Every summer, Mini Boden contacts me to see if I want to partner with them to promote their back-to-school clothing collection and each time, I’m like— YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Of course I do. Mini Boden is my absolute favorite line of children’s clothing. I like their adult clothing too (check out my awesome bird dress up top!!!!), but my clothes are kind of beside the point.
Picking out back-to-school clothes this year is an especially big deal because Harlow is off to kindergarten this fall. *SOB*
Her style is easy though. It’s pretty much in line with my own. We like dresses, mismatched tights, layers, lots of color and adorable accessories.
You can pretty much pick anything in the Mini Boden catalogue (as long as you skip the pants) and Harlow will be on board. She loves the little sequined details.
She loves the pops of color.
She loves the animal appliques.
She loves the thick cable knitted tights. (She even begs me to wear those to camp in 80 degree weather.)
I didn’t need to show her the catalogue to ensure she liked her clothes. I just picked everything I wanted her to wear and she loved it all.
Mazzy is much tougher. Last year, Mazzy and I really struggled trying to figure out her style. We both knew what it was NOT (no dresses, no pink, nothing babyish, nothing plain, nothing long sleeve…) We pretty much settled on jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. Although, exactly what t-shirts is a puzzle I still haven’t quite cracked. I know she prefers “cool” and “sporty” as opposed to “pretty” or “trendy.” But her definition of “cool” is very different than mine.
I have learned that Mazzy needs to pick out her own clothing or else nothing will get worn. When she and I first looked through Mini Boden’s fall collection, which is inspired by Wind in the Willows, I was a little worried. She selected one thing— a pair of striped sweatpants and an owl t-shirt. She also fell in love with a pair of rainbow hightop sneakers and a pair of gold sparkle hightops. That was it.
I told her we needed to pick out at least three outfits for the shoot but she insisted she didn’t like anything else, so I decided to select the rest of her clothing on my own and see what happened. Typically, when I look through the Mini Boden catalogue, I’m attracted to the show-stopping outfits that jump off the page— the striped rainbow sweater dress or the pink skirt with the big fox pocket, for instance. (I bought both for Harlow.)
I think that’s what Mazzy saw too when she flipped through and determined there wasn’t anything else she wanted. But Mini Boden has tons of more basic items that are lurking in the pages of their catalogue and I found myself earmarking things I normally wouldn’t have noticed— like jeans with heart patches on the knees, a pretty white button down, overall shorts, brown suede boots and a polka dot hooded sweatshirt.
When the clothes arrived, both girls tore through the packages excited to see what I had chosen. Mazzy was especially excited, holding up each item and exclaiming, “Mom! I actually LIKE this!” Thank god.
Her rainbow hightops came a few days late and I swear she stalked the mailman until they arrived.
The girls also got some back-to-school accessories like a backpack, a fox bag that converts into a rain jacket and an umbrella that they will have to fight each other for an rainy days.
I got a few items for myself too.
I tend to get really practical clothes because I know that’s wha will get the most use.
But in an uncharacteristic move, I ordered a navy bird button-down dress with a yellow ribbon sash. In truth, I ordered it because I thought it would look good in the photos.
I was right and I $%$#@ love that dress.
Not only does it give me a showstopping outfit to wear for once, it has these covert buttons on the underside of the closure (in addition to the regular buttons) so that there is no pulling or gaps around the chest. Best construction ever.
And it’s nice to look as cute as my girls. Well, almost.
For one last photo op, we recreated the inside cover of my book which (fun fact!) was a photo we had taken a few years ago from a previous back-to-school Mini Boden shoot.
I think Mazzy and Harlow are just as cute as they were back then.
And definitely just as well dressed.
GIVEAWAY: $500 Boden Gift Card
If you’d like to win a $500 Boden gift card to use on yourself or Mini Boden clothes for your kids…
1) You must be a daily or weekly subscriber to the Mommy Shorts newsletter. If you are not already a subscriber, you can subscribe here.
2) Then check out the Mini Boden site and leave a comment below telling me the one thing you or your kids must have for this school year.
Winner Update:
Congratulations to Rylie Burch! Please email allie@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize!
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All photos were taken by Christine Han.
This post was sponsored by Mini Boden, but we would be buying and loving their clothing regardless!
All of these outfits are so cute! My first grader needs the rainbow striped T-shirt for sure.
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All weather waterproof jacket or any of the cord overalls! So cute.
Rainbow dresses for sure! And those thick tights!
My girls NEED the printed tea dress!!! It’s so adorable. Three year old twin girls are expensive to dress. Cheers! ☕
My daughter and I are in love with the Rainbow Dress that Harlow has on. We have the grey sweater dress Mazzy wore in the photo shoot last year and my daughter, Maddie wore it all the time and it still looks like new! She is obsessed with rainbows and has already seen the catalog and loved so many things for her November birthday!!
There are too many to choose! For myself, I’d probably get the Carina Dress. For my son, I’d choose the Sherpa-lined Anorak. And for my daughter, I’d get the Stripy Jersey Dress!
The dresses….all the dresses! My daughter loves their cute prints especially the rainbows!
All the dresses!!! 🙌🏻 But honestly, if I could only choose one thing for my daughter, it would be the duffle coat in duck egg blue. I’m practical like that. As always, thanks for sharing!
I absolutely love the bright yellow Adventure Overalls and I think my 5yr old would agree. She’s her own style and I think this would be perfect
These are adorable!! I have a kindergartener for the first time and would love the pink fox pocket skirt!!
The pink fox skirt has my heart!
My daughter would look so adorable in the cat overall dress and my son would love and of the shirts with dinosaurs! Basically all my kids clothes are from thrift stores so, it would be so much fun to really shop and pick things out for them!
The jersey princess dress would be a favorite in our house!!!
I loved the Aria Tee. It was fun browsing through everything.
The car print dress and the chartreuse corddress are to die for!! 😍
It’s impossible to choose between the Sequin rainbow tee (the one with the owl) and Odd One Out. They’re too freaking precious!
Oh my cuteness! My daughter would love the little fox skirt.
We loved the rainbow dress that Harlow is wearing and the shoes!!! We are crazy about the shoes! The T-Bar flats and the Mary Janes are so cute!!! We ❤️ Mini Boden!!!
Both animal overall dresses are calling my girls’ names!
Mini Boden is a favorite of mine too! Your girls look adorable in their new back to school outfits! I love the Stripy Jersey Dress with the rainbow stripes on the pockets!
Definitely the rainbow high tops and overalls. My 1st grader would love it all!!
ALL THE ANIMAL ITEMS! I am crushing on the purple skirt with frog pockets. My oldest daughter picked the teal hedgehog shirt and my youngest daughter pointed and quacked at the duck shirt.
Everything is so adorable, but I love the pink & green flower dress & dress with rainbow appliqué for my two daughters!
The girls star sweatshirt for sure or those super cute rainbow hi tops mazzy was sporting. My daughter is so much like Harlow. Loves bright colors and a good accessory or five 🙃
Picking one is hard. Really hard. My 3 yo this summer decided that he’s going be a drummer. He met a drummer at bar we took shelter in when our car broke down. That drummer gave him his drumsticks. Then my husband got him a drum kit. It’s a passion. And now i see mini bowden has 2 (not just 1!) drum kit tees that he will not be able to live without.
Every school year, my daughter and I love to get printed dresses or statement tees, like dresses with cats on it or tees that say “Future President”. And we can’t start a new year without some cool kicks to go with our stuff! With my son, it’s easy peasy! He’s into the Nike Swoosh so if it’s got a swoosh on it, we’re golden. But I sneak in character and statement tees too!
If I had to pick a Mini Biden dress, it would be the printed tea dress with the forest animals. ❤
My dude starts preschool this year and is dinosaur OBSESSED! He would love those glow-in-the-dark dino tees. I’m going to order them for him regardless of whether I win or not! 😜
The duffle coat in duck egg blue. We are moving back to the states this fall after living on an island for two years so that we may be closer to family. My island baby wil need a warm coat!
I love their clothes! I’d love the pretty smock dress for my daughter!
I need the Sherpa hooded vest for my son, in navy! It’s ADORABLE. Love mini boden!
Rainbows! Rainbows! Rainbows!
Rainbow toweling dress!
Rainbow toweling dress!
The froggy layered fun striped t-shirt for my little guy!
I love ❤️❤️❤️ the rainbow jacket!
Love all the dinosaur themed clothes for girls. Hard to find cute clothes with dinosaurs for girls. My 3 year old would completely love them
Oh I love the boys waterproof jacket with rainbow stripes. My four year old LOVES color.
I love it all, but the corduroy dresses are so cute!!! Too bad my tomboy daughter would never wear them. But as a 6 yo I wouldn’t have worn them either!
All things from MiniBoden would be loved by us! Love the stripy jersey dress and fleece lined hoodies!
All weather waterproof coat. My girls would love the multi color rainbow print. Perfection.
All the leggings! Love those rainbow high tops too!
Too many cute things! My twins need the woodland a friends dress with the ducks a and the fun aplique dress with the rainbow!!!! I’m obsessed with back to school clothes atm.
Those boys red and blue leather high tops would take my son through the whole school year! ❤️
My girls would love the Odd One Out tops. And my boys would die for the Glow in the Dark Dino T.
Those denim overall shorts are amazing! I love how simple and cute they look on my daughter ❤️❤️
The all weather proof jacket would be great to have for my daughter.
The Jersey ballerina dress in navy! Or red!! Actually- both!
I would absolutely love the striped dress with legging set with the hot air balloon applique b/c I think we need to show kids that the sky is the limit. Positive messages on children’s clothes that will last show children what we want to give them, which is respect. I’m actually in love with all the messages in the catalog and find them so age appropriate and positive. Something that is rare in a society that pushes kids past appropriate boundaries. Thanks for the heads up!!
I love, love, love the twirly skirts and dresses. My 4 year old is in a super girly phase where she wants dresses and make-up, so I expect they’d get good wear time.
My oldest is similar to Mazzy – he is super picky about his clothes, only wants things that are “soft”. Plus, he has a tendency to wear through all his pants. I would love to get him the Warrior Knee Sweatpants. He certainly could put them through the test!
Those pointlette sparkle striped tees are amazing! I could see my daughter in one of every color this school year!
For my son–those adventure shorts! We live in Hawaii and non-buttoning rugged shorts are necessary for my rough playing kid!
The fox skirt is way too cute! My daughter and I also love the glitter suede boots and the overall shorts! Such cute clothes! And I love that you can get skirts with cars and dresses with airplanes!
My daughter is like Harlow, a dress for everyday. She would love the striped dress with the airplane making a rainbow. My son would like the jersey joggers. I love back to school shopping!
I absolutely LOVE everything on the Boden website. I would especially love the novelty zip-up hoodie, the reversible vests, and the leather high tops for my son who is starting kindergarten this year!
Was thrilled to see the fantastic clothing for boys. Can I just have one of everything? <3 My son would look so handsome in the Laundered Shirts, Oxford Shirt, Raglan T-shirts, and Skinny Jeans!
The car umbrella and rainbow dress!
It’s times like this I wish I had girls – my goodness there are some beautiful things… but not really – I wouldn’t trade my dudes 🙂 My guys would be all over the coloured skinnies and the coloured cords. Also some very cute graphic ts!
Harlow’s shoes are so freaking cute…!!
I have to get the Red Adventure Overall dress for my daughter. Red is her favorite and she is my wild little adventurer , so it seems like a must have!!
We love Boden and Mini Boden! That all weatherproof rainbow jacket, yes please. We just moved from warm year round SoCal to less warm Denver Colorado. A rainbow jacket will help winter, I’m sure of it.
All the Florasaurus things!
Those rainbow high tops for sure! But I also love the t-shirt with the horse and caravan on it.
My daughter loves all the clothes Harlow picked out but when looking through the website she wanted so many dresses. The one she particularly screamed for was the animal overall dresses, both the cat and rabbit. Mind you she’s just shy of 3.5 but she’s already quite opinionated. 😉
The cord dresses and cable cardigans! So timeless and perfect for matching all of the fun, bright pieces!
I like the solid color dresses with printed tights.
There are so many cool things I loved on this site! My favorites were the lilypad sequin dress and the long sleeve shirt with the horse with flowers for hair!
Everything is adorable, bright and colorful but if my daughter had to pick she would definitely pick one the appliqué shirts with the animals on it. She is a big animal lover! My son would most likely pick a button up because he loves to get “dressed up.”
My daughter is about to start preschool and she NEEDS the fox pocket skirt and rainbow cardigan. LOVE them!!
My daughter’s school has standard student attire, which means their clothing has to be navy, white, khaki or yellow with no logos or designs. This makes shopping for school less than exciting but the Pretty Cord Dress in yellow would be a great addition to her school wardrobe. Much cuter than uniform dresses!
I love the rainbow dress and sued boots … mini boden clothes are really adorable.
So many adorable things! I love both Mazzy and Harlow’s style choices. I would try to get my son into the “fun track pants” with the color bands around the knees. Comfort is really all he cares about, so I think they would be great.
I have 7 greatgrand kids. Thr only girl is the oldest, age 8. I am on a fixed income, but I would love to get her some of these beaitiful clothes.
I LOVE all Mini Boden clothes too. They are always so adorable! My youngest will only wear dresses and I would love some MB tights and leggings! Also any of the shirts/dresses with horses or owls on them would be a hit at my house!
The fun track pants with stars. My son has sensory issues and these are soft & easy for him to pull up and down …
My daughter would love the nAvy cat overall dress!!!
All the hersey dresses look awesome and they last a long time! And for my son the British guard shirt is too cute!
Definately the shaggy-lined sweatshirt and denim overalls. She is a comfort queen!
the cozy boucle sweatshirt with the apple on it!
Not for school, but ours is still too young yet-the all in one cosys look so comfy! I want one in adult size!
Would love to get my 1 & 2 year old the animal friend knitted jackets for fall, so adorable!
My 4 year old would LOVE the animal face overall feed!
The rainbow knit dress would be perfect for school pictures. I’m always looking for something that works well for that!
My 4 year old loves racecars and looking “handsome like daddy.” He’d be so excited to wear the Appliqué Oxford button down shirt with the race car appliqués (it even has race car stripes down the sleeves!). Perfect balance of style and personality in that shirt!
The Sherpa-lined Anorak with Racecars is also SO him!
Can’t forget about my 1-year old, he’d look so cute in the Nostalgic Overalls Set. And either the Cars or Ducks Printed Duffle Coat.
I love that all those items are so unique and showstoppers (which is always a struggle to find for boys)!!
Jeans and long sleeve tee shirts!
All of the dresses! I love the polka dot jersey ballerina dress, my daughter would be twirling all over the place with that full skirt!
well, my son could definitely use the All-weather Waterproof Jacket. As for me, i ll take the Philippa Top . and lots of coffee.
I bought a couple of outfits for the summer from Mini Boden for my son, and while he prefers to walk around in just his underwear, he actually likes them! And since he can’t walk around kindergarten in his undies, the next best thing would be the layered striped shirt and star track pants.
All of the boys clothes are adorable! I love the raglan tees for my busy 3 year old!!
And my daughter would LOVE the rainbow detailed dresses!!!
I read the post alone but I invited my daughter to check with me the website. She only wants to wear dresses nowadays and the one she love the most is one with color stripes. Of course when she saw the rainbow knitted dress she felt in love. She literally said “Mom I really really need this dress because I don’t have one with long sleeves ” so this one it is.
Everything rainbow – so adorable!!!
The rainbow dress would last all season!
OMG! My daughter NEEDS that rainbow dress! And somehow she’d choose mismatched tights to go with it. She’ll be a 2nd grader soon but she’s been into rainbows and mismatching since she was 3!
I would definitely get my boys done if the raglan shirts! I always like to see what you pick for the girls, but would you ever think of adding an “if I had a boy I’d put him in this” section?
The pink striped dress with the hedgehogs on it. My daughter would go nuts!
I love love love their entire collection, couldn’t just choose one item!! Though I’d love to see my daughter in the Frill Jersey dress! how do their sizes run?
I want everything!!! But that rainbow knitted dress Harlow has on it my favorite ❤️ 🌈
We really like the shaggy – lined sweatshirts. The flutter sleeve dresses in both the bird and ice cream pattern are bold and colorful. Just the way I like my dresses and for the kids.
I wish i could buy my four year old on of everything! But if I had to choose just one, that hedgehog dress would be my pick, mostly because I know my daughter would absolutely love it!!
I love the Raglan Shaggy Hoodie with the airplanes!!
I love the fox bag and raincoat!