tab.  If you get the the review to me by tomorrow, I will make sure to include it in the BWRR.

Alrighty, onto some casual substitute teacher looks.

I normally go for more dressy when subbing, but the past few weeks of subbing have included working with active little ones (think second grade and younger--and chaperoning one field trip), so I knew I wanted to be ready for anything they could throw my way, which means going for sneakers, tunics, leggings, and the like.  I have had dressier substitute looks, but those were when I was with older students, so I am saving those looks for another post.

I am going to dispense with the anecdote of the day as there really isn't much I can tell about my days subbing, plus it makes writing these posts a touch easier.  Yay for ease, right?

Day: Thursday, November 20, 2014.

Where:  Chaperoning Rex's class's field trip to the Air and Space Museum.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I think the potential for comfort was there, but because the jeans rise was a touch low and the shirt's tails were a bit high (read: short), the outfit was not as comfy as it is pictured here.  In reality I had to untuck the shirt and kind of hide it behind the vest to maintain this look.  And since I am a fussmonster, this bugged me all day.  I probably should have just given up the vest and worn it as a shirt/jeans/cute shoes combo instead.  Oh, well.

At least the new balance 620 sneakers (did my initial review of them here) were insanely comfortable for running around after my son and his kind of crazy second grade friends (said as a devoted mom of a wild and crazy second grader herself).  ;-)

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  The shoes are the coolest part of this outfit.  The shirt will always be my favorite Liberty print shirt, ever, and will be cool to me until the day I die.  Mr. Dina loved this outfit.  But he also wears white tennis shoes unironically, so take that into consideration.  It really is just a nice "mom chaperoning a field trip" outfit.

Day: Friday, November 21, 2014.

Where:  Subbing Computer for PK-1st Grade.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This outfit kept me warm, which was most important since it was STUPID cold that day, and as long as that happened, I could have been wearing a burlap sack and been comfortable.

The rest of the outfit allowed me to properly keep up with the youngins I was teaching that day, and at no point did I feel like the shoes were too high (had purchased those last year from Boden), the pants too tight, or the cardigan too short.  I definitely will be wearing this combo again to substitute.

Cool Factor: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I love the stained glass cardigan with a mid-century modern art look to it.  Feel like that element really makes the outfit.  I think the scarf was tied improperly for the look, though, but really, I needed it tied as close as possible to my neck to keep me warm.

Day: Monday, November 3, 2014.

Where:  Subbing for Kindergarten.

Ease of Wear: (5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Seriously so comfortable.  Perfect for working with the 5-years olds I had all day.  They were exhausting.  I tip my hat to every kindergarten teacher out there, especially those of you without aides (they don't have aides in K at the school, only Pre-K).

The dress is part jersey so easy to wear, and when have leggings not been very comfortable?  The ancient tennis shoes are clearly fun, but kept my feet feeling great all day.

The long merino wool cardigan coat is one I bought from J. Crew in 2005.  I thought the silhouette was nice for our Virginia falls (not too warm, but just right for the cool temperatures we normally receive), but the real reason I bought it was because it was called the "Arlington" coat, I believe, and since I am from Arlington, I couldn't resist.  Still a great choice since it has held up for nine years and still looks brand new.  Ahhh, old school J. Crew quality.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Well, I'll be honest with myself...it isn't especially cool.  It is very fun, and there is no doubt I enjoyed wearing it all day, but yeah, it is very kooky.  LOL.

Okay, that's it for today.  I look forward to publishing the Boden Weekly Review Roundup tomorrow morning!

OOTD/Made by Me File: Halloween and a Pizza Costume.

Hey, all.  It has been a week.  Woah.  There hasn't been a lot happening around here, but there is a lot on the docket to be published.  I have been living real life fully, though, so my virtual life has been very muted.  ;-)

For those of you who would like to see the post I wrote for Fabric Mart on the skirt that was part of my last made by me file, check it out here.  I did do that last week, but still have to get around to publishing those posts for here. 

Okay onto this post which is not super late, but not exactly timely, either. 

OOTD will be first, followed by my son's pizza costume next.

Day: Friday, October 31, 2014.

Where:  Halloween Festivities.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I have had all the bits of this outfit for years (barring the shoes and sweater which I bought last year) so these are time-tested comfortable favorites.  I love the coat, what an unusual shape and color, but very comfortable, and thankfully warm.  It was so cold that night.  (WHY?  It isn't like we live in Manitoba!)

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  The silhouette works for my frame, so that helps with the cool factor.  At the end of the day it is a fairly simple casual outfit though spiced up by funky Halloween earrings and a very interesting coat.

Anecdote from the day:  The kids had the day off from school that day.  I am a fan, it made getting ready for the night easier AND they weren't super-tired walking around.  Wish they would do this every year. 

Also Angus was supposed to be Yoda.  He refused to wear the hat so he was just a regular Jedi.

So if you are thinking this pizza costume looks like a stuffed toy, that is because it does function as one, just with added ties to make it wearable as a costume.

When Rex came home from Target one day and said he wanted to be a pizza costume after seeing one in its aisles, I was like, "challenge accepted!" 

My issue was more on how I was going to go with it.  Was I going to make a flat costume with some structure or was I going to make it stuffed?  Was I going to make it so his head sticks out of the costume and slips over his head or was it going to be a tie on? Was it going to be a circular pizza pie or a slice of pizza?

In the end I decided to make it stuffed, tied on, and in the shape of a slice of pizza. 

The process of making it was somewhat involved, but the measuring part wasn't terrible.  Basically I laid his school uniform over the tan colored jersey and drew checkmarks where the points were (shoulder points, waist, crotch, and knees).  From there I determined the crust at the top would be at his shoulder line, not above, and that the bottom of the slice would be near his knees.  I then connected the marks with a ruler and made a triangle shape.

Then I figured out that if I used some smaller glass bowls as the template for my pepperoni slices, that would make for the right sized pizza slices, which I then appliqued to the tan jersey using special fusible fabric bonding interfacing with a blanket stitch on my sewing machine.  (The applique looks okay, but circles are really hard to applique as it turns out!)

To give the pizza top some heft and to keep it from collapsing on itself, before I appliqued the slices of pepperoni, I decided to treat the tan jersey and one layer of the (awful looking) brown jersey as a quilt and bonded those two together with a thin fusible batting.

(Btw, the top crust was part of the bottom layer of that quilt sandwich, it just wasn't fused to anything and hung out above the quilted tan and brown jersey lower layer until I was ready to fold it over and stuff it, which happened later.) 

Once I had my tan jersey/brown jersey fused together, that is when I appliqued the pepperoni slices on the pizza.  That, in essence, quilted all of the layers together.

After that I went ahead and made the top crust part by folding it over and sewing it to the quilted pizza top.  Then I added the poly-fill and sewed up the seam left open by the stuffing process.

I wasn't done yet with the costume (though that could have worked on its own, I suppose).  I decided that the pizza would look great stuffed, so I made a duplicate layer of brown jersey to match the bottom triangle.  I then took the piece and the quilted top (with crust top), right sides facing (wrong sides towards me and the machine) and slowly and carefully sewed them together, LEAVING the top open.  I also made sure to attach the ties in the side seams at this point (at the waist).  I would later add the top ties, but since the top bit is open, the process of sewing them in was straightfoward. 

I then fully stuffed the pizza with more poly-fil (the same stuff from the stuffing the top crust).  It took a lot of the stuff, but this is truly a stuffed pizza and not only can serve as a costume but a stuffed toy and pillow.  Rex has now slept with it multiple nights in a row, so yay for multi-tasking sewing projects!

The top is still open, closed with simple closures.  If I were to wear this as a costume (I can, it just ends higher up on me), I would take out some of the extra stuffing since I don't need all that girth, lol.  For now all the stuffing is staying in...

Here it is on him before we were just about to go out.  He really liked it, so I consider that a success.  I also dig that I drafted and figured how to sew it up on my own without a pattern.  :-)

I am not digging that we forgot to get Halloween buckets, so my kids had to use Easter baskets instead.  I thought we should use pillowcases (that's what I used!), but he was like, "NO!"  LOL. Okay, then...

My little man from the side in his stuffed pizza costume.  This view allows you to see what I am talking about when I speak of the quilted top, the bottom layer, and how the ties ended up in the side seams. 

(I am not sure if any of you are going to want to try this, but just in case you really want to make a pizza costume it is nice to see this view!)

And the back.  Very simple tie closures so that he can grow into it or others can wear it, if they so choose.

I did write this project up at Pattern Review, btw, so head over there if you would like a bit more info. 

Okay, that's all for today.  I have a lot of free time now for a while, so I am excited to get back to hanging out at my blog again!

Boden: 30% Off Select Items and 25% Off Everything Else!

Hi, all!  I swear I have ootds/made by me files to publish here, but Boden always manages to go and have some kind of sale (or brings out their *summer* stuff in November, lol) pushing other posts to the back.  Whatever.  ;-) 

Fortunately I will have some time to get the overdue posts published soon enough, and really, can't complain about a sale, amirite?

This sale is not a big surprise, since they typically will roll out sales like this super close to the end of the season as an attempt to get older/less popular items sold before the big BIG sale starts (usually 40% off right before clearance time).  And they really hope to move some of this before the clearance officially starts.  I would say it works some of the time, with items moving when the price makes it to the sweet spot of a price that is just decent enough on a really cute item.  But other times, the clothing item is just a dud and it literally takes reducing it to 70% off in the second cuts at clearance time to move them.

I usually am pretty bad at predicting what will go to 70% off, but I will tell you I have owned a few through the years that I bought in preview that eventually made it to 70% off, and as long as I wore the item many times before it got to that point, I never mind, since clearly I loved it!  I don't know if that is cold comfort, but it works for me. 

Anyhow, in this mix of 30% off are a few items that I own, including the Amy Dress (here at Boden, review here), the Sophia Dress (here at Boden, review here), and the Charlotte Top (here at Boden, review here).  I do want to point out that the Charlotte Top cost me less than it costs now, so I think you could safely wait on that one unless you see your size is getting low in stocks. 

There is also a current coupon code for 25% off that is actually fairly decent, ESPECIALLY if you end up using it on an item that is popular, likely to sell out, or a popback.  For instance if the much beloved Flat T-Bar Point (here at Boden, review here) pops back for you in your size, 25% off is a great deal, since that shoe has been sold out in all colors for a long time now.

Okay, that's it for now.  :-)  I should be back with more soon, likely the skirt installment that I mentioned in my last "made by me file."

Have a great night!  Talk soon!

Boden: Summer 2015 Live at the Preview Site and 30% Off Dresses Until Tomorrow Night!

Hi!  Happy Saturday!

UPDATE (11/18/14): Found the code for 20% off Summer Preview items.  It is W8L5, and it expires on November 28!  Enjoy!

UPDATE:  The original post was going to be on the 30% dresses promo, but I just found out from Lou (see below, lol) that Summer 2015 is live at the preview site.  Like her, I feel it is utterly ridiculous.  I think I will have to take a look 'round and write more on this tomorrow.  But--I know most of you love seeing the pretty summer things, so I knew I had to mention it!

ORIGINAL POST: Lou, of What Lou Wore 365, had mentioned to me over at facebook that this 30% off sale would be happening starting yesterday, but I spent about seven seconds on the internet yesterday, so to be honest, I have no idea if it actually did start yesterday or not.

But it is in full swing today, and if you really wanted a dress but had hoped for a better percentage off than last week's 25% off, then this promo is probably for you.  That said, there are a few dresses that were probably better discounted last week when there was a way of stacking promos together (the current 20% off does not stack with this 30% off).  Some of these dresses had been discounted by some amount around the time of the switchover to the winter new arrivals, but because this is 30% off ALL dresses, they needed to keep it uniform.

For the winter dresses, this is the first *big* percentage off, so if you had you eye on one of those, then this may be a good percentage for you.  There are many dresses that are on deep backorder or on nearly selling out and those dresses are probably not going to get a greater further reduction, so if you fancy one of those then you may want to take advantage of this offer.

The best example of this is the Hartland Dress which is very popular (it's the squirrels!), and the colors that are selling out or on backorder are definitely worth the $82 price.  If you can hold out for the white version (selling less well), that one may end up getting a deeper discount eventually (but not guaranteed).

As per usual, if you have an interest in any of these items and want to see them on a person (besides on a model), the Boden Weekly Review Roundups here might have the dress you are looking to view IRL.

Okay, hope you have a great day!  If you have a dress you want to recommend (or a summer 2015 pick!), definitely let us know in the comments!

I know some of you like to get other things when shopping, so if that's the case, I made sure to include the below coupon (the most current code the affiliate offers).

Made by Me File: McCall's 6844...Heavy Wool Knit Sweater Jacket!

As promised, this is the first post of four that centers around my first big project for the Fabric Mart blog.  The original blog post is here at their site.

What makes these four posts here at my site different is that I will focus on the individual pieces a bit more here, and end with a post on packing with these three pieces as my base for the whole travel wardrobe for my trip to Mississippi in a couple of weeks.  The rest of the posts will be published over the next week.

In 2013, McCall's issued the most amazing cardigan pattern, McCall's 6884, and I, along with every single sewer out there (including Mrs. C, who has made it five times?), purchased it.  Unlike every other sewer out there, I didn't get to my version right away since I am the world's slowest sewer (although my stepmom thinks that title should belong to her, lol).  In fact, though I pulled this one out multiple times over the past year, I never sewed it up until Julie over at Fabric Mart asked me what I wanted to do for my first blog post as an official contributor to their blog.

Because I am me, I had a gazillion ideas, one of which was to use this amazing heavy wool jacquard sweater knit (on sale today!) with view C of 6844.  I didn't know if the folks at Fabric Mart would go for it since it is a dear price for a couple of yards, but they said yes, and upon receiving it, I think I fondled it for about an hour.  It isn't that it is especially soft (though it is lovely to touch), it is that the sparkles from the silver threading combined with the heavily textured diamond jacquard pattern knitted throughout are stunning in real life (I hope you can get a sense of the texture in the above photo).  My stepmom was equally in love and was excited to see how it would look as a cardigan.

I do want to point out that if you are sensitive to wool, I would recommend lining this fabric, and since it is a lot like a felted wool woven, you should be able to do so easily.  If I needed to line it (I am not sensitive to wool, though), I would use something like this since it has a bit of stretch.

Well it turns out that because the fabric is so thick this cardigan is now probably closer to a sweater jacket because of the weight and heft of the fabric.  If you get cold in winter and like to have a wool knit that will keep you toasty, this is your fabric.

Here in Virginia, this is actually a jacket I can wear as outerwear in the fall and spring since there are always quite a few days where the temps will be in the low 50s, and this jacket is perfect for those conditions.  Otherwise this is a great dressy topper for chillier days when you need something to keep you warm inside.

If you can believe this, I had never sewn a sleeve in flat on an adult garment.  Ever.  Children's garments, sure, but not for me.  I was all set (haha) to set in this sleeve, just like the instructions told me to do, but after reading a gazillion and a half reviews of this pattern, especially Detective Houndstooth's awesome review, I decided that this fabric, while not the stretchiest ever, had enough give in it to properly set the sleeve in flat.  Above is how I did it and it worked perfectly.  So unless you have some reason to not sew it in flat, go for it.  I would dare say this fabric is pushing the limits of this particular type of sewing, so I suspect 99.5% of you making this pattern could sew the sleeves in flat.

Detective Houndstooth best describes this procedure, so I definitely encourage a visit to that blog post she wrote.

I know I didn't have to serge the raw edges of this fabric since it is a sweater knit, but this fabric is so special that I wanted to take the extra step to keep the edges tidy.  I didn't serge the hem raw edge, though, since the back peplum wrong side does show when wearing, and so far so good.  If the edge does start to unravel I will probably hand sew a edge finish (ugh...that's a lot of hand sewing!).

I want to point out that with a lot of steam from your iron, these seams were very easy to press.  I knew that I was going to keep the whole seam allowance intact, so I realized that fully pressed seams were the only way to go.  I used my tailor's ham for all of the seam pressing, and even at the armscye I got a very flat finish.  Success.  By properly pressing these down, I was able to control the bulk, and you can't tell from the outside that these were once very thick seams!

Speaking of bulky seams, in order to get what you see above (that is the join of the three fabrics where the collar attaches to the main body), I had to do quite a bit of trimming.

On the left side of the image you see the newly trimmed seam, where only the upper most seam was left full, the two below were trimmed to nearly an 1/8".  On the right side is the full thick seam as it was before the shears came after it.  ;-)

I first found the two lower seams and separated them from the upper layer.

I then cut the two lower layers with the scissors VERY carefully, leaving the top seam intact (it gets folded over the seams under it and is topstitched from the right side, which enclosed the lower seams under the upper seam).  Gosh, I hope that makes sense.

All cut away.  I would say the trimming took me a good ten minutes, and after that pinning the allowances so the upper layer encloses those newly trimmed under layers so it could be topstitched from the right side took another thirty.  Worth ALL the effort.  The topstitching looks great and the seams lay flat.  I didn't serge this seam, either.  Again, if it starts to unravel, I will hand sew a finish.  I really hope that its current state stays, since that is a lot of hand sewing.  ;-)

This pattern's view C is very extravagant.  That peplum flounce is not for the shy, especially in a thicker fabric like this one.  A lighter sweater knit would like fall more loosely and shyly, but this thick knit means that peplum will be super-pronounced forever.  And I am okay with that.  Obviously I don't mind clothing that is a bit dramatic.

What is great is that it is very easy to dress up, but surprisingly very easy to dress down.  It looks super cute with a tee and jeans, for instance.  And since this olive brown color is in my wardrobe in quite a few items (whether in a print or this exact shade), I will be able to wear it often!

Back view of the the pronounced peplum.  I have a rather large bottom, and this covered it nicely, so pear shapes, go for it.  Don't bother to grade up the bottom half, too, since there is more than enough room for all of our "assets."  ;-)

I did make a size small, but in a stretchier knit, I will likely have to size down to an extra-small since I suspect that the stretchier knit would make the small too large for my frame, especially in the shoulders and neckline area.

Even though I added snaps to keep the collar properly back like you see on the pattern cover, this collar looks darling when folded flat.  And since the snaps are black they don't even show up that easily (though my hands cover them in the photos I took from far away).  I may even prefer this way, especially with the collar up like that.

BTW, that is another bonus to this thicker fabric, the collar easily stays up, and I didn't even interface the collar.  (Can you imagine how stiff this would be all interfaced up?)

This is a photo I took this morning of it from above and though you can see the snaps, they are not that obvious, so I am fine with having added them.  It is really hard to get the collar to stay back without them, so it was a nice addition, in my opinion.

Close up shot of the snaps, both closed (right) and open (left).  I like this shot, too, since it shows off the amazing texture and shine of the fabric.  The fabric is not this light, though, I lightened the shot so you could better see how I did the snaps.  :-)

I haven't done this yet, but I did figure out a way I could add one snap to the front part of the collar to attach to the other snaps allowing for me to properly close the front of the jacket so it actually fully functions as a jacket.  I also have plans to belt this jacket since I bet that would look cute, too.  

Okay, that's it for now.  I am so glad I was able to finally sew up this pattern!  :-)

Thank you to Fabric Mart again for the fabric.  So beautiful!

OOTDs: Three Celebrations.

Before I start, two things to let you all know about.

1. I have completed my first blog post for the Fabric Mart blog.  Eventually you will see all the pieces I made for that blog post dissected here in separate "made by me" files and in a special packing post, but for now head on over to see the pieces I slaved over the past week.  :-)  I love the end result, and am very excited that I have these for my trip to Mississippi in a couple weeks.

2. Boden's 25% off sale ends tomorrow.  For more information on that one, please do check out this post.

Onto celebrating!

Mr. Dina didn't intend to make this look like a catalog shot, but it turned out that way.  He probably thinks he is a "photographer" now.

Day: Saturday, November 8, 2014.

Where:  Rex's baseball team's championship win celebration.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The party was at 3 at a local Italian restaurant and even though I ate well (although that time--weird, right--hard to decide, late lunch or early dinner), I didn't feel like I was being pinched or pulled, so I would give this one a thumbs up for comfort. 

The New Balance 620 shoes are a recent purchase.  I have to say even though J. Crew has been falling down style-wise for me of late (too blah and not enough color), their shoe collaborations are awesome.  I took these in a 9.5 and they fit perfectly true to size.

Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  This one is pretty cool.  For me.  :-)

Anecdote from the day:  Since I spent all of last weekend celebrating, any moment I had free at the house was sewing.  It was a weird situation to be in, I far prefer to do all my sewing at home for an extended time (cocoon-like and hiding away), but this put me in a different frame of mind.  I didn't dislike it, but my hyper-focus had to be shut down, which was a little unnerving.  It was probably good for me. 

Day: Sunday, November 9, 2014.

Where:  Mass and El Paso for my dad's birthday dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This dress was made by me, so it fits perfectly, so that made it very easy to wear.  That said, the Naturalizer booties were not my best choice of footwear for that night, though (see the anecdote for more on that).

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Nice, but very buttoned up.  The scarf is fun and the boots put a fresh spin on an outfit with a tailored sheath, but it is still very conservative.

Anecdote from the day:  I suffer from weird hip pain in my left hip, and it flares up once a year without fail.  I have had this since the very end of my pregnancy with CW and it makes walking very difficult when it comes around.  It usually is around for a week and then disappears.  This is why choosing booties was probably not smart.  This was the first night I experienced it, btw, and have been in a bit of pain since then (though it gets worse at night than during the day).

I haven't seen my brother in ages he has been working so hard.  It was good to just be able to sit and chill with him.  He is starting a new job, so we are very excited for him.

And how cool is it that the Berlin Wall has been down for 25 years?  I remember when it came down in 1989.  Since I had been there many times as a girl (my dad's dad lived in Berlin and that is where my mom's mom is from), the idea that the horrible barrier was gone was truly uplifting.  (One more cool fact--my mom's mom and my mom's dad met during the Berlin Airlift!)

Day: Friday, November 7, 2014.

Where:  Dinner out with my besties from high school.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This one was very easy to wear, the only bummer was the scarf which I needed to keep warm.  I think it looks fine and definitely helped keep the biting cold winds from my neck, but blah for style in this particular outfit.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Necessity is the downfall here.  I just don't love the scarf with it and can't see beyond it.  Really glad I still have this Boden dress in my wardrobe from all those years ago, I still love it as much as when I first bought it.

Anecdote from the day:  I love that I can still hang out with my friends from high school.  They are some amazing women.  I can't get over how much more I laugh and let loose around them than I do with other adults I have met since then.  I don't know what it is, but it is just easy to be fully me around them.  Maybe I feel less judged by them?  I also let my hair down around my kids and my brother, so maybe the "no judgment" thing is a huge part of it.

Okay, that's all for now!  I hope you all are having a great Wednesday!

Boden: Save 25% Off Everything!

Festive Penguins--25% Off!

Hi, all!  Haven't been by to say hi in over a week. Woah.

I subbed a ton last week and was out a few nights, too, which led to a large amount of being off-line.  To top it off I have this large sewing project I am in the middle of for the Fabric Mart blog (the post will go live this Wednesday), so it is fair to report that while not active here, I am active elsewhere.  :-)  The plus side is that I am sewing up some pieces that are perfect for my upcoming trip to Mississippi and will allow me to have a base color scheme/items for the ten day trip so I don't have to lug with me ten outfits.

Okay, so my first post in a while is about Boden, of course.  LOL.  Anyhow, from today until Thursday night (November 13, 2014), you can save 25% off everything (barring clearance) with the code 8A8C.  Now it is possible I will get a set of sidebar coupons that will just apply the code automatically, but that hasn't happened yet, so for now, the code is fine and works (just tried it).  (I received the new link a little bit after initially publishing this post--it is below at the bottom of the post.) You will also receive free shipping and returns.

This 25% discount reduces to some other discount on Friday (I don't know yet--the mailer I received was not accurate on the initial amount off, so I am not trusting it for what we will get off on Friday), but as with any diminishing discount sales, you want to get the savings during the first part of the sale, unless you happen upon a long soldout popback on Friday.

Now for some awesome-er news...if you had an eye on something from way back at the beginning of the season, there is a good chance it is 25% off an already reduced amount from full price.  For instance, the Great British Puffer was originally $148, but went down by 30% in the past few weeks, to $103.60.  Because Boden is smart, and they realize there are still plenty of stocks of it, the 25% off is off the $103 price, taking the puffer down to $77.70, which is nearly 50% off the original price.  There are other examples of this, too, including some of my favorites from the fall season, the Amy dress (was $198, then $138.60, now $103.95), the Charlotte Top (was $98, then $68.50, now $51.45), and the Millie Skirt (was $88, then $70.40, now $52.80--only some colors, though).  I reviewed the Amy Dress here, the Charlotte Top here, and the Millie Skirt here (though the color I reviewed is not the additional amount off). 

You can also look at any recent Boden Weekly Review Roundup for more reviews of items from the fall and winter season.

Okay, that's all for now!  Do you have any picks from this diminishing discount sale?

Link to sale below!