How this fashion ‘mum-brand’ became the hot buy of 2025

For a while there, I was something of a fashion unicorn. By which I mean, I was the only one I knew who still shopped at Boden. I’d become used to hearing that shocked ‘No way!’ from a friend who might ask where my nice swimsuit or spotty loafers or rainbow silk blouse were from. I can’t prove it, but I think I may well have been the very last Boden customer still patiently, loyally trawling the website for traces of the brand I knew and loved.

Perhaps being a fashion editor for many years (not to mention a dedicated shopaholic) is why I was still able to find a few little gems there. I still wear a pair of pony-haired leopard-print flats bought in 2017, and they’re still adding a nice bit of pep to my tired old denims. But many core Boden shoppers – middle-class mums of a certain age – had fallen out of love with it.

I’ve never abandoned the brand, but oh boy, so many definitely did. In the year to December 2023, the company reported an eye-watering loss of £12.3m. The return to thundering form of the last year – a staggering turnaround to a profit of £34.6m to December 2024 – has been explained by many things: more presence in the US, a revamped website, the reintroduction of babywear and the expansion of third-party partners like Next in the UK.

But for my money, Boden’s renaissance shows what can happen when a brand stops fretting about what it isn’t and leans fully into what it is.

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In short, there was a time when Boden tried to be cool. And that was not cool. No one wants “cool” from Boden. And yet there were a few years where the brand decided to chase fashion-forward trends more, in a bid to turn the heads of younger customers. A collective shudder surged through middle England as Boden’s colourful, preppy DNA was sidelined in favour of more sombre palettes and utilitarian vibes. The dress lengths got a bit racy for us mid-lifers, the knits a little snug.

And founder Johnnie Boden, himself an ebullient figure always dressed in bold patterned shirts and usually something pink, learned the hard way what we all knew all along: the crux of our affection for Boden has always been in its delightfully “anti-fashion” fashion. In its cheery, witty and whimsical clothes. We love that the preppy vibes dance ever so dangerously with being a bit cheesy. We adore Boden precisely because it does what so many fashion brands seem to actively loathe: makes us smile.

We want happy clothes from Boden – always did, always will – and their redelivering of them is paying off magnificently.

In these difficult times of ours, it can feel like putting on a colourful dress might be your only option for a hit of dopamine. There’s joy to be found in cutting a dash in your blinding magenta coat on an otherwise grey day. Any brand can make a sensible pair of black trousers, but it’s Boden that knows how to add the party with a kaleidoscopic top.

I’ve even brought some ‘too cool for skool’ converts to the fold. My friend and Friday Night Fashion co-host, the designer Amanda Wakeley, is always a glamorous vision of understated beiges and greys. The ultimate poster girl for quiet luxury. Yet she was quite thrown when I found her new favourite dress for her in Boden: a voluminous peasant dress in a gorgeous shade of camel and embellished with white embroidery. It’s an obvious winner for the beach with your favourite flip-flops, but Amanda’s made it red-carpet autumn-ready with a belt and slouchy boots, too.

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The new offerings are, I’m delighted to report, some of its strongest yet. The joy for me is in Boden’s knack for adding touches of wit to an otherwise pedestrian outfit. This season’s Edinburgh swing coat, with its quirky chevron print, will work with jeans or a smart black dress. The Chelsea Wellies, with their neon pink sole, will make me smile every time I put them on for a freezing wet dog walk.

And that’s all anyone ever wanted. Keep making us smile, Boden, and please never, ever try to be the cool kid again.