Next - UK fashion clothing store

Hi from Australia

I recently discovered Next.

Next is something like a variety store based only in the UK (from what I can tell). It carries fashion, homeware, giftware etc. They have an online shop http://next.co.uk if you're interested.

Does anyone know of a similar shop in Germany (preferably in Berlin)? I'm interested in the clothes side of the shop. If there's an online site, that would be good too...

I'm coming to Berlin for Dec 06 to Feb 07 and although I'm from Melbourne, I've been living in FNQ for the last 12 months and my winter wardrobe needs updating.

Fiona.

H&M...

I am finding it a really big problem getting clothes in Berlin (in the sense of going into a store and trying them on.)

Hope you find something

German clothes stores suck.

Ahem to that brother

My favourite place to buy clothes in Berlin - at least in terms of breadth of choice in one place - was the downstairs floor of Peek & Cloppenburg, just down from Wittenbergplatz. They have a good mix of stuff, some brands, some no-name. Give it a try.

I mostly shop the smaller shops on Kastanienallee or on/near Neue Schoenhauser in Berlin.

However, I do like Hallhuber over on the major shopping street Kurfuerstendamm (see www.hallhuber.de). The street has a ~3 km stretch of shopping (including major labels and previously-mentioned H&M) so you should be able to find something nearby!

well, in munich anyways. i feel like berlin has all kinds of choices for various budget and tastes, from regular-casual to a plethora of boutiques with interesting, creative fashion- something bavaria simply lacks.

but to the original post- you can surely find that type of clothing in most shopping centers and at kudamm in berlin- hallhuber, zara, mango, esprit- that type of thing is pretty availabe...

I agree; Munich is pretty shit for shopping generally, at least compared to other cities in Germany. But it amazes me that a Brit can consider clothes shopping to suck in Germany. In Britain there is virtually no choice, especially for men. Most of the mid-priced stores are owned by a single company, Arcadia, and they keep shrinking the amount of space dedicated to menswear further and further. In Britain I have on several occasions seen people wearing the precise item of clothing that I own; that would never happen here unless maybe one shops at H&M.

That said, I found Berlin to be pretty confusing for shopping because there's no one central shopping area (even the Ku'damm is relatively limited). In Cologne, on the other hand, there is about 1.5km of pure shopping. Visiting there from the UK, the choice always used to blow me away.

Also, don't get me going any further on shopping for menswear in Munich. With the closure of Gap and K&L, and that posh place now only selling wimminswear, I struggle to find anywhere to buy anything now.

I definitely don't think Berlin is a great clothes shopping city, not yet anyway. As far as the chains go, H&M clothes are such bad quality it isn't even worth bothering, Zara/Mango aren't much better. Peek and Cloppenburg is pretty decent in the variety and quality they offer.

What I find lacking here compared to the UK/US are discount places like TJ/TK Maxx and Ross Dress for Less. Has anyone ever been to the B5 Designer Outlet? I've often wondered if it is worth the trip.

http://www.b5-center.de/en/

Shopping in Berlin, and Germany in general, is amazing compared to Canada.
I find the quality at stores like H&M to be equal to a lot of stores that are a lot more expensive at home, and there is way more variety.
I like H&M, Vera Moda and Orsay because their sizing is really small and I am petite. I also shop KaDeWe, Peek & Cloppenburg and Galeries Lafayette (Friedrichstrasse) when I want to find something a bit higher in quality.

I was browsing in Strauss Innovation the other day looking for towels and found a pair of Jeans that fit me like a glove (only ever found decent pear-shape fit in P&K) bleach-wash denim, soft as butter, for Eur 29.99!!! They had some nice basics and the prices are not horrendous for the quality.

#9 I've been to the B5 outlet a few of times and thought it was great! No parking problems and spacious. Got a lovely pair of Salamander boots for under Eur20.00 that would have normally cost Eur180+! Lots of brand names there, some still quite expensive but depends what you go for. I do wonder if they make any money though, it's always pretty dead!

I suppose it's a bit tricky to get there without a car, but one of these days I'll brave the bus and get over there. Sounds good!

Where is this B5 outlet & is it possible to get there by public transit? Diabla, you sound doubtful. I just ventured to the Ikea & found that it was fine on foot. And I thought that was going to be a total schlep, but no.

If you aren't afraid of being too cheap (in price) C&A is great. Its my main source of clothing here in Munich. Great range and decent quality.

try c&a or an alternative is woolworths if you are looking for large sizes

I did go out there a few weeks ago and it is nothing like going to IKEA. You have to take the RE to somewhere past Spandau and then get a local bus, it's next to some lifeless dorf in the middle of nowheresville, Brandenburg. Was ok getting there but coming back was awful, the train and bus connections are quite poor (you could end up waiting an hour for the RE back to civilisation) and there is sweet FA to see or do around the station. I really don't think B5 was worth the trip unless you have a car. There's a Mango, Benetton, Mexx, Buffalo, Salamander, several sporting goods stores...but the deals didn't seem that much better than what you would find in the normal sales and not really a great selection to be had. Also, maybe it's just me that finds those situations uncomfortable, but frankly I almost prefer a crowded shop to getting the hairy eyeball from sales clerks when you are the only customer browsing--it was the middle of an afternoon in December and the place was practically deserted!

i bought dress at warehouse, uk and a year later i saw the same dress at Hallhuber in Munich.
edit: don't know whether hallhuber is in berlin too