Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Boden Weekly Review Roundup: Casual Weekend and More Sale Finds.

UPDATE (7/10/14): There was a round of second cuts today, up to 60% off, and with free shipping!  Yay!  I have updated my sidebar and the coupon at the bottom of this post to include the new coupon. 

Hello, all!  Have you been enjoying the last few days of the Boden sale?

Before I begin with the review roundup, I have a few items to put out there:

1. The sale started on Sunday.  I wrote up a pretty involved post on the sale, so check it out if you would like more information on what's available, how the sale works, etc.  I also included quite a few links to IRL reviews I did over the past few months of items that are on a deeper discount (40-50% off).

2. I received a few Boden reviews from friends since asking for them on Sunday, so if you sent one to me, thank you! 

3. There have been zero restocks of items since the sale began.  I bet good money that there will be a restock very soon, which means if you really wanted an item and it is sold out, the item could be coming back in stock soon.  More than likely when the restock occurs and I notice it, I will update the FB page, but not here, so if you like to have that kind of info in your FB feed, you can "like" the blog's FB page to keep up with more pressing matters, lol.

4. Don't know when the second cuts will be, but I would think they will happen in two weeks, more than likely to coincide with the autumn/fall 2014 rollout.  I'll let you all know if I hear anything sooner.  HAPPENED 07/10/14, there may be one more to coincide with the rollout, though. 

5. Make sure to wish Lou a big CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of her beautiful baby boy!  How amazing, Lou!

Okay, onto the roundup!

Casual Weekend Dress.  Size 6L.  I am so glad I purchased the 6L since the top is pretty loose, even in this smaller of my sizes (fitted knit fabric dresses I buy either a 6L or 8L).  If I had gone for the 8L this bodice would have been indecent on me, and way too many people would get a show every time I bent over.  As it stands, I had to wear a cami in a matching color (peach) in order to not show off the straps like happened when I wore just a normal bra.  So bear all of this in mind if you are particularly small-chested.

Was worried that the skirt portion would be too fitted, but it was more than fine.  It hugs the curves, but not in a bad way.  This particular dress may be one of my new favorites from Boden, really glad I took a chance on it.

Boden really has been knocking the jersey type dresses out of the park this season.  After my success with this one and the Casual Jersey Dress (review here), I can happily recommend them to all of you (bearing in mind how things fit me in relation to how they may work on your frame).

The side waistband (it is an empire line, be wary if that type of silhouette doesn't work for you) features a shirred elastic bit, which was fine and nicely made.  I didn't need it, but I could see where it would be helpful for some women.

Anytime I see a back view of myself and I don't shudder, I know it is a good dress for me.  I actually look proportional here.  Yahoo!  So pear shapes, consider this one for yourself.  The cap sleeves help a lot!

Of course the pockets are just wonderful.  The one thing I wish the Casual Jersey dress had is pockets, so it is nice that Boden didn't neglect that on this dress.

Detail of waistband and print.  I love this print, but I definitely am not shy when it comes to bright colors and patterns.  For those of you that are a bit uncomfortable with bright designs, there are some more subdued options, as well.

Casual Weekend Dress
Casual Weekend Dress.  This dress ranges in 10-20% off in the sale.  My version is at 20% off.  Most of the smaller sizes are selling out or near to it, but if you are in the larger size range, you may be able to hold off for the second cuts and hope they reduce it more than 10-20% off.

Bistro Shorts.  Size 10L.  My original review of these are here, and the review of the green floral are here.  I recently wore them to go to Mt. Vernon with my BFF, L., on her trip to DC with her family.  It was freaking hot as you know what that day, and this outfit was exactly the right choice for the day.  I also went to a ball game that night and it was a good choice for that occasion, too.

I will say they do stretch out a touch, especially in hot and humid weather, but in my opinion, I would rather have a looser pair of shorts when the air feels like soup than something more fitted.

Bistro Short
Bistro Shorts.  This pair is barely reduced, but the green version are $34.  I am happy with my purchase of both and had no qualms about keeping them at the price I paid (20% off during preview).  It is so hard to find long shorts (in the rise, too) for taller women, so I am thrilled that Boden makes them.  Now if they could only add more styles to the mix, I would be even happier, but since they are a British company and not necessarily thinking of all of us OVERHEATED Americans when designing their summer lines, I will deal.

Leila Ponte Dress.  Sarah, a great blog friend and friend IRL (she dislikes Mr. Dina's white tennis shoes, too, lol) sent this darling photo of herself wearing the cutie-pie Leila Dress.  She looks GREAT!  Here is her review:

So! This is very late and now the dress in only available in a beautiful bright blue on clearance, but here is a photo and mini-review.

The material, unexpectedly because I don't know my stuff, is like stretchy men's polo shirt. It fits me exactly as expected since I'm a size 6 everywhere these days. I am a little short waisted with a pear shape and stand 5' 4" on my good days. 


My husband loves it on me! And my mom said it fit me better than anything I've bought in the past year.

Leila Ponte Dress
Leila Ponte Dress.  Since sending me the photo a while back (it fell below the fold on the email system, darnit!) the Leila Dress is well-stocked, but some sizes/colors are sold out completely.  Sarah's striped version is at $82, but you could grab the red at $69.  The navy color is more expensive than the red or striped version.

Bistro Crop Trousers
Marina Jacket
Soft Leather Bowling Bag
Printed Beach Throw On
Bistro Crop, Marina Jacket, Soft Leather Bowling Bag, and Printed Beach Throw On.  Avril received her sale haul (benefit of being on the right side of the Atlantic!) and was less than thrilled with some of the items, especially the Soft Leather Bowling Bag.  That said, many deserve a second look, especially the Marina Jacket (in another pattern?).  Check out her blog post to see them all!  :-)

Sicily Top
Sicily Top.  Egyptomaniac has found the unicorn fabric, a white linen that is NOT SEE-THROUGH!  Take a look at her in this beautiful top here at this blog post.

Palma Sandal
Palma Sandals.  Lizzy wore these recently as part of a navy/white/yellow outfit.  Very pretty!  She also donned them while out enjoying herself here at this post (last photos).

Sixties Ponte Dress
Sixties Dress.  Lizzy looks quite ravishing in red.  Check her out in this gorgeous frock!

Okay, that's all for today.  There should be at least one more Review Roundup before the Fall Rollout, so again, if you want to send in your review, you can either post it to the Boden Reviews tab here at the blog, or you can email me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com.

NEW CUTS TO SALE!!! (07/10/14):