'Are You Being Served', most would agree, disseminated a fairly rose-tinted view of the department…read morestore. If you hear one of the shop assistants in Westgate talking about their pussy it's probably not a beloved cat they are referring to. Of course they would be; the word now only has undertones of 'cat' where it used to be the opposite way round. But back to Westgate. Though there might not be any Mr. Humphries or Mrs. Slocombe characters bouncing around the shop floor the place does reek of a former era, when men were men and wore kipper ties. The menswear section features racks of trousers in various shades of beige and hangers of navy blazers (there are some Barbour jackets amongst the blandery but the range is small and very expensive.) There is some indulgence of the 'yoof' market with a concession selling various coloured oxford pumps, jeans and t-shirts by Bck & Hrsy and Ringspun. The women's fashion department seems to have a similar issue to the mens, with stands from Ann Harvey and Playboy and seemingly nothing in between. Elsewhere in the store, the bedding and homeware department is filled with the sort of chintz that's not even cool in an ironic retro sort of a way and the electronics department is filled with desirable enough items but which are so highly priced I can't imagine anyone would bother. And this is the problem with Westgate; a lot here is simply outdated and what isn't is too expensive to consider.

Chestergate department store in Stockport is part of the coop group and they have a wide range of…read moreproducts. On the basement floor they have home items and a cafe. The ground floor has womens and mens clothing ranges inclusing Jane Norman, Morgan, Bay trading, Principles and many more. They also have cosmetics with outlets such as Clinique, Clarins and Elizabeth Arden. The first floor sells furniture and electrical items along with a really good range of bedding items. There is another small cafe on this floor. Most of the staff are helpful in this store and its well laid out with some good offers on.

Love the convenience of the café. John Lewis has always provided the best and delivery services and…read moreinstallation for all the appliances. This particular visit was for curtains. One star off because while there are many sizes and styles listed online, the stores usually only carry one or two of each variety leading you to have to purchase them online and have arranged for either pick up in store, or home delivery. So it is best to use the store to inspect the individual items first before purchasing, but you might end up going online to order them anyway. Prices were excellent as always and delivery was free and of course John Lewis has a wonderfully large parking lot. That is also free of charge. For online pick up or Customer Service head around to the parking behind the store and enter from the rear entrance.

Despite what my husband may think I'm not a big fan of shopping and spending time in mammoth…read moreshopping centres and hot, stuffy department stores where the exit is nowhere to be seen (think the Father Ted lingerie department episode) puts the fear of God into me. However, needs must and sometimes shopping can't be avoided so if this is the case I want somewhere that will make it as easy as possible. I like this branch of John Lewis as it's easily accessible by road (just off the M60 and Handforth bypass) with plenty of parking, making it super easy to pull up and head straight in. It's pretty big, spread over 3 floors, but still doesn't feel like it swallows you up and everything is very easy to find. It's also very neat and tidy which is pretty important to me as I hate it when a shop is in total disarray (think the hellhole that is Primark) as it just makes the whole shopping experience more stressful than it should be. I've always found the staff to be approachable and friendly and will happily dispense advice on the best toaster or coffee machine for your buck, if you so desire. John Lewis is definitely one of the more premium department stores (not quite Harvey Nics but definitely not Debenhams) so the products and prices obviously mirror this but if you are after gifts or items that are of a higher quality then it's a brilliant option. Another major plus point for JL is that if you sign up for their loyalty card online they send you vouchers for free coffee and cake every month - this sweetens the shopping experience no end!

A good selection of shops in a good, central location within Stockport Town Centre, Merseyway is…read moreOK, although the selection of shops is much smaller than Manchester, which is only a couple of minutes away via train some stores here include Waterstones, Vision Express, Clarks, WHSmith, Superdrug, Primark as well as most major banks and UK mobile phone providers. Many of the shops are in the outside area, and due to the nature of the shopping centre, it is pretty open so it might not be the best place to go on a chilly day. Most of the shops do close slightly early, with 5:30 to 6 being common (when they are allowed to open of course...) The interior is pretty modern and OK. It can be useful to cut through here if you're heading from the Railway/Bus Stations into other parts of the town centre, including ASDA and Tesco. 3*

I come to Merseyway every Saturday. I you want something, I gurantee you'll find it here. The area…read moreis kept clean and has a great environment. Buses and Taxis are available at any time or within minutes. Food/Cafes: - Greggs - Marks and Spencers - Thorntons - Simon Dunn Chocolatiers - Debenhams - Sandwich Shops - Gabbots farm - Love Coffee Shopping/Clothes/Make Up: - Primark - BHS - Solewish - Blue Inc - Kiwi Fashions - The Fragrance Shop - The Body Shop - Marks and Spencers - Debenhams - Glance - New Look - Boots - Superdrug - Next - Topman - Topshop - River Island - Republic - Candy - Monsoon - Accessorize - Ann Summers - Clarks Eletronic/Games/Phones: - Vodafone - Game - Orange - HMV - T-Mobile Other: - Argos - Waterstones - The Works - WHSmith - Mothercare - Disney - Firstchoice - Sports Direct - The Card Factory - Clintons AND LOADS MORE

A good place to try on lots of dresses and grab a bargain!…read more This is a warehouse style wedding dress shop. You don't need an appointment, just turn up when they are open and ring the bell. You are given 4 rings and simply put them around the hangers of the dresses you like. You can then try on those 4 before going back out to choose another 4. The dresses are samples from shops so they generally only have 1 in each size and when they sell they are gone so be aware of this if you fall in love with one! It was moderately busy for 1130 on a Saturday. We got a changing room straight away though. One of the assistants helps you out when you get changed then she kindly suggested some dresses she thought would suit me as well and went to get them. They had some stunning things in my size. You are possibly a size bigger than normal here so beware when choosing! I could have happily bought 2 of the ones I tried on. The lady also helped me try on matching veils. Again I can't wait to go back and try on more dresses here.

This M&S Outlet store is certainly not the best or most exciting of stores from the Marks and…read moreSpencer brand, it is an Outlet store which mainly gets rid of old, out of fashion clothing which even the bigger stores wouldn't sell anymore, and often might have put on sale with no success in the past, still around sale prices. This is a slightly small branch in the Lowry Outlet in Manchester, they do seem to have made effort to improve it slightly such as with a nicer, slightly more modern and welcoming sign, and I presume this is a new addition for this store especially since it was last reviewed in what is nearly four full years ago. The staff didn't seem to stand out in anyway. I don't normally like Outlet stores and most of the fashion here was nothing great and more out of date rather than modern, which people would want to wear and the prices were just average sale prices and didn't stand out in particular, so I sadly feel this store does deserve a single one star rating.

Peddlers of pricey clothing with a penchant for food porn…read more The rise of supermarket clothing and budget store Primark has seen the once untouchable snobbery and borefest that is the mighty M&S slip sharply from it's perch. The elderly won't be around forever you know! Where's Take That when you need them?

it's an average sized tk maxx store so some stuff is good but i have found better at their…read moremanchester arndale store

I just never have the patience for TK Maxx. It's absolutely full of clothes that are at the end of…read morea line or out of season. That means there are loads of bargains to be found but you really have to search for them. And if you find something in a size that isn't quite right, it can take ages to move along the rail and find the same item in your size as clothes are stocked by size, and not the individual garment. Personally, I just can't stick at going through everything to find something good. I'm into going into a shop, choosing something quickly and just buying it. None of the sorting through loads of junk faff.

Value for money A wide range of products which are…read moreaffordable, value for money. Super cool So awesome.

A corner shop with a difference, this place does seem to grow sometimes for the better and…read moresometimes not so much, but that is life I suppose. Was sad to see the post office part of it fail so quickly. However, as a local shop they are very good, and have a surprising amount of stock, and the occasional good deal too. The staff are friendly and it is open late, which is always helpful if you have forgotten to get something you need, their vegetables are not cheap, but are okay if you planning on using them the day of purchase. I love that they sell fresh herbs, especially mint.

The second Sunday of every month is one of my favourite days of each particular month. That's one…read moreSunday when I'm happy to set my alarm, get my caboose out of bed and fly on further south in Manchester to Stockport's historic Victorian Market Halls, because that's where I can find epic 70s flowery maxi dresses, Smash Hits 'Best of the 80s' annuals and trinkets galore. Welcome to the Vintage Village! I've been to a lot of vintage markets and shops in my time. Once, I even travelled all the way up to Edinburgh for a coat, I brought back over £40 worth of vinyl and a 56 year old fur from Glasgow and I've been known to scour our little Manchester boutiques for hours at a time. But what Stockport offered last month just blew me away, knocked me sideways and had me gazing around open-mouthed like I did when I was taken to Disney World at six years old. This was epic. The quality was remarkable, the prices were insanely affordable and the sheer variety on offer was stunning. I defy you not to walk from stall to stall and see at least three things per section you covet. If you were to slap something not only like this, but of this calibre (exceptional quality, eclectic variety) bang in the middle of Manchester City Centre it would be completely overrun with fifteen-year-old Noel Fielding stalkers in knee socks and oversized Urban Outfitters jumpers (not that there's anything wrong with them - I've been known to rock a woolly from UO regularly and have frequent NSFW dreams about Mr Vince Noir myself), but as it's tucked away in a sleepy town centre in the South Manc 'burbs, it attracts a much calmer, quieter, more discerning clientele. Families bring along their children and have soup and bacon butties at Zip's Grill. Couples with dogs mooch around for gifts. It's incredibly relaxed and wonderfully friendly. I lost count of the amount of conversations I struck up with stall purveyors. This is worth getting out of bed on the day of rest for. Seriously, do it! You won't regret it. And if you do, come and have a go at me. I'll probably whup you upside the head. (P.S. Zip's Grill serves some of the finest coffee I've ever had the good fortune to taste, and the food looks all kinds of fabulous. I'll definitely have a soup this Sunday.)

Vintage Village is on every second Sunday of the month in Stockport's totally brilliant market hall…read moreplace. If the truth be known, It was more my wife and sister in law who were the instigators in us going but I wanted to stretch my legs and go out for the afternoon so thought I would give it a shot! Gotta say, it was really really good and there were all sorts of stalls selling vintage clothes, records, antiques, furniture - pretty much anything from yesteryear. Nice touches were a skiffle band playing live, with a DJ playing hits from the likes of Elvis throughout and a load of vintage cars and motorbikes on display outside. Great street food was provided from the (both) excellent Lord of the Pies and Honest Crust Pizza. I'll definitely be heading there again in the coming months as it's a great day out and only a £1 entry - bargain!