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    Terrible clothing options in Switzerland - where do you buy?
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    Terrible clothing options in Switzerland – where do you buy?


    I used to live in Australia and the US, but I now live in Switzerland and I honestly don’t understand why so much of the fashion available here feels so reserved and boring.

    I don’t support fast fashion, but living here it sometimes feels like there are very few other options.

    I was recently in Tokyo and Barcelona and they both had an incredible range of great clothes and current fashion. I even popped into Zara in Barcelona and the selection was completely different from what we have here.

    The closest things I’ve found online are websites like Micas or Moodybut the quality is usually terrible and honestly no better than ordering from Temu.

    Also, even if you were to buy from a international site and use mail forwarding, the fact you get charged import fees for anything above CHF 65 is a joke.

    So I’m curious — where does everyone actually buy their clothes?

    And please don’t say Zalando… the fashion there also feels pretty average to me.

    Thank you!

    Terrible clothing options in Switzerland – where do you buy?
    byu/willisandwillis inSwitzerland



    Posted by willisandwillis

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    41 Comments

    8. EspritLibre_404 on

      I live in Geneva, so I usually grab my clothes in France, mostly in Lyon, or just order from Zalando.

    9. Mission_Mastodon9194 on

      I’m a very big hater of online shopping and have not ordered clothing online in years (probably decades at that point).

      I think it totally depends on where you are and how you like to go shopping.
      From my experience in Switzerland the good stores are usually very spread apart. Just looking at Zurich where we have some stores at Niederdörfli, some in Sihlcity, others near Europaallee, or Langstrasse. It’s usually difficult to say “I need new jeans, let’s go to XY location and browser the shops there”. I usually have to go to a specific store and try my luck before moving somewhere else entirely.

      It also comes down to your budget. Because Zurich (and many cities in Switzerland in general) are so expensive, the stores are also rather expensive. If you go outside the town (e.g. for Zurich Glattzenter) you will only find very cheap budget stores selling even cheaper fast fashion (e.g. snipes, H&M).

      For me it all comes down to knowing what stores have decent quality brands and planning far enough ahead to not run into the issue where I spend an afternoon running around Zurich just to find a single pair of jeans I like.

      TL;DR: Switzerland doesn’t really have shopping centers/malls with all the good stores and most of them are filled with fast fashion chains. To find decent quality clothes you will have to find your own stores and specifically go to that place.

    10. Icy_lunette on

      I’m from India and live in Geneva. I stock up on 100% cotton underwear and summer/spring clothes and PJs when I visit India. Normal basics and stuff I get from Uniqlo when I go on vacation outside of Switzerland.

    11. Serious_Mirror_6927 on

      I’m on a mission not to buy clothes until they tear, but I just buy when I travel east, because I’m sick of the black, grey and lifeless colors.

      Plus you get awesome customer service. Even if I shop for 500 in Switzerland the customer service is so poor, I have no words.

    16. TheRealDonRosa on

      Well… Welcome to switzerland I would say. I won’t be a help in recommending places with interesting clothes unless you want to go to fair trade shops or second hand stores.

      But in switzerland, you’ll have a more limited choice than in the surrounding countries. You have what you have and that’s mostly it, hence many go to shopping over the borders to germany/france/italy. The choice is just waaay bigger therr in terms of food, clothes, furniture, etc. It’s a small country outside of the EU after all, so that’s that.

    20. GingerPrince72 on

      You don’t understand why something in Switzerland “feels so reserved and boring.”?
      Seriously?

    22. roat_it on

      I don’t find the options all that terrible, but then I do live in Zürich, and I don’t do high fashion, just solid capsule basics I can get in decent quality anywhere, with the occasional second hand design accent piece, plus I dye things to suit my capsule, and I occasionally make things.

      Since you are in a privileged position and can afford travel, I’d suggest you go to Milan for your high fashion needs.

    23. johnny_tifosi on

      Transa, Mammut, Fjallraven and Freitag /s

      On a serious note, I have to agree with the other people. My girlfriend almost always shops abroad, as she does not find the clothes on offer here feminine enough, plus they are mostly overpriced synthetic crap. On the other hand, I like the men’s clothing options a lot in Switzerland, I can find nice wool clothes quite cheap during sales compared to elsewhere. I think there is a big quality gap between men’s and women’s clothing in general, and this is weird to me since women are the main target audience for apparel.

    26. missdataprincess on

      Always shop when traveling but for quick shops, I drive to Konstanz or Strasbourg. The shopping in Switzerland is just never worth it – price or selection-wise

    27. parttimedoom on

      The fashion is boring and understated because that’s what people buy here. Not much of a fashion culture. I do my shopping while abroad usually. 

    28. yourusualgothgirl on

      I feel the same, I do all my clothes shopping when I am travelling abroad (outside europe).

    30. lala8800 on

      C&A, Ricardo and in Italy when I go back (or my mother brings me clothes from Italy). Also I don’t find Zalando so bad. But I’m a basic b!tch, I wear even clothes from Lidl, Aldi (especially the leggings!) and Migros so…

    33. batikfins on

      Haha! I do clothes shopping when I go home to Australia. People complain about the quality there but it’s the same here, just $100 for a shitty tee instead of $15.

      There is a few nice independent shops here like Kitchener+ and Revolve, but I buy most of my best pieces secondhand from the Brockenhaus. Not just because it’s cheaper but the quality of vintage stuff is usually better too. 

    34. WillingnessThick1809 on

      Ricardo (second hand) and second hand clothes events. An advantage in Switzerland is the price of second hand. People get rid of expensive clothes for not much. It’s cheaper than in other countries. But yes, the way people dress in Switzerland is generally boring (especially comparing to Tokyo for exemple) / I buy on holidays or on some websites where the price already includes the swiss taxes / or order to the other side of the border and pick it up there / I think it’s more that 65.- now.

    35. Beautiful-Minimum-58 on

      Welcome to the expensive village in the mountains, where people go to work in hiking shoes and women drool over Mammut T-shirts. Solution = weekend trips to Milan. Infinite choice, top quality, half price, vendors who actually care about selling you stuff and know how to smile.

    38. wasserkonfetti on

      😂 just ordered twice from an australian brand because i found nothing even slightly as cute here, and the swimwear! Australian brands are so much better in style and function
      I actually got no fees this time 🤔
      But yeah, most of my clothes are from c&a, h&m, zalando and next.

    39. Only_Humor4549 on

      I always go vintage shopping, but it used to be better. 

      Otherwise maybe do it yourself? I know I was considering it, bc clothes are boring here.

    40. KapitaenKnoblauch on

      Switzerland is famous for watches, banks, cheese and chocolate. Not for fashion. There’s a reason for that.

    41. boldpear904 on

      I don’t have any recommendations except I agree. Every shop here is so boring and uninspiring. I want to dress colorfully and whimsy but it’s all gray and cheap material but expensive price tag