Kids Chaos is a designer kids clothing store situated on Manchester Road in Swinton, not too far…read morefrom Victoria Park. It's easily accessible and has a couple of parking spaces for your convenience. The actual shop is a small unit yet packed full of vibrant and unique clothes and is colourful and 'funky' in style and design both exterior and interior. It's worth a look but keep in mind it isn't at all cheap, so make sure you take your flexible plastic friend with you!

Romano is a luxury boutique on Wilbraham Road in Chorlton. They sell a range of designer bags,…read morejewellery and accessories, as well as perfumes skin care products and men's fragrances. The staff in here are friendly and happy to advise, whether you're looking for the right fragrance or a gift. In fact it is ideal for gift shopping. Products are high end - Chanel, Cartier etc. - and so as you might expect it's a little pricey. Nevertheless it's very handy for special gifts or if you're just treating yourself.

Yet another shop in Levenshulme that is painted bright yellow! I just don't get it. Well I do…read morereally. It is quite eye-catching. But it's also very yellow! Pound Choice Plus is yet another one of those mega cheap shops that sells random tat. Half of which is mega useful and cheap. The other half of which is totally pointless but also cheap. This shop has all of the important useful stuff, like piles of cheap loo roll, washing powder, cosmetics and tools. The shop is light and airy too, which is a welcome change to other dingy pound stores. What I always love about these places is that there are some hidden gems to be found that almost make you laugh out loud. My personal favourite in Pound Choice Plus is the "Elegant Drinking Glass Chess Set." Which now I think about it could actually become an amazing drinking game. Hold on, I think I'm going to back and buy the thing.

The Bridge Community Shop is a great charity shop in Stocksbridge. Nothing is over priced. They…read moresell everything from books, ornaments, clothes, to Cd's, records, computer games toys, puzzles and games. Nothing is over priced in the shop. You can go in with a few quid and come out with some real bargains. The staff kindly work there as volunteers and are extremely friendly and helpful. Most of the goods in the shop are provided by locals. Certainly worth popping in if you're walking around Stocksbridge in the day, it's not located next to the main shops but basically at the back of the library. Sadly this means it may get overlooked by some passing visitors to the village.

Ever wanted a frying pan that makes heart-shaped eggs? How…read moreabout a grill that makes toast with religious figures engraved on? Or a polka dot suitcase with a smaller polka dot case inside? In short, Oklahoma's Gift shop is a living and breathing homage to the art of Kitsch ahd Colourful accessories. There's big items like lampshades and clocks hanging from the walls and ceiling, wallpapers and posters behind the main counter and dozens of shelves and tables stacked high with all kinds of weird and wonderful nonsense. One of my favourite items is the old American Popcorn Machine filled with jewellery and the desk overflowing with stationary, plastic moustaches and candy cigarettes.

I have wanted to go to Oklahoma for at least a year now and just never got around to it! Eventually…read moretoday was the day...and I was not disappointed at all! This quirky and cutesy store was everything I dreamed of! I couldn't wait to let my purse loose and I was didn't leave empty handed! This place is great for knick knacks, xmas presents and homely decor for those (like me) that are obsessed with kitchenware, signs and much much more! I was careful and only bought a little Christmas tree decoration (part of a family tradition) I buy my Mum one each year and this winter it will be an addition of a cute glass bottle with a wish and fairy (glitter) floating around inside! Picture to follow...

Love this place! Situated in the bohemian northern quarter, this place sells vintage coats, bags…read moreand shoes. They also turn old coats and jackets into bags. I collected my bag today, for £45 and in less than a week, they turned my old jacket into an amazing detailed one of a kind bag using the best features from the original jacket. This place deserves 5 stars!

Bags of Flavor is a really cool vintage shop in the Northern Quarter. Don't let its American…read morespelling of 'flavour' put you off, it's just designed to add to this shop's vintage cool. There's not an immense amount of clobber here, but what there is well chosen and cool. There are some great checked shirts, awesome shoes and some amazing retro adidas running jumpers. Bags of Flavor is a great little boutique, and the whole cool, relaxed vibe of the place makes it a worthwhile stop on a day spent visiting the huge variety of Manchester's vintage stores.

Let's get one thing straight first. I love stationery. I enjoy stationery I don't even need. If I…read morehave to do a lot of writing, I prefer tipped pens as opposed to ballpoint, in as vast a variety of colours as possible. Now, we all know we can get multipacks of these at the local supermarket or pound shop, but it just doesn't feel quite the same as purchasing something from the bevy of office supply loveliness that is Paperchase. One thing you'll always notice when standing outside this humongous, triple-floor branch in the centre of Manchester is not the Big Issue seller, although that might make you feel a little guilty for overspending on that eraser shaped like a flower or that Dalmatian print stapler. No, the biggest wow factor is the window display. They darn well make the most of it. And it's seasonal too, whether it's that phrase that strikes fear and depression into the hearts of children between the ages of five and sixteen and teachers everywhere, 'Back to School', or Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day... Paperchase will always via the medium of magical window dressing find a reason for you to buy stationery. I'd seriously recommend this branch over any of the weeny little concessions in Kendal's or Selfridges. You've got way more choice. But this isn't just a place for quirky little diaries, fluorescent pink post-its, pencils in every colour of the rainbow, stickers, iPod covers, damask wrapping paper, furry pencil cases and heart-shaped calculators. There's so much more. It has one of the biggest and best greeting card selections I've ever seen. There are gifts aplenty for the friend who has everything. There are home storage solutions. Pretty boxes. Lunchboxes. Tupperware. You can even buy pet supplies. Little random toys for stocking fillers. Toddle on up the stairs and find an entire floor dedicated to art supplies. There's even furniture, clocks, mirrors... I could go on. But I won't. Go see for yourself. I'm telling you, you'll walk in with the aim of buying a simple mobile phone cradle for your office desk and you'll come away with five different photo frames in five different shapes. You have been warned...

Now January has started it's only a matter of days before retailers swap their discounted Christmas…read morecards for Valentine's Day cards! One of the best places to go looking for cool cards and wrapping paper is Paperchase. They stock sweet, witty, playful and kitsch cards from a variety of designers and a brilliant array of notebooks, journals, address books, recipe cards, pens and stationary. This being their biggest store in the North West, there's also good quality paints, pastels, paper, card and brushes for artists upstairs. Before you get too carried away and fill your basket full of goodies - check out the prices as some of the Japanese papers and pastels are pretty steep.

This is a small store in comparison to others I have visited and although it is wells stocked with…read morefriendly staff it is a little hard to find, unless you know Sheffield well. It's down Chapel Walk and would be easy to miss. They often do offers so there's often great bargains to be had and its great for all your accessories needs (hair bands, bobbles, clips, jewellrey, purses, bags etc.)

Only thing is though this store is down chapel walk, and people tend to miss it and dont see it…read moreinfact they wouldnt know where it is as its down an allyway, unless you actually decide or 'accidently' walk through. Can find lots of stuff here (accessories haha as you can tell by the title)! like scarfs, gloves, hats, bags, shoes, ear muffs, earrings, rings, braceletes, neckalaces, hair accessories! They have great offers on now and again so you cant go wrong with the potential savings! love my bargains lol. the store is alittle smaller, compare to the one in meadowhall and slightly more cramped, but you still can find everything there is in the meadowhall.