BODEN- I am so over them after 30 years.

[SummeryBells]

If I was married to them I'd be filing for divorce.

I loved them thirty years ago when I bought a poacher's jacket.
There was the honeymoon years when I couldn't get enough of them. Lovely knitwear, basic trousers, nice plain-ish smart dresses, great wool coat still going strong after 10 years.

And now I can't bear the sight of them.

The colours are garish, patterns headache-inducing, dresses nothing that appeals, prices- well, don't get me started on those - £80 for a pair of basic jeans? T-shirts close to £30. I could afford all of this but refuse to be ripped off.

I wonder if they will exist in a few more years?

The quality used to be so good in the mid 90s- heavy silk shirts, beautiful men’s suiting and great children’s clothes. Buy the odd item for old times sake when I get a discount voucher, but I don’t want to wear viscose garish dresses in huge sizes. Now buy things from Maxmara, Jigsaw, Me and Em, Massimo Dutti, The Outnet, Net a Porter, John Lewis - not their own brands but they are great for returns through Waitrose.Boden and the catalogues used to be a real treat and the town hall sales were great for a bargain.

Now, I think Boden is scratching about trying to please people while spending not much on manufacturing: that's why they are appearing to have a midlife crisis whilst on less than H&M quality
You're right there.

I used to think Boden was nice, good quality clothes, though overall not really my style. I've never been a browse the catalogue and want everything sort of customer, but they had some nice pieces in that would work with my wardrobe.

Now I feel like lots of their lines wouldn't look out of place in F&F in Tesco. They're quite generic. Joules went the same way in my opinion. Started trying to be all things to all people rather than doing one thing/style well.

Boden has been alarmingly awful recently, but I'm quite liking the look of their newest range. Everything is a lot more simple in wearable colours. I haven't ordered anything yet though, so it could be crap quality. Obvs waiting for a sale!

The colours are awful. Bright green, bright pink, orange and navy.

They never ever ever ever ever ever sell grey trousers.

I've had my money' s worth from Johnnie with a boiled wool coat , with a purple spotting lining, that I have worn and worn for 10 years and looks new still. Ditto the Richmond stretch type trousers, cashmere jumpers, and some jeans.

However, I think I have grounds for unreasonable behaviour (or adultery) based on his current offerings. He is not being faithful to a middle aged, middle class, run of the mill woman who likes quality fabrics and designs that are quite 'safe' but with with a hint of 'fun' and quirkiness. NOTE: hint.

Every single dress seems to have something wrong with it.

Too low neckline (or too high- nothing in between) , terrible patterns (I mean who wants a dress with toucans on it FGS?) or you can have plain black or navy.

Long sleeves on what could be a summer dress, or no sleeves/short sleeves on winter dresses.

Summer dresses that have armholes so deep/cut away you cannot wear a bra (unless you fork out for strapless.)

I spent the early 2000s lusting after Boden but could only afford it 2nd hand on Ebay. Now I'm earning enough to buy it new, I can't bring myself to do it - so I'm divorcing before we've had a proper relationship. I've got some nice bits from Seasalt (but they can head towards frumpy) and Mint Velvet are fab for jeans. M&S seem to have caught up and filled a gap with some nice prints for summer stuff.

Poetry is good.

I tend to only shop in charity shops or preloved, but remember the old Boden catalogues from the 1990s.

Nowadays, I might see good quality natural fibres Boden in the CS, but the garish prints and polyester or poor quality t-shirts are there too, and it doesn't sell.

10-15 years ago I really liked Boden. Really good for workwear, coats and summer dresses. Pricey, but good quality. Always had to avoid the wacky prints, but the plain stuff was great.

It went off the boil years ago. Firstly, they blatantly reduced the quality of fabrics while also taking the absolute piss with pricing. Now the designs are poor to boot.

I browsed their website yesterday for the first time in ages and the dresses are cheapo high street designs and fabrics for high end high street prices. Behave!

For me, the main quality issue is the hems. The hem of pretty much every item I have bought in the last three years has come down after a couple of washes. That never used to happen. I also agree about the prints. I like a bright pattern, but even I draw the line at trousers covered in tigers or palm trees!

I've only ever bought jeans and swimwear from Boden and I used to buy kids clothes but the quality now isn't anywhere near what it used to be.

I just had a look on there. Couldn’t find one thing I liked even in the sale section. Horrible.

I found Mistral on John Lewis and bought a couple of bits. Went onto their website and bought a couple more. It’s nice and bright and what I bought is so far very good quality….sort of boden and sort of a more feminine bright seasalt. Worth a look!

@littlestrawberryhat , I thought Mistral had gone into administration. Hope not because I like their stuff. I like Nomads too.

could not agree more! Have not bought from them for ages! Came across a shop recently that I think is going to be my replacement. Not sure they are in the uk though. www.kinglouie.fr/collection/tous-les-produits/robes

What happened to Ottoman dresses too?

Boden has completely lost the plot

I’ll be amazed if they’re still around in a year or two. The quality is nothing like it used to be. A lot is now horrible, cheap, manmade fabric. Their shoes used to be comparable with the likes of LK Bennett, but the most recent ones I bought were awful quality.

I’ve had good quality cashmere jumpers from M & S Autograph and Lands End. Also some fabulous wide leg linen trousers from Lands End. Some tops from Seasalt, but the dresses make me look like a Sunday School teacher. I’ve got Boden dresses from 10+ years ago that are still going strong - plain colours, or nice patterns, mostly cotton.

Like everyone else, I used to buy loads from Boden - but not for a few years now, sadly.

Ditto

I agree with what you are saying about Boden. I get round this by buying vintage Boden from Vinted, that way I still have the quality and natural fabrics.

I've bought at least twice as much Boden from eBay and Vinted in the past 3 years than I have direct - and the direct stuff was almost all with a 30% off code and/or heavily discounted in the sale.

I can't find a match for their skinny jeans (I size up for perfect semi-skinny ones) and some of their swimwear is good, but apart from that their sizing is erratic, embellishments annoying, models totally unrelatable and pricing insane, especially in light of the falling quality.

While I'm on a roll, could they please bring back cropped, non-cashmere, everyday cardis, in practical colours and without stupid poofy shoulders?

I totally agree, I used to buy from them every month and I can’t remember the last time I did.

I’m glad a previous poster mentioned ottoman dresses - I couldn’t remember the name. I had so many of these in lovely colours and they were ideal for work. It’s all overpriced flouncy styles now that are way to long for anyone under 6ft, or alternatively mini dresses that might be OK for someone in their mid 20s (who won’t be able to afford them).

I've found Boden stuff in T K Maxx for several years now. I don't think it's a new thing.

Well, I am glad it's not just me.

I've just had another look at the website to convince myself.

Most of the dresses have either very high necks (which I don't suit) or very plunging , revealing necklines.

There seems to be a mismatch between the neckline and the sleeves. High neck + short sleeves or low neck+ long sleeves.

I picked out a couple of midi dresses which , if you put a gun to my head, I would wear...but they were around £120 for polyester or other manmade fabric.

If I wanted to pay that price, I'd choose Jigsaw who at least have some natural fabrics and nice patterns. Except all their dresses are way too long for me.