Germany

[AGeeksWife]

my husband is going on business- is there anything nice he can bring me back?

I have a long shopping list for France but he gets sent to bloody Germany!

What sort of thing were you thinking about? I'm assuming since this is in style and beauty that you would like something along the make-up/toiletries/clothing lines. Hmmm

Roeckl or Codello for hats, scarves or gloves?

German Nivea - just the stuff in the blue tin - is supposed to be far superior to the UK version. Have a look at the reviews on Make Up Alley. Aldi face creams/serums etc are very good but I don't know if they're much cheaper than in the UK. I have to go to Rossman (a bit like German Superdrug!) later so I'll have a good look around. Don't forget the duty free aspect of the trip

Wolford/Falke tights are about the price in Euros as they are in pounds, so will be about 20% cheaper.

Dr Hauschka & Weleda cosmetics is much cheaper and stocked by many pharmacies.

Lots of nice food, too.

Artdeco makeup. Wonderful stuff. If nothing else, their eye shadow primer, 5 ? per tub. Better than Urban Decay. (Their other makeup products are also high quality.)

Munich and Frankfurt airports have great shopping - I stock up on Bobbi Brown in Munich and they have a good selection of duty free perfumes, also more rare ones, much better than probably almost anywhere in Europe. The kind ladies at Munich airport Hermes even gave me two lovely big sample vials (didn't buy anything).

That's the problem with living here - I focus on what you can't get, than what you can.

Niederegger marzipan and Ritter Sport chocolate go down well with my family too.

Thanks everyone, can start making a bit of a list for him (wonders how much I'll get away with before I get the 'it's not a fun trip you know' comments!

Dr hauschka stuff

Sorry someone mentioned that already! Dh used to bring back buckets of the rosen cream

If he's heading to Munich and you ever fancied yourself playing Heidi or a busty bar wench, now would be an excellent time to get a dirndl as they come out in full force for Oktoberfest which starts in a couple of weeks.

Sorry but can I ask what is on your France list? I'm going to Pairs for the first time in November with my 14yo DS.

I've been only to Dusseldorf and noticed lots of shoe shops [unhelpful?]

Faber Castell pens and pencils? Not really a S & B item, but dh says they are cheaper in Germany, than here.

I lived in Germany for 6 months and have really struggled to think of anything you could buy there, that you couldn't get here. Even the chocolate was horrible.

I can't think of anything either - Germany is the country that style forgot.

In Frankfurt airport duty free they used to refuse my credit card because it was chip and pin!

This was in 2010, though. It made me very cross because I needed those treats to make my incredibly boring business trips bearable.

Also can't think of anything fun and stylish from Germany...Haribo?

The average German is far better dressed than the average Brit.

Sorry, I disagree, AndiMac..... big thick wooly socks with their Birkies, mis-matched tops and bottoms....ugh!

A George gina and Lucy bag. Are fairly pricey but they last forever! I brought mine 4 years ago and it has copes with everything. On return a few weeks ago I discover everyone seems to have one!

AndiMac, I'd have to disagree too. When I lived there, I found it really hard to find anything nice, especially for the dc. Mind you, I'm going back a few years now so maybe things have changed or just gotten worse in the UK.

Actually, if you have a baby, Germany was very good for snow suits and giant cosytoes for the pram. The UK only had those items for small babies, back when I was buying that kind of thing. Not really a style and beauty item though.

Yes that's true, I would always buy 90% of baby things in Germany ( as in changing tops/ wooden toys/ winter clothes, etc)

That's a bit unfair on German women. On my visits back to the UK I see plenty of badly dressed women as well as well dressed ones. On the whole I think Germans tend to be a little more formulaic in their approach - whole outfit from one shop rather than mixing it up a bit and footwear is often a bit rubbish (I speak as someone who is also rubbish with shoes). The high street here seems to be pretty split too with plenty of high end designer wear, lots of H&M/Zara level, but not a lot of the labels and prices that fit into the middle ground.

Chip and pin is fine these days.

Cardi

My experience of German smart/casual (worked for 4 years with a German company, so had many German colleagues, and also took frequent business trips over there) would be the following:

Women
Classic and very conservative but not necessarily poorly dressed. Not a lot of risk taking. Nothing looked cheap, though clothes sometimes looked like they could do with an update.

Men
Again, classic and conservative, often with a preppy or outdoors-y twist. In general, quite a good look.

Teenagers
The trendy ones are as trendy as trendy teenagers anywhere in the world!

Did anybody else come across this article? Very interesting, though I'm not sure I quite get the point of wearing all of your nicest clothes inside the house, so that nobody sees them...

Yes, I would go with the no risk taking.

I lived in Schwaben for a while and it's true, nobody ever dressed up for anything. Even our work Christmas dinner involved removing labcoats and possibly changing shoes, but that was it. Here in Bavaria how you dress seems to matter a bit more.