OOTDs: Time for Turmeric.

I have some turmeric in my spice basket and even though it seems to be an orangey-yellow, sometimes even orangey-red color, Boden keeps insisting that the color that I see as a yellow-green is in fact turmeric.

So I will go with it, although based on my very amateur sleuthing, what is called turmeric by McCormick spice company and what is called turmeric by my most favorite British clothier, are definitely different hues.

In my opinion, J. Crew had the closest shade to turmeric last year, which is the color you see on the sweater above, which was part of an outfit I wore on Sunday to church.  Boden's Amazing Embroidered Skirt (which is my hands-down favorite piece from them, ever) came close to the real color of turmeric in the threading of this skirt, but since the main color is navy, this skirt was not amongst the items named after this delicious spice.

The shade nearly matches the turning leaves of the sassafras tree behind me, which means that if Boden wanted to, they could name the shade sassafras as well and be nearly as close.

Pieces of the ensemble from Sunday's outing. 

Normally I try to be more conservative when attending service at church, but by the time I got to this photo, it was too late to put on a longer skirt.  I had wanted to wear tights, but combined with the very warm turtleneck and the high afternoon temps of 70 F, I would have been boiling whilst singing the hymns.

In real life the skirt seemed less short, but looking at it here, I am a bit ashamed to see that maybe it was shorter than I realized?  ;)

Ah, well, still no big deal as I have personally laid eyes on halter tank tops and shorter skirts than this at church, but I don't know that wearing any of those is necessarily the best example for the future generations (my darling Rex, CW, and Angus) that I bring with me.

I probably should have flipped my outfits and worn this outfit from Saturday to church instead.  Live and learn.

Was running errands all day with my brother, with a stop at the Sushi buffet.

Don't worry...still focused on the title of this post...turmeric.  This Funnel Neck Jacket is an absolute steal at $88 (down by half), but is also inexplicably supposed to be the same shade as the yellow sweater above.  Do you see any pure yellow/orange in this jacket?  I see a yellow bordering on olive.

But because I don't care, and happen to love this shade of yellow/green, Boden could call is asparagus juice and I would still have bought it.

Here is the jacket all buttoned up.  Was a bit much to button it that day, as by noon the day was warm enough to not wear it (I spent most of Saturday just in the striped tee and pants), but since I can't resist reviewing new items for you all, I buttoned it up to show how it looks all done up.

I purchased this in a size 6, and as you can see from the side shot, the jacket runs short in the body but with quite long arms.  I prefer it when my jackets have a fit like this because of how disproportionate my torso is to my lower body (if jackets are longer I have to accommodate my larger hips).  So if you are a pear shape with a short torso, this jacket may be one you should have in your closet.  I tried it with fuller skirts, btw, and it is a great topper for those, as well.  (I often have troubles with what type of top to wear with full skirts since I don't want to look like I have no upper body, and if I tuck my tops into full skirts, that is what I end up looking like.)

From the back.  Nicely made, great boiled wool fabric, and lined in a luscious purple lining.  I like the funnel neck detail, so I wore my hair up so people could better see it.

This is the most accurate shot of the color.  Plus if you open up the photo you can see what the boiled wool looks like up close.  Very warm fabric, btw, here in VA, definitely can be outerwear during the mid-fall/mid-spring months of October, November, March, and April.

Close up of the makeup and the very cool Kirna Zabete earrings that I found on clearance at Target for $7.50.  I think they look like jelly fish, but I don't know if that is what they are supposed to look like.

Okay, that's all, folks!

P.S. I have received or seen quite a few Boden reviews for this week's Boden Weekly Review Roundup.  Since I *know* there is no way I can get the post up today, if you send me the review by tomorrow morning, I will be able to include yours in this week's.  :)  Thanks in advance, btw.  You all are the best!

Source

P.P.S. Oh, and before I go, I will leave you with an image I found of turmeric, which shows it as both yellow/orange and pure yellow.  You make the call...is Boden correct in calling its items turmeric or should they switch to asparagus juice or sassafras?

Boden: Fifties, Finsbury, and Westminster.

So this is a review/outfit of the day post.  I received the Finsbury dress about two weeks ago and fell in love with it so hard that I eagerly anticipated a night where it was cool enough for me to wear it out and about.  (Also an evening that required such a beautiful dressed-up dress.) 

The weather on Saturday night last was utter perfection, low 70s, low humidity, with just a touch of wind, AND we had church and sushi on the offer, so I knew this was exactly the right evening for the debut of this stunner.

The info on the individual pieces is in the photo, but I will definitely link to the scarf and dress in this post.

This was the outfit as it came together.  The dress without the belt, scarf, clutch, and heels looks fine, but a teeny bit boring.  Having said that, I think this is an ideal dress for a myriad of occasions...because of the plainness of the frock, not in spite of it.

Looking at these photos, I realize the George Nelson bubble lamp really fits the fifties feel of this outfit.  I love that I could have been wearing this dress as is, accessories and all, at the same time as this house was built.

Without the clutch, from the front.  As a pear shape, I love dresses like this, with a fitted bodice and very full skirt.  If I had a choice, I might have reined in the flare a tiny bit on the skirt, but as someone who has to wear spanx with at least 50% of my dresses, it feels good not to have to worry about it.

The dress is exceedingly well crafted, not a thread or stitch out of place and fully lined throughout (excepting the lower sleeve).

The zipper is on the side, if I were to talk with Johnnie myself, I would BEG him to use back zips as side zips can be a struggle to get on or off.  I think if you have a larger chest or shoulders, that side zip will be what prevents you from buying the right size of this dress (you would have to size up to get it to fit over your head and shoulders).  I know that it will be difficult to get on and off.  If me, miss "when will I get some girls" has problems with it, those of you blessed up top will be struggling for sure.

I also read that the cap sleeves felt tight on some women, so another consideration if you carry your weight in your upper torso.

The dress fits very nicely through my shoulders and upper back, but you can see where it is a touch too big in the waist.  No biggie, it doesn't look horrible, in fact, I can't even imagine anyone noticed who was around me.

I wanted to wear a slimmer belt, btw, as a larger belt would have probably been too much of a statement.  I am not saying "no" to that in the future, but it would have looked silly with the rest of the outfit as I had styled it.

The makeup that night is the way I wish my makeup would look every time I wear makeup.

Speaking of my makeup, for those of you that are curious, my Arbonne site is no longer working.  I decided the amount I needed to spend keeping it running wasn't worth it, so I have decided to go back to taking Arbonne orders through my e-mail.  If you are interested in rejoining my e-mail list for monthly specials, you can do so at dinagideon AT aim DOT com.

So do you like the Westminster silk scarf?  Isn't it purdy?  :) 

I didn't even have to pay for it (technically).  I will explain more about that later.  ;)

Close-up of the scarf.  It is all silk, and a twill fabric.  The print is very special, scenes from Westminster itself, with the buildings and the guards in their red regalia.

The fabric of the dress is a wool, with a touch of stretch.  For those of you who buy J. Crew, it is a similar feel to the Super 120s.

The color is off from the one on-line.  Instead of being a bit buttery, I would call this a green/gold.  Of course I love this particular shade of light olive, so no complaints from me.  If this is not your bag (baby), there is a charcoal and black version as well.

I really hope that they keep this style, and bring out new colors each season.  I am telling you, they make it in a mid-orange color, and I will be first in line.  :)

Posing on the sidewalk in Arlington after mass.  The dress still looks fresh and barely wrinkled.

This is such a great photo of Angus.  I cannot believe he is almost six months old!  Crazy!  He is so big, too, wearing the 9 month clothing.

So remember this post from last year, where I showed off a long cashmere cardi coat I was able to buy because I won a gift card award for being the "Boden Publisher of the Month?"  Well, it happened again!!!  I was surprised, but super happy, to find out that I won it again!  :)

This time, the $50 gift card completely covered the cost of the scarf.  And because the scarf is a British based print, I call it fate that I won the award at the same time I had been interested in purchasing this scarf.


Finsbury Wool Dress.  Lovely on its own, but you can see how there is a lot of potential for accessorizing here.


Westminster Silk Scarf.  Vanessa!!! We love you.  :)  Her makeup looks really good with the outfit. 

Okay, all, that's it!  Have any of you tried either item and have some thoughts about either of them?

Have a great night!

P.S.  Don't forget, tonight is the last night of the 25% off September Favourites sale over at Boden.

Holiday Party Hoot!

Okay, this isn't really a blog post about how I incorporated owls into my holiday party outfit, but I really love alliteration, so there you go. :)

As I did last year, I went to my husband's work holiday party in early December. I like the timing because the closer you get to Christmas, it gets harder to find time to go to the parties, so I think my hubby's work is pretty smart in doing this. I love his work parties because of three reasons:

1. I get out of the house. All mothers everywhere get this.

2. I get to go to the Four Seasons here in D.C. For those of you familiar with the show "Real Housewives of D.C." will remember that the Four Seasons is where the Salahis go to spend the night whenever they come into town for their events. (Even though they live "near" D.C., it is far enough away that I actually understand why they do this...having said that, I don't really understand the Salahis themselves.)

3. The Four Seasons has wine, really, REALLY good wine. I definitely felt the effects the next day, though. Oops.

Onto what I wore:

This is the dress by itself, with no topper, just the heels and my hair and makeup all done. I ended up not wearing the outfit exactly like this because it was a bit too cold, but I LOVE this dress. I also own it in blue, which I wore at my Best Friend's wedding (heehee).

The dress is the silk taffeta Halter Sangle dress that J. Crew made in many colors around this time last year. I think this shape dress is super-flattering, much more so than the Bow Monde dress, which they currently are offering.

The shoes are from Nine West and the earrings are from J. Crew, but I have no idea what they are called (couldn't find them on the web site).

What I wore most of the evening.  I tried the cardigan on to make sure it looked decent before I did my hair or makeup.  This is the cluster constellation cardigan that came out last year in this grey color and in a black color.  Michelle Obama has the original, in the cream color and with a whole lot more clustered sequins.  I really love that one, but cannot even begin to contemplate spending that amount (near $300) on a cotton cardigan.

Speaking of Ms. Obama, her oldest daughter is old enough to wear real J. Crew now!  Maybe we see her in her own adorable Crew-inspired outfits!  :)  (I only know this because I just saw on the news the family lighting the national Christmas tree, which is A HUGE THING in this area...)

Since I am an Arbonne consultant, I have to include a makeup shot, right?  ;)

The night was cold enough for me to whip out my new Double Cloth Colletta coat with Thinsulate.  LOVE this coat and LOVE this color.  Talk about perfection...it is lady-like, warm, and in a interesting neutral that can last for many seasons.  Awesome!  I am wearing this in a size 6 and it is exactly the right size.  I probably would have bought a 4 if I didn't need the thinsulate.  For those of us gals that have pear-shapes, consider this coat...the top portion is fitted while the bottom portion is built to skim away from the body nicely.

Close-up of the coat.  I wore it without makeup, again, to check that it would work as an entire outfit.  :)

You all have a fab night.  I hope all of you have a hoot at your holiday parties!!! If you are a blogger, I want to see pics!!!

Cleo and Dani Make an Appearance on Fridays Are for Feet!

Oh, I feel so timely writing this post. I think if it weren't for the fact that I have seen NO reviews of these shoes, I wouldn't even bother writing these up. :)

Yesterday was fab. I loved it! Hung out with my kids for the first time during the workweek since I started my awesome Spring Into Style class (which is now over--and yes, the runway show was amazing, and yes, my outfit for the show will be presented to you all at some point). Since it was just the perfect temperature to hang outside with the kids yesterday (high in the 70s and very sunny), I took them to a park near us called Huntley Meadows, which if you live in the NOVA region and have not been to...you must go and stat. It is a protected preserve with both abundant forests AND a wetland (complete with a boardwalk). Sadly, we didn't make it all the way to the wetland (the kids were a bit tired by the time we got there), but we did take a quick jaunt through the forest. :) Baby CW was really mad when we left...I guess I know who I have to take there more often.


Above is me and Rex after the walk. He ACTUALLY wanted to pose for a pic with me. Yay, Rex!


Above is the outfit I wore...all oldies but goodies, except of course for the Cleo Platform Shoes.

Sizes and info (no time for a polyvore):
Cardigan: The infamous Coccodrillo printed cardigan from last summer. Compared to what J. Crew is churning out now, this print almost looks sort of tame. :) Size Medium.
Tee: I forget the name, but I find this shade of caspian blue very flattering, and I love the black silk floral applique on the front. Proof that you can and should wear navy and black together. Size small.
Pants: Scout Chinos (in regular length). I own these in the tall length, and it adds about three inches to the inseam, making them the perfect ankle length pants. These are just regular capris in the shorter, normal inseam. Size 8.
Shoes: Size 10. And they are a bit too short in length. SHOCK! I actually have a pair of shoes from J. Crew that fits me in a size 10...just like old times.


Close up of the Cleo Platform Sandals. 1. Get your normal, pre-vanity foot size J. Crew size. For me this is a ten. I have been wearing 9s and 9.5s recently...in 2005 I almost exclusively wore 10s or 11s in J. Crew shoes. Admittedly my feet have shrunk a bit, but not enough for me to be wearing 9s, for crying out loud. 2. These are just wonderful shoes. I love the comfort, I love the color, and I love how they are pretty on the feet. 3. I was 6 feet tall in these. YAY. Eye to eye with Mr. Dina. (And Jenna Lyons, in flats. Heehee.) 4. I walked all over God's green earth yesterday and did not feel it. They are perfection for a mom on the go!


I wore this outfit a few weeks ago, but since I did the review of the Dani Peep Toe Shoes in this outfit, I thought I would at least show you how I styled it.

Sizes and Info:
Shirt: Mushroom Printed Button-Down Nehru collared shirt from the outlet. I bought this off ebay. I love this print, but missed out on it when it was at the "real" J. Crew back in 2007. Now does anyone have a mushroom printed skirt in a size 10 that they want to sell me???
Pants: 7 For All Mankind Bootcut Jeans. Based on this pic, it appears these need to go into my postpartum closet. Size 32.
Shoes: Size 9.5. Perfect fit in my "new" J. Crew shoe size.


One shot of the Dani suede and leather heels in Irish Moss. Love the cone heel and I adore the stretchy bit there on the side...great for expanding feet (especially during pregnancy and if you are on your feet all day).


Another view from the other side. Very pretty and girly, eh?


And a front shot. I wish I had the time to get a pedicure. My toes are all bare and sad looking. :( Mother's day gift, anyone???

Some thoughts on this heel...love the color, love the retro details, and appreciate the cone heel, as that makes this a very comfy shoe. Here is an odd thing, though. I bought these about two months ago and on sale for...$105.00. It was on sale for $150 and J. Crew was running a 30% off all sale items promo, so there you go, $105.00. Now this heel is back to its original (and slightly insane) price of $215.00. Huh???

I also have the Dani neon leather heels in the neon pink color. I will be doing that review when I finally get around to showing my cherry blossom themed outfits (the pink in the strap was perfection with the ochre pencil skirt and bright pink silk top I wore that day). The Dani heels in neon have NEVER been on sale, so I had to grab (probably their last pair of 9.5s) those at full price. Yes, I know, it hurt me too. (But they are amazing!!!) Oh, and I provided that link at the beginning of the paragraph because they may popback one day, and you all should make grabby hands towards them...

Have a great day. Coming tomorrow? A new blog/business venture for My Superfluities (grand launch is happening between 4 and 7 pm Eastern time). Wish me luck!

Raveneli Blouse Styled by Yours Truly...

I was DESTINED to own this blouse. Here is why. First, I spied its loveliness in the Anthropologie catalog a few months back. Second, one of my favorite blogs, What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear? highlighted it in a post on whether or not Emma Pillsbury would in fact wear it. (Decidedly yes!) Third, on the VERY day I bought it on sale, Dea of The Dea Diaries goes and shows how she wore it. Yep, three times a charm.

And here is a fourth.


Sizes:
Top: Size 6. Could have gone with a four as there is plenty of room throughout, but I kind of like it a little loose. It can still be yours...a few sizes are left on the Anthropologie website. I will go into the details of the top after the next photo (which shows the blouse on its own).
Jacket: Size 8. Love how the schoolboy blazer is structured enough to balance the ruffles and bows of the blouse. Very nice contrast.
Pants: Size 10. Another example of WHY. YOU. SHOULD. NEVER. BUY. CLOTHING. POSTPARTUM. Yes. It is now too big and when I bought them they were too tight. Sigh. Oh, well, at least I think I can dry them in the dryer to take in some inches. You can't really tell how big they are, but trust me, I was doing the ole "hitching up" dance all night. Don't pretend you don't know what that dance is... :)
Boots: Size 9. Yes, I love you, Naturalizer! Best $25 I have spent in a long time. I wear these all the time!

We were going to IHOP and then bowling. Both were fun. Did you know that if you have a kid at a bowling alley, they let the kid "cheat" by giving them this cool metal ramp to give their ball a good ole head start down to the pins? Rex did way better than me and Mr. Dina...and we used to be on a bowling league (no joke--we own shoes and everything!).


So here is the top sans jacket. It is fluffy and bow-tastic, but not enough to make Mr. Jim crack up at my expense or anything, so in my mind, this makes this top a winner! ;) Go, go, Girls From Savoy (they made the top).

What is Rex doing back there?

Have a great night, all!

The Ball Gown...

Date: January 16, 2010.
Who: dinagideon and Mr. Dina, plus Bob McDonnell, our good friend, the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia (heehee...I am sure he knows us by name and everything).
When: Evening time...past the babies' bedtime. Grandpa and Grandma babysat...Sweet!!! :)
Where: Convention Center, corner of Broad and 6th in Richmond, VA.
Why: It was time to celebrate the inauguration of the above "good friend," and dance the night away with the bands America (yes, the actual band America), and Amaretto (whose singers are really REALLY scarily good at doing covers of Beyonce and such).
Worn: Not J. Crew!!! (You'll see...J. Crew wasn't forgotten...they are a Virginia company, after all, but why would I buy a J. Crew gown when I could wear the one I chose instead?)


Story on the gown: I was invited to some gala or another that was basically a fundraising event for some health non-profit or another, maybe the American Heart Association? I was 23 at the time and I was like every 23-year old...pretty much poor (seriously, as "glamorous" as working on Capitol Hill is and was, it does NOT PAY WELL). I had to get a gown, so my erstwhile friend Lara and I went to a store in Pentagon City that is now a Baby Gap (funny how the stores work for me in all stages of my life). I spied this, the gown, the first time I walked in. I was smitten. The color, the embroidery, the life because of the multiple layers of fabric, the fact that the skirt would work for me and not against my hips (even at my thinnest, and trust me, it was borderline scary, ribs showing and all, my hips were always very full). The best part? This gown was not *that* expensive. Maybe 200 dollars? At the time that was a serious chunk of change, but one that I was okay with as I figured it would stay in my wardrobe. (I did wear it again a couple of years later to another event.)

Fast forward: Two babies later, I was getting stressed that the dress wouldn't fit. I had about a month to go before the event, and I figured I should just bite the bullet and try it. This gown is not vanity-sized, so I figured it may not work. I slip it over my head around the middle of December, find it easily slides over my hips (yay!) and then do up the zipper in the back...and, it FITS!!! I knew I would have to use the wonder power of Spanx just for my own "comfort" that evening (the dress did up without spanx, but I am not a crazy woman living in crazy town who thinks that miracle will include a meal and dancing).

And what you see above is the front view of the ball gown...isn't the embroidery scrumptious? BTW, this is not a silk gown, or anything fancy like that, probably poly blend of some sort, but I don't care...this made me feel special, and the best part? It is so unique...I have never seen a gown like it!


From the back...even a bit of embroidery on the upper back. I love this shot, it feels very mid-century glam. :) Good on Mr. Dina for trying to January Jones me.


And here it is with the gold Coach shoes peeking out, and the sequin scarf cardigan that I last wore here. This is a FANTASTIC cardigan, and works so well, dressed down, or dressed WAY UP!

Please note the amazing cuff bracelet given to me by the spectacular drewablank. The color is perfect with the floral design. Thank you, again!!!


Makeup: I went much heavier than I normally do...including a bunch of eyeshadow and illuminating lotion, etc. Stuck to my true self, though, and wore a whole bunch of lip gloss (mixed together), rather than a lipstick. The earrings are the free Flora earrings given to some JCAs back in October, and the headband is a J. Crew (in-store only) braided job.


I love this photo. I do wish to know why Mr. Dina and CW found the Saints game more interesting than our family photo? Hmm???

So there you go...my ball gown...I hope it didn't disappoint. I did see a few ladies with their J. Crew gowns, and they looked AWESOME, but for the most part it was very "Miss America Pageant." A LOT of sequins and rhinestones and bright blue pleated jobs. Which is cool...but definitely not my cup of tea! ;)

Accessories for a Ball!!! by dinagideon featuring J Crew

And because some of you may like the accessories, above are the pieces together in a polyvore.

Have a great night, all!!!

Tuesday is for Tiffany Rose...and My Winnie Coat!!!

Tuesday is Tiffany Rose's Day, so I pulled out my Winnie coat and worked it into an outfit. Turns out she wanted me to wear it with the Tutu top I wore last night, but c'est la vie. I actually am glad I wore it today...

Winnie on a Tuesday! by dinagideon featuring J Crew

Here is the polyvore of the outfit I created. I knew it would be winter warm (here in VA we routinely get temps in the 50s and 60s in the winter...just not lately...but I had heard it would be winter warm today), so I suspected that if I wore anything heavier than a cami I would swelter for sure (I run hot). I had not worn this gorgeous Serengeti top (which I purchased at Mint Condition for 16 dollars--you read that right) yet, and knew I wanted to, plus I had just gotten the Boden vintage inspired necklace back from the jeweler (it had a broken tie bit) so the outfit came together organically, you know, I want to wear a, b, and c, and look, a, b, and c equals an outfit!!!

Pants are different in the polyvore. I am actually wearing J. Crew chinos (surplus) from 2005...they have the button-fly.


Outfit with the opened Winnie...

Sizes:
Coat: Size 4.
Top: Size 6.
Pants: Size 10.
Boots: Size 9.

I received multiple compliments today on this outfit, which always feels nice, but I never expect. In fact, the first one came from the lady at the post office who was all, "I LOVE YOUR COAT!" I thought she was talking about CW, so I was like, "I know, aren't the dots precious???" She just laughed and said, yes, she loves the baby's outfit, but really likes Mommy's coat, too. :)

Then the necklace and the tank received a few "ooh, I really like that" at the coffee shop! J. Crew and Boden, these are some fine pieces that a lot of people like!!! Good on you...


Without the Winnie. I so am planning on rocking this look with a pair of sandals this summer.


Winnie all done up.

Have a great afternoon...later on, Ball Gown pics (but none of the ball, didn't bring my camera).