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I don't understand, why is Boden so expensive?

65 replies

QueenOfIce · 26/05/2018 21:32

£90 for a pair of fugly sandals! Their clothes aren't high end or top quality so why are they so bloody expensive?!

OP posts:
LipstickHandbagCoffee · 26/05/2018 22:06

Boden is a bit of a middle class uniform though

LovelyBranches · 26/05/2018 22:06

I bought DS a pair of dragon trousers from Boden late last year and they haven’t really been worn loads because it’s hard to match things up with dragons but the quality is awful! The pattern has almost been washed out and they are bobbled and awful. Very disappointing and they look far more worn than they are. I’m not so enamoured by Boden now.

DurdleDoors · 26/05/2018 22:15

I buy Boden pants for dd2 (6) because she's blessed with her mother's large backside and no other brand fits her properly - she is really fussy.
Also buy basics for dd1 that I know I'll be able to pass down. The denim bits are really good quality and she likes stripey tops.

WellTidy · 26/05/2018 22:16

Great for boys - very few shops on the high street do such bright colours, appliqué (rather than transfer) t shirts and go up to age 14 or do.

Great for me as the petite range is massive. I can buy for work, play, holidays etc. Again, few shops do a decent petite range. Gap is an exception, but the quality is hit and miss.

KoshaMangsho · 26/05/2018 22:19

Their adult clothes are okay. Their kids clothes are superb and last a long time. And I also love their range for boys.

dontcallmelen · 26/05/2018 22:20

I have never paid full prices, the kids clothing is usually really well made good fabrics & line, nice bright colours & age appropriate last for ages & gets passed on at least twice.
I don’t buy much for myself, as I find the sizing is very hit n miss.
The double layered tshirts & ruched dresses are very good, agree that some of the prints are a bit loud.

Armi · 26/05/2018 22:27

I love Boden. I also love being middle class, so am unfazed by the peculiar attitude that it’s somehow shameful to dress as if you are middle class. I’m also not bothered about whether the clothes are ‘sexy’, as my overwhelming sexual magnetism transcends mere clothing. Plus, I don’t really worry about looking ‘sexy’, particularly when teaching 15 year olds about iambic pentameter.

CountFosco · 26/05/2018 22:31

I've bought from Boden for about 20 years, in my thirties most of my clothes came from there. Back then the quality was outstanding, and the clothes were predominantly natural fabrics. Their tweed is still very good, love their cashmere, they do a big range of cotton dresses and have a sizeable petite range. Kids clothes are colourful and well made. Shoes are good and bags are nice as well. Don't care if it's not sexy, I don't want to look sexy 95% of the time, I want to look professional or practical mainly. I can go elsewhere when I want to look sexy.

LipstickHandbagCoffee · 26/05/2018 22:31

No one said boden is shameful, it’s not a Scarlet letter.
Boden is however a uniform and v ubiquitous for mc women

RealEstateNovelist · 26/05/2018 22:32

As PPs have said, I would never pay more than 20% less than the original price. But also, I just like their clothes. The solids are better for me than the prints but I just like the style of many of their things and the way they fit my middle aged mum tum body.

I never really understand these threads. Sometimes it’s real estate, or private school, or clothing brands but the basic question is the same: why does XYZ cost so much when I deem that it’s not worth that much? People seem to think that their opinion is immutable fact and that vendors should price their wares accordingly. But that’s not really how it works, is it? There are many, many things in the world that wouldn’t be worth a lot of money to me, but I understand that companies will charge whatever the market bears. A lot of my friends shop at Zara but I usually find it too young and trendy for me, and the one thing I did buy was so cheaply made that it didn’t withstand one wash. So I’ve concluded that Zara isn’t worth the money to me, and I don’t shop there. Even with a given brand it varies from item to item. In a single Boden catalogue there are always lots of things I’d like to buy and would buy for half the price, but they’re not, so I narrow it down to the one or two items that feel worth it to me at that particular moment, just because I like the color, style, or size, or have a gap in my wardrobe that a particular item would fill. This year I knew I needed a new maxidress and a new swimming costume, and for me Boden works great for both of those things, and I was right. Box checked and I’m quite happy with my purchases. I’m sure many people think Boden’s maxidresses are poorly stitched, or too synthetic, and that their bathing costumes are uncomfortable or fade too quickly, or whatever else. But clearly there are enough people in the world who feel like I do because Boden stays in business, and in fact does very well. Simple economics really. I’d never spend a million pounds on a small flat, in London or anywhere else, but I do understand why they are priced that way.

dudsville · 26/05/2018 22:33

I bought a fabulous wedding outfit from them at 2/3rds off, making it very affordable. It is well made for the price I paid and it will last years as a timeless piece.

LipstickHandbagCoffee · 26/05/2018 22:36

Yes,price is what the market will bear.and value is subjective

auberginesrus · 26/05/2018 23:16

Also worth noting that a lot of their stuff is manufactured in Europe which is more expensive wages wise than Asia

QueenOfIce · 26/05/2018 23:20

I'm tempted to try a few bits but £85 for a cotton maxi skirt?! I know someone who swears by their Breton tops and she always looks lovely.

OP posts:
AndhowcouldIeverrefuse · 26/05/2018 23:26

I must have been very unlucky with Boden because the vast majority of the 2 dozen or so women's clothes items I have bought have been poor quality. A cardigan that was too tatty for the charity shop afer 6 months, a top where the whole hem came off in the first wash, black jersey dress bobbling and faded after 3 months. I will only buy their leggins now.

Based on the quality I am not ready to pay even discounted prices- I agree with the OP that Boden is overpriced not expensive.

The children's clothes are more hit and miss - boys' clothes seem to wash and last way better than girls'.

Mamaryllis · 26/05/2018 23:29

The Boden kids clothes I bought in 2000 onwards for my then newborn are still going strong after more than ten owners (not all mine). They went through my three (g,b,g) and then started doing the rounds. They used to do fab navy, white and red, so you could get away with putting them on any flavour baby. I also have a few tops that I bought myself that are 14 years old and still alarmingly show no signs of wear.
I had heard they had gone downhill in terms of quality, but I haven’t bought anything in 7 or 8 years. The stuff I do have is great...

PrimeraVez · 27/05/2018 04:45

I’m always surprised as well when people rave about the quality. I bought two wrap dresses from there and after a few months, the hem came down on one and the tie ripped the other. They both look really faded as well. I also find the fit of their trousers really weird on my shape.

Zoflorabore · 27/05/2018 04:54

I think it's frumpy and screams "old woman"

The kids clothes may be hard wearing but are mostly ugly and are worn by a certain type, normally the family that look like they have got dressed in the dark and need a good hair brush.
Don't get the attraction to it at all but I am not mc and don't live in a mc area so that may count for something.

EdWinchester · 27/05/2018 08:30

I bought this dress last week. And the shoes!

It’s gorgeous. I don’t think it’s frumpy nor screams old woman 🙄

Rememory · 27/05/2018 08:38

I don't think it screams 'frumpy and old woman either'. I'm not sure anyone would look at me and think she shops at Boden. But hey if they did, it wouldn't bother me at all.

Bag4lyfe · 27/05/2018 08:46

@lovelybranches and anyone else who is unhappy with quality, you should return the items! IIRC you can return things for any reason within a YEAR, so if the quality is clearly lacking I can’t imagine they will be difficult about it.

I once ordered a coat that never turned up and when I contacted them about it they sent me another one right away, no questions asked. Great service.

LipstickHandbagCoffee · 27/05/2018 10:08

Im in agreement with the frumpy woman description
It’s frumpy in a tick box way
Quirky or bold print✅
So called Clever detailing✅
Mass produced but on high street✅

It’s the clothing equivalent of jo malone perfume.. popular with mc women and everyone knows it’s expensive

AndhowcouldIeverrefuse · 27/05/2018 12:57

Sorry I think that dress is frumpy!

Bag after the first couple of times I just can't be bothered to call (and chat to the lovely, softly-spoken, slightly American-accented lady who sounds genuinely sorry for me) and explain about faded colours, stitching, swear that I do follow the care instructions etc. I don't want to spend time justifying myself, I would just like garments to last at least a year maybe? I have just stopped buying.

feutrecoloris · 27/05/2018 13:03

The clothes haven't been good quality for the last few years, and so I've bought very little recently. I have dresses from years ago, when they were far better quality, still going strong, however.

They're probably priced a little higher, because nobody seems to from them without one of their discount codes, and you're usually able to get a 20% code from a quick google search (or the promo codes section here).

ThenCameTheFools · 27/05/2018 13:11

I always imagine the people slagging Boden off think they look good in a cold shoulder top Wink or a pair of Saltwaters...or perhaps some monstrous assymetrical piece of linen from Cos. I'd be interested to see what they would class as "sexy" or "stylish" though, as the same old thinly disguised posters crop up year after year slagging off other people's choices whilst never telling us what they wear.

I do think they often get their patterns totally wrong, and end up, as I say on all of these threads, looking like Maria Von Trapp's been at the curtains again. Their plain jersey stuff is lovely, and loads cheaper than, say White Company for equal quality.

Their sizing can be bonkers as well- I used to wear their jeans in a 10L and then suddenly, despite the 10L I have still fitting me perfectly, I can't get a new pair over my bum.

For quality Bretons

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