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?

I’ve just turned 30 and recently discovered a love for Boden, maybe it’s an age thing

I used to buy from them at the outset, when JB himself answered the phone to take your order (pre internet) and the catalogue was a pamphlet with friends as models. They clothed my now - adult sons when they were little, and DH is still wearing Boden shirts from last century!

I've given up on them in recent years. I think that has more do with the dive in quality and some of the questionable styles, than my advancing years.

Some Wyse London is similar to early Boden but so much more expensive.

Wasn't it wonderful

Had beautiful boots and coats from them

I still have a tweedy one from 2015 but it has gone a bit bobbly

My boiled wool one's lining ripped so I got rid of it but it was lovely

You can repair the holes with some silk thread or visible mending.

I seem to have to do this more now with knitwear garments especially armholes

I used to spend a fortune there. More recently I haven't been able to use my 'no minimum spend' voucher as I haven't been able to find anything.

@theatrical I haven't even bothered looking for anything with the last few £10 vouchers I've been given. It will be interesting to see if I get anything for my birthday as I've not bought Boden for 5+ years now.

I wish I had a John Lewis within an hour's drive.

I used to absolutely love it! I was always a bit busty for them and and their trousers never fitted me properly but I used to buy quite a few bits for myself and clothed my DC in Boden and the children's clothes were such good quality that I used to sell them on very successfully or give them away. The fabrics have got worse and worse though! I had a look over the summer to buy a present for a friend's child but the prices!

I loved the ottoman dresses! Perfect for work!!

Why are they now using grumpy looking teenagers as models? My teenagers would be horrified at the thought of wearing anything from Boden.

For me it's the colours. I don't mean I don't like colour, but they are mostly so bright and garish and look cheap to me. The children's things too.

I think they always went for prevailing styles in the way they do now. There was a point in the early 00's when all their trousers were low rise and brown/beige predominated. It wasn't great. I think, despite the poorer quality, my 60s self simply wouldn't wear what my 30s self did.

Their children's socks were awesome. Stayed on and were indestructible. Worth every penny.

I don’t look at the kids catalogue any more as mine would run screaming but do they still do as many outdoor shots for the adult ones? There rarely used to be a photo taken indoors but now they seem to be mostly standard poses so the “Boden” lifestyle context feels massively dialled down.

Just had a look at the website. The skirts are all terrible.

I think this year's offering is much nicer than it's been for years, except for the prices. They seem about 20% too high

I miss the Ravello blouses.

I agree with the poster upthread, all my lovely jewel coloured cashmere cropped cardigans (perfect length for dresses) have got holes in! Yet never any sign of a moth on the traps (assumed that was it was, but no just rubbish quality).

Agree. For me, nothing in the catalogue has been remotely appealing for ages. And the quality of the cashmere and jersey dresses has changed. The high necklines finished me off.

And the ridiculous prices.

I’ve just looked at it. It reminds me of Matalan. Horribly drapey cheap jersey dresses and garish prints. Too many prints.

l was quite taken by this. But at 59, not sure l want a low cut back really.

And they never make anything in grey. Which is my best base colour.

I'm sure that someone in Boden is monitoring our chats and I'd like to hope they'd care about our comments but somehow doubt it. Like most of us, bar a velvet patterned coat and jacket (something I have in a couple of other designs, but the quality is definitely not the same, as lighterweight and depth of colour lacking) from mid / end of last year, everything else I ordered has gone back, as it really was not worth the money or looked good on! I buy from a very wide variety of retailers, charity shops, Vinted, and I have a few items from Boden I cherish and look good, but all purchased at least 5 years previously, if not before second-hand.

So Johnnie wrote to me this morning...he had a £10 gift for me and he pulled me back in. I'm not proud of myself but I've gone and spent it on a top in the sale (square necked swing top, pretty print that might be garish when I see it) I was looking for jeans but you know how it goes...just one more look...

I agrée. They have a beautiful dress but there’s a huge cut out on the bottom of the back - who is that aimed at? It immediately means I can’t wear it for work or in 3 out of 4 seasons in the UK!

I've given up looking as their prices are spiralling out of my reach.