What is this Boden of which you speak?

[breakingHead]

I know it's a website that sells clothes and things, but how do all of mumsnet know about it?

It seems like everyone on here apart from me owns something from there. I'd never, ever heard of it before I joined mumsnet. What's the big secret?

Also a lot of people seem to shop at Fat Face and The White Stuff. I know those only because I've seen them but I didn't think people actually shopped there.

What is this? I thought everyone shopped at normal high street shops (Primark, River Island, Top Shop, New Look), or a supermarkets or at department stores? Is it a class thing? Is this because I was brought up in East London? What's the mystery?

Am aware my post is borderline hysterical.

I cant honestly remember where i heard from them. Probably an advert somewhere. Tbh, i like their stuff because i like shift dresses and the retro 60's image. It seemed to do that quite well with quirky peter pan collars, gorgeous quirky prints and lovely slouchy velvet widelegs and kind of orla kiely type styles/prints. Sadly i dont know what path its going down now. I dont really like the prints or the colours and over the last few years, have found very little that i like and certainly nothing i would be happy paying full price for. Thats also the problem. Their pricing strategy is so weird. Some offers are cheaper than there big sales! You are not missing much.

I like the stuff for DS but full price it is eye wateringly expensive. I wait for 20% or £15 off. Somtimes you can get new last seasons stuff on Ebay

I had heard of Boden long before I joined MN.

I used to think it was the height of middle class frumpery but over the years I've liked it more and more.

I'm not sure whether that's because the clothes have got better; it's more likely that I've become more middle class and frumpy.

Anyway, I agree with others about the pricing. It's a rare day that I pay full price.

TheComfortOfStrangers said
Some of them would buy the whole page (dress, cardi, bag, shoes) and wear it together, as it was in the catalogue.
The whole flipping page!

About 10 years ago I worked in an office with a load of loud, public school women. They would do this. Not only that, but when one of their number brought the catalogue in they would gather around it and shriek approval at the outfits. (Sorry for the appalling stereotype, but that's what they were like.)

I got suckered in and bought a few work items until I saw the error of my ways. I was then subjected to years of pleading by from Johnnie trying to get me to return to the dark quirky patterned side.

It's frumpy like M&S is, only a bit better quality.
When I was younger I wouldn't have shopped in either.
I now shop in both, I am 57...

About 18 years ago I worked in a research lab with a rather upper class woman who shrieked and had small kids. She also wore a down puffa jacket to work and I thought it looked terrible.

I now understand her choice of clothes a bit better, living in the country with 2 small kids.

I have a love/hate thing with Boden. I do think it's gone downhill horribly - lots of viscose and polyester and even more ghastly patterns than before - but I usually find something good in the sales. I like their Bistro crop trousers (black and navy, not the other eye-melting prints) and I've had some nice dresses from there. Their sales have very deep discounts on things so it's worth keeping an eye on the Clearance section. Kids' clothes mostly very overpriced though I once got my small daughter a fabulous mac printed with London landmarks the week before we visited London - it was gorgeous and she kept getting stopped by people, which was very un Londonish.

I'd heard of boden but not looked at it before DCs. Then in one year, I turned 30, had a baby, and moved to a niace commuter town outside the M25 - Boden found me! They sent me a cataloge. I looked through it having started a sneering thread on here about suddenly I became their target market and they found me, then I surprised myself by liking several things in it.

I know it's a stereotype, and lots of hte clothes are hideous, but I now only wear their jeans (their petite size 8s are basically like they are made to measure for me, and wash and last really well), I've got a few plain jumpers, dresses and t-shirts from them, and yes, they wash well. I'm not a 'fun print' sort of a woman, but in most styles, they do plain ones.

Agree, I now only buy in their sales, and their children's clothes are lovely. (although they used to have a bit of selling point of not all being sugary pink and glittery for girls clothes, but a lot of other retailers have woken up to the fact that not everyone considers their DD to be 'a ickle pwincess' or want to dress them like a 'mini me' so there's more competition on highstreet for their children's wear).

Plus, I live in a small town with limited clothes shopping opportunities, and I can't be arsed driving to the next big town/bluewater, so do most of my clothes shopping on line now, they are better than a lot for showing their clothes so you've got a good idea if it'll suit you and the sizing is consistant/reviews helpful. Many other retailers aren't really set up for on-line, they do it as an extra but do most of their sales in store, so the websites aren't as easy to navagate.

that said, this winter, boden does seem to have been a bit crap, I've not bought anything in the January sale, for me or the DCs. I normally have a couple of hundred quid's worth in my basket at the start of the sale then have to dump out down to what I can actually afford, this year, I couldn't really find anything I wanted. I'm hoping they sort it out for the summer, because their relatively plain jersey dresses are a good summer staple and I'd like a couple of new ones to go away with this year.

Boden.
Was good quality and not so frumpy when I started to shop there around 10 years ago.
Now Boden is poor quality, overpriced and lots of frump amongst one or two decent pieces.

MixenLane - very true. That said, this thread has inspired me to have another look at the new range - there's a jumper I like that's completely plain grey, and a couple of dresses that while do come in bat-shit crazy patterns, look real 'wear to death' in the plain versions (one I like is navy, another in plain green). But I'm not paying full price as the materials aren't as good as they used to be. Worth keeping an eye out for the sale - perhaps they've learned as there seems to be a lot more navy and grey or things without lots of different colours than I remember in previous years...

Haha, I think I started this exact thread six years and umpteen name changes ago. Had literally never heard of Boden.

These days, I am Woman by Boden Clearance when I get dressed for work. I have a few pairs of the bistro crop trousers because they fit me perfectly, a couple of lovely plain lyocell dresses which don't need ironing and are incredibly flattering, some of the breton tops from a few seasons ago which were made of brilliant thick cotton and had a dropped shoulder so again, flattering.

I've got a couple of coats - Rainy Day mac in a less lairy pattern than usual, and a beautiful blue tweed thing. Both always get compliments.

None of it is cutting edge fashion, but all of it is well made, well cut, good quality, hard wearing and saves me dragging round the shops.

My general rules: don't buy anything unless it's reduced by 70%/they've cracked and sent me a voucher; avoid anything with 'fun', 'hotchpotch', 'funky' or similar in the name. And do read the reviews - very helpful and brutally honest.

Oh, and have you tried the Bra Interventionists yet?

there's a Boden (outlet?) in Park Royal in North London I think, so not just online/catalogue company.

I used to buy from them more when I was a student about 15 years ago, when they had the Town Hall sales and the quality was much better (and lower prices though they were still expensive for the time). Like Jigsaw (which I also used to buy loads from and mow never do), they seemed to hoik up their prices shortly after the 2007 financial crisis in search of an even more "aspirational" market, and the price point just got ridiculous. Clothes that had been 40-50 pounds were suddenly 70-80 pounds; bags, coats and boots that had been 150 pounds were suddenly 225+ and so on. The quality if anything was worse and I thought it just wasn't worth the money any more so I stopped buying. I like some mini Boden stuff (not the too-crazy things) but again it's overpriced so I either wait until the sale or look for similar things elsewhere. With both adult and child ranges I find some seasons are OK, some are really "off" (too many crazy-silly-ugly prints which I just can't understand who they sell to!!!)

Same here with Jigsaw, goldencrowns!

I've never even looked at the Boden website or catalogue so I don't really have any idea what the clothes are like. I just remember someone on here mentioning the annoying frequent emails and that was enough to keep me away from ever looking.

Reading this thread, I don't think the clothes are my style so I don't think I'm missing out on much.

Samesize - to be fair to Boden, I get far more emails from Gap, white stuff and the white company than from Boden, and the Boden ones normally include a discount code /details of a deal, so it doesn't feel like they are just bothering me for the sake of it! (I ordered one thing from white stuff for someone's Christmas gift, they send me messages almost twice a week saying "you should wear this this werkend" - no thanks)

My mum used to get Boden catalogues when I was a teenager. It looked like overpriced shit even then

The thing I don't like about Boden is that it seems to be marketed to "30 somethings and upwards" and at 30 and even the 34 I am now I feel too young for it. There's no way I want to be wearing stuff from there. Give me new look and river island any day.

The only thing I do like from boden are their jeans. The denim is very nice quality.

Yes, Jigsaw used to be pricey, nut excellent qualty, good fabrics and lovely design.

Now utter over priced shite on the whole, with a few exceptions.

I've never really got Boden, and find their sizing huge. Had a few bits for the children when they were younger, and they washed and wore well.

I found out about Boden about 20 years ago by picking up their stuff in charity shops for DD- it waa always the best quality and lasted for years.

I'm in bed now in my Boden pj's which are excellent quality.

I don't think they are frumpy at all. The catalogues can be massively annoying, with their stick thin models telling you what their favourite meal is (yeah right) but many of their clothes would wear timelessly for years.

But I would never pay full price for anything from there. Codes, discounts, all of it.

Pointless emails are so annoying but discount codes I can live with, however I've just had a quick look at Boden and it ain't anything special. It would have to be heavily discounted for me to buy anything from there.

Samesize- the sales are usually 70% off, I tend to buy jeans from them as the petite fit me perfectly, but while they are £60 full price, the last two pairs I bought were £14 each. (Sadly there's nothing in the clearance I like this time round, they seem to have gone a bit more mental than usual this winter)

I wonder if Boden have seen this thread?