This is another one of Angela B.'s and I's stops when we visit Edinburgh. Angela introduced me to…read morethis wee jem the last time we were venturing in the Burgh. Located in Princes Mall, next to Edinburgh Waverley Train Station, it stocks loads of cool bags. When I came through previously I was carrying my Asda bag for life plastic carrier. I was not looking cool at all and to be honest I hate carrying things in my hands as I'm always worried I will put down somewhere then leave it by accident. Here was like an "Ahhhhhh!" moment for me and they had great wee backpacks. They had ones ideal for what I needed. I was introduced to cool Prosport cartoon bags. I loved them all!!! I picked with one with a pirate lady theme. I loved it! The girl was lovely and helped me picked one where you could see my pirate lady clearly. Now my Asda plastic carrier bag now lives in my awesome sexy pirate lady mini backpack. It's affordable and they have a really good selection. They also stock travel sized bags and cases. In our case (excuse the pun) though we just head straight to our favourite Prosport bags.

Betty Bags is an independant shop in Princes Mall, which stocks...well, you guessed it! Bags…read more As well as bags, none of which are really to my taste to be honest, Betty also sells accessories and wee Japanese figurines. A strange mixture, but interesting to have a browse around, and to be honest, the mall doesn't offer much else to browse. I don't really go in for bright colours, diamanté and big chunky buckle type bags, or anything with cartoon characters on, but if you did, I'm pretty sure you could find something here. They stock quite a lot of Betty Boop (inspiration for the name, perhaps?) and Spongebob Squarepants figurines and memorabilia, which is reasonably priced for that sort of thing.

I love this shop anyway, all the girly hairbands and earrings..it's my idea of heaven. I like this…read morebranch in particular because it's really well laid out..seems to have as much as I've seen in the bigger branches all squeezed in. Also staff are quite nice and remember you. I needed some bunny rabbit ears for a hen night and when they only had 6 of the 12 I needed the assistant phoned round half of scotland to get me the rest.

I googled Fair Isle sweaters, Edinburgh & ended up buying two here. The staff couldn't have been…read morenicer & the sweaters are gorgeous. I don't wear the other boho items stocked & didn't do more than glance, but the uniquely beautiful sweaters were the prettiest I've seen - and I've been looking!

I love this place so much. I was in Edinburgh on business and when I had a day off I went around…read morethe town to explore a bit and stumbled upon this place. Not being super into wool and hand made items at the time, I bought one wool headband and brought it home (living in Seattle, you get COLD all the time). I grew to love this headband so much, that I now order headbands all the time from this place and have them shipped to Seattle. I cannot find yarn like the yarn at Ragamuffin ANYWHERE! It is so unique and thick, I would buy hundreds of headbands from this place if I could. Truly, they are so unique, I cannot do them justice in an explanation. I always tell people who are going to EDI for business to check this place out, and I will definitely continue ordering from this place as long as they let me. :)

Cath Kidston has a sort of Stepford Wives/1950's housewife feel to it. Everything is prim, proper…read moreand pretty. It has become quite trendy and girls everywhere are wandering around with Cath Kidston bags. I do quite like this store. I wander around picking out all the things I want to buy, then look at the price tag and think "Nah, it's not worth it". Everything is very twee with very girly, flowery prints and nice pinks or blues on pretty much everything. It would be nice to kit out ones summer house down by the beach in Cath Kidston, but one doesn't quite have the budget or need for such things. Cath Kidston=Susie Homemaker. Still a lovely shop though.

Cath Kidston is bringing back the kitschy 50s kitchen, and I couldn't be more thrilled!…read more Selling all things frilly, floral lined and inspired by the retro housewife, Cath Kidston brings the best of the country kitchen into the 21st century. The pastel pinks and cute stripes on the mugs, linen and aprons is adorable. Their kitchenware is fantastic, with new ranges to suit outdoor garden parties (how fitting of this shop!) There is a definite English tea party theme running through the designs on the mugs, but it's equally as good if you're looking for a girly jewellery gift, or a new bag. My cousin has declared that she wants her entire kitchen to be from Cath Kidston in her new flat. She is obviously hinting that she wants us to buy her presents for her new home, but shopping for someone in here is a treat rather than a chore so it's ok. What's more, a lot of the stock isn't as expensive as you'd think from a designer with such a good reputation. Absolutely delightful!

This is a lovely shop, full of wearable and elegant clothes. A pleasure to visit, no pressure to…read morebuy but lots of temptation!

The Number 1 Bead Shop/Mylers Emporium is a mixture of crystals, jewellery, beads to make your own…read morejewellery and there's also a selection of Scottish inspired art work. My interest when I popped in here the other day was with the jewellery. I used to work in a jewellers in Glasgow and I always meant to take up an evening course in jewellery making but have never got round to it. I was curious about the jewellery making class here which is a one off class that costs £20 and during the class you are supplied with all the materials to make your own necklace, earring and bracelet set which you get to keep. There was a really friendly young man serving when I popped in and he told me all about the course and was very informative on all the stock when I was browsing. They have an excellent selection of beads in all different colours and made from various different materials, all very reasonably priced. If you are into jewellery making then in addition to buying the beads from here, you can also get the tools and wires here too. At the front of the shop there's also an excellent range of stunning crystals which are perfect for gifts or a treat for yourself as they'd look great around the house. Overall, an excellent shop, with great stock and friendly stars. I will definitely be back, hopefully to sign up for the jewellery making course!

Normally I would just pass by a Bead shop, as I am not particularly interested in doing "beady"…read morestuff, but on this occasion I was drawn into the No 1 Bead shop by its shop window display of colourful jewelry. I took a fancy in their selection of bracelets for a reasonable price and decided to walk into the shop for a good look around. After rattling on their door and still not being able to open, I realized (after a very embarrassing moment of self observation) that the door was locked and you had to ring a bell to be able to be let in. There was a very nice man behind the counter who acted very swiftly. He was also very efficient in showing me all their jewelry and making suggestions. With the bracelet there also came a corresponding little gift box and I was able to chose from a limited selection of colourful empty boxes. In the back of the shop I saw a massive collection of different beads (forms and colours) and there were a few people browsing. As mentioned, my experience with beads is pretty much nil, but I give this shop a 5 star until I will find another shop to compare it against :-)

This is such a cute store! I visited it twice while I was in Edinburgh. They have lots of eclectic…read moreitems: stickers, cards, gifts, clothing, glasses and jewelry. I bought a couple of very unique pieces and have already received so many compliments on them! Will come back next time I am in town.

It was such an adorable little place, with lots of super adorable badges and stickers. Everything…read moreis such good quality and for really good prices. There is something for everyone there, I visited it when I was in Edinburgh and I got presents for all of my friends. The service was so quick, the line was super long and yet the person at the desk managed to get through everyone so quickly and she was so nice!

Take an individual piece of clothing out of Aladin's cave it's probably the worst thing you've ever…read morebought. According to everyone who's older than me this is one of the oldest established vintage clothing boutiques in Edinburgh. Lots of animal prints, lots of sequins and polyester, like any second hand shop really. but for some reason Herman Brown seems to be slightly uglier (which as we all know, is a great thing) having never found an excuse to wear a 150kg dress I'm sad to say I've bought NOTHING in the 800 times I've been in but it's still great fun trying stuff on.. Shop owners everywhere are shaking their heads, right?

I got so excited the first time I stumbled upon Herman Brown…read more It's a vintage store with originality, and packed full with well sourced stock. There was granny jumpers aplenty, batwing sweaters, suede jackets and a decent selection for the boys. It's not overwhelmingly busy with stock, leaving you free to browse without your brain being bombarded with a ton of information. There is definitely enough to satisfy your vintage cravings however, and loads of accessories for you to dig into your wallets for. There is a good supply of boots, buckles and bangles, not to mention half a ton of gorgeous brooches in a glass cabinet underneath the cash desk. You can always tell vintage suppliers who hire experienced staff, and Herman Brown has that. They are a very approachable bunch who are informative if you want to find out more about an item. Herman Brown is full of goodies, and being established for over twenty years it's safe to say they didn't jump on a bandwagon - they built it!