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Original poster

I don't "get" Boden stuff.............

99 replies

alwayslookingforanswers · 19/10/2009 11:53

I shopped with Ocado for the first time yesterday - as it wasn't a huge shop so actually came in under my budget.

Along with my order today came a Boden Autumn 2009 catalogue.......I've just looked through it all and I think it's all hideous.

If I had a girl I may be tempted to dress them in some of the stuff (in girls sizes obviously) - but I really don't see the attraction for women - especially not at those prices!!!

Am I missing something really obvious, can someone explain the garish colours and styles to me..........

OP posts:

MaggieBehaveOutGuising · 19/10/2009 19:45

whoa back up there!? who buys clothes in avoca??

the anthology range?! I have one top from there, it's about four years old. Unfortunately it's too small.... My mum bought it for me after I had my son, in size small! She thinks five foot two = small. Yes, sorrrrrrrt of. I can wear it, but I look a slut in it.

PutDown · 19/10/2009 19:55

Think that may have been me Maggie!
Avoca Anthology,usually in the sale though,and usually knitwear/little tie cardigans that they do every year.
Have had a couple of Avoca ebay bargains though.

MaggieBehaveOutGuising · 19/10/2009 19:56

They do nice stuff alright. I always have a meander through the clothes section after my cup of coffee.

cherryblossoms · 19/10/2009 20:07

Madwoman - I am slightly shocked!

I think you should go write it as an article for one of the Sunday supplements/Times/G2.

kittya · 20/10/2009 13:07

I buy afew basics from there but it is expensive, would only do so with a discount. Ive found the range has got so boring the past couple of years. I was hoping to find a Christmas dress that would see me through the next few weeks but, I was really let down. I guess it means I should put some slap on and go out and actually shop. Thats all Boden is for me - convienient. I was was in Peacocks the other day and couldnt believe the range they had, great colours and fit and so cheap. The kids Boden stuff is great up until the age of 5, how many 12 year olds do you know that want to wear the same clothes as their pre school sister? it is out of time for that age group.

pointyhat · 20/10/2009 13:21

I have come to the conclusion that mn pigeonholes boden too mcuh.

kittya · 20/10/2009 13:53

They have something like quarter of a million people who use it, Im sure we arent all married to bankers or landowners!

purplepeony · 20/10/2009 13:54

Why don't we have a "I don't get NEXT" or White Stuff, or Peacock, or Primark?

Boden clothes are just that- clothes.
I think the vitriol is from people who don't like bein gmade to feel they should aspire to be middle or upper middle class- either because they are already or have no hope of being so!

There's nothing to "get" about Boden- you either like ( some) of it and buy it, or you don't.

LadyoftheBathtub · 20/10/2009 17:42

Well, I don't get Next! The children's clothes are OK but the women's just have something weirdly soul-sapping and repressive about them.

The reason people love to hate Boden is I think the culture and lifestyley thing that is promoted by the catalogue and by "Johnnie's" cheesily embarrassing remarks. And the fact that some RL mums you meet genuinely do seem to aspire to that all-out Bodeniness. It's very easy to mock.

As well as the sheer hideousness of some of the things - witness

LadyoftheBathtub · 20/10/2009 17:43

OMG

The spring preview is proving fruitful!

Original poster

alwayslookingforanswers · 20/10/2009 17:48

purple - I don't see any other shop being raved about so much on here as Boden. I thought as so many people raved about this that or the other they'd bought there that I - with my unfussy clothes taste - would find something I liked that they sell - even if it was just one thing.

I don't have an issue with expensive clothes (I love browsing thread were people are discussing £600 handbags - even though I don't even own a handbag and will never have that much cash to spend on one if I did) - I was just shocked by what I thought were either childish colours, or plain - but frumpy designs.

OP posts:

kittya · 20/10/2009 18:21

Boden is easy to mock, its the sodding catalogues that come through the door practically every other day. And they are cheesy. And when you ring them it sounds like Prince Charles has answered the phone!! Having said that, I have spent a fortune there on pieces and the jeans really do fit my rather large arse well but, I wouldnt wear them with a Boden top and thats the thing with them, you have to wear their gear with other fashionable pieces. Its all in fun.

ohnelly · 20/10/2009 18:28

Oh good I dont get it either! Everyone goes on about it on here!

kittya · 20/10/2009 20:31

Its the huge American following they have. When you read the reviews Im sure more Americans buy into it then we do. Do you reckon they look at the catalogues and think we all live like that?!!!

madwomanintheattic · 21/10/2009 03:25

american thing v recent though. only the last two years?

ten years ago boden was strictly army officer/ wife/ plus 3 or 4 kids/ plus labradors. it was when they started advertising on the radio it all went downhill and the quality started sliding as the profits went up. the obvious next step was transatlantic in the hunt for more cash.

i've got a sweater (plain navy ) i bought eight years ago and last year i thought, d'ya know, i love that, i wear it all winter, why not order another one in greige... well, i did, and from a distance they are identikit, but the 'new' one is really cheap with lousy finishing. same with kids clothes - i normally buy them for the largest and then they all wear hand-me-downs. in the same order i also bought a velour dress, again identical (different colour/ pattern obv) to the six year old one that has been worn a hundred times and washed as often, by three kids, and is still good as new. the 'new' one is lightweight, flimsy, catches and snags on tights, and is just generally cheaper all round.

harumph.

Eve4Walle · 21/10/2009 06:47

I can assure you I'm not trying to be trendy when I wear my few Boden items. It's more classic style really, I feel underdressed in anything else. I tried a dress on in Primark the other day and it just looked awful. Cheap fabric and child labour. Who would be happy with that combo?

Sakura · 21/10/2009 07:23

Im SO glad someone has brought this up. They send me their catalogue because I bought a kids item once ages ago and as I flicked through it I realised there was not one thing to my taste in the womens section. Its frumpy, bright and tasteless. I expected to see <span class="italic">one</span> or <span class="italic">two</span> things that Id like, but nope.
Some jackets were ok in the mens, but nothing really exciting.

I don`T mind spending money on clothes but whats the hype with Boden? You can get classy, fashionable and gorgeous things for the same price elsewhere. Is it because its an established brand name?

Original poster

alwayslookingforanswers · 21/10/2009 07:28

eh who said my shop of choice would be Primark?

I don't mind spending more money on clothes, but they have to have something nice in the shop for me to part with my cash.

OP posts:

traceybath · 21/10/2009 08:23

Well where do you like to shop?

You see I can pretty much go in any shop and see some stuff I like and some stuff I don't.

With boden I find the website better as can see the items in all colours more easily. In the catalogues its often the more garish colours photographed but then you look online and see it comes in navy/stone etc.

For what its worth I wear regularly, boden, topshop, new look,jigsaw, kew, comptoir and a mulberry handbag.

But I like shopping hence I'm always on the style threads.

purplepeony · 21/10/2009 08:52

I think the reason Boden is mentioned on here so often is simple- Boden is an online store, and MN is an online chat forum- so peeps who go on one tend to go on the other.

I've got quite a lot of Boden stuff and I don't think it's recognisable- velvet jeans/trousers, cropped summer trousers, a couple of cardis and jumpers- all plain not appliqued- a couple of smarter dresses- again, all plain.

I avoid prints like the plague as they tend to be mumsy, restro or simply too bold for my petite frame.

I like the ease of ordering and quick refunds etc.

Question for me, is where else do I go- I am 50+ but am told I look mid 40s- so, not ready for CC, Alexon or most of M&S.
Not keen on Hobbs or LK Bennett as too dressy for most of me most of the time.

White Stuff is too predictable and aged hippy, ditto Fat Face, have the odd top etc from White Company, and then the rest of my stuff is mainly Kew and Jigsaw- but both have hiked their prices.

If you don't like it, don't buy it- it's not mandatory!

kittya · 21/10/2009 23:02

Ive never seen anything in M and S I like. The Boden jeans suit me so I do tend to buy them. I am disappointed by the quality these days though and the prices are ott. I wonder if the American market is getting bigger than the uk one? The girls stuff is lovely but aimed at the under 8's in our family, and the quality is definitely not as it was in the kiddies range.

piratecat · 21/10/2009 23:08

it's balls

carriedababi · 21/10/2009 23:46

the aduts stuff is usually frumpy and middle aged.
the kids stuff is great though.

EdgarAllenPoo · 22/10/2009 21:07

i recently bought a per una skirt, and a Boden one. on Ebay -

The peruna one has so many flounces on it, even though i like a bit of flounce, i am tempted to cut them off. also, a 10 was ok size wise. The quality of fabric and finish was not great, felt thin and thready.

The Boden one - nicely finished, good fabric. Bit faded looking - and i think that is the colour it was intended to be. but 3 inches too long, the twelve might have done for me...though 14 was a safe bet. Was tempted to use the flounces fom the Per Una skirt to jazz it up a bit. A good - but distinctly unexciting garment.

so Boden - for thinner, taller, more boring women than Per Una, that want their clothes to last. So Boden from my very limited experience of one item = a good buy, if you have something interesting to 'dress' it with. Will most definitely wear it though.

wish i could afford their knitwear. am actually tempted to learn to knit, though the cost of wool is quite prohibitive too..

i think fat face/ white stuff is also a bit drab, and also expensive for what it is (even on Ebay)

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