The Weekend Read: Boden: The British Brand That Refused To Go Beige

Judi Prue | Read in about 9 minutes

Hello!

Have you noticed that fashion right now seems to have developed a slight fear of colour? Walk around the high street and you'll find rails of black, navy, grey, burgundy, brown, and khaki and that slightly indefinable shade somewhere between oatmeal and mushroom. They're all very tasteful but dare we say it, sometimes a little safe.

Then you walk into the wonderful world of Boden. Suddenly there are pinks, greens, blues, stripes, florals and spots. And not forgetting embroidery, pattern, contrast trims and buttons that somebody has actually thought about. Boden has never been particularly interested in disappearing quietly into the background.

In an era when so many fashion brands seem determined to persuade us that sophistication must come in beige, we thought it was time The Weekend Read took a closer look at the British brand that has spent more than three decades doing something rather different.

From A Kitchen Table To A Global Brand

The Boden story begins in 1991 with Johnnie Boden. The first surprise is that he wasn't a fashion designer, he was a stockbroker. After working in London and New York for 5 years, Johnnie decided finance wasn't for him. Whilst living in America however, he noticed the success of mail-order clothing businesses selling good-quality, colourful, preppy clothes directly to customers. Britain didn't really have an equivalent so he decided to create one.

Boden began at Johnnie's kitchen table in West London with a hand-drawn mail-order catalogue containing just eight menswear pieces. His friends modelled the clothes and university friend Hugh Grant was even invited to take part but had to pull out at the last minute because he had a hangover!

Womenswear followed, then Mini Boden in 1996, and in 1999 the company ventured onto the internet, which was remarkably early for a British fashion retailer. Now, more than 35 years later, Boden has become an internationally recognised British clothing brand. Not bad for eight pieces on a kitchen table.

So Who Actually Designs Boden?

Johnnie Boden has never really described himself as a fashion designer. Instead, he describes his role as being the guardian of the customer, and we love that. Boden has its own design teams with Johnnie remaining closely involved with the look and feel of the brand.

And their inspiration has traditionally come from everywhere. Travel, vintage clothing, fabric fairs, flea markets, art, interiors, old prints, British heritage and influences from India, Japan and America. The result is something that's quite difficult for a fashion company to achieve: you can often spot Boden without seeing the label, and that's because it has a personality.

The Brand That Refused To Go Beige

This, for us, is where Boden becomes particularly interesting. Boden openly says they believe colour makes you happy. Well, as colour analysts, we're not going to argue with that! But there is something quite unusual about a large fashion business making colour such an important part of its identity as colour can be commercially risky. Black is easy, navy is easy and camel is easy. Neutral clothing is easy to photograph, easy to merchandise and easy to sell as timeless.

Colour asks us to make more of a decision. Do I suit that green? Can I wear that pink? Is that print too much for me? And perhaps that's exactly why Boden has retained such a loyal following as it gives us permission to enjoy clothes. Somewhere along the way, fashion became terribly serious. We were told to build capsule wardrobes, buy investment basics, wear quiet luxury, choose neutrals and strip everything back. It all sounds like perfectly sensible advice. But sometimes, we just want to put on a fabulous green coat.

When Boden Tried To Become Less Boden

Like many established brands, Boden has experimented over the years with becoming more fashionable, younger and more minimalist. But there's always a danger when any brand chases a new customer too enthusiastically. It can forget the customer who loved it in the first place.

Former Boden print designer Charlotte Daw has spoken about a period when the company moved towards a cleaner, younger and more cosmopolitan aesthetic before rediscovering the importance of the print, colour and British personality that had helped make Boden distinctive.

We think there's a lovely personal style lesson in this. Sometimes we become so focused on reinventing ourselves that we forget what was good about us to begin with. We see versions of this with clients. When we lose our way, we often hear:

I need a completely new wardrobe.

I need to dress younger.

I need to change my style.

Most of the time we don't, we simply need to rediscover the colours, shapes and clothes that make us feel most like ourselves and update them. Perhaps Boden had to do exactly the same thing.

It's All In The Detail

If you look closely at a Boden garment, you'll often find the fun isn't only on the outside. You may find a contrasting lining, an unexpected button, embroidery, a colourful trim or a print hidden inside a cuff. These things don't necessarily make a garment more fashionable, but they do make it more joyful. And that's an important distinction.

Boden isn't about chasing every microtrend that appears on TikTok. At its best, it's about making clothes you'll still want to pull out of your wardrobe in several years' time. Which brings us to price. Is Boden expensive? Let's not pretend otherwise, Boden isn't cheap. A dress, coat or pair of trousers can cost considerably more than its equivalent in many high-street stores. So are they worth it? We don't believe any garment is good value simply because it has a more expensive label attached to it. Look at the fabric, check the construction and see how it fits.

Then ask yourself how often you'll wear it, because a £150 dress worn 40 times is arguably a much better purchase than a £40 dress worn twice. This is where cost per wear becomes far more useful than simply looking at the price on the label. Our advice is to buy fewer things, choose them carefully and wear them repeatedly. This philosophy feels increasingly relevant.

Real Women With Real Bodies

Boden currently offers women's clothing from UK size 4 up to UK size 22, which is not a common theme among the high street retailers, so they get credit for this.

Where Boden does deserve recognition is its approach to different heights and proportions. Many pieces are available in Petite, Regular and Long fits. What's worth remembering is that petite does not mean skinny, it simply means shorter proportions. Boden's petite clothing is designed for women who are 5ft 3in and under, with proportions altered through the garment rather than somebody simply chopping a few inches off the hem or sleeve.

Likewise, longer fits can adjust more than just the leg length. This matters because two women can wear exactly the same dress size and need completely different proportions. Good style isn't about squeezing ourselves into clothes, it's about finding clothes that work with the body we've actually got.

Can Every Season & Style Shop At Boden?

Now we come to our favourite bit. Boden may love colour, but colourful doesn't automatically mean your colours. The good news is that because Boden uses such a broad spectrum of colour, there is usually something worth investigating whichever seasonal palette you belong to.

We encourage you to look beyond the 'Boden look', you don't have to dress head-to-toe in florals to shop there!

Dramatics should look for the stronger colours from their palette, cleaner shapes, statement coats and larger-scale patterns.

A Classic will find beautifully cut trousers, knitwear, jackets and simple dresses.

Naturals can look beyond the more decorative pieces towards relaxed knitwear, denim, easy shirts and casual jackets.

Gamines can have enormous fun with Boden's stripes, quirky details, shorter jackets and playful prints.

Ingenues may love the prettier prints, delicate details and feminine touches.

Romantics will be drawn towards a beautiful dress, softer fabric, feminine necklines and gorgeous detailing.

The trick isn't buying the most 'Boden-looking' thing in Boden, it's finding the Boden piece that looks like you.

Final Thoughts: Is Boden For You?

We love the fact that Boden isn't frightened of colour and still believes clothes can contain humour and personality. We also love the range of sizes and the attention paid to different proportions.

Personal styling is about finding those pieces that work for your body shape, your personality and your lifestyle. We would rather you owned one Boden jacket in an absolutely fabulous colour that makes your eyes sparkle and you wore it for years, than bought five pieces because they happened to be fashionable.

Fashion is currently having a very neutral moment. We're surrounded by beige, cream, camel, black and grey. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these neutrals if they're right for you, but sometimes fashion needs reminding that clothes don't always have to whisper. They can make us smile, and they can make other people smile. They can express our personality before we've even said a word and give us that tiny little lift when we look in the mirror.

Perhaps that's why Boden has survived for more than three decades. Not because it always gets fashion right, but because, at its best, it remembers something fashion occasionally forgets: Getting dressed is supposed to be fun!

Next week, we'll be heading to the high street to search out our top picks for coats this AW26/7.

Best wishes,

Judi & Jenny xx

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