‘Too smug and expensive’ … it’s the Boden backlash

The sheen may be coming off clothing retailer Boden as customers have taken to the internet to brand it “smug” and “too expensive”.

The brand has been accused of being out of touch, with fashion insiders saying people are no longer able to afford its products and are bored with it.

Boden, which has dressed David and Samantha Cameron and has included Michelle Obama and Angelina Jolie among its customers, attained something close to cult status in middle-class homes with its distinctive catalogues.

But now mutterings of discontent have broken out on internet forums and it has even been a topic for debate on parenting website Mumsnet and the popular Middle Class Handbook blog.

One of the reasons for the apparent cooling off with Boden is its child model competition. Others complain the clothes are just too expensive in the middle of a recession. A cotton print skirt costs £45, a long sleeved T-shirt is £29 and a crepe day dress is £89.

A recent post on the Middle Class Handbook said: “Austerity chic means adopting an oh-well acceptance of making-do and mending, not trying to look like Sam Cam on a Cornish beach.

“In many ways, Primark is now more chic for the middle classes than Boden. Boden-bashing could become a bit of a retail sport in the coming year.”

One post on Mumsnet said: “When I look at Boden ads I want to say ‘stop looking so bloody smug’.”

Another wrote: “The difficult economic situation combined with apparently lowered quality and poorer design will make things hard for them.”

One fashion public relations expert, who did not wish to be named, said: “Boden’s clothes are too expensive and lacking in imagination. The brand image is difficult to reconcile with the tough times we are living through.

“Mums that once might have welcomed a catalogue in the bottom of their Ocado shopping bags no longer do. It is to some extent a victim of its own success. It is ubiquitous — especially among children in well-to-do areas.”