Do you think Boden is frumpy?

[perceptionreality]

I always thought so....then this year I've caught myself liking one or two of their shoes

Is this a sign I am getting old????

I like Boden!

And do get fed up with the Boden bashing threads!

Boden does seem to suit me - obviously I do fall into their demograph - 40's working mum with school age children.

I cannot shop in high street as no time to do so and live in the middle of nowhere. Can order online and not pay for returns (unless in sale time unfortunately, but I do save my free return stickers and they can be used)

When I wear Boden I do get compliments, this is not exclusive to Boden as my Primark sandals were also admired today. However, people do always seem to comment favourably on alot of my Boden purchases.

My DD did mutter that I should not be wearing a Boden rainy day mac (I quite liked it but she was quite adamant that the bright flowery pattern was too embarrassing for her to be seen with me). I sold it on ebay for the same price I bought it for so we were both happy!

Once I can find a free return code on the current summer sale I will probably be buying from Boden again!

I buy the odd thing but more for the DDs - trousers are a definite no-no but I have a couple of great cardigans - actually, I think that just about sums it up really...

Will try some of their new stuff when the discounts get better though am slightly alarmed that they can even make Helena Christiansen look frumpy!

I'm addicted to buying mini boden for the children. I'd say 75% of their wardrobe is boden, simply because I'm not happy with anything else and always end up going back there!

problem is that the 10 and 8 year olds are getting a bit old for the mini stuff now, although the 8 year old is so tiny that many things still look nice on her.

Well, I did buy a pair of their sandals in the sale and they don't look frumpy on me at all and are very comfortable :) this is the first thing I've ever bought for myself from there!

Some of the more classic Boden items are fine, avoiding anything labelled 'funky' or 'fun', though I wouldn't have touched them under 30 years.

I've bought very little since the decline in quality in more recent years (similarly from Mini Boden which has become ubiquitous in my area), but I liked some of the items in this year's autumn/winter preview and ordered a few things. Am hoping the quality is up to scratch also.

Getting clothes which fit is the first requirement for not looking frumpy (or like mutton dressed as lamb which is worse than frumpy every time). I despair of lots of the Boden prints, and appliqué, but the fact is that I'm 5' 10" but sadly not built like a model who generally have normal sized bodies with longer than average limbs, while I have a build like a rugby second row - huge shoulders and ribcage, decent waist and very sturdy limbs. If I try Reiss, French Connection, Topshop etc they are just too narrow, even in large sizes, which makes me look bigger than I am which is pretty grim. Boden have a broader cut and offer a long length option on dresses. In an ideal world I'd love to be able to get clothes from more on trend retailers in 'tall' (i.e. opposite of petite) sizes but very few retailers do this, and compared to the limited offerings from Next, Dorothy Perkins and Long Tall Sally, Boden starts to look almost trendy!

Emma - you have a very good point. I'm also tall, I'm an hourglass, but not - in fact, far from- slender. Much bigger than you, I'm sure.

So very few retailers of at all decent quality cater for my height and shape. I certainly don't want to go to specialist 'plus size' retailers - dislike them all, from Evans to Anna Scholz. Only exception is Marina Rinaldi but they're expensive, so I only buy a few pieces from them each year.

That's why I go to Boden in the first place and, over the years, with careful selection and avoidance of the vast majority of the prints, have bought some really good and wearable basics which I've enjoyed wearing.

Ps Wrote this before opening the two big bags of Autumn preview stuff awaiting me at home. Hope I still feel same way afterwards!

ooh Poly - eagerly awaiting your reviews (as I'm in France - I have at least another 5 days to wait.)

I think they have done well with the Autumn\Winter collection. Normally when I look through I can only find a couple of things I like enough to want to buy. This time I like lots of stuff. Shame I am poverty struck and will have to wait till they are sold either clearance or on Ebay.

I think their designs are good but their prints are often frumpy. This season they have several good designs which are let down by odd patterns in colours which are so hard to co-ordinate with any current colours on the market that it's just too much work to have to find items to match. What gets me is the colour-combinations they put on the models. If any 'normal' woman put on a khaki and navy stripe skirt with a pink and orange jumper they would look ridiculous - but the supermodels in the pics look ok because their beauty carries it off. I wish they would use smaller prints in more wearable colours. Their quality is terrific but I think they have lost their way with the colours.