Cutural differences in baby fashion
Cutural differences in baby fashion
I only moved from Germany to Scotland, which is not exactly a far way to travel, but every now and again it hits me that we have widely different traditions with regard to how we dress children.
For example my mother-in-law was excited to buy cute short rompers for her first grandaughter (she only had boys) next summer. Which immediately gave me heart palpitations because baby + sun = covered up in my red-headed mind. So I carefully broke the news to her that our daughter will not be slathered in sunscreen before her first birthday but that she is welcome to go nuts on cute dresses. Which I am also still getting used to because I am just not used to babies wearing proper clothes. On the other end of the fashion spectrum, everyone tells me to just dress her in sleepsuits for the first 1-3 months. I have also been recommended to only get 2-3 pieces of everythings because you never know what size the baby will have - German lists always seem to have at least 5-7 of everything on them.
I pretty much just raided a couple of stores the last time I was over in Germany because British baby fashion is still confusing me and we are the first in our generation to have a baby (i.e. limited up-to-date knowledge available). Although our daughter will totally wear sleepsuits when we are just at home and the Strampler-kind of romper when we are out and about. Best of both worlds.
Anyone else in the same boat? How are you mixing and matching traditions?
For example my mother-in-law was excited to buy cute short rompers for her first grandaughter (she only had boys) next summer. Which immediately gave me heart palpitations because baby + sun = covered up in my red-headed mind. So I carefully broke the news to her that our daughter will not be slathered in sunscreen before her first birthday but that she is welcome to go nuts on cute dresses. Which I am also still getting used to because I am just not used to babies wearing proper clothes. On the other end of the fashion spectrum, everyone tells me to just dress her in sleepsuits for the first 1-3 months. I have also been recommended to only get 2-3 pieces of everythings because you never know what size the baby will have - German lists always seem to have at least 5-7 of everything on them.
I pretty much just raided a couple of stores the last time I was over in Germany because British baby fashion is still confusing me and we are the first in our generation to have a baby (i.e. limited up-to-date knowledge available). Although our daughter will totally wear sleepsuits when we are just at home and the Strampler-kind of romper when we are out and about. Best of both worlds.
Anyone else in the same boat? How are you mixing and matching traditions?
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Re: Cutural differences in baby fashion
We're in the U.S., so things are different once again, but yes, it's definitely different here as well. S was born in Germany, so we had it pretty German when it came to clothing, but now we're here and it's hard to get the things I'm used to. Kimono style onesies are hard to find and if you find them, they're expensive!!! We will go with an in between, we will get some of S' things shipped and brought here, other things we will buy here.
What is even more confusing are all the"contraptions" they have for babies... I'm still overwhelmed and habe no clue what to get.
What is even more confusing are all the"contraptions" they have for babies... I'm still overwhelmed and habe no clue what to get.
Mama von S (07/2013), M (01/2018) & L (07/2019)
Re: Cutural differences in baby fashion
Yes, the bodysuits!! Everyone seems to use the US version over here, too. Thankfully, H&M to wrapover onces, have you tried them yet? I'd imagine they sell them in the US, too. The price did not have me excited but you wouldn't get them cheaper at places like Baby Walz either. Maybe some of the mums on Mamikreisel etc would be okay to send things over, too? If you have someone in the UK, it actually works out cheaper to buy them here, because H&M love their 9.99 and 14.99 prices and won't have anything in between.
We are essentially going the same route as you. I got a lot of dungarees from Germany because the selection over here is quite limited, and bought everything else here. I just cannot see myself taking the baby out in sleepuits (or babygrows as they call them in the UK, which I think is an adorable term), hence my recent Strampler shopping trip. I do love the cute dresses but I cannot see a newborn being comfortable in them. As soon as our daughter can sit up though, she'll wear nothing else until she is old enough to have an opinion on it!
What contraptions have you encountered thus far? I'm always curious when it come to things like that. The only semi-unusual thing I have encountered are Moses baskets over here. Think I will be using the Babybox for that (Scotland just introduced them) but they are really cute and seem more popular in Germany these days, too. Babies are pretty much just expected to sleep, eat, and be cuddled, so there aren't too many gadgets for them. If you don't have to go back to work early (maternity leave is okay-ish but not great), Scotland is actually a beautifully relaxed place to have a child in.
We are essentially going the same route as you. I got a lot of dungarees from Germany because the selection over here is quite limited, and bought everything else here. I just cannot see myself taking the baby out in sleepuits (or babygrows as they call them in the UK, which I think is an adorable term), hence my recent Strampler shopping trip. I do love the cute dresses but I cannot see a newborn being comfortable in them. As soon as our daughter can sit up though, she'll wear nothing else until she is old enough to have an opinion on it!
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
What contraptions have you encountered thus far? I'm always curious when it come to things like that. The only semi-unusual thing I have encountered are Moses baskets over here. Think I will be using the Babybox for that (Scotland just introduced them) but they are really cute and seem more popular in Germany these days, too. Babies are pretty much just expected to sleep, eat, and be cuddled, so there aren't too many gadgets for them. If you don't have to go back to work early (maternity leave is okay-ish but not great), Scotland is actually a beautifully relaxed place to have a child in.
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Re: Cutural differences in baby fashion
We
Große Kleine geboren Mai '10, gestillt bis Aug '13.
2 Sternchen.
Kleiner Kleiner geboren Juni '15, gestillt bis Juli '19.
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Re: Cutural differences in baby fashion
Oops, hit send too early. We are German expats in East Anglia, both children born here. For sourcing kids clothing, I am very happily making use of the great local scene of charity shops and nearly new sales. Regarding bewildering contraptions: If something doesn't seem useful, chances are it won't be useful for you
. E.g. I suggest the bumbo seat is firmly in that category... Relax, buy less rather than more to start with, and enjoy! Liebe Gruesse, P.
![Smilie :-)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Große Kleine geboren Mai '10, gestillt bis Aug '13.
2 Sternchen.
Kleiner Kleiner geboren Juni '15, gestillt bis Juli '19.
Re: Cutural differences in baby fashion
I'm actually contemplating one of those as an alternative to a high chair - we'll be travelling a lot so "fits into the car" is a huge priority for all things baby-related. We even went with the CoZee instead of the Babybay I really really wanted, because it is so travel-friendly (and I admit, it is not terrible...it looks quite nice).
By the way, the charity shops around here have zero baby clothes - unless we count the one(!) Christmas romper I saw the other day. We mostly went with Asda and Tesco, and got a couple of dungarees from Germany, so it is not terrible. Are there any specialised charity shops I'm missing out on? I used to live in West Sussex, as far as I can tell, we got the same range of shops up here in the cold North.
By the way, the charity shops around here have zero baby clothes - unless we count the one(!) Christmas romper I saw the other day. We mostly went with Asda and Tesco, and got a couple of dungarees from Germany, so it is not terrible. Are there any specialised charity shops I'm missing out on? I used to live in West Sussex, as far as I can tell, we got the same range of shops up here in the cold North.
- emm
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Re: Cutural differences in baby fashion
The thing you're looking for are NCT nearly new sales, they happen quite regularly all over the country. I've bought a lot of basic clothes in sizes 0-3 and 3-6 months at one, shall be reusing most of it for our third child now.
Having had my first two in the UK and number three in Austria, I only just discovered a major difference in baby clothes: tights. My Austrian colleague said something along the lines of 'well, during their first winter, they'll be wearing tights anyway, no need to worry about socks'
I honestly can't imagine wrestling a wriggly newborn into a pair of tights, but we have a massive collection of tiny socks, sock ons to keep them in place and a couple of pairs of babylegs...
Guess our little one will stick out with his eclectic sense of fashion already.
Having had my first two in the UK and number three in Austria, I only just discovered a major difference in baby clothes: tights. My Austrian colleague said something along the lines of 'well, during their first winter, they'll be wearing tights anyway, no need to worry about socks'
I honestly can't imagine wrestling a wriggly newborn into a pair of tights, but we have a massive collection of tiny socks, sock ons to keep them in place and a couple of pairs of babylegs...
Guess our little one will stick out with his eclectic sense of fashion already.
das emm mit Löwenkind (08/2012), Fräulein Igel (09/2013) und kleinem Geheimniskrämer (11/2017)
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Re: Cutural differences in baby fashion
I haven't seen the kimono style onesies at H&M here yet, but my parents might send or bring some. DM had a few great ones back when S was a baby, so I hope that hasn't changed. And we still have his, but in Germany, so some will find its way here.
After the baby shower, we don't *need* a whole lot more. That makes it easier to get what we absolutely want still, I figure.
As for tights - those are actually much better in my experience. For some reasons, socks keep falling off and miraculously vanish here. Often it's only one sock that disappears, and then I just stick with wild combinations that don't necessarily go together, but that are available at the time we need them XD
After the baby shower, we don't *need* a whole lot more. That makes it easier to get what we absolutely want still, I figure.
As for tights - those are actually much better in my experience. For some reasons, socks keep falling off and miraculously vanish here. Often it's only one sock that disappears, and then I just stick with wild combinations that don't necessarily go together, but that are available at the time we need them XD
Mama von S (07/2013), M (01/2018) & L (07/2019)