Can anyone tell me what the best places to buy children's clothes here in Switzerland are? I live near Bern and being from the US I'm used to numerous, large children's clothes stores (gymboree, children's place etc.) Are there stores like that here? The most I have seen are small sections in some stores that have no selection. I have a hard time buying online because my daughter is very tall for her age and she HAS to try things on. I'm thinking going into France or Germany may be the best idea.

H&M shops have a good selection of kids' clothes. They are cheap(ish) and cheerful.

With the current CHF/EUR rate, you might find some good deals going over to Germany and France (check the forum for recommendations of shopping areas).

For girls, you can try Zara, too. Not too sure which ones have kids' clothes in Bern though. Manor's not too bad either. It gets a lot better the bigger the kids are.
Personally, I use every opportunity in the US to stock up on clothes. The other alternative is to check out France/Germany etc

There really aren't any stores like the US over here and the quality isn't there, either. I don't know how young your daughter is, but mine is also tall for her age, which is why I started shopping with euro cm sizes and never looked back (the whole age as size thing in the US is almost never accurate).

Basically I just buy stuff online at Hanna Andersson ( http://www.hannaandersson.com/ ), send it to my sister who takes all the tags off and sends it to me in a flat rate box. Stuff that's a little on the big side can either be saved for next year or hemmed. Of course, mine is only 4.5 with opinions about what to wear, not 8 or more where it becomes even more complicated. They have 50% sales twice a year ~20th Dec and ~12th June. I really miss living near their outlet in ME.

Give them a try if you don't find anything on this side of the world.

I also recommend H&M.

Just be warned - I don't know if it's just here CH, or a general thing for kids (particularly girls), but the cut seems to be sometime disproportionate:

- jeans/long trousers - the leg length, doesn't always relate to the waist size and crotch position;

- long sleeve tops seem to be made for short, skinny apes: the top is short and tight, but the arms are always far too long.

There isn't the variation in size combinations (especially jeans), that there is in the US.

I'm running into the same problem! I was thinking about getting things from Ebay. If we look at what size they were now, we could look for the same brand and add a size or two. Ebay is always hit or miss, but it might just work. I'm also looking in consignment shops. EF member casiopea has a shop in Adliswil. I've not been to it yet, but plan on going very soon.Good luck hunting!

My daughter just turned 4, so she goes through clothes very fast. I know that we wont find the variety like we did in the US, but I was hoping to find a place where clothes were reasonably priced. Would it be better to take a once a month trip over the border to France or Germany?

Blimey, I have a 4 year old and certainly don't shop for clothes once a month for him!

I buy the season's clothes maybe 3, possibly 4 times a year and supplement any odds and sods (undies and socks for example) if he needs it.

Our daughter grows like a weed. We have several dresses that we bought a month ago that are now tops and need to be worn with pants. On a happy note though, I just found out that Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic have just made it possible to buy and ship to CH. Makes it much easier.

I have the same problem but with two kids! normally i buy 4 different sizes (online) to match their sizes-)
I buy loads and loads from uk, basically everything and get them ship here, what i don't get to use or not their size, i put them up for sale! have a look at my link and see if you like anything, normally i put their heights etc so you can have an idea but still if you're not sure, you are more than welcome to come by and try them on your daughter (in ZH)
Otherwise i recommend Manor aswell, for my kids i have to go one or two size bigger though!
good luck
tala

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I have been shopping at www.naartjie.com and www.zulily.com recently. Naartjie ships here and I LOVE their clothes! Zulily I also send to my sis and she forwards on to me.

We were talking about this on Saturday.

My wife reckons Manor clothes for children are the same price as H and M but better quality.

She said that all Migros stuff is horrible and over-priced.

Completely agree with this for boys too. I thought it was just my boy who had short arms or something. He is actually really skinny with a long body and long legs and it's really diificult to find things to fir him here.

I agree that Manor is quite good ( H &M is the same everywhere) and have got a couple of things from Migros but only when they are on sale as I too think they are overpriced otherwise.

I would definetly avoid migros shoes. I bought one pair of finkli on sale that literally lasted less than a week before the elastic strap broke. Another pair of shoes I just threw out because the velcro didn't last long. Usually my daughter outgrows her clothes before they fall apart!

Most stores have great sales in summer and winter.

I like DPAM, but they tend to run small. Manor is good for basics. Zara has some nice items. C & A and H& M are the cheapest. But every second kid has the same H&M clothes.

I do get my mom in US to ship a few times a year from GAP, Old Navy, etc.

Zero7 is good, not cheap, but great clothes

I have good luck at DM in Germany, otherwise I think France is better than D and CH. The quality seems to be much better and the choice as well.
Ordering from the US stores is tricky because of taxes, but the price to quality and choice ratio is stellar!

Thank goodness it's not just my daughter! Every pair of trousers I buy her are too long and if I get shorter ones then the waist won't do up. Her tummy seems to be permanently on show from the tops riding up and everything needs the sleeves rolled up.

I tend to only shop in the UK now as I'm fed up of wasting so much money on things she can never wear (or she ends up looking like a tramp).

i bought my son a babygrow from there when he was tiny. The first time he wore it I discovered part-way through the day that the cap had come off one of the poppers right under his chin exposing the sharp spikes that hold the cap bit on and are normally hidden.

His little chubby chin had been pressing down on these spikes and was all scratched and sore.

Thinking it was a one-off I just chucked the item and carried on, then it happened again a couple of months later with another one so I stopped buying baby clothes from there.

Coop's "Milou" range is also a bit hit and miss - the fasteners on the trousers are fairly weak and often have to be re-attached in a repair job. Some of the stuff is okay and stands up to the usual wear and tear but those trouser fasteners are definitely a weak point.