As you have very likely learned in the last few weeks, we went “home” to Florida for two glorious weeks and spent Christmas over there. I will not even begin to rub it in regarding just how awesome the vacation was (because there will be more posts about that like our trip to SeaWorld and the amazing fact of being able to go swimming on Christmas day and get a sunburn on the beach the day after.) Let me just say that it rocked. Hard.
But there is something that every expat, no matter how long they have been living in a foreign country experiences…and that is the need to shop when they return home.
It used to be that when we went home, I’d be stocking up on things like Ranch dressing or Louisiana Hot Sauce. I have since then learned how to make my own ranch dressing (which is way better than the bottled stuff) and found a source of hot sauce in Germany (hard as that is to believe)…and if I can’t make it or buy it here, I’ve mostly learned to live without. But the one thing that I just cannot substitute or replace while living in Germany are American clothes.
IMO Germans are either way behind in their clothing interests or just not on the same wavelength with the rest of the world…to be honest, I’ve never been very into trends which only last one season so even H&M (my safe haven for clothing) has few things I like. My style is pretty classic (according to this style quiz I’m “classic chic”) and most of the things I like last for years. If you take a look in my closet, you’ll notice that most of my clothes are several years old — and some of my sweaters I’ve had for 15 years (although they are huge baggy things I only wear around the farm to stay warm).
I have actually been working on parting with some of the clothes I bought for working outside the home and now never wear — but if I tossed out everything I rarely wear, I would have about 15 t-shirts, some pants and one suit left. So I have yet to get that radical and instead am just sorta slowly phasing things out as I can when I know I will never wear them again. Like turtle necks, which although practical and warm, get me absolutely no points with my husband. I think there are also some things which I just can’t bear to part with and will be able to work back into my wardrobe one day, perhaps in a new way.
Another reason I like to shop back in the US is because I find German clothes to be insanely priced, especially when it comes to kid’s clothing. I mean really — who wants to pay $25 for a toddler t-shirt that they will either destroy or outgrow in 6 months? And it’s not even name brand.
At any rate, I did a power shopping trip to Marshalls and hit the post-Christmas sales at JC Penny & Old Navy (which were just completely insane BTW). I seriously got more clothing in those trips than I bought in the last 5 years in Germany — for probably half the price. And I was pretty pleased to see that although there was a lot of plus size clothing and “normal” sizes seemed to be creeping upward when I tried to go shopping in the US 3 years ago, things seem to have normalized again. So a medium shirt can no longer be used for a tent and I can’t go into any store in the mall to find clothes that are suitable for pregnant bellies although actually meant for those with a spare tire too early in life.
So what did I buy? Lots of warm weather clothing like hoodies, thermal shirts, sweaters, warm gloves and a hat. Plus a few pairs of jeans, a couple cute USPA polo shirts for myself, flip flops, a super cute long wispy skirt that I have been trying to buy for years, new exercise shoes and some exercise clothing. And the best part is that a major portion of it was 60-75% off. In Germany, you just don’t get those kinds of deals…and if you see them, it’s on clothing you probably don’t want from 1974.
Since this really isn’t a fashion blog, I won’t share my haul photos (although we really should have taken photos of all we bought piled up in the bags and how we managed to fit it in our luggage)…but I am actually working on a new project that would include more style-oriented blog posts. I’d love to know if you think that would be interesting and would like to learn more about me personally behind the scenes of the Homestead. Just let me know in the comments below. 🙂
If you’ve ever lived outside of your home country, what did you miss the most? Or what do you think you just couldn’t live without if you moved away for a while?
Yes to all the questions. I am interested to hear more about your style and whatever you are willing to share. The more personalized a blog is the more interesting it is. Happy New Year!
Thanks for the input! I’m never quite sure just how many tangents I should go off on in NOH since it’s mostly about sustainable living stuff. 🙂
My wife and I are both boring middle-aged (I take that back, she’s nothing but boring!), so Lands End in Germany meets most of our needs. 🙂
I meant she’s NOT AT ALL BORING! I’ve been in Germany too long, I’m forgetting my own language!
LOL. She is going to be all over you if she reads that last comment 🙂
I’m an LL Bean fan, but haven’t gotten into Lands End yet. But I do find it interesting that so many companies in the US now ship internationally. A few years ago, that was unheard of. Of course, I know Lands End has been here in Germany forever so it doesn’t really count.
hehe, that is true. OTOH coming over here I was SHOCKED to find that you have next to no culture of fleahmarketing children’s clothing (back in Germany, every little city unit had one or two *Kinderflohmärkte*) BUt the clothing, I am 100% in agreement, it is a lot more expensive (and peeps back home tend towards the frugal, fashion is mostly a big issue in certain cities) I OTOH am lacking things like a neighbor growing decent to yummy potatoes and being able to buy a big bunch for the winter around 20 bucks (here a pound is 3.99 PLUS feckin tax) Leeks are priced all year long at 2.99 (again+tax)…I find FOOD terribly expensive and terribly limited. Haven’t found any salsify yet, the carrots often taste of nothing but the raspberries OTOH are divine!! divine I tell you (don’t ever bother BUYING them in germany though, I thought they mever tasted good) and teh black berries….I now have a big garden, I HOPE the landlord is going to be ok with two rows of raised beds…and I might be able to get some harvest this year…sigh.. I make people send me stupid things like Maggi braune soße, Pfanny knödel (though one of the goals this year is to TRY making them from scratch)Salatkrönung etc. I hate that I cannot get the little H-sahne containers here. I found it so difficult to get the foods I wanted. CLOTHES otoH are fabulous. great fabrics. great prices.great variety (though tall ladies are only well cared for if they are thin, sigh)
one of the things your blog is showing me is, that a lot of thing I didn’t like about my live in germany I had been an expert to shut out and arranged my life with ease around them. I find that more difficult here. because they pop up at the most unexpected places and times…I envy you your house, though it probably is also a pain in the head to find all the peculiarities of the house and fix them. I imagine fixing things is more difficult in Germany.
I’d love to hear more, too. And on the expat side, vicarious shopping is always fun!
It’s pretty tough these days to forgo everything manufactured, so it would also be interesting from a sustainable living perspective to see what is hard to live without, or to see where the make vs buy tradeoff lies.
Glad you all had a wonderful trip and hope the new year is off to a good start!
Tiff,
Glad you had a great time in Naples. Did you get our cards to you guys ??? I tried to get them to you in a timely manner. Barbara loves Marshals,too. We had great weather in Texas, also, but had a fireplace,too, on Christmas day. We really missed seeing you all,and seeing Mackenzie again. I know she has grown so much. Please include pictures of her as you can.Did I read you were looking for “Mommie” clothes ????
You guys stay warm and enjoy “home” again.
Happy New Year, y’all…..!!!!!!
I’d like to see more of the Behind the Homestead Tiffany, including your style! 🙂
Living overseas, the thing I missed the most (and always took with us) was taco seasoning. Silly, I know, but it just made me feel like I could make a “normal” meal even if I had almost no other ingredients. Pepperoni was another one that I always squealed over when it came in the mail from family in the States. It’s usually the little things.
Happy New Year! Sounds like you had a great trip, but from the blogging side, we’re glad to have you back. 🙂
Taco & fajita seasoning are two things I just learned to make myself — but cajun seasoning I tend to stock up on. No idea why I don’t just make that too, though.
Thanks for you input on the more personal side of me…I definitely don’t think it will be too long before I have figured out just what I’m going to do about including that kind of info too. 🙂
Lands end is awesome! Also…New York & company. I went there today and got some cute stuff. Glad u had a blast…eventually u must come NORTH! lol and i have to go east. a friend of mine is going to stuttgart and im so insanely jealous! It’s time ‘to go home’ for a visit ;). Miss you!
My mom has been telling me a lot about New York & Company but I didn’t manage to make it in there.
We totally do need to come north…it would not only be awesome to see everyone again, but DC has so many awesome things to do!
OMG I sooo miss Marshall´s! and Loehmann´s! and DSW for shoes. I am in SHOCK at the clothing prices, and also the styles. I tend to shop some at S.Oliver and More&More, when I can bear to pay that much. My BF was in love with Marshall´s when he visited the States. Never, ever, ever pay full price. 😉 I wouldn´t mind Gap, Banana Republic and J Crew here. No, wouldn´t mind that at all. Nor Victoria´s Secret. The panties here are just, well, strange.
I went to Rack Room Shoes and they were having a really good sale so I now love that store too. I’ve never been able to get into S.Oliver and never even heard of More&More (apparently I am totally out of the loop lol). In my younger days, I would check out Fishbone and places like that since they were cheap and decent quality. You can also pick up decent kids clothes at kik sometimes. There are a few Gap stores over here somewhere I think…and check out http://www.hunkemoller.de/ — they are sort of like the German version of Victoria’s Secret. 😉
OMG! THANK YOU for the Hunkemöller tip! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
🙂 My pleasure. I only just discovered them. Actually, my husband happened to pass by one of their stores and brought me some super cute pajama shorts. I haven’t tried out anything else from them yet but I’m pretty sure I will soon.
Love the picture of the store window…one of my two favorite four-letter words “SALE”
hmm. I see it the other way around: US fashions are horrible and provincial. I never buy anything at all in the US when I am there on holidays. Especially shoes! Ugh!! Terrible quality and ugly.
But it might depend on where you are shopping. Berlin is interesting if you know where to go (but of course it depends on what you are looking for). Frankfurt was always a disaster whenever I was there as far as shopping was concerned. But on the other hand, Germans do not shop as a hobby, which is hugely refreshing. They actually have real hobbies instead!! It was even nicer here when all stores were closed on Sundays.
Can one really compare Frankfurt and Berlin? They’re like two different worlds, especially when it comes to fashion.
It all comes down to personal style and where you wander into — anywhere on the globe. The majority of shoes I see in the shoe chains here in Germany are still boxy and ugly IMO — and I can’t get on board with ’80’s fashions in any way. But clearly there are a lot of people which feel differently about it. And thankfully we have tons of choices wherever we go.
But I’ve definitely found shopping more enjoyable in Berlin during the past 7 weeks that we’ve lived here. 🙂
late to the discussion but 5 yrs ago, i would have agreed, now I disagree! I have come to love shopping in germany and with the latest exchange rates, its getting even better. My favorite place to go is the Style Outlet in Zweibrucken. I bought my kids a tonne of clothes from Benetton (sweaters for only 8 euros!) and cheap pairs of Geox shoes. I have discovered that the brands that are cheap back home are not cheap here and vice versa. Esprit is now my favorite store because its cheaper here – pair of cute jeans for only 30 euros and lots of sales. I think i dress similar to you, very casual and comfy but i also like good quality – give shopping in germany another chance, you might be surprised – there are Outlet stores all over the place and there are still good deals to be found. 🙂
Meanwhile I have found several alternatives for shopping here, but I still find clothing to be cheaper in the US — which doesn’t always mean it’s better quality.
Outlet stores can be frustrating here at times because things are still rather expensive in many cases…but better than full price, which is always a plus. 😉
Thanks for chiming in!
You can order abercrombie in Germany and there are hollister stores in some malls.. I’m Dutch and I have lived in the US for a long time and I tend to like American brands more. Sadly there aren’t any hollister stores yet in the Netherlands. And Victoria’s Secret is slowly making its way to Europe 🙂
Yes, meanwhile you can get a lot of brands over here that we not available even 2 years ago. Old Navy also ships here now and home stores like Crate & Barrel. I think even William Sonoma might have started shipping over here which is super dangerous. But between the shipping costs and the VAT added on top, you definitely pay a premium for things. And there are some examples, like Polo shirts and jeans, where you can buy them over here in stores, but they cost twice as much retail or even in the outlets here. It’s just crazy. Shopping around is always a good idea!