Saturday, January 31, 2015

OOTDs: Keeping Warm. Keeping Casual.



Day: Friday, January 20, 2015.

Where:  Needed to get out the house after a full week of being cooped up with Rex and his very broken leg.  Met up with my dad (with CW) and went to Joann's and Red Robin.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Well, dang, I was warm enough because that there top is a double-faced cashmere, but it is just not the perfect fit.  While I wasn't fussing over it the whole night ('cause really, no time for that!), it still bugs me.  Ergh. 

The outfit otherwise was awesome for comfort.  You can't see it, but I have a merino wool sweater under the top, and that helped keep me warm (it was in the low twenties with winds howling).  Plus the scarf (which I spoke of more here) is great at insulating, so no wind chill got me there.  The pants are maternity (wanted the band at the top since I would be tucking in a sweater) so duh, super comfortable.

The shoes are also very easy to wear and it fit great at the size I purchased.  They are on sale today at Boden, so I will put a quickie review of them below this for you all who are interested.

Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  This is about as monochromatic as you will ever see me, which basically means never since this would be considered colorful by 85% of the public.  That said, I felt restrained, which in the world of fashion usually equates to more cool.  The glasses helped, I feel like they stand out a bit.  (They are actually prescription frames, I recently had them filled by my doctor after sitting on them for over a year--I tried them on for the blog here last.)

REVIEW:

Hotchpotch Trainer (here).  Size 9 or UK 40.  I am a bit annoyed that Boden's sizing went all American after the fall.  I personally have no problem with European sizing since other brands out there do that kind of sizing, even here in the "dull as dust" unitedstatesofameruca, so there seems to be no reason to change over, other than the thinking that we can't handle the Euro sizing.  Blegh.  Whatever.  (However, I did applaud the choice to go with American sizing for clothing, though I had gotten used to that, too.  We definitely don't have other companies over here doing British sizing, so that made it easier for most people here.)

My crankiness aside, I went with the size 9 since tennis shoes are usually large on me in my size (other than the J. Crew New Balance/Nike collabs).  I made the right call, the 9.5 (or UK 41) would have been too large.

Here's the deal, though, the shoes run narrow, but a bit long, so do not size down if you have wider feet.  It is true that the width is somewhat adjustable based on the laces, but these are very difficult to get to widen out, even after undoing the laces.  Save yourself the pain of dealing with that.

They are beyond cute, and I loved how it perked up the outfit.  They feel great, too.  They may not be as awesomely comfortable as my Nikes or New Balances, but they are a great first effort by Boden, and I hope they continue this style in the future.


Day: Wednesday, January 28, 2015.

Where:  Again, had to get out the house, so I figured grocery shopping while hanging out with CW, would be a great way to do so.  Of course it was Harris Teeter we visited.  ;-)

Ease of Wear: (5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Love this outfit, so comfortable, so warm.  Those Turner pants are great (I did a review of another pair here)!  I know the pink is a bit of an odd color, but I thought it looked nice with the light grey, and obviously matched the scarf well. 

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  My husband was all, "what are those things you are wearing?"  I said, "pants...you know pants...those things you seem to be wearing as well...pants?"  LOL.  Men.  Just do not get it.  Then he asked if I had made them.  I said no but would be more than happy if these were a creation of mine.  I guess pink elastic cuff pants are beyond him.  I think he is probably not alone, so for that reason, the score goes down to 4 of 5, or 80%.  The scarf is great, as are the shoes, so from a SAHM perspective, at least some of the outfit was cool.


Day: Thursday, January 8, 2015.

Where:  Substitute teaching in the office as school secretary, so maybe not truly substitute teaching.  ;-)

Ease of Wear: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Dang it was cold that day.  Every time I substituted at the school in January, there was a two hour delay due to either super crazy Canadian cold weather or snow.  (Seriously on the cold--I give every single Canadian major credit for being able to handle temperatures that are below 20 F all winter.)  That day the cold had a massive grip on the area, and the only thing I could think to wear that would keep me warm all day was the Aran Crafts Fisherman Cable Knit Turtleneck sweater that I was lucky enough to grab on popback from J. Crew in a size xs in the oatmeal nep color.  It is warmer than most of the cashmere I own, so that is saying something.  Regarding price, the sweater never goes on sale, but the full price is absolutely worth it.  I have already worn it four times this month and washed it, and it looks great and still keeps me super-toasty.  (You saw it here at this post in the last photo.)

Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  Again on me thinking "more minimal" equals "more cool."  This is about as stark as I can get--grey, black, oatmeal, and a beret.  ;-)

Okay, that's all for now.  Have a great rest of your Saturday!