Made by Me File: Emerald Isle Knit on St. Patrick's Day. McCall's 6796.

Outfit of the Day portion first followed by the Made by Me Info.

I somehow, and by accident, managed to line up the side seam's pattern exactly right.  I call the "luck of the Irish" on that one.  :-)

Day: Tuesday, March 17, 2015.

Where:  Bowling!  And whatever else happens today.  :-)

Ease of Wear: (4.75 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Like wearing a pretty sweater tunic pajamas.  It fits, it is super soft, it is paired with leggings, and I am wearing ballet flats.  The only thing that bugs me, and only the tiniest bit, is that I have a bit of excessive ease through the shoulders, but that is certainly better than too little ease.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  It's St. Patrick's Day.  I am a good Catholic girl in an area with plenty of Irish-Americans.  It's about as cool as it is possible to be for the day.  5 out of 5 for today, 3 out of 5 for the rest of the year.  So combined and then halved, you have a 4 out of 5.

(And yes, I will be wearing this on other days, not giving a rat's behind if tunics aren't really cool.)

Anecdote of the Day:  Two weeks ago I managed to bowl a game that was 50 points above my average.  Because of this I received a patch with the words "Star of the Week" on it at today's bowling.  Yes!  They see my progress.  Now, true, my bowling score that was 50 above is other people's AVERAGE scores, but I call victory.  LOL.

McCall's 6796. This is a pattern for a top/sweater, not a tunic, but I have seen so many other people be successful in converting top patterns into dress/tunic patterns that I decided with my two yards of Emerald Isle Knit from Fabric Mart (purchased last year at $2 a yard--I still have two yards to go!) I would give this pattern a go in a tunic shape.  Initially I hoped for a dress, but I really wanted long sleeves and the full collar with buttons, so something had to give, so I decided on a shorter length, with full sleeves and collar instead.  I know I could have cut an additional yard or half yard from my extra, but I have plans for that for other projects.

The collar on mine, btw, is cut the opposite way it was supposed to be, but I had to in order to properly fit it on the fabric.  Because this knit has both cross grain stretch and vertical stretch, it was fine.

All the pattern reviews for this pattern talk about how easy this pattern is to make up, and I was like, "sure, if you say so."  Well, yeah, they are right, it cuts easily, it has no darts, and if you use a serger, can be a very quick sew.  The only place I didn't serge was the neckline when attaching the collar and the hems of the sleeves and the bottom.  (On those I used my lightning bolt stitch.  Apparently that one stitch is a bit controversial--???--but I love it for all of my knitted hems and necklines--nice and stretchy.)

Sizing wise, I went with a ten through the shoulders, sleeves, waist and then graded to a 12 at high hip and down to a 14 at low hip/hem.  It was the right call.  The only reason there is even the smallest amount of wrinkling there at my back is because I have some extra ease at the waist (I think the 10 has a measurement of 33" and I am closer to 29"). 

I have one small problem with this pattern and it is the instruction to set in the sleeves.  Why are there any patterns that call for setting in sleeves on a knit pattern?  There are SO many of them!  It is baffling.  Sure, a structured blazer or formal top, but a casual sweater?  Hmm...anyhow, I ignored McCall's and set them in flat.

The fabric is a medium-weight sweater knit and if I recall correctly is a kind of poly knit with some lycra.  Will definitely keep me warm, but have zero plans to wear this in any temps above 75 F.  The fabric was super easy to sew on the serger, it only took the briefest amount of fiddling before I found the proper tensions on the dials.

I had these buttons in my stash.  How Celtic do those look?  Perfect!  I had an additional one, so I could have gone for the third button the way the pattern instructs, but I prefer to places buttons on my dress form, and this combo, in this position, looked best. 

Hope all of you are having a lovely day.  Wear your green and celebrate Ireland!  :-)

OOTDs/Review: That Zara Jacket and the Color Green.

Good Monday morning, all!

I hope everyone had a lovely St. Patrick's Day weekend.  :)

Day: Sunday, March 17, 2013.

Where: Dinner out with my dad and stepmom.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) This outfit was very comfortable.  The upbeat kitten heels (Boden fall 2011) were a bit snug, but they always feel that way at first.  By the end of the evening, they felt fine.

The Audrey dress (review here, on clearance here) is so easy to wear since it is made from a thick stretch ponte fabric.  I can see why this particular dress was super popular, you can look put together, yet feel very comfortable at the same time.

I will admit to being a bit chilly at the end of the evening when the temps dipped into the 30s.  The leather jacket with ruffle detail (still available here) was not the best at keeping me warm, but considering how much I adore this jacket, the little bit of chill I felt on the five minute walk back to the car was okay by me.

Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I gave this one almost a perfect score.  I think had I worn a pair of booties, I could have given this one a 5.  :)

The jacket is insanely cool, and combined with the floral scarf, it looks as editorial as I am ever gonna get.

I would have not known that jacket existed had I not created a polyvore set for a blog friend who asked me to put together a few looks with the LouLou dress, which I had fun doing.  I was searching for the exact right look for one of the dresses, when I happened upon this pretty beige leather jacket from Zara.  I hemmed and hawed over purchasing, but decided to give it a try since I had no idea whether it would sell out (still don't, in fact, since I have no idea how Zara's stocks are).

I could get it as long as I was able to pay it off, and by continuing my closet cleanout (many trips to the consignment store later), I could afford it, so I grabbed a small and went on my merry way.

Then I realized by reading on-line reviews of Zara's sizing that I had probably made a huge mistake since Zara runs really really really small.  Eek.

I got the jacket three days later (super fast and free shipping, btw) and try it on and OMG, it was wee.  Indeed, very wee.  It fits at the shoulders and arms, but I cannot zip it up to save my life.  I can't even do up the zip beyond the first two inches, and since I actually want a jacket that does what it supposed to do, I know the small won't work, and based on how the small was fitting, the medium would fit, but just barely.  I was sure the large would be sold out (and it was the time I ordered the small), but when I got online later that day, there was a large in stock, so I reordered.

The one I am wearing is the large, and as you can see, it fits exactly right.  Reminder...I wear a size 4 in J. Crew perfect shirts, a 4 or 6 in Boden tops, and a size extra-small in J. Crew knits and tees.  Based on that, I would agree that Zara may run a bit small.  LOL. ;)

Anecdote from the day:  How did we celebrate St. Patrick's Day?  Well, we went to a Moroccan restaurant, of course.  It was next door to an Irish pub, so that sort of counts, right?

Mr. Dina stayed at home with the kids, including little Angus who had come down with a fever.  Poor kid still has it as of a couple of hours ago.  Blegh.

Speaking of Angus, I can't believe it, but one year ago exactly, I was heavily pregnant with him.

That Zara Jacket and the Color Green. by dinagideon featuring a leather ruffle jacket

Above is the polyvore of the outfit, which also has a direct link to the Zara website.

Day: Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Where: Sewing Class (last one).

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Hard to feel uncomfortable when you are wearing the world's softest leggings and a super-stretchy tunic (Boden Spring 2011--worn here in a similar way).

Even the Garnet Hill wedge boots are easy on the feet.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I like this outfit and the jacket and boots help really up the cool factor, but it is still like I am wearing a slightly dressy pair of pjs underneath those two cooler pieces.  ;)

Anecdote from the day:  I finished another skirt, this time using Simplicity sewing pattern 1887.  I had intended to make a pair of pants from this pattern with the fabric I chose, but I realized that I had bought 1/2 yard too little of the fabric to actually make the pants, so I made view D instead, the skirt.

I will be making the pants from a very nice cotton lawn that I found at G Street fabrics that looks a lot like the pepper print from Liberty (but not being so very expensive, of course).  That one I may photograph each step so I can show how I made the pants, but it may be that when I actually get down to the process, I find it too time consuming to bother photographing the sewing "journey."

My stepmom and I are planning on doing the sewing class again, even though we technically are too advanced for the class.  The teacher is great, she lets us do what we want and serves as a technical adviser on the projects, which is handy since we still get confused by some parts of the process.

Here is a photo of Angus from earlier on St. Patty's day, before he came down with "the fever."  He looks like a cute little Leprechaun businessman.

You all have a great day!  And a belated Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

ROYGBIV: Green...Not Just for St. Patrick's Day.

Good Monday evening!  (And Happy Memorial Day!)

I can't get over how quickly May has flown by...at the beginning of the month I thought, "oh, I have 31 days in this month, plenty of time to get all sorts of things done."  And then I barely accomplished half of what I wanted to do.

Does that happen to you all?  I am in no way mad at myself for not getting all the things on my work list done, but I am definitely noting in my notebook of life that all the best laid plans often go to waste.  I guess that is why cliches exist, to prove that they will one day happen to you, too.  So watch out!  (The actual cliche is a mouthful, btw: the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.)

A week ago to the day I published the ROYGBIV post on yellow, so I probably should get around to doing green already.

I heart green so much, and wear it all the time.  Something about its earthiness appeals to me.  Since I live next to a forest, it should be obvious that I want green in more than just my wardrobe.  (The walls in my bedroom are lime green.  I could go on and on...)

It's not just the verdant shades of the trees that I adore, either...all those yellow-greens and blue-greens are wonderful, too.

Today I am showing off two outfits in probably my all time favorite shade of green, moss green, a little dark green with just a hint of yellow.

Jacket--J. Crew Factory. (Called the Celtic Country jacket when it was in the retail stores in 2006.)
Top--Target, Mossimo Striped Tee.
Pants--Inc. (Macy's).  These are a pair of black pants that allow me to feel like a normal person even though I may still have an extra five inches on my hips because of postpartum"padding."
Shoes--Missoni for Target.
Necklace--J. Crew.

This outfit was worn on April 12, so Angus was about 18 days old.  Like all my awesome pants that I have had since I had Rex, I (eventually) stop wearing them when my hips return to normal.  I have now retired these to the basement storage area, but to be honest, if I could find these in a size 8, I would buy them in a heartbeat, they fit that well.

I like the look on my face.  I was probably frustrated with the camera's timer here.

Close up of the jacket, necklace, and tee.

My hubby liked my hair that day, big fan of the pigtails.  (Weird.)

This is my hipster/Madewell inspired outfit that I wore to Rex's second tee ball game (no tee ball gown that day, lol).  It was sort of cold that day, but I know that layers are the way to go as I often overheat (I run hot), so I gave a nod to my love for the prep and slung the striped cardi over my shoulders.

If you open the photo, you will see the info on the pieces.

Those J. Crew sweatpant trousers are ridiculous.  They are comfy and awesome, but they had been in the sale section, at the same sale price FOREVER.  J. Crew...folks aren't buying them at the higher sale price, LOWER the price.  Honestly I am surprised they are sold out, they just sat there for months and months and months.

(Ha, I know I bought them at the higher sale price, but I did get the 30% off...and in my defense, I was able to wear it when I was early in my pregnancy without fear of the waistband digging into my belly.)

Close up of the cardi and the top.  I really do love this shade of green, so pretty.

Speaking of Madewell, the photo of the French woman reading the book from their spring catalog inspired my outfit.  No, it is not an exact copy, but I love the ease of the look, and I think I came close.

No, it isn't green.  But like a dummy, I forgot to put this outfit in the last ROYGBIV post, so let's just pretend that it was part of my "yellow" post.  In fact if you click over real quick, take a peek, and go back in your browser, it will be *almost* like it is in the right place.

He wears green, too!

Aww...so cute!  Angus was 20 days old here (he was 2 months on May 25, btw).  If you open this photo up, you will see his onesie proclaims that he is indeed the "cutest monster."  ;) 

Okay, that's it.

I am heading to Miami tomorrow (whee!) and will be around "virtually," but not with any regularity.

Also, I have news of a sale for Boden tomorrow, but you will have to wait until I publish that post tomorrow morning...but for some of you, this may be the sort of % off that you need right now for all your Boden wish list items.  There is a chance that I won't be able to get it to go live until later in the day, and if that is the case, please bear with me and know that when I can get the link up, I will!

Night, night!!!

OOTD: Bit of Green.

Happy Belated Saint Patrick's Day, all! No Angus born on St. Patty's Day, so there you go...and no baby boy born on my daughter's half birthday, either (that would be 3.5, today, fwiw). That's fine. I am holding out for him to be born on time on the 29th or in the perfect world of a Rush fan, being born on 3/21/12. This date means nothing to you unless you really love Rush, as their album 2112 would always be part of his bday.  (Although would that mean I would have to name him Geddy?)

Not holding my breath, though. LOL. :)

Onto a bit of green! I love the color and am more than happy to wear as much green as possible on the actual day and during the week leading up to it in bits and pieces. Unfortunately, I am literally limited to the 6 or so pieces of clothing that still fit, and that means I have only two real items that will work. All good, though.

The first outfit is from the day the kids celebrated the world of shamrocks and rainbows and all things Irish--Tuesday.  (Thursday, the other day they go to preschool, they celebrated with a "leprechaun" party, in which their classrooms were destroyed by the antics of those Irish mischief makers.  CW was really irritated by them.  Hee.)

Dress: Pea in the Pod.  The ombre effect includes a deep green at the hem becoming a light tan color at the top.  You all have seen this dress before (of course...easy to do with a limited wardrobe).
Shoes: Boden.  These are the green animal bow flats from the fall.
Scarf: J. Crew.
Sunglasses: Target.

Mr. Dina was with me--he took the photo which is the only way I would ever pose like this in public--he took me to the doctor that day.  He really wanted to make sure that the doctor was comfortable with my due date, he is SURE that I should be giving birth earlier based on how big my tummy has become.  It turns out I just brew the children big.  Nice and hearty, like a Guinness.

Close up the dress, scarf, and sunglasses.  I do really love this dress!

Yeah, this is from St. Patrick's Day, just in case you were color blind (it's possible!!!).  CW is in a lime green splendor and I am in shades of dark olive.

Cardigan: Macy's Charter Club.
Top: Merona Maternity.  I wore this top with another very similar outfit a few weeks ago.
Shorts: Motherhood Maternity.  It was HOT that day.  I ended up, by the time we made it to the supermarket, not wearing the cardigan.  (BTW, at the supermarket a non-pregnant person parked in the expectant mother's spot. Le sigh.  Wasn't much I could do beyond giving them the side eye, but grrr!)
Shoes: J. Crew.
Necklace: Boden Semi Precious Pendant. This is a preview of this pendant, which I have better photos of for next week's Boden Weekly Review roundup. It is on backorder in both colors, I can see why. I think it is a keeper, and for the price, well worth it.

CW is in a selection of Carter's, Hanna Anderson, and Miss Trish of Capri for Target.  Her "purse" is an old one of mine.  She has a lot of my old purses.  And she carries them with her, without anything in them.  I think she just thinks they look good and that they add to her outfit.  She doesn't actually understand their utility yet.  ;)

My hair is in pigtails because it was so flipping hot...I would have melted if I had left it down.

Okay, so before I go, I had such a great day today!  Some of my blog friends invited me to one of the coolest restaurants in DC, America Eats Tavern (formerly Cafe Atlantico), for a Gus baby shower.  How sweet!  There will be more on today in an upcoming post, but I had to show off this adorable cupcake packaging that Summer (of the blog Sumsunshine) created for the party.  She had told the lovely folks at Georgetown Cupcake to package it for a boy's baby shower, but they must have not got the message, as we ended up with pink, but Summer swooped in and got the blue ribbon, blue safety pin, and "it's a boy" pendant on the package to show that I am having a little man and not a little lady.


Thank you so much, ladies.  It really was an amazing day!!!  

You all have a great night! 

The Game Was Worth the Change of Clothing...

Hey, all...before I begin, if you are fan of Boden, I want to let you know that the Boden outerwear sale that I posted about on Friday is set to expire tonight at 11:59 pm, so if you were interested in a piece or two, know that this sale is fairly short-lived.

Okay, onto the subject of the post...

Yesterday I braved my burgeoning sinus infection (yay for twenty day colds!) to go out to George Mason's final home game (men's basketball, but of course).  I had picked out my version of team spirit wear (the colors are green and gold) that I could also wear over my Gus belly, but upon arriving, all four of us were "gifted" HUGE men's tee shirts that we were expected to wear whilst at the game.  Laughingly the only person the large male tee shirt fit well was yours truly.  It was an exact right fit!  Yay beer, er, I mean baby belly.

I started off with the cardigan and the top as there is no better version of "gold" than this J. Crew cardigan from 2008 and this tee from Liz Lange Maternity.

I also added a pair of the heirloom flora earrings and gardenia bracelet for flair.

The bottom half was neither here nor there, but these Duo maternity cords and J. Crew suede flats fit the outfit fine without being offensive (yeah, that's me, offensive).  LOL.

But because I am a sucker for school pride, I totally gave into the madness and put this oh so flattering tee on instead.  I even put the beautiful merino wave print cardigan in my purse, worn for a grand total of an hour.  (Don't worry, I will wear it again soon...what a great match it is for my maternity tee!)

I think all four of us have plans to wear the tee as nightshirts.  Yeah, baby.  Nightshirts.  Living on the edge here in Northern Virginia. :)

By the way, we won the game.  Go MASON!

Worn for One Hour. by dinagideon featuring j crew jewelry

Above is the polyvore of the original outfit.  I don't believe the lovely gifted tee will be clipped at any point by me for my polyvore account.

How far have you gone for school spirit?  Worn a color that looks terrible on you?  Dressed as a mascot?  Done yourself up as a teletubbie (no joke, there was one in the crowd yesterday)?

Talk later.  My U.S. friends, enjoy your President's Day Holiday if you have it off!

J. Crew Review: OOTD with the Hacking Jacket in Herringbone. Plus a Cowlneck.

I was going to publish all of the posts (this one and the upcoming two) at some point or another, but J. Crew's current promo for 25% off over $150 sort of became a catalyst for me to just get my patooty in gear and publish them sooner rather than later. :)

I am really late to this review party, but the Hacking Jacket in Herringbone in Midnight Ocean (really, this is the color name for this particular hue...wha ha, J. Crew?) is still available and if you can find your right size, could be a fun, colorful, traditionally styled jacket that would probably fit a niche, especially if you have fun with dress-up. And really would you be here if you didn't enjoy dress-up at some level?

Jacket: Hacking Jacket in Herringbone, Size 4.  The fit is spot on.  I wear size 4 in J. Crew jackets and tops, and this fits exactly as my others do, great through the shoulders, and with enough give in the hips (because of the vent--which does not flap open horribly on me, but has on others, so be wary if that is a bugger, and if you button your jackets).  The color is really pretty, a crayon-y version of blue, with just enough warmth that it doesn't make me look like death.

Top: J. Crew Silk Casbah Blouse.  I got it but only recently wore it, so no review when it was still available.  FWIW, I am in the size 4, and I think it fits lovely, but have read that it is narrow through the shoulders on some folks.  These colors look fab with the Herringbone Jacket in midnight ocean.

Pants: J. Crew Collection Wool Minnies.  These are the ones with the zipper detail at the ankle from a few years ago that I was able to score at the Clearance center in L'burg for $25.

Heels: Miss Albright Prized Rose Peep Toes from Anthropologie.  I seriously wear this pair and the sister pair (the very popular Anticipation heels) more than I ever expected.  They are all at once comfortable and can be worn in three seasons (not really the best for summertime, bit heavy of a heel, etc.).

Necklace: J. Crew Knotty Pearl Necklace.  I used to buy J. Crew jewelry all the time.  This was one of my most recent J. Crew jewelry purchases and this was made well over a year ago.  I will admit to buying a pair of earrings today (with the promo), the snow sparkle earrings, which at about an inch will make a statement, but not too much of one.  :)

I popped the collar for this shot.  I wouldn't say the felt material is all that divine, and the tie-repp of the past is far preferable, but it does give some contrast, and with this particular outfit looked just fine, if a bit preppy.

Speaking of this jacket, I love this color so much that I decided to order the Stadium Cloth Elements Coat in the nordic blue color today.  I hope it looks the same in real life as on line.  That color is luscious. 

That was it, btw, a coat and some earrings.  My budget said stop.  LOL.

No jacket.  I wore this outfit to go out with my mom (she was in town for a few days last week) and we literally did the stereotypical "SAHM" stuff, you know, grocery store, meltdown, craft store, meltdown, German food store, no meltdown, lol.  Did you all know that one mile from my house is a German food store?  Guess who bought weisswurst that day???  :)

Hacking Jacket in Herringbone with the Casbah. by dinagideon featuring a ps1 handbag

Above is the polyvore of this outfit.

Okay, I really don't think this has a snow's chance in heck of showing up on J. Crew's website again, but just in case, I wanted to show you the cowlneck poncho in action.  This is what I wear when I am tired, sort of lazy, and just going out for a quick bite to eat at Five Guys (mmm, Five Guys, my childhood neighborhood haunt done good).  :)  I do dress up a lot, so give me a little slack.

I already did a review of the cowlneck poncho here, so refer to that for any info you may need.

The tee is old (OLD) school J. Crew and such a beautiful color.  I wish they would bring back this color.

The jeans are some bootcut jeans from J. Crew a few years back.

The boots are Costco shearling lined boots.  I have read that they are almost exactly the same as Uggs, but none of it really matters to me as these puppies only come out when I am cold, it is a "lazy" night, and/or I am swim coaching when it is 0 degrees outside.  For those nights and days, though, totally worth it.

The cowlneck actually kept me decently warm.  It wasn't the most warm I have ever been, but I could have slipped on a sweater instead of a long-sleeved tee, admittedly.

FWIW, I like my no makeup (well, okay, lip gloss) and glasses look.  But I prefer contacts most of the time (glasses wearers, do you all get tired eyes after a day of glasses...never happens when I wear contacts).

You all have a great night.  Should be back with two more reviews soon.  Did any of you bite on today's promo?

Spring Into Style: Day Seven 2011.

Spring Into Style: Day Seven 2011. by dinagideon featuring j crew boots
Just so you all know it was "Jersey" day, which is normally a big style "don't" of mine. I must think these kids are pretty great to find a stylish way to wear my Mason tee. :) Normally this tee only sees the light when Mason is having a home game OR when they make it to the NCAA conference.

Oh, yeah.  That's the look.  LOL.

Just kidding.  I actually have always loved college basketball because it is the perfect sport, short enough to be palatable (I am not one for lengthy ball games) AND the kids who play college hoops are really really really into it and have a ton of heart.  When Mason made it to the Final Four in 2006, I was one of the crazies (along with Mr. Jim) who drove all the way to Indianapolis in a day to watch them play.  It was AWESOME.

The whole look is about as stylish as I can make this tee.  Normally this tee is worn with jeans and a ponytail.  I took it up a notch by wearing the boots (necessary for today's weather, as well, boo), the forever cardigan in black pine, and my pigtails.  The girls in the class approved, so I felt great.  :)

This is the tee, sans cardigan. I needed the cardi so I would feel a bit more covered.

Okay, that's all.  I want to try and comment back on some of the past few posts, so I am not going to go on and on. 

If you have a Boden review I may not know about (Bodalicious and Polly and Fiona, I have yours from the last week), would you mind dropping me a line at dinagideon@aim.com?

Talk soon!

Two Greens and a Tan...

Walk into a bar...

Oh, wait, no.  This is not the beginning of some off color joke. 

Rather there are three recent outfits which I wore that include two greens and a tan...jacket.

First up...The Green Herringbone Bella-esque Jacket from J. Crew Factory/Outlet (2008):

Bought from ebay, I didn't even know this jacket existed.  I don't remember seeing it in the catalogs or on-line, but there you go.  I didn't care that I hadn't seen it before, I LOVED the ruffled collar and the ruffle pockets.  Plus the color is the perfect shade of green for all seasons (although I would struggle wearing this jacket in the middle of summer--very heavy herringbone wool and all).  Size 4, from the Factory. 

The pants are the trouper pants, size 8, shadow.  I got them for 40% off recently, and although I like them, I am REALLY irritated with the fact that the upper waistband is roughly 2.5 inches bigger than my upper hip (which is where I wear it).  I should have sized down, but I had read that they ran tts.  Grr.  Anyone want to sell me a size 6 at the 40% off price?  I can't even wear a belt as the belts can't cinch it enough.  Having said all that, I wore this to a local Arbonne meeting on Monday night and it was comfortable for just sitting around and hearing people speak.  *But* had I needed to be up and walking around, these pants would have constantly needed the ole "hitch 'em up" treatment every few minutes or so.  (Oh, and by the way, I have determined I *do* have a navy pants curse--these darn pants prove it.)

The boots are the Miller Short Motorcycle Flat Boots in a size 9.5.  I love LOVE love everything about these boots.  I have now worn them with tight pants and with a frilly girly skirt (you will see that pairing  in another post) and I truly believe the sale price plus 40% makes these boots very much worth it.  I feel kind of cool and kind of chic while wearing them, and have received multiple compliments already.  I could have gone down to size 9, but they size 9.5 is only a bit big, so I will deal.


The top is from last year, and you have seen it before, in one of my all time favorite outfits ever. 

Close-up of the cute ruffle detail on the jacket.  I eventually managed to get the vintage fleur top to flatten out, but it took a lot of smoothing.  ;)

Up Next...the actual Velvet Bella in the Leaf color from J. Crew's stellar fall 2007 season:

Another ebay find...the seller didn't even know what they had.  I bought it for $40.  Seriously.  Yay!  :)  Size 4.  See it on me in purple here.

The top is a fab silk ruffled cotton sweater job that was on ridiculous sale last summer for $15 or some such nonsense.  I guess people were tired of fraying ruffles, and I get that, but I loved the top and figured that for $15 I could deal with fraying. 

The cords are the matchstick cords in glazed pecan.  I have worn these a lot this winter. 

The boots are another Miss Albright find from Anthropologie.  These Petite Chou boots seem a bit silly with the ruffles AND the shearling, but they have worked with so many of my casual outfits this winter, so the designers must have know what they were doing.  Got these in a 9.5.

CW was all about the posing this day, as well.  I think we may have been doing a preschool run this day, if memory serves.

 From the side.  You can see the detail of the Petite Chou boots better in this shot.

Buttoned up and making a stupid face.  At least CW is smiling like a normal person.

No jacket.  Love this top.  Just a bit of frilly fun for the season.  It can also transition to summer nicely (sure but that is far off based on the weather we are set to receive tonight--try 8 freaking inches of snow).

Third is the Chimera Jacket from last winter's season:

I quite liked the Chimera jacket with the tonal match of the crewcuts top I wore that day.  This is a hard color for me to wear as it is *nearly* my skin tone, but the bits of shine from the ruffle and the neon drawing of the graphic on the tee help keep me from looking oddly nude.  ;)

The Chimera is a size 4 and the tee is a size 14.  You can still find the "family tree tee" at J. Crew.

From the side.  Please don't judge the saggy britches.  I know I need a pair of better-fitting pants.  These are the awesome Madison chinos and if J. Crew were to put them out again, I would buy them up in my correct size.  (Are you listening Mickey?)

 Buttoned up.

I adore this pic of me and CW.  So freaking adorable.  Like frame-able adorable.  Yes we matched that day.  Her tee is a size 3, however. 

I think we were going out as a family that day. 

Okay, then!  Thanks for reading!  :)  I will be putting up a Boden review sometime later today.  Would you all prefer the dress review, the tunic review (there are two tunics that I will split into two review posts) or would you prefer the top review? 

Have a great afternoon!