Boden...what's the obsession?

[StarlightPrincess]

Now before I registered on here, I'd never even heard of Boden, but practically every other thread in Style and Beauty is about it! I went on the site expecting something amazing...and just saw a whole lot of well...blah, not to mention rather pricey! Why does everyone seem to love it so much?

God I think it is hideous Like keeping women in a little box of naff mumsiness apart from the occasional pair of boots or shoes it is toddler wear made big.

I think it depends what you buy noddy.

My favourite item from last year is the <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.boden.co.uk/productimages/productHome/10WSPR_WK565_IND.jpg&imgrefurl=www.ecomonkey.co.uk/products/merino-tunic&usg=__W3ku4NLYKMHLOvn2DF0NNuXTixI=&h=300&w=232&sz=7&hl=en&start=0&sig2=C8vuoWN8eFJPRDLp82TIgg&zoom=0&tbnid=HWIafTFXLmUZLM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=90&ei=oGQ1TdSrBcGwhQf8_LCmCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dboden%2Bmerino%2Btunic%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4GPEA_en___GB343%26biw%3D991%26bih%3D498%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=584&vpy=211&dur=78&hovh=116&hovw=90&tx=76&ty=91&oei=oGQ1TdSrBcGwhQf8_LCmCw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">merino tunic which I have in two different colours and wear to death. I also have a few "boyfriend" and "favourite" cardis, both plain and striped, which I wear a lot.

This winter I have bought:
Chelsea Dress
Favourite Cropped Cardigan
Cosmopolitan Tee
Uptown Top
Velvet Trim Cami

Apart from the dress, which I accept is a little bit mumsy (although I have had a lot of compliments on it), I don't think that any of these are "toddler wear made big"?

I think they are all mumsy!sorry

Not really feeling this Spring's collection, with the definite exceptions of the laundered blazer (in sweet pea please!), the pool party tunic and big beach bag, and that oh God I covet it soo much, the fabulous spring trench in soft red. My wallet is like the kalahari desert atm though .. so.. pants really!

Nothing has really jumped out at me either yet, although I do quite like the Kimono Jumper.

oh my goodness, i'd also never heard of this place until registering on here a few years back and have never looked at the site before but have just had a look (bored lunchtime at work) and never in a million years would i spend an average of £15 on a tshirt for a child. madness. even their sale prices are over double the maximum of what i would pay for a tshirt for my ds.
it's all relative though and if people want to spend money on clothes then that's their choice and good luck to them. i probably spend my cash on things that others would consider ridiculous.
i've never been remotely interested in clothes and fashion though, so i can't comment on what looks good or not.

The quality used to be brilliant, I still have tops from Boden which I bought when DS1 was a baby and he is now 8. I don't think the quality is quite as good now, but it certainly used to justify the cost.

I like the fact that it is so simple to buy from (and return if necessary). I live in a very rural area and we don't have a huge choice of clothes shops, I have to drive for over an hour to find even a small branch of M&S. My local town's choice of Matalan or Dorothy Perkins isn't really very inspiring. I have bought from Boden for so long that I know what is likely to suit me, and I can buy without thinking too hard about it! Which is probably very boring and lazy, but it works for me.

the quality of their children's clothes is unsurpassed, imo.

dd1 had a par of trousers which she wore for 3 years - from the age of 3 (legs well rolled up - she needed the waist size as she was chubby, and still in cloth nappies!) to the age of 6. they didn't wear out, and are now waiting for dd2. dd1 has ASD, and is not gentle on her clothes. in fact, at school, she does gardening, horse riding, lots of outdoor work and rough and tumble. these trousers came thorugh unscathed for 3 years. unbelievable (you also have ot factor in that she falls over a lot, and still crawls at times)

I have never seen anything like it (clothes, I mean, not dd1 )

I have had lcothes handed down form cousins that have been through all 3 cousins, and still arrive able to be worn as nice clothes.

on stuff I buy,I more than get my moneys worth, as dd2 can wear it all too, and it all looks hardly worn (still only ever buy in the sale though!)

I hadn't bought anything Boden for ages but stupidly succumbed in the sale and bought a cashmere cardigan that turned out ot be the ugliest shade of green I have ever seen and a little jacket with a hood and ears for DS2, which looked lovely in the pics but is made from very cheap shiny polyester. I did buy and will keep the Chelsea dress but only because I am bf and sick of jeans and tops and I bought it in black so not too obvious. Plus was only £25

I was shocked at the quality of the other bits though, I really was

lol at myself and my shockedness. Surprised might be a more appropriate word for a Boden order

the kids stuff is good. not too prissy, and very little of it is fussy.

i wonder where people are shopping if they find the quality poor? in my experience it lasts FOREVER and you can both sell it on ebay for a good return, or buy it second hand and know it will still be in good nick.

hate the adult stuff though.

The quality has definitely changed - I bought the plain t-shirts for DD1 when she was 8 (now 17) which were pricey compared to high street (about double the price of M&S) but they felt such good quality, and have been passed onto DD2, and will probably do DD3. I bought some similar plain tops about 2 years ago for DD2, but sent them back as they felt no better than any other retailer. Likewise the pyjamas used to be lovely quality cotton but now go bobbly quickly.

The women's stuff does't suit me - I think you need to be v slim or hourglass - I am pretty much straight up and down size 14 and look like a mumsy frump wearing it.

slumdog - which colour in the pool party tunic caught your fancy?

I think that Boden is one of those things that will be looked back upon 20 years down the line as a style-crime epidemic. I have a few bits in fairly neutral colours but I cringe everytime I see a Kirsty Allsop type confidently strutting into school wearing something resembling an Ikea value curtain which I immediately recognise as being Boden. I honestly think that those bold prints look hideous on most women of a certain age. If it never had the Boden label would they even look twice at it at say, River Island? Would they really?

I love their 'no quibble' three month guarantee.
I buy a load of stuff, wear it for about 2 months until I'm bored of it then exchange for a completely new set of clothes. Am I the only one that does this?

That is fraud Gogopops

I don't think it is fraud as they say that they will exchange/refund for any reason for 3 months from the order.

I hadn't heard of it until I came onto MN. Really just shopped in the high street from all over the place.
Now I have heard of it I still don't think I would bother, but I'm not a mail order fan, too much of a faff. Unless the clothes are lovely.
If I wanted to wear Boden I would probably go to Wallis because it lasts forever and the clothes look quite similar to me, but cheaper. Or is that just me?

well I had never heard of it until I came on mumsnet...but ordered a few pieces from the winter catalogue. I returned most of them but kept the 2 Hamptons tees. Admittedly I have washed and worn them a lot because I don't have many clothes in my size at the moment (still fat and my daughter is 15 months!) but they are bobbling already and I am really not very impressed with the quality. I like the cut however.

I bought another couple of pieces from the spring preview and again the quality isn't great.