Monday, September 21, 2009

Quickest Post of My Life...and a Boden Dress!

I am suffering from ennui today...I just can't seem to get it up for blog writing. I think it stems from spending so much time this weekend moving, that now that I am not moving, I just want to sleep or sit or just be. :) I know every single one of you have had days like this, so I know I am in good company.

Today is a Boden-centric day. One part of the post is a pic of me in a dress that I bought on super-sale from their Spring/Summer 2009 collection. This bad boy of a dress may still be on sale over at their US site.


And here it is, the blue bubble dress, as I affectionately have named this. I wore it when it was raining cats and dogs here in Virginia, and I just felt like the dress matched the mood of the day. It is a beautiful print, and can be worn casually (like I have done), or you could dress it up (maybe with tights, heels, pretty jewelry, and maybe a contrasting belt).

It is a jersey fabric dress, and Boden does their jersey dresses right...they always seem to be the best weight and they always seem to hit the curves of a woman's body well. I also love that they do many of their jersey dresses in prints, as opposed to my favorite company, who tends to stick to one color options...I wonder who I might be talking about? Hmmm...


Two...and this is so ridiculously cool...that if you are reading this over at J. Crew...please, please, please, for the love of all things fashionable...start doing this...the video catwalk of all dresses, skirts, and coats. At Boden, they have the SAME model walk down a catwalk in all the different types of dresses, skirts, and coats that they have created for that season. If you are on the fence of whether or not you should purchase an item, this video feature can make your decision easier. In fact, it was the video feature that convinced me to buy this coat (in turquoise) back when it was on a 20% sale. When you watch the video, you see how it flows over this model's body, you see the contrast lining, you notice how easy (or difficult) the buttons are to button, etc. It is a GREAT feature...and very, very helpful. The reviews from actual customers will always be MY favorite way to gauge whether something will work for me, but this video catwalk is up there in helping me decide. I also adore that Boden individually measures items at various places so you can, with the help of your handy-dandy measuring tape (you have one, right?), decide which size is also best for you.

These reasons, plus Boden's very unique style, keep me reaching across the Atlantic to get more from them. Poor J. Crew loses a lot of money to them from me...

12 comments:

Beth said...

I agree on all your Boden comments! I have a lot of fall items from them this year. I just received 3 pair of the velvet widelegs and I am so HAPPY! Great fit and the fabric is wonderful. I can wear these pants all around instead of my stand by jeans. Super comfy too!!

I love the dress!! :)

I have not done the catwalk thing yet but I will look tonight.

Suzy said...

That video feature is really nice! I wasn't aware Boden did that. You may have noticed me mention CAbi clothes in my blog, but their website CAbionline.com does the same thing, you see the entire collection walk the catwalk. I love that! Funny, Dina, I had that coat in turquoise in my cart, but had to limit my choices - I got the 60's dress and the two toned black/grey skirt - they arrived this weekend, but I haven't tried them on yet.

I really love you in that "bubble" dress, and how cute to wear it in the rain! Who can resist a comfortable knit dress?

Thanks for info on the Boden site, and thanks for nudging J Crew to notice! Take care!

Unknown said...

That dress looks lovely on you! Great runway idea for J Crew too ...

Anonymous said...

I like the color of the dress on you. So pretty.

It seems like Boden is becoming very popular. I wish I could find a size that would fit me there though. I am tempted to order some of their shoes.

amy kelinda said...

Hmm, I've never heard of Boden and will have to check them out! I think J.Crew needs to make sure that all of their images actually work before they can jump on the video thing. Am I the only one who has this problem with random broken images?

Jennifer said...

I'm with you about the Boden videos! I was back and forth about ordering the biker jacket this fall and seeing the model in motion really helped. The customer comments are definitely the best advice, though. It would be great if J. Crew thought about that as well as the videos. Still waiting for my jacket to arrive and hoping it looks and fits better than the field jacket at JC...

Anonymous said...

Love your dress (and your blog). I also bought the dress from Boden base on reviews but what really swayed me was the video. Wish J crew would add bothe videos and customer reviews. Maybe they are afraid of the comments regarding quality...

(original) Genny said...

I have basically switched slowly in the past 2 years from JCrew to Boden. The clothes, the website extras, the colors, and FANTASTIC customer service are all great reasons. Like you said, the reviews, the measurements, the video of items...AMAZING! I bought the spotty scarf in purple. LOVE IT. Bought a second one as backup b/c I know I will wear it a ton and be upset if I snag or wear it out!

AppGal said...

I love Boden's website features... the customer reviews are a DREAM.

Amy Kelinda: I get broken images ALL THE TIME on jcrew.com!!! It is SO annoying! I think it's the browser I use, though (which is google Chrome) because when I open it in explorer, the images are fine. Annoying still.

Tippy said...

hi dina! thanks to you, Boden is my newest addiction :) hope you're well!

AppGal said...

I nominated you for an award over at my blog! Hope you're doing well and enjoying your vacay :)

dinagideon said...

Beth: Hi! I am glad you enjoy Boden, too. I bet the velvet pants will be great this winter, just warm enough so that you don't have to wear long johns under your pants...I know they flatter you, too. What colors did you get?

Suzy: I think Boden has really done good by their consumers by putting so many features that help us make our decisions easier...I need to check out Cabi Clothes...they sound awesome...thanks for the tip!

Maybe you can get the velvet coat on sale the next time there is a promo? The turquoise is just so luscious! ;) (I know, I enable...)

Stylestance: Wouldn't it be great? We can dream...

Rosa: I would be a bad friend if I told you to order from Boden (outside of their shoes and accessories). I can sometimes fit into their size 8 (their smallest size) and I hate that they don't go any smaller for my petite friends. I do appreciate that they do go larger (which J. Crew doesn't, sadly). I think you should maybe look at some of the 11-12 line in the girls...there is some really nice things there, and they are cheaper, too. (The 13-14 is very large, almost a size 8 in regular boden.)

Let me know if you decide on something...I would love to see what you choose!

Amy Kelinda: I have not had any problems with J. Crew and broken images...but that does suck, you are right...definitely they need to work on that first!!!

*gemmifer*: OH, that motorcycle jacket is SO pretty and just edgy enough...I did buy the downtown field jacket and I liked the fit, but the motorcycle jacket was tempting...it actually reminds me a little of the photographer jacket from Boden which I missed out on this last spring!

Good choice...I hope you love it!

Anon @ 4:57 pm: Thank you!!! :)

Can you imagine if people got to dish right there on j. crew's site about how awful the quality of some items are? Or how sometimes one color will be huge and another color (in the same item) is too small? Man...that would be HILARIOUS! :) But Target does it, and still manages to sell out on items that are poorly reviewed, so what does J. Crew really have to lose?

Genny: I am actually right there with you...I used to buy one or two items from Boden every season (and because I was a fairly early adopter--maybe 4 or 5 years ago, I own quite a bit from then), but as of last spring, I amped it up and now find that 25-40% of my new purchases come from Boden. In fact, as of today, I only have three items on my "Must-have" from J. Crew and five items on my "must-have" from Boden. Hmm...

Love the scarf you chose...it is very pretty and from what I hear, very popular!

AppGal: I totally agree with you 100%! Oh, and thanks for helping Amy Kelinda out...very cool of you...and THANK YOU A WHOLE bunch for the award...I had fun creating my post! :)

Tres Tippy: It is my pleasure to turn you on to a company that really wants your business and will work really hard to make sure you come back (Johnnie Boden, you rock)!

I still LOVE J. Crew, but it is hard to be a one-retailer girl when the pretty colors and prints of Boden call to us like a siren. :)