DOD: Great clothes at great prices

When I think about kids clothes, especially boys, I know they have to be nice but also have to be also great quality and stand the wear and tear of two active little fellows. On the other hand, I don't want to spend a fortune dressing my kids.

DOD Junior in Avenue Louise

DOD is one of those shops I go time and time again. It's not only a kids' clothes paradise, but also caters women and men's fashion. I think it only exists in Brussels, and, since I've become a Bruselaar, it's one of those places you need to visit. There are few shops dotted around the Madou Tower area (metro Madou) and one in the Bascule neighbourhood, but the ones I go to most often are in the Rue de Bailli area, in Ixelles (tram 94, stop Rue de Bailli). The women, men's and 6 to 16 year old shops are located in Rue de Bailli itself, while the babies, toddlers and kids up to 6 years is around the corner, on Avenue Louise (a few metres from the Michael Collins Irish Pub)

What is the secret? Well, you can find a huge variety of clothes and footwear of well known, good quality brands, for a fraction of the price you pay elsewere. Some of the brands in the baby shop include Noukie, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Chevignon, Okaidi, IKKS, Geoxx shoes, etc.

I believe the way they work is that they stock clothes from a couple of season's ago. It does not really bother me because, hello, who cares about following the latest trends in kids fashion? A body (onesie/ romper) is a body and a sweater is a sweater. Over the years I have bought tons of clothes and shoes for Bibu and Pingu in DOD Junior and I have always been very happy with the quality and with the price, of course. Just as an example, last year, my mother in law bought Bibu a very nice pair of sneakers from Geoxx in a shoe shop close to their home. They paid something like 70 EUR, which is I think an average price for kids sport shoes. A few months later, I saw similar Geoxx shoes in the DOD for less than half the price, and it was not during the sales, just their regular price. Also, more recently, I bought a lovely light sweater from IKKS, for a 6-month old baby at 14 EUR.

So, cannot recommend the place enough. For me it really ticks many boxes.

The only drawback from DOD, and one you have to bear in mind, is that they do not make exhanges under any circumstances. Once you have paid for the item, it's yours........ for all eternity, even if you find out it's too small for your kiddo or he/ she hates it. So, maybe a tricky one to go for presents, unless you know the size of the kid perfectly well. The same applies for shoes, so make sure they try them properly before leaving the place.

Another point to bear in mind when shopping in the DOD Junior in Avenue Louise is that the shop has just enough place to manouver a pram/ stroller. The babies clothes up to 3 years is on the groundfloor, but for older kids, up to 6 years old, you need to go upstairs and there is no elevator, so not really recommended if you want to go shopping for your baby and older kids at the same time (unless you are accompanied by someone who can mind the baby in the stroller while you go upstairs). Same happens in the DOD Junior in Bascule.