OOTDs: Dressy Casual Teacher.

Last week, the day after I arrived in Mississippi, I wrote up a post on what I wear when I substitute the younger grades at my school.  (Overall pretty casual looks and very easy to wear shoes!)

Today, as I leave Mississippi (it's been ten days!), I figured I should finish off this round of subbing ootds with what I wear when I am teaching the older grades.  Although I like to dress up, the colder weather of late has necessitated the wearing of pants, so the only real dressy look you will see here is the day I needed to best represent the school, the last look, which is also the one look that is not technically from me subbing.  (I was there as a guide for the school, so I wanted to look really put together for the prospective parents.)

Next week and the week after, I will be subbing in my son's second grade classroom.  Hee!  I am looking forward to it for many reasons, of course.  Although I do tend to go more casual with the younger grades, because it is Christmas week festivity time then, I guarantee there will be at least a few dressier outfits to celebrate the occasion.

Okay, onto the outfits.

Day: Friday, November 14, 2014.

Where:  Subbing Fifth Grade.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I bought these pants when Angus was young, maybe six months old, and while they fit okay then, they fit exactly as they should now, so the little bit of extra pounds off has made a huge difference in comfort.  The handmade sweater is always warm and never fails me, so I am glad I made that one last year.  I need to make that pattern again, I think another sweater should be on my sewing table.

Though the coat didn't exactly match, I needed its' warmth that day, so not really worried about color matching.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Decent look, though with a better choice in outerwear, this look would have fared better on the "cool" chart.

Day: Thursday, November 6, 2014.

Where:  I was in for the older grades' Spanish teacher (there are two Spanish teachers--one for the youngins and one for the older kids)..

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  No complaints, at all.  Very comfortable, easy to wear outfit. 

Cool Factor: (3.75 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Poor Talbots.  Though a purveyor of some fine looking items, it will never be cool.  ;-)  Therefore, though darling and pretty, the top dings the overall coolness.  Though if it read Zara, would you all be fooled into believing it was cooler?  Hmm...

Day: Wednesday, November 19, 2014.

Where:  Leading the prospective parents on a tour of the school, going to a moms' group, and attending my daughter's Thanksgiving Feast activity in the afternoon.  So not busy at all there that day.  ;-)

Ease of Wear: (3.75 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  A very very slight ding for the tights not fully staying up.  I had to tug them up a few times throughout the day.  I wish these were control top, that would help keep them up on my frame a bit better. 

The Amy Dress (here on sale) was a champ, though, very easy to wear, and it surprised me at how well it wore in winter temperatures.  I did a second, more in-depth review of it at this Boden Weekly Review roundup.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I love it, but it is pretty darn prissy, lol.  The shoes make it a bit cooler since the shape is a bit unusual, but really, this is very traditional and conservative, which was what I needed that day.

Okay, that's all for today.  I hope everyone has a great Thursday, and we'll talk soon!

OOTD/Made by Me File: Burda 7137...Just in Time for the Derby.

Hey, all!  First up will be the ootd portion followed by a closer look at the Burda dress pattern and how I made it work for my body.

Day: Saturday, March 22, 2014.

Where: School Auction (theme this year is Kentucky Derby).  You can see what I wore to last year's auction here (fourth outfit).

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  I took a half-point off because the Boden shoes pinched just a touch by the end of the evening.  I didn't have a seat, so I stood the entire live auction portion.  Whatever.  I felt so good in my dress I didn't care.  :-)  This dress is so comfortable since I made it exactly to my measurements, in a stretch cotton sateen, and lined it it in a stretch nylon tricot. 

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.)  I'll give it a 3 because I am so stinking proud of my creation, but I *know* it really isn't *that* cool.  I definitely resemble a lady who is on her way to a proper English wedding, though, so I am sure I would fit right in with that crowd.

BTW, we were asked to wear the hats.  If you have been reading long enough, you'll remember me picking this up after spending an evening trolling Burlington Coat Factory with my brother last year.  So glad I found a reason to wear it. 

Anecdote from the Day: The Mint Juleps were so strong, OMG.  The first one I drank nearly tipped me over the edge.  I chased the next one with some diet ginger ale and that seemed to help cut its effect.

The quilt I had made for CW's kindergarten class went for $325, so that made all that freaking time and energy I put into it worth it.  It was my first quilt and although it is technically not as good as it could be, it was really cute with all the squares having been hand-painted and drawn by all of her classmates.

I saw this beautiful fabric first when I spied this McCall's pattern a few months ago.  While in Joann's searching for some quilting and knitting supplies, I caught a glimpse of the same fabric, just in a cotton sateen and not a knit fabric (still hunting for the knit fabric, fwiw, would love a tee in this print).  I was sold on it, but was trying to figure out what to make with it, and then it dawned on me that I could use it for the auction dress, since I had plans to make it anyhow.

Pairing it with a pattern proved more challenging.  I initially wanted to use a vintage Vogue pattern from the 60s, but I knew that the button back and other details would make it a more time consuming project than I wanted to sew up.  I also thought of using this Kwik Sew pattern, but I thought the challenge of grading the pattern's top half and bottom half to match my pear-shaped measurements may be too hard (it also wasn't as fitted looking as I wanted), so I scrapped that idea.  Then I spied this classic sheath pattern from Burda and realized that I could make it work since the pattern could be graded out at the seams rather than through a slash and spread method.  I was stoked.

I cut all the bits out (only three pattern pieces total) and measured the tissue and determined that a 12 up top (equivalent to a 38 Euro size) and an 18 at low hip (equivalent to a 46 Euro size) would work best for me.  What I ended up doing was starting at the waist of the dress pieces (very clearly marked, btw, on the pattern) I took my hip curve ruler and carefully drew a long curved line (over a span of about ten inches--I have a L-O-N-G hipline) from the size 12 at the waist to a size 18 at the hip.  It ended up being the precise right measurement to draw and it perfectly follows my own natural curve.  If I had shortened the length, it would have had too much fullness at my high hip, which is much narrower than my low hip.

A bonus of this fitting so well is that it was super comfortable in this stretchy fabric.  I could, if I ever so desired, go *down* a size (so grade from a 12 to a 16 instead) the next time I make it in a stretch woven.  I also am thrilled to know that I can make this exact pattern again, with my alterations, in a non-stretch woven, and I just happen to have a really pretty textured ivory cotton that may look very nice in this silhouette.

I love that I have a pattern that can work as a sloper since it mirrors me very well.  I plan to use it against other patterns when trying something new, and definitely can use the skirt portion of the dress pattern to create a pencil skirt pattern.

The sleeves were not super tricky to set in, but of course I still didn't get them 100% perfect.  There is a touch of puckering in both.

The zip was easy to install, and I absolutely love my Bernina invisible zip foot.  I feel like a rock star every time I put an invisible zip in, lol, even though objectively I know the foot is doing all the work for me.

The vent was kind of a pain, and I don't think Burda did a great job of explaining how to properly do it.  I think my version looks okay, but could definitely be better.

The lining went in well and will be great for any time I want to wear this dress with tights.  I still need to attach the lining to the vent pieces, but having not done it did not mean it showed, so thank goodness for small things.

Conclusion--I will make this dress again, and I highly recommend it for any woman with a pear shape who will take the time to find the right measurements and curve on the paper pattern since it worked so well for me.  I turned to sewing, in part, because of dresses like this sheath dress.  Often if I wanted a dress like this from ready to wear I was forced to wear a sack up top to ensure I got something that fit properly through the hips and legs.  No more, hahahaha. 

Okay, that's it for now.  Anyone else try this pattern?  Would love to see what you all made!

OOTD: Striped Silly. In Hats.

Day: Friday, May 17, 2013.

Where:  Sushi Lunch.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)   The stripe jersey maxi skirt from J. Crew is so so so comfortable, super soft and exactly the right weight and "flowiness" for summer weather.  I thought this skirt was a new arrival at my local store since I didn't remember seeing it on jcrew.com.  Well, it was there, but it sold out super fast.  There were a handful at the Pentagon City store, at full price, but since I know I wear maxi skirts/dresses constantly, and don't quite know how to sew stretch jersey fabric yet (it is supposedly kind of difficult for a newbie), I figured I could bite on this one and not feel too bad about it.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I am wearing a fedora, a striped maxi skirt, and a clutch.  I suspect the cool hipsters have moved on, but I will happily stay in 2010 when this look was cool. 

Anecdote from the day: I have the best brother (no girlfriend, people!).  He took me to sushi buffet for Mother's Day.  And he bought sake.  And he drove.  :) 

Angus is smiling in the third photo because I gave in and gave him that fig newton he was waving at me in the second photo.

Day: Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Where:  Church/Dinner Out/Shopping at Burlington Coat Factory.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)   Can't go wrong with the LouLou Dress (review here) for pure pretty combined with ease of wear.

The Penny Loafers (I will do a review in the next BWRR) have been comfortable from day one, with no break in period needed at all.

Cool Factor: (2 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I am wearing the loafers out of necessity, since they are patent leather and repel rain well.  I don't think this combo is especially cool.  In fact with all the grey and tan in this outfit, I look a little muted.  For me, that is definitely unusual, but it suited my mood and desire to be unfussy (for once).

But clearly I can't stay away from the color completely, look at those hats I tried on at Burlington.  LOL. 

Anecdote from the day: It has been a long time since I have gone to church without the kids, but when Peter (that's my single brother in the photos from the last outfit) wanted me to join him on his hunt for a professional interview suit, with a stint at church and dinner beforehand, I gladly said yes.

I must say that I picked the wrong mass for Mr. Dina to miss since the priest started off his sermon talking about how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were like characters from "The Lord of the Rings."  I have only ever seen the movies, but Mr. Dina is a HUGE LOTR freak and would have no doubt sat there riveted by how well the priest connected Pentecost with one of his favorite book series.

The hat trying on session was fun, I told Pete to find me the most ridiculously over-the-top hats and make me try them on...I ended up really liking that light blue straw cloche with silly feathers, though.  :)

Okay that's it for today, hope everyone is doing well!

BTW, I have been positively bad about giving you all information on Lands' End and Pure Collection these past few months.  Nothing really important is going on with Pure right now, but Lands' End is having a sale that is exclusive to us who carry their coupons on our blogs.  I have updated the sidebar, but it is also below if you would like to save an additional 20% off anything in Lands' End Sale/Clearance Sections.

OOTD: Nordic Tria.

Day: Friday, December 28, 2012 (if my memory isn't failing me).

Where: Lunch out with the family to Applebee's.  Mr. Dina received a gift card there from a client.

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) Not sweats, so not a 5 for ease of wear, but OMG, this outfit, for all its frilly twee-ness is so easy to wear.  The Tria skirt (one of Anthropologie's best ever) is a stretchy knit wool, plus the (largest sized 13-14) mini Boden Nordic Applique t-shirt is made from very soft cotton. 

Even my high-heeled Frye boots were comfortable. 

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  If I was an Anthro blogger, I would rate this a 5 of 5, but since I am not, I think we all have to admit that it takes a definite strong personality type to willingly wear ruffles, lace, thick tights, an appliqued Scandinavian floral tee, Heidi braids, and an over the top cloche out in public.  I am not a wallflower, so everyone knows.  ;)

I don't anticipate the Sartorialist or his love, Garance Dore, jumping out of the bushes to take a photograph of CW or me in this particular ensemble.

Anecdote from the day: Mr. Dina showed up at 11 am at the house and announced that the work servers were down and he wanted to do something.  I was still in my PJs (I know, quelle horreur!), but quickly got my act together, as I was going a bit stir crazy.

He told me he was going to take me to Applebee's, which I like, and he doesn't (he also hates Ruby Tuesday, the Olive Garden, and Red Lobster...I don't care, I like to eat...).  I told him we would find something his delicate self could handle.  LOL.  I was able to get a drink with his gift card (Mojito, yum), and we still had four dollars on the gift card after our entire order was placed.  So we purchased four mini-sundaes with brownies for a dollar a piece.  They were very very good.  Much better than the rest of  the meal.  ;)

CW, btw, loved that I wore the same tee.  Because she is four.  We'll see how she feels about it at 12.*

*When I was growing up, there was this mother/daughter pair that always went to daily mass dressed up like each other.  But the daughter wasn't four, she was forty-four.  That's right, 4-4.  It was a bit weird.

You all have a great night!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

OOTD: Navy, Brown, Grey.

Hey, all.  Happy Monday!

So the Boden Weekly Roundup has not disappeared, promise.  In reality, there are just so many reviews/ootds recently both here and at my blog friends' blogs that it is going to take a lot of time to get the post together.  It will be a Super BWRR, ready to conquer all other BWRRs.

It turns out my lateness is less of a big deal, too, since Boden is clearly waiting forever to put the fall/winter stuff on clearance.  Last year the sale happened within the first week of December, and here we are in the second full week of December and no sale is in sight.

There is some talk over at the Facebook page for Boden that since their shop will be shutting its doors for a little while next Sunday, the 16th, that must mean that the sale will be happening that day.  It's definitely possible since I remember that also happening last year.

What makes this year different from last year is that this year's collection is selling well, often to the point of selling out, so Boden may not feel that an earlier sale is justified since people are buying the items up with only a bit of a % off, instead of waiting for a better deal.  There are items that are not selling well, at all, including the top (Lavish t-shirt) that I had in my ootd post from last night, but all that means is that Boden is offering it for a bigger percentage off right now (near 50% off, in fact) to maybe drive a few more sales of those tops.

When clearance does happen, anticipate that if you love something and it is sitting in the pink "low stock" checkmark territory, it will not stay that way long.  Those pink checkmarks disappear fast and become "out of stock" quicker than you can say "Johnnie Boden."  If you have your eye on something with a blue "in stock" checkmark, you are probably okay to wait a bit.

Also, if the item you like has been selling well, it is also unlikely that Boden and co. are going to reduce the price by that much, there have been items in the past that have sold so well that the price only went down by 20-30% in the clearance sale.

Okay, blah, blah, blah.  Let's bring on the outfit full of neutrals.

Winesday was on offer last week, for the first time in forever.  My brother and I try to make it weekly, and if we miss it too many weeks in a row, we feel pangs of withdrawal.

The outfit is all neutrals, but I kind of dug the play of different shades together.  I am all for following sartorial rules, but in this case, I feel like the deep navy combined with black, grey, and brown works.

Oh, who am I kidding?  I had to get some color in there.  ;)  Now I didn't actually wear this outfit inside Whole Foods since it would have been too warm to have the coat on, but I did need some sort of cover up for the drive there.

This coat is the Rose coat from Boden's spring/summer Limited Edition line.  I would never be able to wear this coat in the spring or summer (too warm), but I will happily wear it when the temps drop below 50.

(I see this is gone from the clearance sale from last summer, but there are still a bunch of its sister, the Rose Dress, available for sale.)

Close up of the hat, coat, and bag.  My hair was smoothed down after I saw this shot.  LOL.

See?  Smoothed hair.  ;)  This is outside my house.  I am in my street.  Fortunately my neighbors didn't even notice, but I live on a block full of slightly insane people (including us, btw), so I think even if they did notice, it wouldn't bother them. 

Vintage Ponte Dress.  This dress is almost all sold out in the smaller sizes, especially in the navy.  I bought the dress to try it on for the blog, with the thought I would be sending it back.  Then I got it and realized that the dress fits very well and is so pretty and comfortable, I decided that I would just sell a dress or two from my collection (ridiculous collection, really) to make up for this purchase.  (I am going to the consignment shop tomorrow, have a BIG box full of stuff to sell).

I bought this in a size 6 since most of the stretchy type fabric clothing from Boden fit me in my smaller size.  This was definitely a good choice, since the 8 would have been far too big in the bust and waist.

The length is shorter than it appears on the model, but I have a high waist and long legs, so almost all dresses and skirts are shorter on me than other folks (plus they probably gave the model a lengthened version). 

My feet only look this big from the side.

I added the sequin belt to this dress, which Boden did with their catalog shot.  I had to buy this belt in a size medium because (surprise!), it sold out in all the other sizes.  The medium is big on me, but I am just doing what the model in the catalog does, I am wrapping the end into the belt, which looks kind of nice.  Another thing with the bigger size is that I can wear it lower on my hips, which I may have to try with some of my denim.

Don't let your husband zip up the back of your dress if you are taking photos from the back.  (There was a hook closure that he missed--my brother fixed it at the store). 

The dress has the back zip, which is fabulous if you have a bigger bust and find side zips/no zips impossible to deal with.

Close up of the fabric of the dress and the sequin belt.

I do have plans to wear the dress as you see it above.  (I really love the daintiness of the sixties heels with the dress.)  It was just too chilly last week.  Maybe this spring?

Okay, that's it.  Have any of you tried this dress or this belt?  Do you ever mix all your neutral shades together? 

Today Boden started a 30% off (select items) sale with free shipping.  This is a decent enough sale if you can find the item you want in the sale.  I only had the briefest look around, and didn't see a ton on sale with that discount, but I will have more of an opportunity later today.  If what you want is not in the sale, you can still use Q753 for 25% off with free ship, btw.
Just in time for Christmas! Three days only and limited quantities: take 30% off select items + free shipping at BodenUSA.com.

OOTDs: Sarah and Westminster. Reviewed and Worn.

Good Thursday evening, all.

I almost just wrote "good Wednesday evening, all."  Umm.  No.  It is Thursday.  I bowled today.  Seriously suffering from major Mommy brain today.  Redonk. 

I am continuing my quest to wear as much of my lovely fall/winter 2012 Boden items before the clearance sale starts (Monday, maybe???).  I would have loved to have worn many of these earlier, but unless we have an exceptionally cool fall, a good majority of what Boden offers for sale in their fall and winter collections are much too heavy to wear around these parts until late November/early December.  If I could wait to buy them until they went to clearance, I happily would, however, a lot of their items sell out nice and early in the season (see the Westminster Scoop Tunic below for proof of that) which leads to purchasing items that I won't wear in real life for a good three months or so.  In fact, the Alexa dress (which I did at least review early on) is too warm to wear even now.  That may have to wait until January with the way our weather has been lately (mid 50s/low 60s everyday). 

Okay.  Blah, blah, blah.  Here are the outfits I wore the last couple of days.  

Scoop Tunic Dress. I wasn't sure how I was going to style this tunic, but I definitely knew it wouldn't actually ever be worn as a tunic, since this clearly looks more like a dress on me.

I ordered the size 6 long after seeing the measurements (very forgiving hip numbers, which is always my problem area).  I am glad I did since the 6 works very well for my frame.  If you are a bit bustier up top, you *may* have to size up since the top is a bit more fitted and there is only a side zip (BACK ZIPS, Johnnie, repeat after me, BACK ZIPS!) for ease of access.

In the end, I paired the tunic with a pair of leggings from Spanx (love you, Spanx for making such lovely leggings), the Britten tall boots in brown from J. Crew (this time not worn to be "horsey"), and extra "unique" accessories.  I wasn't sure about the newsboy cap from J. Crew (seen in this very famous J. Crew Paris catalog shot), but the red of the cap was the exact shade of red from the *tunic*, so I gave it a go.  It may be a bit too much, but honestly, I felt great with it all together.  And since feeling good is about half the battle in fashion, at this point, if others dislike the look, I just don't care.  ;)

Even with my hand on my hip, the Westminster scoop tunic dress stays at a nice, modest length. (I was a chaperone on a preschool trip to a concert starring the Disney cartoon characters--not exactly a place for thigh high minis.)

The fabric is viscose, which I am not necessarily a fan of, but whatever Boden did to this fabric made it wear much better than I expected it to.  I thought that the dress would be so wrinkled and messy by the end of the day, I would have to take it off upon my return to home (well, I did take it off, but only so I could nurse Angus--not nursing friendly, breastfeeding moms).  In reality, the dress wrinkled far less than most of my linen items.

I have another viscose top (the Lavish T-shirt) that I wore bowling today and it also wore much better than I anticipated.  Still wrinkled a bit, but definitely not horribly.

No hat here, just in case you are so distracted by the tomato monstrosity that you can't focus on anything else.  ;)

The tunic/dress is nearly sold out in this colorway.  There are many more available in the other shades, but I don't care for any of them, in fact, I think the floral versions are kind of ugly (I know, I said it, I don't like a floral).

Here is a close-up of makeup, hair, and hat.

Detail of the jewelry and the print of the dress.  You can actually sort of feel the print under your fingers, which means that you should definitely wash this one on delicate in cold water and inside out.

Sarah Dress.  The night before we went to dinner, and because it has been so lovely here, I decided to wear this dress without tights or a coat.  I had hoped to accessorize this gorgeous dress with scarves, tights, and the like, but only time will tell if that actually becomes a need here.  (Not even holding my breath.  I am beginning to wonder if 50% of my coats are useless--and no, not just because I have too many coats--lol.)

Anyhow, this one was near to selling out in my size and in the color I wanted (the other color of this print is lovely, but I have a lot of dresses in that coal/red/yellow shade).  The other colors are in this kind of odd print (I said, I know, I don't like a print, c'est shock!).  So instead of taking a chance, I bought this when there was a fairly good discount going (may have been 25% off--which, btw, if you use Q753 will get you that % off, too).

The dress is a jersey fabric and of a nice weight.  This could be worn year round, which is fab if you work in an office where you can wear business casual and need something great for all seasons.

I decided to wear a pair of Madewell boots with them, they looked cute together, but this shot doesn't really show how lovely the boots look in real life.  (The first photo of this outfit does, though.)

I should have worn a regular belt with this dress the way the model in the catalog does.  It would have given the dress more definition from the back.  It doesn't look so bad from the front, but from the back, that is a whole lot of in your face print, huh?

I am glad I bought the 6 long, but if I reordered, I would possibly buy the 8 regular since that would be a bit shorter and a touch looser.  The jersey accommodated my hips fine, but if I even glance at something salty the day before, I will absolutely have to bring out the spanx hosiery.

Close up of the print and the necklace.



Westminster Scoop Tunic and Sarah Dress.  You should not wait on the Westminster print in this tunic if your size is available...it won't be come clearance time.  You can wait for this print in the Sarah dress until clearance (unless you wear a smaller size), but be aware that this shade will sell first, before all the others. 

Okay, that's all for tonight.  Do any of you all own either of these?  What was your experience with them?

Also, don't forget, the code Q753 gets you 25% off with free ship on these two items (and more!).  ;)