OOTE: Argyle and Lodden.

Day: Wednesday, January 15, 2014.

Where: Winesday at Whole Foods and El Paso Cafe for my brother's birthday.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) For such a pulled-together look, this was surprisingly comfy.  I felt like I could have easily worn it the whole day and not needed to change my shoes, tights, etc. 

The tights were necessary since it was so blasted cold that day (and has been since, barring the lovely weather we had on the 20th).  I purchased those tights from Boden last year and they are popular enough that Boden brought them back for fall 2013.  It can be difficult to find proper thick sweater tights here in the States.  A few places sell them, but they are very expensive.  Target sells sweater tights now, which I was pleased to see, but at $12, they are still relatively expensive for tights.  (And they got a run right away--in the upper leg, which I could fix with clear nail polish, but still!)

The shoes are the much beloved Leather loafers which I reviewed here.  Most worn pair of shoes in my closet, hands down.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  Some of my JCA friends will immediately recognize the look, which is why the post is titled Argyle and Lodden.  Both the dress and shirt were styled together in the J. Crew Paris Catalog (September 2007).  Obviously I couldn't wear it the way the lovely Vanessa Lorenzo did in the photo, but I could at least do half of the look.  :)

Not cool, btw, just pretty. 

If you are a fan of the shirt, and you sew, you can grab the fabric here at B&J fabrics (Liberty of London Lodden).  I won't be making anything else from the fabric (I was able to buy the blouse on ebay), but I could see the print looking very pretty in a full skirt.

Anecdote from the Day:  As per our usual, my brother and I went to Winesday that Wednesday.  We found out our favorite host (there are five stations) has the same birthday as my brother (along with Martin Luther King, Jr., of course). 

After that we enjoyed ourselves at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Paso Cafe.  And as we always do, everyone took a moment to wear a sombrero, including yours truly.

Alrighty, you all have a great night! 

OOTD: Hotchpotch, Blakeley, and a Toggle Coat.

Happy Friday night, all!

I saw that today came and went and no Spring 2013 new arrivals at Boden, but I am sure that they will be coming soon.  The new arrivals always have been dropped on Fridays in the past, but this past year or so has been a bit different overall over in Boden-land, so I am not 100% surprised that the new arrivals didn't drop today.

Anyhow, I have been trying to find my way back to normal after a nice week and a half off of school runs and errands, etc.  It's been fine, but as you all have seen here on my blog over the past five months, the dinagideon household is in constant motion.  ;)

On New Year's Day we headed out to Bethesda as a family to grab some sushi and allow Mr. Dina to grab his comics from his favorite comic shop for 20% off (they have that sale twice a year--like all of us clothing aficionados, the comic aficionados have their "OMG, must buy all my comics TODAY" moments, too). 

I needed to be warm since it was definitely frigid that day, but because I was feeling a bit lazy, I also knew I wanted something easy to put on and something easy and comfortable to wear.  I also wanted to grab something old from my closet that I hadn't worn for a while, which seems contradictory for the start of a new year, but, eh, it's been so long since I wore this dress that it *felt* new.

Dress was last seen here (way way back when).  I definitely prefer this styling to my initial styling.  I think this dress is too short for me to wear with heels, but we all learn from our past, it's trying to remember it in the future that's hard.

The Blakeley Riding Boots are so great.  I am beyond thrilled that I decided to give these lighter colored boots a chance.  I am trying to wear them as much as possible before our warm spring comes, since that usually means I put away boots in off-season storage.

This stadium cloth toggle coat is from the winter of 2007.  I didn't buy it back when it was available, since I had a few extra pounds on me from Rex's pregnancy and birth, and then when I decided I needed a navy coat, it was all gone.  So I bought the double cloth Carlin coat in navy instead.  And then I got bored of that one (plus the collar wasn't working for me), so I sold it.  Last winter I needed no new coats (warm winter plus Angus pregnancy--no thank you to outerwear), so I didn't even bother looking for a replacement navy coat.

And then I saw it--the toggle coat in navy--and for a decent price.  I bit, and haven't looked back.  It is much better on my frame than the Carlin AND it is super warm.  This is a size 6, so true to size (just in case you want to find one for yourself).  It also came in yellow as you can see on the lovely Vanessa here in this shot from the Scotland catalog.

The only thing about these toggles is that they do all have to be done up or not done up at all.  If only one or two are buttoned, it looks silly (even if you can't really tell from the previous photo).

Anyhow, that's it for the night.  Really should hit the hay asap.

Tell me, though...what old item in your closet are you looking forward to wearing?  Is it truly old (sitting in your closet for way too long) or is it "new" old (old but new to you)?

Have a great evening, all!

OOTDs: Bring on the Jacket. And the Eiffel Tower Earrings. And Rush.

Hi, Ladies!  (And Gents, if you all are out there!)

How has your weekend been?  It s really pretty here in VA, so we have been soaking up all the glorious weather by moving non-stop from one activity to another.  Pluses?  The activities are tremendous amount of fun, and hopefully the memories of these fab activities will linger in our kids' minds.  Minuses?  Well, our kids are young and weekend full of activities equals less sleep for the little ones, which means there is just a *tiny* bit of crabbiness from them.  ;)

Today I decided to get two outfits from the recent weeks done, and tie them together because both outfits feature a jacket as a major part of the outfit.

First up is the outfit from yesterday, one that features the J. Crew Lexington Jacket in ivory and citron from the Fall of 2007.  (Featured in this catalog image from September 2007.)

Started off the day in this whole ensemble, but by about 1 pm it was too hot, and sadly the Lexington had to be put away.  At least I was able to have a few hours with this beauty completing my look.

If you open the image, you can see the information on the individual pieces.  The shoes are the wonderful Lena wedges which I have worn many times already this summer, but just couldn't make it look 100% right with the outfits, since the wedges were too "statement-y" for the more delicate looks I wore them with...(outfit 1 here, outfit 2 here, and outfit 3 here).  I finally feel like I have hit the right note by wearing them with the capris. 

Since I had an Eiffel Tower on my tee, I knew the Eiffel Tower earrings had to be pulled out.  Not every fashion moment has to be subtle, right?  ;)

No jacket and posing with my "ooh, it's the Eiffel Tower, Momma" baby girl.

I have now worn these Pure Collection pants twice.  They are so freaking comfortable but still look like proper trousers.  I saw them in the summer sale for something like $30 and thought, "eh, why not?"  Glad I gave them a shot.

For those of you who want more info on Pure Collection, I plan on doing my reviews in the next day or two.  Tomorrow starts a big ten-day sale for them (they are approaching their tenth anniversary on October 10), so I figured it would be very appropriate to schedule my first Pure Collection reviews around then. Until then, if you want to take a look around, here is a link: Pure Collection - 25% Off.

Yesterday's activities included a Rex tee-ball game, a lunch out, a visit to a movie theater to see "Hotel Transylvania," and church (the Bishop was there and blessed Rex and Angus!).  I knew I had to have something that could go to all events, be nursing friendly, and layered for either heat or cold.

The above picture was taken right after I threw in the towel on the jacket (temps had gone up to near 80 with full sun).

The Jacket. The Eiffel Tower. by dinagideon featuring forever 21

Above is the polyvore of the outfit.

So I was going to just publish the outfit photos from yesterday but then I remembered it has been a full three weeks since I went to the Rush concert (yes, that Rush, not Big Time or Limbaugh, bite your tongue, people).  And since this outfit featured both a jacket and the Eiffel Tower Earrings, I figured I would just go with it.

I liked my makeup and hair that day, but was very disappointed in my eye bags.  SLEEP.  I need more SLEEP.  (Thanks, Angus.)  ;)

The jacket is from Target.  I had briefly considered getting one of these jackets from either J. Crew or Boden when they had them in their lines, but I am so glad I waited.  I think this one is $25?  And it is super comfy and soft, too, so I think I chose the best one for me.

Look at the size of that beer.  I have never had a 24 ounce beer in a can.  I felt classy.  Yeah.  Classy is the right word.  Ha.

There's my concert tee from the last time I went to a Rush concert.  I was willing to buy another concert tee, but this time the women's tees were all very unfortunate looking.  I know Rush is not a girl's kind of band, but come on, there is at least a handful of us that enjoy their music AND enjoy dressing up.

Look at Geddy, up there on stage.  I think he totally appreciated my tee and my beer. 

After the concert, parking lot.  Mr. Dina and I were walking to the car and I got catcalled at...lol.  I haven't been catcalled in YEARS, and the first time it happens to me is in front of my husband.

Okay, all, have a great night.  Are any of you able to wear and enjoy your blazers and jackets yet?

Paris: Day Five Outfit(s) of the Day. Eiffel Inspired. And Gilded.

When did I do the day four outfit of the day?  A month ago?  Come, on.  Well, late is better than never, I suppose.

To remind you all, I am taking on my Paris trip bit by bit, starting with outfit posts, then moving to all around general stuff, and finishing with tips for traveling with toddlers.  Knowing my rate of success, I will get around to the "tips for traveling with toddlers" post on our anniversary of actually traveling to Paris.  LOL.

Okay, to re-cap...here is outfit Day One...outfit Day Two...outfit Day Three...outfit Day Four.

And outfit Day Five.

I actually drew inspiration for this outfit from two J. Crew catalog images, which I will show later on, but the top/vest combo is from one image, and later, my earrings and pose are from another image.

Top: J. Crew Suzannah Liberty Print Blouse, Size medium.  This was a sample from 2007, although it is similar to the blouse that they sold in the fall of that same year, this one has slight differences in construction from the retail version.  I am glad I went with the medium as this was cut a bit closer, and as timing had it, I needed the extra room in the waist.  :)  Go, baby belly!
Vest: J. Crew Jackie top, size small.  Do you all buy the Jackie tops only to use as vests?  I never wear mine on their own, I far prefer them with button-downs.
Skirt: Gap Maternity, size 8.  This is way too big and by the end of the day, it looked like I was wearing a skirt four sizes too big for me.  (This puppy stretches.  To say the least.)
Tights: Walmart George Brand.  I wear my George Brand control top tights constantly and they have not ever let me down, I have had the above pair for over three years.  Get thee to a Walmart for some $5.50 tights if you need some good ones.  Whilst in Mississippi, I bought the local store out of their Size Cs...I bought them in brown marl, black knit herringbone, grey marl, and a couple of opaque pairs.
Shoes: J. Crew Collection Lula Snakeskin Ballet Flats.  The love.  These aren't awesome for walking but they are certainly good enough if you don't go all crazy and wear them for a six mile trek.  I only did about four that day, so my tootsies survived.

CW is in a mix of Boden, Target, and some boutique-y brand.

From the front before the skirt became a size 16.

I wore my Thierry Lasry sunglasses that day along with my J. Crew Collection double faced cashmere popover.   For those of you dying for more info on the popover, I did a more in-depth review of it at True Crew Love.

The background is the Eiffel Tower.  We have more shots from that day, but I will publish those in the general "look at how awesome Paris can be" photos post.

I remembered that the beautiful Vanessa Lorenzo was wearing a pair of Eiffel Tower earrings in one of the Paris catalog images, so of course I bought a pair from the Eiffel Tower gift shop.  They were only $10 and adorable.  They seem to be decently made, too.

Both of my kids LOVED the Eiffel Tower and now, whenever they see a photo or film of it, shout really loudly, "look MOMMA...the Eiffel Tower!!!"

Not exactly the same shot, etc., but look!  The Eiffel Tower earrings!  (Too bad I didn't have roller skates and a more agreeable husband, lol.)

Again, not exactly the same...I searched and searched for this sweater dress all over ebay but never found it (but still interested, lovely ladies, size small or medium, please!!!)...so I came up with my version instead.

That night my hubby and son went to a French soccer game, so I took CW out to a nice little restaurant for a night out.  We got all dressed up and it was sort of special...really sweet, in fact.

Top: J. Crew Tissue Turtleneck, Size Medium.  From a while ago and I still wear it, all the time.  Great versatile basic.
Skirt: J. Crew Collection Floral Long Swing Skirt, Size 8.  It's my header skirt!  :)  Cannot even think about wearing this one now...waist is way too tiny to fit over my baby belly now.  It barely did up that night for that matter.
Shoes: Clarks Artisan aka "most comfortable black heels ever," size 9.5.  Bought them for nada at the local Rugged Wearhouse.
Necklace: J. Crew Double Strand Frog Necklace.  Also a perennial favorite from the Paris Catalog.  I double looped it for a different look...I quite like it like that...

With CW...she is a cardigan by some French brand (I forgot which, and she is napping right now), a Tea dress, random tights, and a pair of Target shoes.

Paris: Outfit of the Day Five. Girls Night Out. by dinagideon featuring tote handbags

Above is the polyvore of the outfit for our Parisian Girls Night Out.

Well I guess that's it for now.  Hope your Friday is great.  :)

Reminder, if you are a Boden fan, the affiliate folks sent me a direct link to their most recent promo, 30% off and free shipping:
Save 30% at Bodenusa.com with Free Shipping

Tales of My Outlet Bellas...

So I have definitely expounded often and loudly about how much I love and adore my J. Crew Factory Bellas.  With an 80% wool/20% Polyamide combo, the two bellas I own from the J. Crew Factory are much softer than my "real" wool Bella (I wore it here last).

I own one in a deep pink/purple and another in a coral.  You have seen the coral before, when I wore it with a crewcuts top and a pair of paisley pants (which were also from the outlet).

Today I am going to show off the other outfits I have created with these Bellas.  They are not in any particular order and were all worn in 2011, but I can't promise you that they are all that "recent."  LOL.  I take my time and while many of my outfits/reviews are published right away, there are quite a few that just kind of stare out at me from Picasa saying, "why, dinagideon, why is it taking you so long to publish me???"  Heehee, yes, I just admitted to having conversations with my pictures.  ;)

This is the deep pink/purple bella worn with the silk ruffle confetto dress that I wrote about in this post.  I find the dress difficult to wear, I feel like it is A LOT of pattern and a bit crazy, so I need to tone it down in order to wear it.  I found the perfect solution with this jacket!

I wore this to an Arbonne party I was hosting a few months back.  I find it fun to be able to dress up, be a bit professional, but because it is all part of a "party" atmosphere, I can rock wild colors and patterns.  This party was successful, so I will take that as a good sign to wear this dress again at another business venture of mine.

The nude heels by Cole Haan?  Yeah, needed to really tone down this part of the outfit, I can only imagine how close to clown-like I would look like if I had on brightly hued shoes, too.  ;)

The Bella collar is the reason so many of us are Bella-obsessed.  The nipped in waist and the classic buttons help, but that collar screams special.

Obviously I had to wear Arbonne makeup that day (as I do most days, but on party days I really show off), and I like the colors/shades I wore that day.

So smiley.  :)  This Bella does really bring the tone of the entire outfit down a bit, I think I may never wear that dress on its own ever again.

Here is the outfit, I took this photo a few days before I wore it just to make sure it worked together.  Although this is not technically a "Mommy Style Monday" (they will come back, promise), I think that is a great tip for all Mommies out there...take a quick photo of an outfit on the hanger before you wear it...if it looks off you may still want to give it a chance on a body, but I could immediately tell this outfit would work on me.  So I had no hesitation when throwing this outfit on the morning of the party.  (Was a great time-saver, too, it takes me a while to set up for a party!)

Here is the "real" Bella on Vanessa the model from the Paris Catalog...it is definitely a different shade/saturation and there is no herringbone in my version (although there is in my coral one), but I feel like I can still use this image when planning a future outfit with my pink/purple Bella.  (I see a really lovely fall SAHM outfit!)

CW wields her magic wand wishing for a crewcuts Bella.

This is the coral Factory Bella, and this time I wore it as a SAHM outfit.  I literally only left my house that day to go to dinner with Mr. Dina and the kids. 

This time I paired it with a navy tee (Boo Coo tours one with the gator) and the ever wonderful chambray cocktail capris and my ever present Japanese sandals (tend to be worn only in the house, honestly).

CW has now grown big enough to be receiving hand-me-down crewcuts from her brother.  :)  Rex has had this polo (with its cute crab critter in the hem) for years (2007, I believe) and now that CW is big enough, it is hers.

No Bella as the end of the day necessitated me taking it off (it got a bit warm).  This Boo Coo tee is a lot of fun and I find I turn to it a lot (the mid-navy color works well with so many of my items in my wardrobe).

Of course I had to do a shot of this collar, too.  You can see the herringbone in this shot.

I went to NYC a few weeks ago to see a show, go to dinner, and meet up with the lovely Marietta, and all without the kids (freedom!), so I knew I wanted a good "stroll around New York" outfit.  I felt good that day...it was warm, blue skies, people were friendly, in short, just perfect.

I paired the Bella with the vintage striped bateau tee in camel (love this shade), a pair of it! jeans, Cole Haan penny loafers, and a Chico's necklace.

One of the places I chose to "model" for a picture.  This open space down near Wall Street is an oasis...amongst the cramped, tall EVERYTHING, it is nice to find a space where you can feel open and free.  (Being a native of the DC area, land of OPEN everywhere makes NYC seem so claustrophobia inducing!  We even have height restrictions in DC, so those big, sun-blocking buildings so ubiquitous in NYC are never going to be an option for us inside the beltway types.)

Here I am with Marietta after we had a yummy lunch together.  I love being able to see the beautiful bride to be whenever I am in NYC.  :)  Don't you all love her outfit?  The cardigan is clearly my favorite, Anthro really gets how to make a cardigan!

BTW, don't you just love how Daniel Radcliffe is smiling over us?  It is almost like he is blessing our friendship with his smile.  

This is a photo I processed through Picnik, which is a Picasa program you can find in Picasa (if you all edit with it).

I obviously am on the subway here.  Here is another way DC is WAY different than NYC.  Even our Metro is all wide open.  LOL.  (Sneaky secret, though...I prefer the NYC subway, even though I took the Metro everyday to school back when.  NYC subways are always on time, there are plenty of them, and there are tons and tons and tons of stations.  I still prefer walking to the subways, but DC vs. NYC subway?  No contest.  Why do I hate the DC metro so much?  Let's just say I blame it ALL ON THE RED LINE. You DC people will totally get that.)

You all have a great Monday.

P.S. I am going to be especially busy this week...I may not get to comments until late this week, if at all.  I am still here, and I promise, you will hear from me again, and all questions asked will be answered.  ;)

J. Crew Paris Catalog Inspiration #2--Wool Jersey Dress (with a Ruffle!).

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent a good portion of February trying to become the September 2007 Paris Catalog from J. Crew.  LOL.  You saw the lovely baby cord Linda dress in red in the last post and today you will see a jewel that I have had IN MY CLOSET since September 2007 that I AM NOW JUST STARTING TO WEAR.  (There is a story there, of course.)

On Vanessa you see the wool jersey dress with cute darling ruffling at the hem and a mini siloheutte, paired with a citron turtleneck and adorable flats.  The love of this dress sang to me when I got the catalog, and even though I was way postpartum with darling Rex's pregnancy, I bucked up and totally bought it in a size medium for full price.

And then I wear it for Mr. Dina.  To which he said, "YUCK, what is with that thing at the bottom?" "I no likey."  Sadness.  :(  Sad face.  Sigh.  It sat forlorn, unworn, for three whole years with all my other wool dresses, protected from moths and dust, but unloved.

I needed to bring the love back.

Since I have started this blog and started wearing some ridiculous ruffles, etc., I think Mr. Dina has gotten used to the over-the-top foolishness of late, so in comparison, the teeny bit of ruffling on this dress seems quite understated now.  He saw it and said not one word!  Ha!  Victory is MINE!

Worn for the preschool run, I felt good and very comfortable.  The length is short, but nothing that matte black tights won't solve.  I paired it with a shorter sleeved striped turtleneck, and I like the overall look together.  The flats are from Boden, one of my favorite pair of flats, ever, actually.  You can find a similar pair here: Parisian Pumps, but unfortunately was not available in animal print this last winter (but at $35 on sale, a pretty decent deal--so watch for popbacks).

I didn't know there were brass buttons up the back until I received the dress, and I loved the detail...so cute.  Definitely ponytail worthy!

From the side.  If you were to want to get this dress, ebay would probably have them, but you would need to expand your search beyond "Wool Jersey Dress, J. Crew."  I have noticed older items sometimes get called the easiest simplest things like "J. Crew Dress," or "J. Crew Black Dress with Ruffle."  Also put a tick in the search area that says to "include description," so for this dress I would say for the search term: J. Crew Dress Ruffle Hem so that way even if the seller didn't put it in the title, the description might have it and I might find my sought after item.  Just my two cents.

You all have a fab Sunday.  Appears to be gully-washer Sunday here.  Yay!  ;)