Bloody Boden (But I mean that in a good way because I'm American.)

One of my favorite things in the world (after mac-n-cheese, Jane Austen, and fiddleheads) is receiving a catalogue in the mail. Amidst the bills and flyers promising excellent garage repair service, I hungrily search for the following catalogues: Anthropologie, J.Crew, Urban Outfitters, and now Boden.

What a great collection of clothes! Most of them are just your basics: polo tees, linen skirts, cardigans. But they are all so pretty and colorful and every now and again I'll turn a page and BAM! Applique! I friggin' love applique! I haven't learned how to do it yet, but there doesn't seem to be any mystery there. Heck, if I can crochet a skinny scarf and free-hand embroider some fiddleheads onto a pillow case, I'm pretty sure I can applique a sweater or two (NB: Did I just verb a noun? Yeah, I think I did, and without apologies!...[Eh, sorry, Mrs. Harper]).

So I ordered some things from their Sale category just to try them on for size. If I like what I get, I'm splurging on non-Sale items *gasp*, starting with this. (It's $198 so I may have to donate a kidney or brain cells or something equally expendable):



They call it "fabulous," I call it "freakin' awesomely fabulous." In my mind's eye I can see me ambling down Bishop Street and Eighth with my super fabulously awesome tartan bag, looking a tad Mary Poppins-ish if she'd had a bit of flair stuffed into her magical tote along with that crazy weird flamingo umbrella.

Browsing the Boden website I came across the history and bio of Johnnie Boden, the guy who started this whole thing. Then, I came across this. It was almost, almost, better than my morning cup of coffee. Read here: http://www.bodenusa.com/johnnie/letters.asp

So here are the things I purchased. Let's see how they turn out, shall we?


Embellished Cardigan


Printed Trim Henley (Who's Henley anyway?)


Jersey Wrap