It comes as no surprise to me that that Gaga lady spent 3 hours in Afflecks last week. Weird yet…read moreindelibly wonderful is an apt description for it. Having said that, I must make a more pronounced effort to frequent this magnificent Manchester location more often. Yes, it can be a bit daunting at first, a maze of weird and wonderful stalls and shop fronts. But its worth getting lost here every once in a while, why? Because you'll find private vendors here who have a genuine passion for their respective products and services and the corporate whore in them has yet to emerge. It's refreshing. My first ever visit to Attic was unfortunately without a license to roam. I was missing a single item for my Halloween dressage and was told Attic had it in stock, thus this was a last minute dash and grab job. The meandering nature of the shop floor plans didn't help much but the fact that it wasn't rammed like most other shops before 5pm was a huge bonus. First thing of note, the customer service was incredible! Out of breath having run to the top floor headless chickenly looking for the joint armed with a sweaty quizzical facial expression I was kindly approached almost immediately and offered help. A mere five minutes later I was a sent packing a calm and happy customer back running down the stairs headless chickenly once more. What great service eh? Now five minutes equates to an hour in Inception time (See Nolan's brilliant 2010 scifi flick Inception) so thinking Inceptionly, I discovered that this place caters for pretty much ALL your fancy dress needs. Whether you have a Lord of the Rings fetish, or you're a self confessed Star Trek geek there's something here for everyone. They also have fabrics and other random tools and tricks of the trade perfect for creating your very own costumes (If buying the readymade ones isn't your cup of tea) Ultimately venturing into Attic is journeying into another world of sorts, which is both scary and exciting. The former because a longer than necessary amount of time spent here prompts the thought "hmmm I wish it was fancy dress all the time." It really is a literal form of escapism manifesting itself into a physicality. Which as it turned out this Halloween, is heaps of fun! I for one will definitely be returning and discovering more about this place as research for my next film project. The place is a production costume design gold mine. For the rest of us, it definitely is a one stop shop for all your fancy dress needs.

Huge huge selection of fancy dress here. I challenge you to find any costume/character that is not…read morein this attic shop- truly amazing! Going into this shop made me wish my friends were not becoming convinced they are older and mature now-opting for a dinner party of a fancy dress occasion. I will fight on and pursue a night as a Smurf soon..all with this shops help :)

It's that spooky time of year again and everyone is rushing to get their scary outfit. Have you got…read moreyours yet? If not, you might want to head down to All Star Costume Hire on Great Ducie Street. I came here last year in a flat out panic to find an outfit for the theme 'Celebrity Death Foretold'. Unfortunately I didn't find anything fitting so instead plumped for the Chewbacca mask with and hip hop tracksuit. It got a few laughs... The staff are extra helpful if you're looking for something specific. The place is like an Aladdin's cave, there's a ton of wigs, masks, accessories, whatever you need to complete your outfit. Check out the website first to see what I mean!

I'm going to give this place three stars. I am going to do this begrudgingly…read more This is because getting a pre-made fancy dress costume makes you a spoilsport. This is not the point of fancy dress. If everyone does this then the whole party is ruined. If you all go to a fancy dress party and everyone is in an immaculate hired or purchased costume, you are at a poor party. This is not fun, This is not interesting. Its exactly the same as a normal party except that every guest is £30 down because they've bought a costume instead of wearing their normal clothes. People will then save the money they've wasted by not drinking or eating as much, and some will spend time worrying about their finances. Hardly party time. The whole fun of fancy dress is making your own. This allows scope for funny costumes, jokes and even ones that are funny just because they are bad. It can also be fun to make them! However, I will have to give three stars, because I have to admit that if you are in the market for a pre-made costume, this place is about as good as it gets. Great stock, all different kinds of stuff. They've got almost every type of costume you can imagine, and the prices are really good. So it's the best of a bad thing. 3 stars.

Thank you so much for being a wonderful Spider-Man and Optimus Prime for my daughter's 5th…read morebirthday. She absolutely loved both mascots and you really got the party started. Wonderful professional service - on time and brilliant with children and adults alike. Thank you again. Samera.

From the owner: Call 07309160163 mascot hire leeds west Yorkshire superheroes mascots birthday party mascots…read moreevents ironman mascot transformers mascot bumblebee mascot costumes for hire rent birthday mascots hire

If you can't afford the outfit you want from Retro Rehab, Oxfam Originals or American Graffiti -…read moreyou can always get your ass over to Abakhan Fabrics, buy a couple of yards and make your own! Spread over two floors, it's a fabric paradise with dozens of crates filled with off-cuts, cheap rolls and unusual fabrics. As well as kitsch, quirky and colourful cottons, there's fake fur, nylon, denim and all kinds of material. Upstairs and in the room at the back of the shop, they also sell patterns, buttons, zips, rolls of cotton and everything you'd need to make your own cat-suit or hot pants! Even better, almost everything they stock is cheap as chips.

If your an art student, into arts and crafts, fashion, sewing atc this is the place for you. Huge…read morevariety of fabrics and cut offs. A word of warning: make sure you know what your looking for or have a vague idea otherwise you will spends hours sifting through what looks like a little bit of a jumble sale. Prices are really decent and staff are really friendly and willing to help you choose/ measure any number of rolls/ cuts.

Incredible art store. I was blown away by how well stocked the store is. I loved the top floor with…read morecool crafts and unique art gifts to purchase. The second floor had every art supplies I could dream of, and the bottom floor was an amazing selection of paper and canvas. Truly a great art store for all

Incredible place, but dangerous at the same time as you could easily spend a lot of money in here!…read more The first time I popped in was when I needed a few items for an event and I thought I'd gamble on Fred Aldous having the stuff I needed - they did! Anything you need for arts & craft or decorations they have it and with some good choice! I've now been in a few times when I need to pick up bits and bobs or essentials for work i.e. scissors etc. Loads of interesting present and gift ideas in here as well so if you're out and about birthday shopping or it's coming up to christmas - I'd say Fred Aldous is a great option with some similar style stuff to Oklahoma! Most of the stuff here is well priced and I've always been fairly surprised that my total wasn't higher when purchasing as I think the interior and style gives off an expensive vibe but really it's good value for money! A short simple review for a top NQ shop!

So after going through some changes recently I decided to finally treat myself coming here. I had…read moreno corset experience whatsoever..however my friend had bought one here last year so I did have a price budget in mind. Stepping in I felt at home..awesome vintage lacy apparel lay at the front.. to the back were two rails of corsets. Behind the till sat Lynn the manageress and a colleague. It was quite late and I was straight to the point..I want a over bust corset please!! She asked if I had one before I shook my head..she immediately whipped out the tape measure and discussed my options. I tried on the only 23" corset on in the shop as a guide and before I knew it was choosing the colour and material etc. After leaving a deposit she instructed me too look at Urban Threads for my embroidery piece while the rest got made. Communications within those two weeks were consistent and I went for a fitting. Everything was perfect and she helped me decide on the lace .. Within another week and it was complete..the fit was amazing and quality was perfect.. on the way out I spotted a waspie which I had to also buy! If you are a corset virgin come Here! The average corset is £200 made to measure but it's steel boning and silk . Lynn is also so very helpful and even showed me how to lace myself up..if you are thinking of a corset come here as it's important to get a proper fitting one!

I have yet to buy a corset from here but it's on my wish list! I've been in a couple of times, more…read morerecently with a friend to pick up her order and I must say the shop is stunning, it's full of beautiful custom made pieces, one off kimonos from the land of the rising sun itself, cute hats and accessories and the customers are very well put together! The staff are lovely, very knowledgeable when it comes to fashion. You can pop in for a browse and a chat, no pressure to buy which is nice. My friend owns quite a few custom made pieces from this boutique and each one fits like a glove. The corsets are top quality and beat any 'waist trainer' out there. They often exhibit their designs at Sexhibition and dress quite a few professional burlesque/alternative models and artists. Check out @kikucorsets on instagram for pictures.

So I have spent months trying to find myself a black ball gown to buy or hire for a ball I'm going…read moreto this coming weekend. I'd come across Celebration Village on the Internet a few times, I knew it was just outside Manchester city centre but I'd never found the time to go over there. However today the pressure all got a bit too much and I went on a mad dress hunt!!! First stop, Celebration Village. It wasn't too far away actually just behind the MEN Arena. I wandered over today quite late on to find the store very empty, just a few sales assistants hanging around but nobody jumped on us as soon as we walked in which was a nice change. This store is huge, I mean massive! Tons and tons of choice, if you have any special occasions coming up I strongly advise you to pay this shop a visit! Absolutely amazing dresses for all occasions. The shop assistant was very very friendly and helpful, not only helping me try on dresses, full on encouraging me to because she wanted to see how they looked! She also offered to have the dress fitted to my size a little better and have it taken up too! Really couldn't fault the service. Prices were not too extreme, hire costs were very reasonable and a lot of the dresses to buy were very low prices too.

Come here if youre getting married and have a low budget! A great place to hire suits and dresses…read moreand also buy them! everything you could think of needing for a wedding is under this roof! you can even do what i did and just go to get ideas, you dont need to buy anything!! the store is huge and the staff are very friendly and helpful.