In a few weeks, I’ll be heading to a friends wedding in the UK, which means I am in search of a new outfit to wear. The prospect of this might be exciting for some people but I am not a fan of clothes shopping. In recent years I have grown tired of wandering around the shops, often aimlessly, in search of a new item of clothing. Even my partner has become better at buying clothes than me and that’s saying something when a 30-year-old male enjoys a Saturday shopping trip.

Being in Germany hasn’t helped my enthusiasm as I have found the Damenkleidung (Women’s clothing) shops uninspiring.  The main shopping high street in Bremen isn’t the best, although this isn’t representative of all German cities as I hear many are great for splashing the cash. The clothing shops on offer for women in Bremen include Espirit, Peek & Cloppenburg, Zara, Pimkie, Karlstadt, two H&Ms and a few others. Recently the Mango store closed down to my disappointment, that was the only shop I could rely on to find something suitable.

Obernstraße, the main shopping street in Bremen on a quiet Sunday. PHOTO – Sarah E

At first, when I moved here, I struggled to find fashionable clothes that appealed to me, a woman in her early thirties. Everything seemed aimed at older women. I observed that in Germany, or Bremen perhaps, the women dressed more casual and practical, therefore, the shops on offer provide more laidback, plain and comfortable clothing. That’s fine, I’m a girl that is most comfortable in her jeans and trainers but sometimes you want to have a nice outfit for a special evening. As well as the lack of inspiration, I found the clothing more expensive than back home in the UK. It didn’t appear there was a middle ground between cheap and poor quality and very expensive super stylish fashion. Even once I got used to the prices appearing higher because they were in Euros, I found that certain items like shoes seemed quite costly compared with what I would usually spend. In response, I had to adjust my purse strings accordingly (within reason) and seek alternative ways to find new things to wear.

Online shopping

As my energy to trawl the stores in person plummeted, I turned to the internet to fill my requirements. My greatest discovery was Zalando, a website launched in 2008 in Berlin, which offers all the kinds of women’s clothing for all budgets and occasions. Not only does it have a vast range of items, home delivery is free as well as returns, which is handy because I spend a lot of time sending items back to them. This has since become my ‘go to’ website for dresses, coats, shoes and more. I also found that many brands in the UK that I previously bought things from have a German version of their website, for example, Next. When the website loads it automatically takes you to the German version of the site but you can switch the currency and language if you want to. It is better to order from this version of the site, rather than the UK version because then the items are shipped from a German location rather than coming all the way from the UK, which is not ideal when you need a purchase to arrive quickly. Plus it increases the delivery costs.

Escape the high street

Although the high street in Bremen city centre doesn’t offer much variety, there are several large shopping centres to visit such as the Weserpark, Waterfront or Roland Center, all named appropriately for the federal state they are in. Just like the shopping malls I was familiar with in the UK, they have numerous international and German stores under one roof, which is handy when it’s raining as it often does in northern Germany. In these shopping centres, you will tend to find supermarkets, food stalls, hairdressers, cinemas, tech equipment stores as well as well known clothing shops such as C&A, Primark, Hallhuber, Only, COS, s.Oliver and Vero Moda.

Springtime sale at Hallhuber, a fashion brand that first opened in Munich. PHOTO – Sarah E

Located on the outskirts of the city centre, often you’ll find outlet centres where branded items are sold at a reduced rate, sometimes half the price. The outlet centre closest to where we live is Ochtum Park. Here you’ll find high-end German brands such as Marc O’Polo through to good quality sportswear from Adidas. It’s a good alternative when you don’t want to compromise on quality but don’t wish to spend a fortune either.

Second-hand clothing

There aren’t many charity shops in Germany from what I understand. I have only seen one Oxfam in Bremen, whereas in the UK there are many charity shops where you can pick up a second-hand bargain. They do have second-hand stores though which offer good quality clothing. From my experience, they are quite selective about what items of clothing they accept. We took some items to donate but they weren’t up to the standard they look for. In the end, we took the clothes to the recycling centre instead so they didn’t go to waste. Another place you can get a great deal is at the Flohmarkts (flea markets). Often these take place at the weekend and are the ideal place to practise your haggling skills.

Useful phrases and words to know whilst you’re out shopping for clothes: 

Mens clothing =  Herrenmode

Womens clothing = Damenmode

Childrens clothing = Kindermode

Coat hanger = Kleiderbügel

Fitting room = Anprobe / Umkleidekabine

Can I try this? = Kann ich das anprobieren?

Can I help you? = Kann ich Ihnen helfen?

Did you find what you were looking for?  = Sie finden, was Sie suchen?

Do you have this in…? (insert colour, size, etc) = Haben Sie das auch in…?

Too tight = Das ist zu eng

Too loose = Das ist zu weit 

Too long = Das ist zu lang

Too short = Das ist zu kurz

There’s nothing worse than turning up to an event and someone is wearing the exact same outfit as you. Despite the difficulty of finding an outfit in Germany, I know that when I do find one, the chances are no one attending the wedding in the UK will be wearing it. The perks of living in another country. Enjoy your next shopping spree in Germany!

– Sarah E