Boden: Winter Preview 2015 Is Live!

Boden Swinging Sixties Tunic Dress available here.

UPDATE: Use code 3H2J to receive 20% off and free shipping/returns.  The date it expires is June 26!  Woah, that's a quick turnaround!  Less than five days.  :-(

Thanks to Lou who let me know that Boden's Winter 2015 Preview was live.  I have been on vacation the past week, and while I try to stay on top of stuff, this one just escaped me.  So thankfully she published a blog post on Friday to let me know that I had missed it.

The Winter items seem to be a little bit more of the same aesthetic we saw of the fall items (see my post on that here), but I will say they are a bit more jolly, which is most appropriate considering a lot of these items will be purchased to wear to festive fetes in the winter or to be given as gifts at the holiday time.  That's good.  I need an infusion of Boden fun and I was getting massively concerned that there would be no more of that now that Boden is attempting cool and sassy. So I plan to fully celebrate the bits of joy left in their lines! 

I do hope to get 'round to a picks post, but as per my fall picks, I will not be ordering, especially since I have very little income coming in with the affiliate program and Boden parting ways.  Oh, well.  I will be back to subbing in the fall and will likely be order to order some then, but until that point, I am SOL. (Well that and the fact that I don't like the way they process preview orders.)

The email address I usually receive a code from for "20% off of preview orders" has not received an email for Boden regarding Winter 2015, but maybe one of you lovely readers have some information or a code to share?  If not, I will scour and attempt to find one for you and when I do, I will update the post.

Any items you are loving from this collection? 

Have a great day!  Enjoy your Father's Day if you are celebrating it today!

OOTDs: Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia. In Reverse.

Day: Tuesday, June 16, 2015.

Where:  Haircut with my sister-in-law, niece, and daughter, here in Georgia.  Apparently I only cut my hair away from home.  ;-)

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This Boden casual weekend dress I bought last year and I fell in love with it then, and still love it now.  They have the same style this year, but none of the colors spoke to me, so I just said no this time 'round.  Had they had a pattern I really loved, I would have probably gotten another one.  The pockets are the best, and it is so soft. 

You have already seen these sandals on me before, but they really are quite a buy.  Target did good.  The original review of them is here.  I am very glad I brought these with me on vacation.

Outfit Details:  Dress, Boden (find this year's version here); Sandals, Target here, but if you want the real thing (Birkenstock Arizona), you can find them here at zappos.com; Necklace, Madewell here.

Anecdote of the Day: I got sick in North Carolina (food poisoning) and haven't been able to eat much since the incident, so to get calories, both Monday lunch and Tuesday lunch I ate milkshakes.  Well, half a milkshake each day.  It is a sad day when a milkshake, half-drunk, gets passed to a husband to be finished off.  :-(  On the plus side, I usually gain a couple pounds on vacation (hello, yummy Steak and Shake!), but this time I will probably not have to worry about that.  

INSTAGRAM HERE.
INSTAGRAM OF OUR HAIRCUTS HERE.

Day: Sunday, June 14, 2015.

Where:  Church and a Mexican restaurant.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I made these dresses for both CW and me for a Fabric Mart blog post back in May.  If you are interested in the construction, fabric, or thought process that went into these, definitely check out that blog post.  (Also check out my latest make--a button-up shirt for my husband for Father's Day--yeah, he got it early!)

They are Lilly Pulitzer inspired, you are not imagining it.  The fabric turned out to be actual Lilly fabric from the summer of 2014, and you better believe I was thrilled to find it and buy enough yardage to make the two dresses (and have a touch left over for an American Girl dress).

I used a vintage pattern for my dress, and while it fits fine, I feel like I should have shortened the torso since I feel like the extra length there puts a narrower bit of the dress's body at my larger hipline.  The next time I make it up, I will shorten it by an inch at the bodice and lengthen it by an inch at the hem to make up the difference.

Because I made the dress for me to my needs, it is long enough for church, and even though it is not as loose as I would like it at the hips, it still fits great.  Most actual Lilly dresses are too short AND too tight in the hips.  I rarely purchase Lilly Pulitzer for myself because of that.  (The only one I have, in fact, is an altered size 10 dress I found at a consignment shop, its bodice is much smaller than a size 10, but the hips are still the larger size 10.)

I wish I had a different pair of shoes to wear with this dress, but since we are on vacation, we are limited in our choices, and no one threw things at me because I dared to wear Birkenstocks with "Lilly."  In fact, if I am being honest, I kind of think it looks cute together.  Kind of 1960s Palm Beach.  ;-)

Outfit Details:  Dress, handmade; Sandals, Target here, but if you want the real thing (Birkenstock Arizona), you can find them here at zappos.com.

Anecdote of the Day: The Mexican restaurant we went to that day is the restaurant that made me sick.  I forgive them as they have never made me sick before, but dang, what a vacation bummer, you know?  

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Saturday, June 14, 2015.

Where:  Mellow Mushroom and downtown Greensboro.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  We had driven the whole day after being at Rex's baseball game early in the morning, so no matter what I wore, I was going to feel not the best.  Considering all that, though, the comfort level was pretty high.  These Bistro shorts are from last year, but this year's versions have some cute designs.  One thing to note about this year's version is that the long is a very long inseam, at 9 inches, I think they added 2 extra inches to their inseam from last year.  I don't mind the extra length, but I think seven inches makes them more casual and easier to style.  In fact, because of the extra length, I haven't worn them yet since I am still a bit stumped on how to wear them and not look too frumpy.

The shoes are awesome, duh, lol, I already loved on them in the above outfits.  The tee is from American Apparel and while it's cute, it is very thin fabric and required both a cami and a bra.  That's a lot of coverage for someone who is not especially well-endowed.

Outfit Details:  Tee, American Apparel; Shorts, Boden here; Sandals, Target here, but if you want the real thing (Birkenstock Arizona), you can find them here at zappos.com; Necklace, J. Crew.

Anecdote of the Day: I point a lot in my photos.  I don't know why I do that.  It's weird.  And sometimes when I point, I think I am pointing at what I should be pointing at (this time yummy drink), but instead I am pointing at something I didn't even know was in the background, this time the waiter putting an order into his till.  It looks like I am pretty excited by him doing that instead of the amazing drink I received.  Hee.

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Friday, June 12, 2015.

Where:  Last Day of School! YES!

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  How did this knot detail dress get so long?  I mean seriously?  Last year it wasn't this long (three inches below my knees) but this year it is.  It grew!  I don't want it to be that long, so I dinged the points on ease down.  The outfit, though, is seriously very comfortable. 

And though I am not usually a Birkenstock fan, I guess I have changed my tune.  I guess I was so oversaturated with them in the 90s (I wore them a ton--I seriously looked just like this girl on a daily basis, minus the socks), I never thought I would want to wear them again.  I still am not sure about my current "I am wearing them all the time" choice either.  :-)

But, like the white Target versions above, I do really like these J. Crew Birkenstock Metallic Madrid sandals.  I think these are a whole lot more sleek than the white ones, so I think they can be worn more easily with more outfits.  I had to try two sizes before I discovered what worked for me.  Because I have a very narrow foot, I often have to size down, and I kept reading how the sizing was big on these, so I chose to try the 39 first, which is equal to about an 8-8.5.  That would be a full size down from my normal J. Crew size.  And while the 39 fit me, they were too short, by a lot.  (I do have long feet, though.)  I had very little hope that the 40 would fit since I figured they would be too wide, but nope, as long as I did the closures up to the next to last hole, they were fine.  Eventually I will have to cinch it to the last hole, but that won't be for a summer, at least.  For those of you with thin and long feet, go to a half-size down (the 40 they say is a 9), but remember to cinch the closure tighter.  After having done that, it was perfect.  :-)

Outfit Details:  Dress, Boden; Necklace, tru.che here; Birkenstock Metallic Madrid Sandals, J. Crew here, but you can also find them at Amazon (which I recommend if you have Prime for free shipping, since the price is the same as J. Crew right now, they also have more sizes!); Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day: I got a farmer's tan that day.  It was so flipping hot and sunny.  So not only did the dress grow on me from last year, I got the world's funkiest burn on my shoulders and neck.  Drrrr.  I am so good about SPF normally, too.  But, on the plus side, NO PICKUP from school for a couple months.  Woo!

You all have a great day.  I should be back on with more vacation outfits soon.  If you want to keep up with the vacation, I am posting at Instagram a bit.  :-)

Boden: The Curious Case of the Culotte.

Boden Culottes--You can find them here, if you want to.

Since joining Instagram, I really have been opened to a whole world of new experiences, including the ever present "reposted" Instagram, which happens when a company spies one of their items on a user's Instagram photo and wants to share the image with their followers.  But it isn't exclusive to companies, apparently anyone can repost anything they desire.  I see it all the time.  I haven't partaken, nor had any of my images reposted, but at 228 followers on Instagram, I am likely a long way away from that (reposted images are from people who have thousands of followers, not a couple hundred).  Anyhow, recently I happened upon a "repost" from an Instagram user who was none to excited about an Instagram she saw at #boden_clothing, which featured a cute girl wearing a summer outfit from Boden that included these above shorts.  Or culottes, if you stretch the definition. (Culottes are technically a skirt that has a split up the middle so that is seamed so that they function as shorts but appear to be a skirt.  This pair above don't really look skirt-like to me, at all. Here is a pair of modern culottes that look like what I expect.)

The original Instagram appeared here at Kim Loves Cloth's Instagram account.*  She received many compliments on her embroidered top, and it does look very cute on her, but no comments on her culottes.  The second time this Instagram appeared was at the "official" Boden Instagram page here.  That time the compliments were fewer and farther between, but still a smattering for the top, and at least one, maybe two for the shorts.  The vast majority were very very opinionated and put off that these shorts were even being offered.  The range of disgust ranged from "too 80s" to "why would you do this to a woman?"  Hmm.  The third time (and this is how I saw it) was at the hashtag I use a lot #bodenbyme, which is the one Boden has encouraged us to use to show off our Boden clothing as we style it.

*They were also featured at her blog at this post.

So here it is, in the form that I saw it.  Same image, but presented by an individual Instagram user in a repost (but directly calling Boden out by using the @boden_clothing, so they would see it) at the #bodenbyme Instagram page.  Her thoughts were very direct.  NOPE.  That's all she said.  And that was all that she needed to say.  The comments were actually kinder at this repost than the one Boden reposted, but were still not incredibly positive regarding the curious case of the culottes.

I have my thoughts, but I am curious about yours?  What say you on the culottes?  :-)

OOTD: Nancy and CW Come to Winesday.

Day: Wednesday, June 10, 2015.

Where:  Winesday with my darling daughter.  Pete (my bro) usually goes with me, but he works out in Manassas now, so this means I have to find alternate people/transportation to get to this event.  He still comes, every once in a while, but not this week.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Even though I mentioned that there was a pencil skirt lining on this dress in my review last year, I forgot about that and when I put it on tonight, I was all, "wuh?"  Sigh.  Should've remembered.  It worked itself out and stretched out, but still.

The Cole Haan sandals (have had them for years) held up well, especially considering we took the bus back from Winesday.  The bus stop is about one mile from my house, so not super close.  :-)  I have to take public transportation if I don't have a ride, I am a super lightweight when it comes to alcohol.


Outfit Details:  Dress, Boden; Sandals, similar style Cole Haan here (I can't find an exact match like mine from this year); Necklace, Uncommon Goods; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day: I wore my Nancy Dress because Lou has been talking about #bodentwins over at her Instagram account a lot lately.  When I saw her in her Nancy Dress yesterday, I knew my chance was here, so I took it.  I also plan on wearing this dress that @kdot1990 wore a few days back (probably tomorrow).  I never thought I would get into Instagram as much as I have, but it is more fun than I expected it to be.  :-)

Speaking of Instagram, my Instagram of this outfit is here.

Okay, you all have a great night!  We'll talk soon!

OOTDs: Two Target Dresses.

Day: Sunday, June 7, 2015.

Where:  Pret a Manger for lunch, Zara and J. Crew for returns, National Geographic museum for the Indiana Jones exhibit, and a friend's house for dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I love love love this whole outfit.  I really want to pattern out the dress since I adore the way it fits and feels on me, and the fact that even though it is super short on the model, it isn't that way in real life (I bought the medium).  It even has a darling little bow in the back (I like them, the one below has one too).  We'll see when I can get around to it, but for a cheapie Target dress, it did well today.

The fake Birkenstocks are my attempt at being "on trend" without resorting to paying way too much money for white shoes that will likely be either completely out of style (they are very "grandma," lol) or have been ruined by one of my kids spilling something on me.  They were on sale last week, so a good buy then, but the current price is still very good for what you get.  They are super comfortable, I just made sure to size down to a 9 so that they would fit my narrow feet better (the straps do have working notches).

Outfit Details:  Bow Back Cap Sleeve Dress, Target here and in solid lace colors here; Shoes, Target here; Necklace, Madewell here; Sunglasses and bag, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day: At Zara doing my returns (number of returns at Zara--always high--such cute clothes cut so so so small), Rex decided he wanted to see what he could get in the boys section, so one of the sales people took him up there and he decided to buy this tee.  I asked him why that one and he was all, "momma, shirts that are just one color are so boring, I want all my shirts to have something on them."  Yes!  Taking after his momma, that one.  :-)

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Day: Saturday, June 6, 2015.

Where:  Mass, dinner with a friend, and G Street Fabrics.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This is a girls dress, size 16 (x-large).  I highly recommend the girls dresses/tops at Target if you can wear a size 4 or 6 (or smaller) in woman's tops/dresses.  Very important to pick the ones out that don't seem super juvenile (so yeah, all the darling ones with unicorns are probably not my best choice, lol).  People seem to like this dress and when I told my friend I had dinner with all about scoring in the girls section (not my first time, btw), she was SO stinking excited.  I think she may have already stalked the Target website looking for it.  :-)

Outfit Details: Circo girls maxi dress, Target here; Cardigan and sandals, J. Crew; Necklace, Target; Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day: Red Robin is where we went to dinner.  They have these mixed drinks with beer and hard alcohol.  Those are so delicious.  My friend was driving, so I got to have two.  It was a very good night. 

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Okay, you all have a wonderful evening.  Hope your week starts off well with a fabulous Monday.

OOTDs: Simple and Super Simple.

Day: Friday, June 5, 2015.

Where:  Harris Teeter.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The Le Minor tee fits but it fits a bit more snug at the hips than above the hips.  I think the version I bought was the male Breton (from Madewell a few years back) and it fits like a male top would with a bit more ease through the shoulders and upper chest and goes straight down from there.  Basically exactly the opposite of what I need.  That said, it was fine, and sometimes it is nice to wear something in a different silhouette than I normally wear.  I last wore it a couple winters back.

These Boden shorts are super comfortable and have a nice long inseam for tall ladies, right at 7 inches, which for those of us with longer legs means it hits at our mid-thigh.

The Target shoes are the same pair that I mentioned liking at this post.  Still like wearing them, very supportive and secure, but nice and open for summer.

Outfit Details: Le Minor Shirt, Madewell; Shorts, Boden; Sandals, Target (this year's version here); Sunglasses, Anthropologie.

Anecdote of the Day: I went to Harris Teeter.  We've gone over this before here at the blog.  It basically means I did the usual grocery run.  It was uneventful.  I did, however, come back and make a fried oyster po' boy, which tasted pretty good.  :-)

Day: Wednesday, June 3, 2015.

Where:  I stayed home all day, dealing with the air conditioning repairman and the cable guy.

Ease of Wear: (5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I only put this outfit up here to show I can take it REAL easy sometimes.  I mean, there are pajamas that are more involved than what you see here on me in this outfit.  A loose fitting pair of shorts, a lightweight baseball tee, and a pair of slides.  Hmm.  Oh, and zero makeup.

My hubby likes outfits like these on me, though.  Men are weird.

Outfit Details:  Lovebirds Baseball Tee, J. Crew Factory here (it is a bit sheer, just be warned); Shorts, Target; Factory Raffia Boardwalk Sandals, J. Crew Factory here.

Anecdote of the Day: Oof.  The air conditioner needed some major repairs.  I wish there was someway we could have put it off, but the swamp otherwise known as the greater DC area is a place known for its especially brutal humid and hot summers.  We really didn't have a choice.  It's been great the past few days, though, even a bit cool.  So we spent all that money for the repairs and haven't even used it yet.  Of course.  :-)

Okay, that's all for now.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  Enjoy your Sunday!

OOTD/Review: Space-Dyed Shine in Sprinkles.

OOTD first, followed by a quickie review of J. Crew's Space-Dyed Sweater.

Day: Thursday, June 4, 2015.

Where:  G Street Fabrics, School Run, a very brief visit to Nationals Park, and Good Stuff Eatery for dinner.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  This whole outfit presents well but is pretty comfy, considering it is a bit more dressy than my usual wear of late (Turner pant, a fun top of some sort, and sandals).  The skirt is the factory version of the J. Crew Lighthouse Postcard skirt but I bought it off ebay for a song in a size 8, which is usually too small, but in this skirt is actually a touch too loose.  That's okay.  I needed the extra room with the redonk amount of food I ate at Good Stuff tonight (the hamburger I ate had an egg on it, mmmm).

The space-dyed sweater is awesome, not cozy and soft, but it felt wonderful to wear all day even though it wasn't cashmere.  I have more info on this one in the review below.

Outfit Details: Space-dyed Sweater, J. Crew here; Necklace and Shoes, J. Crew; Skirt, J. Crew Factory (ebay has this one for sale--btw, the factory version is lined but the retail was not, hmm).

I chose to wear the teal shoes and the green necklace after I saw Lisa instagram with her skirt paired with a mint green top.  It looked great together, so I (sort of) copied.  :-)

Anecdote of the Day: It is really rainy and kind of chilly out there, and so rather than go to tonight's baseball game with one kid and grab bobbleheads (there was a giveaway tonight), my husband drove us all into town, had CW and I get out, GO into the game, GRAB the bobbleheads, LEAVE the game, and meet him on the road where he would be waiting for us.  LOL.  So weird.  But because I am easygoing, I just went with it.  Whatever, man.  I got a burger with an egg on top of it for my troubles. 

INSTAGRAM HERE.

Space-dyed Sweater.  I saw this one a while back at J. Crew, and though I loved it right away, I knew I had to wait for a promo to get it, so the moment a 30% off and free shipping popped up, I grabbed it in the size extra-small (my usual J. Crew sweater size).  It had a bit of a backorder, but I know this is an all-season sweater (well except for the most hot and humid of days), so I was fine to wait.

It fits exactly like all my other extra-small sweaters fit, great through the shoulders, a touch big through the neckine, and with enough ease to be comfortable overall.

It has a weird composition of rayon/metallic threads and poly.  It isn't soft, and it isn't especially warm, but it is fine unless you are a super-sensitive type person.  If you find wool sweaters itchy, this may be too much for you.

The length of the sleeves is really long, and the rib trim at the cuffs and hems stretch well, but bounce back easily.  The ribbing at the sleeves is extra-long, reaching nearly to my mid-forearm.

The sweater is a mid-length, so a bit long on my body, but that is likely good for most of you since I have a shorter torso.

It looked nice with the Lighthouse skirt.  It worked even better after I put the necklace on, since the subtle golden shimmer of the sweater worked well with the necklace, while the more platinum shade the base of the sweater worked well with the skirt.  Very pretty, all the pieces together.

It stayed tucked in all day, which is not always the case with sweaters.  I was pleased since I hate it when they come untucked.

This photo shows off the color the best I could capture it in the low light of today.  It is a sheer top, so you must wear proper undergarments.  I have on a very light colored cami, and it worked fine as a piece for modesty.

It really is very shiny, and goes with so many pieces in my closet.  I can see why this shade is nearing sold out status.  At $70 (after discounts), I would say it is money spent well.

FWIW, I had been looking at the Elegant Shimmer Sweater from Boden, and price-wise, they are very similar.  That said, I think this "neither cool nor warm" shade of metallic in the space-dyed works better for my skin tone, so I am glad I went with this one.

Space-dyed Sweater (that photo is a shopsense link, btw).  The color above is the same one I chose and it is out of stock in many sizes.  There is a gold shade, though, which is fully stocked.  They had a similar sweater two years ago (though looser) and it came in the gold.  I have that one in gold, and I suspect many other women do, too.  This unusual shade is not common, so I can see why this one sold well.

Okay, I hope you all have had a great Thursday!  We'll talk soon, have a great night!