I’m not sure whether I should lead with the kids back-to-school clothes or mine, because I have to tell you— I made perhaps the most important clothing discovery in my 44 year-old life. I am KICKING myself for not discovering this earlier, because it really would have changed everything.
I am a size petite.
I know. People think I am tall if they only know me from pictures online, but they are forgetting that their frame of reference is two other exceptionally small people— aka, Mazzy and Harlow. Yes, of course, I look tall when I stand next to my two tiny children. Would it surprise you to know that along with Harlow, Mazzy is also the shortest kid in her class?
Now I am not THAT short, which is why I have never tried on petite clothing before. I am 5.4″. At Boden, they size their petite clothes for 5.3″ and under. Also, I never went the petite route because I associated petite with being small in general (likes Sizes 0-4), and not just short. I’m usually a Size 8. A couple of years ago, a fashion designer friend told me that I have a short shoulder to breast expanse, which is why I am always adjusting my bra straps to the shortest length possible and also explains why neck and waist lines are often too low for me, creating a very dumpy effect, particularly in dresses. My friend told me that I should be altering all my shoulder seams with a tailor. I nodded and said, “Oh yes, my clothes will look so much better that way!” Then, out of purely sheer laziness, I did absolutely nothing to change them.
When I was faced with today’s collaboration with Boden, in which Boden was kind to include me (the mom) in a back-to-school clothing haul with my kids, I gravitated to the pretty dresses as usual. Then I reminded myself— NO. YOU NEVER LOOK GOOD IN THOSE. Just select something safe.
But what’s the fun in new clothes, if it’s always the same boring colors and silhouettes? I wanted to try some stuff that was fun and feminine! Then I saw the petite option and thought— Hmmmm…I wonder if the petite clothes would look right on me?
It worked! I cannot even tell you how excited I was putting on the dresses and seeing the waist in the right place. So much more flattering! I also got the petite size in these awesome wide legged pants, which made wide legged pants work for the very first time too.
Look how I don’t even have to hem the pants! Also, I’ve decided this polka dot shirt is the new black. It looks good with everything.
But enough about me, let’s get to the main back-to-school clothing event— MY KIDS.
Mazzy and Harlow have very different styles, but they have both always had a sweet spot for Mini Boden clothes. They have been wearing their clothes since they were little and since the stuff is so durable, most of Mazzy’s stuff makes it to Harlow’s hand-me-downs. And to just take it one step further, most of Harlow’s stuff gets handed down to Neve or Arami. So, when we get a new shipment of Mini Boden clothes, everyone in our family is excited.
I let Mazzy and Harlow choose their own clothes, and as expected, Harlow gravitated more towards the pretty tutus and playful dresses, while Mazzy selected fun t-shirts and funky leggings.
BUT. There were also a whole bunch of surprises. Like the fact that Mazzy selected a yellow bohemian dress with no prompting whatsoever.
She completed the look with a pair of navy boots and the whole outfit looked ADORABLE on her.
She also was excited about a sequin hedgehog tee (Mazzy is all about obscure animals) and a top with a peekaboo tent filled with hidden forest creatures.
Harlow flipped for the floral skirts and butterfly dresses. But her favorite stand alone item was definitely the pettable panda shirt. She LOVES pandas and wore that top for the rest of the weekend. Did you know it goes with leggings, jeans and pink tiered tutus?
It also goes great with navy polka dot kicks.
Because we took these photos on a pretty hot day, some of my favorite selections didn’t make the shoot (like Harlow’s gorgeous cardigan with bird appliques on the shoulders, Mazzy’s new unicorn fall jacket and my black button down denim dress), but you should definitely look forward to seeing those in the fall. And probably for the next few years too, because Mini Boden clothes last and always get handed down.
Meanwhile, as long as I don’t grow, I’ll be wearing my new petite-sized clothes forever.
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 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.
Giveaway ends on September 25th at midnight. Winner will be notified via email.
Disclosure: US only. This giveaway is in not way affiliated with Instagram. Should you become the winner of the competition, we will ask for your personal details such as full name, postal address, telephone number and email address. This personal data will be supplied to Boden and used for the purposes of contacting you to facilitate in sending you your prize. Your personal details will not be used for any other purposes (marketing etc.) and your correspondence with Boden will be retained for 1 month after the correspondence has closed before being deleted. If you do not respond within 14-days of being contacted, another winner will be selected.
WINNER UPDATE:
Congratulations to Amanda Krieger! Please email allie@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize!
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All photos by Alexis Rae Photography.
The gold boots 🥾
I love the colours! My little lady would love the emerald green dress in either the smocked or the skater style for her fall wardrobe.
My daughter would love the All-Weather Waterproof Jacket in the Cloudburst Blue Snow Leopard. The print is so fun and so her style! I always have trouble finding the right winter coat for her, and this one looks perfect!
My 9 year old daughter says he has to have the reversible faux fur coat and the gold Chelsea boot! Also, being a huge Harry Potter fan, she loves the charms dress and the Hedwig bomber!!
My 7 year old is obsessed with the glow in the dark cat tunic!
Fair Isle sweaters for my girls, they have worn their old ones thread bare! A fave around here!!
There was plenty I want her to have, but I know she’d veto my choices! She will definitely want the glow in the dark cat tunic and the pink tiger stripe dress.
My daughters would love the leather Chelsea boots!!! They are 12,8 and 5 and love to match 🙂
My son would LOVE the blue sweatshirt with red cars. I just showed it to him and he grabbed my phone and hugged it!
I have a 2yo boy named Boden (Bodie), whose name was decided last minute when he came 3 weeks early and his very average parents were not prepared. Inspiration? A Boden clothing catalogue!
I would personally love that polka dot top! But what we probably need more is multiple of the 5-pack boxers as we’re sending Bodie off to school in a week and they’ll be trying to potty train him! And socks! Do anyone else’s kids lose socks left and right?!
Love love the gold high top sneaks, hedgehog top and Fair Isle Cardis.
Boden is a fave in our house, especially the knit dresses and bathing suits! 🙂
First I just want to say that I am obsessed with the wide pants/polka dot outfit. You look amazing.
I know That summer is not technically over yet but that all-weather waterproof jacket in the white/blue heron is beautiful and right up my girl’s alley.
Definitely the sparkly pink Chelsea boots for my daughter and the monster sweatshirt for my son!
Bedtime would be the cutest with the Harry Potter striped pijamas!
My kids love the new harry potter collection at Mini Boden – especially the shirt where Hedwig the owl is holding the letter THAT OPENS! 🙂
My 3 year old daughter would look adorable for family photos in the ruffle trim dress in chambray daisy.
Such beautiful designs and it’s so refreshing to find fun designs for boys! My oldest son would absolutely love the lightning bolt jeans for his birthday in October. While my trucks and cars crazy 2 year old would love any of the vehicle tops especially the lift the flap ones.
My son totally wants the rainbow striped hoodie!
My daughter would LOVE the Printed Tunic in College Blue Unicorns (or any of the other unicorn or sequined items, really).
These clothes are super adorable! I never would have guessed that you’re 5’4! Haha. I would have to pick the crochet heart sweater for my daughter. It looks super comfy and obviously darling! The bohemian yellow dress looks amazing on Mazzy and I bet you look so cute in that black button down denim dress. All the heart eyes for that one! ❤️ Thanks for the opportunity!
The unicorn applique tee that has the head on the front and tail on the back. My favorite is finding mini Boden in the thrift store for pennies compared to full price!
My daughter loves panda so the panda legging is a must buy for her.
My daughters would love the color change sequin dress in rainbow! What a cute collection. Your photos are lovely!
My girl would love the Pocket Jersey Dress–the striped one with the green pockets. Cute, perfect for layering, and most importantly–COMFY!!
Oh my goodness, so many cute things! My daughter would love the flocked animal sweatshirt (she loves animals and cozy clothing!) and for my son The camo lined skate pants because he’s all about the camo this year.
Hengrave coat in either Baltic or ruby! My mini me wears a uniform now so time to shop for myself 🙂
Ooh the high tops with the butterfly on the heel would go down a treat in our house!
The puffer coat and sweater dresses!
My daughter would LOVE the Cosy Sweatshirt Dress in Vintage Pink Cats! She desperately wants a cat, but we can’t have one because my husband is allergic. So we make up for it by buying her all things cat!
My daughter would love the spotty skater dress, any of the Chelsea boots but definitely the sparkly ones, and anything with a cat on it. I love Mini Boden! Their clothes really do last forever.
We love Mini Boden! My daughter is all about the panda and owl, and she would love to wear the Hedwig owl dress to school!
Slim cord pants for my son!
Everything in the baby dresses section is a win! My toddler just started preschool and those reversible dresses are oh-so-darling!!
Love love love the silky blouses.
There is nothing better then the mini boden shaggy lined hoodies. They stand the test of time! And they are so cute and cozy for fall.
I love the shoes for kids! It seems like we fall into having the exact same shoes as everyone else and I love how cool and different these are
There are so many amazing pieces! I love the blazer and pant sets – especially the turquoise floral pattern!
We LOVE Boden at our house! My girls have also been wearing their clothes since they were babies and still do at 6 & 9! We absolutely love their shoes and the cosy gilets! They would currently love all the animal print (especially the reversible faux fur coat!) and all the animals! The pandas and bunnies! So adorable – how can we possibly choose only one thing?
With a new grandbaby on the way, I need ALL the baby clothes! But for my grandson’s, love the monster sweatshirts! For me, the Amy Jersey Tunics look great! I just need everything!
Seeker Sweatshirt is a must
Bright Yellow Raincoats for the walk to school are a must!
So much cute stuff! Really liking the Colour-Change Sequin Dress and the Hotchpotch Dress for my older one (both in the rainbow pattern) and the Jersey Play Set for the baby.
I would pick the Woven Top Play Set – Chambray Floral Embroidery for every day playing!
I’d love my daughter to have the owl t-shirt but she’d probably love the Printed Appliqué Dress – Navy Love Clouds Unicorns!
All of it so adorable and I may have already purchased a couple dresses and cardigans (Broderie detail dress and everyday cardigan) for our upcoming family photo session. However I am obsessed with the “Retro Check Pinafore”. So cute for my Kindergartner as well as the “Fun pocket Jersey dress”
My boys would love the novelty animal shirts!
As a shorter person I live for great petite sections! And as a new mom, I’m in need of some new clothes to fit my new body. I LOVE the fair isle sweater and nostalgic smocked dress for my baby. Everything is so cute.
Love the apple themed jacket!!!!
My first thought was to buy my 6yo new fall/winter clothes but after seeing those green pants on you I’m pretty positive I’d spend it on myself!
The Fair Isle Cardigan would be my cardigan-loving daughter’s favorite!! And mine too because of the vintage-vibe!
Love every design and the fabric quality is amazing. My daughter wants to wear them to bed as well they are so comfortable. My favourite ones are the polka dots for sure!
The sweatshirt dress and the colorful tights!
I love Boden! I discovered them a few years ago and I’m addicted. Their clothing is so well made, and age appropriate for my three girls. If my girls could pick something, my oldest daughter would love the Skinny Fit Dungarees, my middle daughter would love to twirl in the Spotty Skater Dress, and my baby girl would look adorable in the Ruffle Trim Dress. I usually splurge on my girls before myself, but if I had to pick something for myself I’d love the Long Sleeve Freya Dress. I love that Boden offers sizes for us tall girls! Thanks for sharing your post and photos of your beautiful girls.
We are obsessing over the HP line… especially those Harry Potter Quidditch pajamas…which would go great with our surprise universal studio vacation for Christmas for our son who has been begging to go to Hogwarts and get a wand!!
Boden always knocks it our of the park! My daughter would FLIP over that rainbow cozy sweatshirt dress, and she would look darling in it!
A friend loves the mini Boden winter coats and I’d love to get one for my son!! Also the Harry Potter stuff is so cute
We love Boden clothing! My daughter would go nuts for that hedgehog top Mazzy picked out!! I am also gravitating towards the pocket cord pinafore—such versatility! That is key with temperamental SF weather. 😂
We have depended on Boden since my son was tiny. He used to walk right out of his pants until we discovered all the pants with actual drawstrings that they have 5 years ago, what a lifesaver!! My son is also incredibly picky about clothing, it makes shopping difficult lol. No matter what though I can count on him loving his Boden jeans T-shirts and zip up hoodies. He refused to wear any long sleeve shirts last winter so we got an incredible amount of use out of the shaggy zip up hoodie. Boden is a lot for our budget frankly. It would be great to have more than one pair of jeans for him and he is about to grow out of last year’s zip up and loves the blue camouflage one in this falls catalogue.
The unicorn applique shirt for my unicorn loving girls! And a pair of the fun low tops – so cute!
I think my daughter would love the everyday smoked dress, i love the green. And for my son the glow in the dark beast T-Shirt. Glow in the dark is very important for 6 year old boys!
Everything is adorable! I would love to get my daughter the fair isle cardigan or retro check pinafore!
The cosy padded jacket and the suede cosy boots for those cold days coming up in the winter!
There are so many things i would get. But I would love a Pack-away Padded Jacket for my son and the Leather Biker Boots for my daughter.
We love mini Boden! My son would love the corduroy overalls and also the camp stripe shirts! We’ve also been eyeing their novelty vehicle t-shirts.
My daughter needs that unicorn jacket!! 🦄🦄🤩
We must have leggings. They are a go to. And a dress with pockets!
Can I be honest? I am just going to be a little selfish for once and pick something out for myself this season! The Luna jersey jumpsuit is calling my name!
I love the Penny Jersey dress!
I never shop for myself, so I would LOVE the Caroline dress for me 😊
My mum in law always bought my children their clothes from Boden, as babies and now bigger kids. They are so unique and great quality. I looked at the women section and there are some beautiful items. I think if I had to choose items that we had to have for the school year, it has to be coats/jackets. It is a great feeling knowing that your kids are comfortable and in great quality coats for the winter season.
BTW(Sept 25th is my birthday, just thought you might like to know 😉
I could clothe my whole family in Boden! I love the retro check pinafore for my daughter. The Cosy Waterproof Coats would be so perfect for both my son and daughter for the upcoming weather we will have in Chicago.
I really want to get my boys a couple of things from the Mini Boden / Harry Potter collection. I’ll probably do it anyway but would love to win a gift card to for it!
You are making me want to try wide leg pants and I’m SUPER short so good job lol! There are some super cute button down and wrap dresses. I’m loving the jean one, but they are nursing friendly which is key right now. My little guy would be adorable in the fox cord overalls. SO cute!!!
Cardigan with bird appliques! I want it in my size!
The leopard print applique dress is pretty amazing. A leopard and a rainbow! My daughter said that is her favorite. There are so many cute things!!
My kiddo is in LOVE with the Harry Potter line, and also from reading this post I found out she is totally “a Harlow!” She loves all of Harlow’s outfits.
Must have pandA T-shirt and blue boots !!!!
I could easily see all your photos in the next Boden catalog! Y’all look great! My daughter is all about unicorns and there are tons of options on mini Boden! She would love the unicorn tiered dress or the printed appliqué dress with the unicorns and rainbow.
We really need some versatile shoes! Things that will work for play (take a beating) and have plenty of support while still not looking sloppy.
I love Boden and love these outfits! The benefits of being an educator is new school clothes and I think I need all the petite clothes from Boden immediately after reading this. (Especially the adorable green pants outfit)
My kid would love the fair isle heart cardigan. What happy colors!
oh. my goodness. those yellow hedwig overalls! absolutely would we get those.
My daughter needs that tiered tulle skirt. The length is perfect! I never would have picked it but seeing Harlow wear it with that Panda shirt has me sold!
I LOVE boden for my kids and me. I just ordered a blue cross-back dress for my daughter. everything they have is such high quality.
Also, you look amazing in that polka dot shirt and green pants. AMAZING. Putting it on my wishlist now.
Also – thought you might think it’s funny, sherry from younghouselove.com also discovered she’s petite this year 🙂
Colorful tights and some bright knit cardigans!
The trapper hats are super cute and cozy for my boys this winter!
Something from the Harry Potter collection – the Hedwig shirt, or maybe the socks, or the boxers. My son loves HP!
I have to say, if I won I would get the little boys party blazer. It wouldn’t even be for my son. One of his friends from preschool wears the same blazer EVERY DAY! He loves it (and I absolutely love that he does!) but he is outgrowing it. I’d get him a new one!
I would love the Coraline dress for myself in one of the adorable patterns. No one does a print like Boden after all!
My girls love mini boden. I will definitely have to get a few of the T-shirt’s and tunics with dogs on them. My younger daughter is obsessed with puppies (puppy sheets, puppy pillow case, her lovey is a stuffed puppy) and wears the 2 pieces of clothing she has with puppies on them as soon as I wash them. It would be nice to expand her choices!
My son would love a shaggy-lined zip up hoodie for fall and the prehistoric print is the in line with his current favorite things- dinosaurs!!
My older daughter desperately wants both the seeker dress and the flippy sequin platform 9 3/4 t-shirt! We’re also big fans of Boden’s fun tights – I have looked at this season’s yet but we had a pair with bunnies on the legs that my younger daughter LOVED!
We love Mini Boden in our house and for all the reasons you said in your blog. I have found that their clothes look good a little bit big and look great even when the little guy starts to outgrow them-are they magical!?! The quality is amazing and everything washes so nicely and always looks fresh. The mix of whimsy, fun but still a little bit adult makes me want to wear MB’s kids clothes-have you checked out the rugby’s??? We have worn MB winter and spring jackets for years and when we’ve passed them along they practically look new! He is very upset he has outgrown his favorite reversible, blue camo shark coat!!!
If we had to chose one item, it would be the Party Blazer! It’s so on trend, but does not look stuffy! That jacket would go far in our house!
I love the brand! Both for me and my kids!
My daughter would love the shoes Harlow is wearing! Also the apple dress!
Our little one has been nicknamed “panda” since day one, so we have to have the pettable panda sweatshirt for the fall!
I love mini boden!! All of their clothing is so fun and unique and definitely lasts a long time!! With that being said, I think it’s about time I got some back-to-school clothes as well!! 😉 Quite honestly, I’ve never looked at the site for women’s clothes and phew! Can I decide on just ONE thing?!?! The Bardon ankle boots are adorable and I can’t ever pass up a good leopard print. BUT my favorite is probably a tie between the Cassandra v-neck sweater or the Melinda sweater! 🙂
The Printed Jersey Twirl Dress with the blue butterflies would be a HUGE hit with my 5 year old!
Cosy Waterproof Coat – Navy G1515-NAV because the hood is amazingly fun. Even on a grey cold day, all you have to do is glance up and see the rainbow of colors to brighten the day.
So many cute Harry Potter clothes! I’m happy that my girls don’t know they exist, or the begging would be insane. They would absolutely love to pick something out. Thank you!
We walk to school on cold mornings during the winter, so the All-Weather Waterproof Jacket would be perfect for my second grader!
The Cora sweater in ruby ring would be perfect for me. At 5 foot even, and a size 8 – 10, finding adult clothing that fits right is extremely hard, so I have all of two sweaters that I found several years ago. Neither is particularly flattering. I’m about to dive in and look at shoes. My daughter and I both wear size 4s… have you ever tried to find a unicorn like size four shoes for a 47 year old?
I’ve been following you since Mazzie was little and Harlow unborn. Your site has grown almost as much as the girls!!! It’s been wonderful to prep into your world from time to time. 🙂 I always look forward to your posts.
The cassie espadrilles are gorgeous… and in my size!!! The party ballet flats in that bright red completely appeal to my daughter. I love that their sizes cross over, and dont assume that just because you are small you are a child!