Boden Heaven

I'm a big Boden fan. Since Rita gave me a loan of a Boden catalogue a couple of years ago, I've been a regular buyer on their website. Their clothes fit me (perfect size ten for top and bottom!), the styles are casual enough for me, and quirky enough too. It's all pretty and feminine without being too fussy. You can put together whole outfits thanks to their recommendations (plus they tend to go for colour schemes, so everything goes with everything). And it saves me the headache of going shopping in town or Dundrum and not finding anything that I like.

The only items that don't seem to work for me are coats - they tend to look very big on me, and their shape just doesn't work.

So it was with delight that I realised there is a Boden shop in London! It was a bit out of the way, but with the Tube, everything is within easy reach. It was about half an hour from our hotel in Paddington, and it couldn't be easier to find, just like it says on the website: "Central Line - 400 yards towards central London from Hanger Lane tube station. Piccadilly Line - Next door to Park Royal tube station."

Shopping Heaven - that's the only way to describe it. It's a compact enough shop, but it has more or less everything in the most common sizes. I tried on about 20 different things - the shop assistants take everything you pick up to the changing rooms and you can take in 8 pieces at a time. There was a comfy chair and a paper for Brendan just outside the changing rooms. There were a number of items I had seen in the catalogue and the website but that I wasn't sure about. Some were good, some not. By and large, it just confirmed my impressions from the website. I always read the bad reviews on the website - I find that's the best way to find out what the clothes are really like. But it's even better to be able to check out the actual colour, cut and fabric. In the end, I bought about 8 pieces and I was able to use the 15% discount voucher Lorna had given me (Thank You, Lorna!), so saved myself a bit of money too. And the Sterling exchange rate helped too!

All I need is a warm sunny summer to wear my pretty clothes!