Boden Weekly Review Roundup: Such a Long Time! Back with a Seatown and a Sale.

Hi, all! 

It has been a long time, both for updating the blog and having a review roundup. 

I returned from our Illinois/Indiana trip (I instagrammed a ton of it, btw) on Sunday and since my return I have been subbing and sewing.  I finished up both and while you can't see the fruits of my subbing labor, you can definitely view my sewing labor here at this Fabric Mart blog post.

Boden is having a "tax season" sale right now.  It is all that is going on, as far as I can tell.  All of my coupons have expired, and even though I emailed the affiliate program on Thursday asking them when the coupons would be back, I haven't heard back from them (sigh).  I did see the "tax season" promo, and was at least able to get that sale link up as well as announce it over at the facebook page, but I know a lot of you want the coupons, and the moment they come back to the affiliate program, I will absolutely let you know and put them up in the sidebar!  The sale right now is on select items, there are a lot of them in the sale, so if you have your eyes on something from earlier this season (with a few from the first summer rollout), you will likely see it in the sale.  Currently the items in the sale are for 20% off, so a fairly decent discount, especially if you think you would wear the items sooner than later.  The sale ends tomorrow night (Sunday, 4/19), btw.

Seatown Shirt Dress.  Size 6 Long.  I went with my normal "fit and flare" size in this dress and it was perfect, maybe even a bit too big (it stretches out from the cotton/linen blend), but I am keeping it because I think I am more than happy with the way it feels and looks, and doubt going down a size will make it better.  And hey, what is better than a looser fitting summer dress when the temps are in the 90s with saturating humidity?

Love the pockets, obviously, but the openings are a bit small, so it isn't super easy to get your hands in them.

The sleeves are not proper set-in sleeves, rather they are cut-on sleeves, which adds to its retro look.  You can see an example of a dress from the 50s with cut-on sleeves here and it looks really close to this dress, so bravo on keeping it true to era, Boden!

The smallest bit of this dress is the waist, so size for that.  I have between a 28-29 inch waist, and the 6 was more than fine.  Like I said above, I could have gotten away with the 4, but that waist tie does allow me to cinch it in more if I so desire.

The length is awesome in the long, skimming right below my knee.  I wore this to church tonight and it was appropriate for that occasion, but I in no way felt frumpy or stuffy, either.

I typically get pooling at the back of my shirts and dresses, but here there is none, which means that there is ample room in the skirt for my bottom AND the bodice itself is short enough for my shorter torso.  So keep this in mind if you have a longer torso, it may run too short from waist up for you.

I look slightly pregnant here.  I am not with child, lol.  Just a reminder that with this poofier skirt to stand in a way that doesn't just your hipbones slightly forward lending itself to the "with child" appearance.  I suspect if I had more up top I would look less pregnant, but since that WILL NEVER be in my cards (outside of surgery), I need to properly stand up.  ;-)

This print is so beautiful.  Really very unique and special.  Love the red buttons, too.


Seatown Shirt Dress.  This color and the navy/white dots version are selling very well.  Only one of the colors is in the 20% off sale, the orange/green palms version.


Tilly Sweater.  I wore mine again in the last month (and again in Chicago, those pictures will come later, but you can see it on Instagram if you desire).  I am so glad I purchased this one!  This one is on sale, but most of the small sizes are sold out.


Verity Dress.  Lou wore this recently to work.  What a pretty dress for her!  :-)



Leather Sandals and Colourblock Breton.  Lou gave these two Johnnie b. items a go and reviewed them for us.  





Soho Boots, Honor Top, Embellished Floral Top, and Perfect Party Top.  Avril went for some of the Johnnie b., too, in her recent try-on of some gorgeous sale items.  Check them all out here at this post.







Casual Dip Back Sweater, Sundowner Dress, Pretty Pleat Skirt, The Shirt, Pall Mall Dress, and Printed Jersey Shirt.  A Pear to Remember went through her Boden spring choices, giving us a great review for each one of the above.



Wideleg Jeans and Florence Skirt.  Audrey Bella took some time to review these two for us here. 




Seatown Shirt Dress, Broderie Jersey Dress, and Rosalyn Dress.  Audrey Bella also gave these a try on and shared her thoughts about them here. 

BTW, I finished up my "dupes" of the Rosalyn Dress for my daughter and me.  We wore them on Easter.  I did a review of the sewing pattern here, and eventually (sooner than later, I hope), I will make sure to do the OOTD/Made by Me post here at the blog.



Alice High Heel and Eliza Tunic Dress.  These seem to be quite popular at Boden, and after seeing them on Lizzy, I can see why!  She also wore them with the Eliza Tunic Dress here. 



Ava Dress and Holland Park Dress.  We have a new blog friend joining us today, Amy from Shopping and Sewing, which you know means she and I may just be twins.  LOL.  Anyhow, she gave us a look see at these two pretty dresses here at this blog post.


Lara Coat.  Amy from Shopping and Sewing gives us a look at this pretty coat, too!

Okay, that's all for now!  I am glad to be back and really glad to share all these great reviews with you!  Thank you to all my blog friends for their reviews.  :-)

Spring Tax Sale! Enjoy 20% off select styles at Boden USA!

Boden: Extra 15% Off Clearance AND Sale Items. Finally!

Hi, all!  Great news for anyone in *Boden* love that always lamented the fact that Boden never offered an extra % off their sale/clearance items.

Yes, I know, technically, that they have had % off clearance items in the past for a weekend of savings, and I remember the great prices and saw the response of the people who wanted just that (glee, many comments of "do this again," etc.). 

But Boden has NEVER offered a % off regular season sale items...until yesterday (it may have been Monday, but I am traveling and have less access to everything).  So in addition to prior season items receiving an additional 15% off, the current season sale stuff is also 15% off extra.

BTW, I actually was able to announce this over at my blog's facebook page yesterday, I tend to be able to do that since I find updating their mobile site much easier than the blogger platform's mobile site.  I also receive messages there easily, which is another way that I found out about the sale (I had received an email from Boden, but the extra email from a facebook reader made me realize what the email from Boden had meant since I hadn't opened the Boden email yet).  

So here's the deal...if you see an item in clearance or on sale for 50% off, then the 50% off price will show up, and after you put in the code on the shopping bag page, the extra 15% will come off the reduced 50% off price.

It doesn't matter what the % off is, it could be 20% off, it could be 40% off, or it could be 70% off, those will all be additionally reduced by 15% by the code.

THE ONLY things not reduced an additional 15% are the items that are technically still "full" price.  Boden is reducing those with the code, but only by 15%, so the price they fall to is whatever full price is minus 15% off.

Here was my purchase from yesterday (I had a credit from that awful fitting wrap dress):


1. Casual Jersey Dress, Jaffa Painterly Stripe (I am a sucker for the pattern, I have it from last year, but this new price and beautiful color swayed me), size 6L (my size from last year), originally $78, then 50% off to $39, then an additional 15% off to $33.15. 


2. Smithfield Boot, Black, size 40 (size 9), originally $198, then 30% off to $138.60, then the additional 15% off to $117.81  I am nervous about the size since I vacillate between the 40 and 41 in Boden, but since I usually size down in boots, I bet I can here and will be fine (fingers crossed).

Some items I noticed that are reduced to ridiculous levels (these are from the clearance section and only in certain colors):


1. Eliza Coat.  My favorite coat from last season, one I reviewed here and here, and wore plenty since then (here and here for example).  It was $288, then reduced by 70% to $86.40 (which is amazing on its own!), then by an additional 15% to $73.44.


2. Zoe Dress.  I have no experience with this dress, but I own a few of the Boden medium-weight ponte dresses, and they wear very well and work beautifully in most office environments.  This red version is deeply discounted, originally $148, then 70% off to $44.40, then the 15% off that to $37.74.


3. Milano Dress.  I do own this and love it, and the new price on the black/white is amazing.  If you have been on the fence about whether this one is for you, maybe the new price is enough of an incentive to try it, lol.  ;-)  Originally $198, then 70% off to $59.40, and finally 15% off to $50.49.

Okay, that's all for now!  Do you have any picks? 

Use the code 5V6G to receive the additional 15% off.  If you forget the code, the Boden home page has a reminder there, too.

OOTD: It Matches!

Before I start the post, I wanted to congratulate Julie, she won the NOVICA $50 giveaway. Random.org gave me the result of #18 of 20 entries, and that was Julie's comment.  I will email Julie with more information.  Very excited Julie gets to enjoy some NOVICA shopping.  :-)

Day: Tuesday, March 31, 2015.

Where:  Substituting for the upper grade's Spanish teacher.

Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Skirt was made by me back when (here is the original post on its construction), and I have lost a couple of pounds since then, so it fits very well now and is very comfortable.  The Tippi sweater from J. Crew is also amazing, I know there are lots of women who are fans (and own multiple colors) but I haven't really dipped into the Tippi pool, outside of a handful of versions from years past.  I am a fan, but I don't actively seek out having multiples of it. 

The only ding came from the loafers, which fit fine, but after standing all day in class and then walking to Harris Teeter on my break (in warmish weather), I found they felt really small and were rubbing against my feet uncomfortably.  So I went ahead and purchased those "half-socks" from the grocery store and that helped a bunch.

Outfit Details:  When I made this skirt, I was thinking I would have no problem matching tops to it, but I was surprised by how hard it was.  I either just don't buy these shades and can't get things to work with it, or the print has a very specific look and needs something especially unfussy for it to work with it.  I had tried regular white tee-shirts and blouses, but it was too plain, however anything with any amount of print or sequins or embellishments was too much.  The top I wore with it originally is fine, but I want to sell that one as I don't really love it.  I did not purchase the Tippi with the intent of matching the skirt (I just really loved the color), but found that it was exactly the right shade for my skirt.

Long story short, lol, is that you can find the Tippi here at J. Crew (this is the heather aqua shade).

Anecdote of the Day:  The big burly cashier at Harris Teeter really liked the old school J. Crew necklace and said it perfectly matched the skirt.  LOL.  I love it when people you don't expect to be into style are into it.  :-)

I am not 100% ready to reveal the dress on me yet, as I still have hemming of the skirt and sleeves to do, but I know that a lot of you are both fans of sewing and of Boden, so I kind of figured you would be into seeing my latest project, which is my Easter dress.  It is New Look 6262 and is supposed to be a close approximation of Boden's Rosalyn dress.  I had originally ordered the Rosalyn dress, but after the huge mess of the preorder and my card company having problems with the double charges showing up, I decided to cancel my order and just make the darn thing instead.

The floral fabric (called Waverly Blossom Boutique Twill Aurora) is actually a home decor fabric, but it is lightweight enough to work with this pattern.  I have to admit to preferring this floral pattern to the one Boden used.  And based upon the fact that I know the Boden version's bodice would have likely been too long for my short torso, I was glad to have creative control and a tape measure in my hands to ensure my version wasn't too long.  I also decided to add a back invisible zip instead of a side zip, so I won that way, too.

It's not that I don't love the Rosalyn version, in fact, seeing it on AudreyBella made me realize it is a very beautiful garment, but knowing I could make my own gave me fuel to just get it done.  I also had enough fabric left over to make my daughter a version, and so far so good.  Wish me luck on getting that one done in time.

If you would like to see the nearly finished version above on me, I gave the Instagram folks a sneak peek last night.
 

Here is a close-up of the fabrics.  The eyelet broderie fabric is from Fabric Mart last year and is definitely not around anymore.

Okay, that's it for now.  :-)

Real quickly, before I go, Boden has upped their mid-season sale to 50% off on some items, including a lot of the ones I have reviewed (Rainbow Knit sweater, French Knot sweater, etc.), so go on over to this post to learn more about the sale.  (The post says "up to 40%," but it was written earlier this week.)