Tuesday, November 26, 2013

OOTD/Review: Cashmere Chevron Sweater and a Bunch of Oldies.

Hi, all.  :-)  Long time no talk.

I hope everyone in the United States is all ready for the Thanksgiving festivities.  I know that I have two separate grocery stores to visit, and one of them has the awesome (and just recently discovered) "order on-line and pickup all your ready and bagged grocery bags" feature.  To make my life even easier, they store all the past purchases I made, including everything I purchased in store...not just on-line.  I feel like a changed woman.  I can't say I will always use it ($5 fee), but on days like today (yucky 35 degree weather and rain, cold, soulless rain) makes the $5 more than worth it.  So if you are a local of the Mid-Atlantic region, give Harris Teeter's on-line grocery shopping a go.

Okay enough shilling for something probably only 5 of you even care about.  ;-)

Day: Thursday, November 21, 2013.

Where: Little Gym/Playdate with friends.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  The pants are loose in the waist, enough so that I had to keep hitching them up, but they fit great in the hips, so I will likely take the waist in a touch on the sewing machine soon.  It was enough of a bother for me to give the outfit a 3.5 instead of anything higher.

The sweater is so soft and comfortable, but more on that in the review portion (below).  The scarf and boots are great, and I wear them a ton when they are seasonally appropriate.  The Women's Blakeley Riding Boots were reviewed here, and they are back again this season, and still at the same price.  Lands' End is offering 30% off if you use the code WONDERLAND and pin 3050 (that brings the price down a touch).

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.) Love this outfit, perfect for a mom on the go, not super cool, but definitely not awful.

Anecdote from the Day:  Very typical day around these parts, just nice to have great days here and there.  (And ones that don't involve migraines...have had way too many of these recently.)

Angus is dressed up in his Saints gear since it was the night they were set to play Thursday night football.  I don't care, but won't stop Mr. Dina from dressing him up.  Plus all the other Saints fans in the area just love it!

Collection Cashmere Chevron Sweater.  Still available on-line for the same price it was at when I purchased it, but I say wait until the website goes into the "extra 40% off" sale mode, since that makes the price fairly reasonable at $95.

I chose to buy a small since lately J. Crew's items have swung back to the sizing they had back in the mid-2000s.  Although I could have fit into the extra small, it would have been a touch shorter, definitely more snug, and the arms would have been super tight.  (These in the small were pretty tight, and I have skinny arms, so bear that in mind if you carry your weight in your arms.)

This sweater is really pretty and slightly 70s, but in a subtle way.  It does chevron without beating your head with it the way the sequined chevron sweater did last year.  So if you prefer trends like this to stay more classic, grab this one since it is likely to last in your wardrobe longer.

The pink version was enticing, but I didn't like the white binding at the neckline and the hemline, so I went with the grey version instead.

No pilling yet, barring a few bits under the arms, but I expect that after a day's worth of wear.

So what has kept me away from my blog?  I have been working like a mad beaver on this retro pattern from 1969 (Vogue Paris Original--Laroche 2048).  I have this idea that I can wear it to Thanksgiving dinner.  Clearly the above photo shows it unfinished (and it still is, btw), but I had to try it on to get an objective view of what I needed to fix and see how the overall fit is.  The gathering at the waist still needs some fixing, and if I could I would shorten the bodice's bib (I will on my next version, which I plan to do in a black wool), but overall it looks pretty good (yes, I know I have to hem the skirt and the sleeves).  So you know, the directions are beautifully written, and the pattern is drafted so well, but it is so time consuming.  Ridiculous, really.  I basically have to do couture procedures on this dress, all while trying to maintain a household of crazed children and a blog that is supposed to be on top of Boden massive sales.

Wish me luck...I am also in the process of making 70% of my Christmas presents, too.  Eeep.

So, I have been bad at alerting you all to the latest Boden sale, basically it is for 30% off all party pieces. You can find them all at this link.

You all have a great night, be back soon.