Boden Duro. Duroden? Boro?

Several of you have sent me a link to this lovely dress from Boden, which comes in at least three colorways, most of them brown. I am intrigued by this version -- I like the higher neck and longer skirt as being more likely to insinuate extra inches (vertical ones, not horizontal ones!) onto one's frame, and it's rayon so it should be nice and flowy.

I must admit to having a bit of a grudge against Boden as their gift exchange policies are a bit nuts -- if someone is so kind as to give you something from their catalog, and if, for one reason or another it doesn't fit (literally or metaphorically), instead of just swapping things for you they have to refund the giver's card and then re-charge it, which makes one highly reluctant to initiate any kind of return process. (Which is perhaps why they do it that way.)

But on the other hand, I do have a lovely light twill coat from Boden in a crazy orange, blue, and khaki floral pattern that I wear to DEATH in the fall and spring. It goes well with my stripey orange skirt. I love floral and stripes together. I bet there's some online sanity test somewhere that takes points off for admitting that, along with "I often make silly faces when I'm alone" and "I often imagine what things would look like upside down and inside out."

Boden does tend to sell out quickly, so if you want this (at $128) I'd order fast. Half the colors and sizes are already on a three-week wait, although that would get you your dress right in time for the first possible moment you could wear it, at least here in Chicago.

I'd like to make one of these in a similar cut, only in two different patterns of men's charcoal wool suiting. Maybe even with flap welt pockets. I think it would be deliciously ironic, although that's not quite what one should plan one's fall wardrobe around. Maybe that's a question on the test, too: "I often dress to tickle a sense of humor shared by very few."

Comments

[Erica B.]

Hi Erin,I love that dress, it's very similar to the new Butterick pattern. Yes, Butterick now has a pattern for the "It" dress. The difference in theirs is that instead of tying in the back, it's much more tailored with set in sleeves and a zip back. It may be worth trying.

[Valerie]

I like. The main pattern is very hypnotizing! If you make your wool suiting version I hope we get to see it! That would be lovely.

[Anonymous]

OMGI answer YES on all those questions

[LNLisa]

These fabrics remind me of the cochico line of fabrics. I wonder if they're related? Interesting dress. I can't say that I love the combination, still it is arresting, isn't it? I'm obviously in "hmmm..." mode. :)

[Gidget Bananas]

The fabric of the dress pictured reminds me of the 1970s version of this dress made in Indian print fabrics similar to the Indian bedspreads. Ah nostalgia!

[sdn]

ha, i thought of you when i saw that too. i haven't ever bought anything from boden, but this will soon change, i suspect.

[meara]

Ooh, I was loving this dress, and going "Ooh, my probable size is in stock!", then realized that it was UK sizes, and my size was a 9 week backorder. Suddenly, not so enthused. (Of course, I never order dresses online because I hate not knowing how they'll look ON)

[Anonymous]

EVERYONE has a pattern for this dress, with some real differences in the designs, for example, fitted bodice with zipper vs. pull-on with tie back; skirt gathered into waistband vs. no gathers at waist, numerous sleeve variations. McCalls is the only one where the waistband sits on your natural waistline; the other 3 all have empire level waistbands.Although it appears that there are big differences in how wide the skirt is if you judge by the drawings, when you start comparing finished measurements, they are all about the same fullness. I bought all 4 patterns on sale; Im thinking I should pick and choose the parts I like from each.McCalls M5137 Butterick B4849Simplicity 4072 (Threads Collection)Simplicity 4050 Womens sizes (Khaliah Ali collection)CMC

[marcia in austin]

Special request: for those of us (or at least me) who are fairly recent converts to ADAD, could you provide a brief explanation of what makes a Duro, well, a Duro? And how it got the name?

[Erin]

Marcia ... that's a good idea! I should post a wrap-up!

[enc]

Oh no, deliciously ironic, c'est parfait! You should go for it, then photo it and show us. Please?

[john]

i think Heidi on Proj Runway was wearing a Duro or at least a duroesque dress last week-It did not go high on top but didi on the bottom-

[Liesl]

You have such a great sense of humor - I often laugh aloud at your posts. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Erin--don't bother with a wrap-up, just post a link to the first duro entry.Those who have not gone back to read the entire archives are not appropriately awe-struck and are mere dillitents anyway. :)

[Deb]

I have been infatuated with the Boden dress ever since Posie Gets Cozy mentioned it on her blog. Tonight I bought the McCalls 5137 and the Butterick 4849. I read through both of them and think I'll probably do the Butterick since it seems more fitted and figure-flattering. If any of you have worked with this pattern yet, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

[lynneguist]

It's funny this has come up now, because I'm in the midst of lots of correspondence with Boden about exchanging a gift item. (First they refunded the wrong amount, then they seemed to ignore the fact that I'd written some new item numbers in the 'exchange' section of the returns form. Why do they allow you to put exchanges onto the form if they don't actually do exchanges?At any rate, in my last e-mail to them, I included a link to this post to let them know that they're getting bad press about their returns policy. I'm sure that'll have more force than me griping about it myself...

[Jesse]

Awesomely, if you google "duro dress" (no quotes in the search) this is the first working page that comes up.

[Pencils]

I like the quality of Boden, but I'm not very happy about them right now. I tried to order stuff from the website while at work on Friday, but twice I got an error message, which didn't surprise me, as I use an older version of Safari here and it sucks (as does our IT dept, don't get me started.) So I reordered the next day, along with some other items that tempted me (including the wrap dress), for a total of about $330. Yesterday I found I had two separate charges from Boden on my Visa totalling over $500, and email notification of the shipment of repeated items, but none of the shipments equalled the charges on my Visa. Apparently, one of the Friday orders did go through. Also, they already charged me for several items that are backordered for two to four weeks. Which I don't like. American companies don't charge you for things until they ship them, I guess in case they never show up! I will have to complain to Boden when I get home. Maybe they'll give me a coupon.

[Anonymous]

I like the clothes and the quality, but Boden's customer service leaves a lot to be desired. They always advertise free returns and exchanges, but I've yet to receive a free return when I return something. There are no instructions on the label on how to get the free return, only how to pay for a return. Exchanging is another nightmare.

[marcia in austin]

Dearest Anonymous, I am absolutely not a dillitent. I might be a dilletante. I am definitely a spelling geek.And Jesse, thanks for the gentle suggestion to JFGI. :-)

[TransplantedOkie]

In case you want to try McCalls 5137, the pattern is now on sale at Hancock Fabrics for .99!

[NK]

I ordered it! Web site said a 9 week wait, then they shipped the next day. Hope I can keep it a while before deciding whether to return it, because I'm not gonna be ready to wear it for at least a month.BTW, happy belated birthday--I didn't have my computer calendar and I plumb FORGOT about the do til it was over.

[Laura]

I've been pondering that Boden dress, too (and was one of the folks to post the link). The color you show here is my favorite, too, but I'm not so enamored of it that I've bought it yet. I wish that one of the colorways had less orangy-brown and more purple, blue, or green.Thankfully, I've never had to return anything to Boden, but I imagine with the transatlantic thing it could become epic. All the things I've gotten from them have been great quality with a really nice sensibility, though, and the prices are pretty reasonable.

[Anonymous]

i work for boden and our returns arent that difficult to do if you do them correctly. if you want to exchange a itemwhich was a present ring and tell us your gona send a item back and we can make a note on your account, and if the items in stock we will exchange it. put a note with your number on it and we can give u aring if its not.i must admit your stock level arent so good you have to get your order in as soon as the cato come out.

[TransplantedOkie]

Just finished the McCalls pattern and it was a snap! And I am not even that great of a seamstress! Will send pics when I can figure out how....