Hubby has been on a shortlisted for a job in Geneva.
We are currently living in New Zealand, because of the cost of freighting our personal effects, we are working out the logistics of arriving with our suitcases, but nothing else, and then buying the extra things to make life more pleasant (in the third most expensive city in the world!!).
We realize that this wouldn't be cheap to do, but it might be cheaper than freighting things half way around the world...
When staying in Paris, the women were beautiful dressed, and I am not sure that my suburban wardrobe will cope in Switzerland... They generally were slimmer than I am now.
My questions:
How easy is it to buy Plus-size clothing in Geneva???
I am a great op-shopper/thrift store-buyer in New Zealand, is there any
chance of this happening in Geneva (in plus-sizes)
If I arrived with a capsule wardrobe, will I be able to easily and affordably add to it??
also, I have never lived anywhere where it snows...we live in a temperate climate - never too hot or too cold - 22 degrees celcius is the hottest in summer, 8-12 degrees the coldest in winter.... rain and wind is our issue in winter...
Has any one lived in both NZ/Australia (or similar) and Switzerland... What do I need to know, but don't know what to ask (about clothing).
I find that Swiss clothes in plus sizes are horribly overpriced for what you get and most stores obviously use the late French singer Carlos as their muse.
I wind up either buying online from Asos or making do with what I can find on the rack in Ulla Popken and, depending on what size, C&A, whose normal sizes run a size bigger than high street. I had a bad experience with a delayed order and shipping with happy-size.ch so I never order from them but other people find them ok. H&M has a plus size section which is stylish, but the clothes are poor quality- jeans from there wear out on me in like 3 months. But H&M does have a more stylish cut and if the only tops you find elsewhere are polyester floral print and plastic beads, they would be a good first stop to tide you over until an ASOS order.
The hardest thing for me to find here are t-shirts and bras, with the caveat that if you aren't bigger than a D or and E, Ulla Popken or C&A can sort you usually, but they are grandma bras. Jeans and pants, you will always find something at one of the stores above that is at least ok in a pinch even if the cut is weird, the waist is elastic and so on. Ditto for tops- they might be polyester, but hey. However, t-shirts in plus sizes here are poor quality, too short in the waist, and fall in all the wrong places. If you are going to bring a capsule wardrobe I would bring enough bras, t-shirts and good jeans/trousers to last you until your next theoretical trip back home.
Price wise, the clothes are out of control for me, but I do come from the US, land of high quality, inexpensive clothing *snark*. Big bras here start around 80-100 francs (I get six at Marks and Spencer for the same quality and price), as do jeans. I have a really nice sweater from Ulla Popken made with real wool *gasp*...but it only set me back like 200 francs All the more reason to make sure you have some staples with you. Price wise it is worth paying the extra luggage fee.
Finally, in Geneva, the C&A is on the main shopping drag on the Rue du Rhone, the Ulla Popken is in Carouge, but I can't remember which H&M has plus size section- I think the one in Balexert, and the one next to C&A has a few items.
Previous reply is generally correct if you compare to USA prices and especially if you insist on shopping is CH for your clothes. However the great thing about here is you can go to Euro land and shop and claim the VAT back. In Geneva you are close to France which is where I would go.
Alternatively you get on a flight to UK where clothes are massively cheap as is their food so you plan a shopping weekend or week.
You should find that in places like France (it is dfinelty the case in Germany) that clothing is very affordable if you target the right shops C&A and H&M are 2 that you will find pretty good.
Not sure about how prices compare to NZ but at least compared to Australia we can buy either on a equal price or cheaper by doing the above since we used to even go to USA to shop for clothes from Australia. I would tend to think NZ is similiar where clothing tends to be overpriced anyway.
In terms of clothing to wear - in winter jeans and that sort of clothing is usually warm enough and some decent coats are a must but they are all affordable in this part of the world, just dont shop in CH
Thanks for the tip about underwear, I changed shape after having children, and have only just found bras and knickers which I love love love... So was planning to bring a years supply of each.
My brother in law lives in Manchester, I suspect that when we go visiting, we will also go shopping...
Winter is almost over in fact it really is already spring starting so you have time.
Shoes: Yes you need shoes with decent grip, waterproof etc. Shoes in CH are actually not expensive if you use Dosenbach, Schues Paradise then expect to pay about 40-80CHF depending on taste. My daughter buys long winter boots and they cost her around 50CHF on average and often much less. Hiking boots designed for winter always come on special and expect to pay 35CHF to 80CHF for good quality boots however this will not be gortex but I have used a good quality hiking boot now for 5 years and still has not worn out.
Coats: Yes you need a decent one which is waterproof. Expect to pay 100CHF for a really good deal through to 300CHF if you shop in places like Migros Sport XX which regular puts on specials. Usually 1 really solid coat will be enough for the winter but you will want a lighter weight coat for the seasons either side of winter
Gloves: Absolutely need some gloves especially if you are not used to colder weather as you post indicaes. This year we had a cold snap where Geneava and Zurich recorded -20C for about 2-3 weeks. This is not common but expect -10C is easily reached in most winters for a period of time. Best value is in Switzerland if its ski gloves, best value for city wear gloves is in Euro land
I actually have had a decent time with coats- Ulla Popken has nice coats and had two from H&M that lasted a season and were cut nice. Shoes as well, one brand (gabor) accomodates wider feet. Haven't had any shoe drama here in that I find it is one of the few things here where you get what you pay for.
Of course, everything is cheaper in the US, but the Euro countries are ok. My problem with shopping in France is that I found the sizes ran small and the prices weren't that competitive, and that shopping in Germany meant the same "fashion" problem as CH, just at a cheaper price. So in neither place I wound up buying enough to justify claiming VAT back. YMMV, of course.
Going to England is an AWESOME idea, in fact, I'm planning a trip myself so as not to lose on customs with an ASOS haul You can get brown sugar and tea there too
I came over to Switzerland last year from NZ (Auckland) and am a voluptous vixen too and was worried about the Plus Clothing side of things as I knew they didn't have anything like City Chic here hehe. Was also worried about winter as back in NZ 7 plus degrees was freezing.....ohh how my opinion has changed lol.
I shipped over my wardrobe, after culling it, and besides my allowed 30 kilos on the plane (love Emirates) I shipped over another 90 kilos lol. I love summer dresses and have about 22 in my collection and also had to bring some of my fancy dress costumes as who knows when you may need it lol. I have moved over here to be with my lovely man
I found for Winter Ulla Popken was awesome, got a really good nice warm coat and I live at the ends of the earth in a village called Diesbach so I definitly needed it. I wait till we go to Germany and get stuff. They have nice comfy day to day underwear as well, and they also stock not too expensive plus sized tights
The one tip I would suggest is if you can, invest in a Merino Jumper/Cardigin from NZ as they cost about NZD150-200 but over here I don't even want to think what the cost would be. But they are really nice and warm for uber cold days.
I get care parcels from home and sometimes I get mum to go to my favourite shop and get me something and send it over to me as a gift.
Oh and I would bring some Bio-Oil with you or whatever you use for body moisture as sometimes your skin can dry out a bit quicker.
And if you have some marmite stock up before Marmageddon hits hehehe
If your brother-in-law lives in Manchester, you will be laughing!! Manchester is a great place to shop. Enjoy and have fun.
I always 'stock-up' on clothes and food everytime I go back to the UK. Most of the plus-size shops in the UK have mail order sites too and ship to Switzerland if you are desperate inbetween visits.
Good luck finding anything actually likeable in stock at bonprix.
I've been in to Ulla Popken here in Basel, they've got some very nice stuff, but yes, tend to be pricey. Great for work clothes, less great for something I'm going to kick around in.
I've worn out most of the "casual but nice" that I brought with me, H&M stuff doesn't seem to be cut for women but rather, simply larger versions of "juniors" fashion (tight in bust and hips), C&A also but to a less obvious extent since their sizes for clothes tend to run large. (Meanwhile, pajamas at C&A seem to run small.)
Ah well, perhaps a devious conspiracy is going on, with the thought that if we plus-sized people can't find clothes we like, we'll lose weight to fit into the far more plentiful and "fashionable" smaller clothes.
Just wanted to add that Beldona actually has many bras until at least size E. Their sales is great and you can always find size E bras . The quality is really good and they have nice bras that do not look old fashioned. They also have many offers of "buy 3 pay 2" so shop around a little because in bigger places like Zurich or Geneva or Basel there is usually more than one Beldona store and in sales you can then buy great things. Not as cheap as M&S in the UK but you can buy a bra for 20 to 30 francs which is the same as H&M but far better quality!
H&M have a 'Plus' range, called Big and Beautiful.
I'm getting to be rather round myself and can still get into the L sized stuff from their normal ranges (as long as it's made from stretchy material)!
There's a shop at the entrance to Carouge on the tram route (Rue Saint Victor), which specialises in larger sizes, including underwear. I've not been in there as it does seem to be for people larger then I am (european 48) but seems to have nice stuff, not at all dowdy.
You'll find loads of web-sites selling larger sizes, (quite a few offering dutch or german designers specialising in what they call the 'Lagenlook', and I've used Idaretobe on Ebay a few times) so I'd recommend LAYERS!!!!!!!!!
You may be pleasantly surprised to hear that I find clothes here to be roughly the same price and in most cases cheaper than NZ.
As winter is pretty much over, bring a couple of warmer clothes from NZ (whatever you wear during the NZ mild winter), but I wouldn't stock up before you come because winter gear here is DEFINITELY better an cheaper than NZ (especially for coats), and you can work out exactly what you need after you arrive.
Secondly, the sales here (which occur at the beginning and middle of the year) are actual sales! Unlike in NZ where the discounts are meaningless, here you truly can find items for 50% and 75% off the usual price!!
I also second the comment about bras - still get care packages of these from mummy in NZ!
Lastly, bring pants!! I wear jeans almost all the time and have been here for 3 years and still unable to find pants that I can fit my bum and hips into! It seems that here everything is straight and flat. I am average build for NZ (size 12 NZ) but really struggle to find anything (although this is a great excuse to go on a shopping trip to the UK where the women seems to be more of the kiwi shape).
From another Kiwi (man don't we just flock together!)
When we moved up here from Chch we sold nearly everything, but shipped four boxes through seven seas worldwide (average company, I'm sure there are better, but our stuff got here pretty much when they said it would). In that instance we had my wife's family to land with, so pretty much only brought clothes over, plus wore lots onto the plane.
As others state, you will find things cheaper here. There isn't the same "island tax" we have on getting goods imported into NZ. And sales will really strip prices down.
