Thursday, September 13, 2012

Boden! Or, Twee For Two

I love Boden. If at all possible I will sneak away for ten minutes with the Boden catalogue and daydream about fun prints, effortless style, and which three items I will purchase to make my fourth item free. Because free is all I can afford from the Boden catalogue.

Then a couple of months ago I was on a birthday shopping trip with a friend at Nordstrom, somewhere I only ever go to the use the loo, and two Boden dresses jumped off the rack and mugged me right in the childrens section. I swear. On sale, in my daughter's sizes. AND, in a blueberry print, perfect for our upcoming trip to Maine.

Now, the nice thing about living in Southern California is that - unlike your normal UK high street -  you are us unlikely to see a Boden print walking around as you are to see a pair of Marks and Spencers knickers. The chances of someone else wearing the same dress were slim to none, and the chances that someone else (my husband) knowing that I'd spent Boden prices on dresses, even when on sale, were negligible too. Hooray for me.
Here are my girls in a complete mockery of a Boden ad. 

Anna looks like she's got a serious case of rickets....or she's about to launch into some morris dancing. What is it about these two and not being able to smile at the camera?!


Anyway - the point of this is obviously not to prove how photogenic my children are (!) The point is they are in matching dresses. Something they get a bit of a kick out of, and I'm quite fond of the idea in a nostalgic kind of way. With a three and a half year age gap and Anna approaching eight, there's not going to be much opportunity for this kind of sisterly display in the future. They love wearing the same thing, and that's the important thing - BUT, I bumped in to the mother of an old friend of Anna's the afternoon these photos were taken, and she took one look at the two of them, gave me a knowing smile and said "I'm guessing someone's Grandma did that to them, am I right?" To which I could only give an embarrassed grin.

What do you think - matching dresses cute while it lasts, or too twee?





19 comments:

Vicky said...

Oh they are bonny! I'd say cute and definitely enjoy it while it lasts :)

Secunda said...

Super cute! What's not cute--mother-daughter dressing.

NellaBean said...

Love it! I fully support matching sibling outfits while still possible. I remember desperately wanting a mother-daughter coordinated dress when I was about 6. Sigh. My mom was not on board (not that I blame her now.)

Loo xx from Jumbles and Pompoms said...

Yeah, why not. Your girls look beautiful. Gorgeous dresses. I like a spot of Boden too and it's the only catalogue that I really like to peruse with a cup of coffee and a doughnut, ideally! I buy only if there are special offers too!

Almost American said...

I'd love to dress my two in matching dresses like that - but I think my son wold object ;-)

FeatherDuster said...

Very cute! And unlike most of the rest of the country, living in Southern California you can make a good attempt at getting something close to your money's worth out of them :-)

nappy valley girl said...

Definitely cute - I sometimes dress my sons in similar, if not quite matching, outfits, and remember growing up wearing matching dresses with my little sister!

Anonymous said...

It's a British thing, isn't it? I say cute, also.

MsCaroline said...

I occasionally dressed my sons in similar (not exactly matching) outfits when they were small, and had a number of friends who did the same with their children (boys and girls) - I don't know how common it is in the Northeast US (where I'm from originally) anymore, but the practice is still alive and thriving in the American South!

thegrumpygirl said...

To be honest - you did want honest, right? ;) - I don't get the whole dressing siblings in the same outfits thing. Granted, I don't have kids. But I think it's as weird as couples in matching outfits. In both cases coordinating some is completely fine in my opinion, but matching? A firm 'nope'. Because individuality! :)

Anonymous said...

I too am loving Anna's Morris-dancing pose. Surely there is a gap in the SB market for Morris-dancing classes? Having been raised in Kent, I feel that I am perfectly qualified to teach them.

And having been dressed in matching outfits with my sister (matching swimsuits?!?) when I was little, my advice would be to listen to your kids. If they want to wear them, go for it. But as soon as one of them doesn't want to, there you go.

Speak soon, I hope. Sx

Sarah @ Modern Country Style said...

I'm definitely in the Go For It camp! They look extremely sweet!

I love Boden too - and I have found that some designs last for aaaaages - a good few years longer than the label might indicate - definitely good value for money!

Sarahx

Ashley said...

I have a twin and we were dressed alike on occasion. The one time in particular that I remember was Black Friday (day after Christmas) shopping at the mall. We must have been about 5 years old. My mom had made us matching white sweatsuits with puff paint holly leaves down one side. It sounds awful, but it was cute. The best part was that my dad took my sister one way and mom my took me the other. When my dad lost track of us (long before cell phones) he picked up my sister and asked the nearby sales clerks if anyone had seen a lady with the other half of the matched set. The outfits stood out quite well.

Laura said...

OMG, I LOVE these dresses on your girls! ADORABLE!!! I love day-dreaming with the Boden catalog, too. Makes me go out and buy lottery tickets!

I confess that I am a mother of twin girls, and I dress my girls alike approx. 3 days out of four! Oh, c'mon, that's why I had twins! They are almost 3, and I know I can't get away with it much longer. But it's fun! The great thing about So Cal is that you can pretty much wear sundresses all year round, so you get good value from all clothing purchases. I keep telling myself...

AliBlahBlah said...

Thank you everybody for your lovely comments! I think the consensus is as long as they enjoy it, then there's no problem - but Secunda I have to agree about the mother/daughter dressing!! No Hannah Anderson style mother daughter outfits here. McCutcheon - thank you for your honesty - that was exactly what I was looking for, and it's what prompted the post in the first place, because if that other Mum hadn't said anything I'd have been none the wiser that some people thought it was just plain crazy.

One definite advantage though - in a public place it makes it much easier to spot the two of them!

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