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 :)

Promising "cute but deadly clothing" Vampire Bunnies is a wonderfully unique little fashion…read moreboutique specialising in customised, limited edition and handmade clothing. Though definitely in the know and down with the kids, the store retains a refreshing sense of humour to its work and the cheery staff always make your visit a pleasant one.

alittle shop situated on the 2nd floor of the legendary Afflecks palace…read more you will never find any clothing in this shop anywhere else. all t-shirts, skirts,scarves are hand made by the owner so you won't find them anywhere else and one they're gone, they are gone! unless you ask and she willprobably makeyou one. the owner even designs and creates boob tubes and dresses using fabrics of much loved characters such as batman,spiderman, spongebob, pokemon, my little pony, star wars and much more for only £55 each. you will definitely be recognised wearing clothing from this shop. But you must be warned, if you see a dress there u like, you had betta buy it cos it might not be there next time. the owner is lovely, i talked to her on her official mysopace page and not only did she track down some doctor who fabric which i have been looking for, for ages, she even offered to make me a dress formit. This is a store you mustvisit in manchester, for every teenage, punk, emo, or young adult,situatedon the corner of dale street and tib street in afflecks palace a must go to shop

Great spot for shopping. Lots of treasures. We loved all of the different businesses in building…read moreacross 4 floors.

Back in the days of Madchester, Afflecks Palace was the place to go to get cool flares, psychadelic…read moreshirts, sunhats and all the right threads. Rumour has it Urban Splash founder Tom Bloxham even had a stall here selling bootleg Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays tees. These days, Afflecks is a bit of a ghost town. There are still dozens of stalls selling everything from vintage and secondhand clothes to military wear, drugs paraphanelia, henna tattoos, wind-chimes and furniture. Sadly, there aren't as many old goths, rockers, emo teens and ageing punks as there used to be and you can sometimes walk round the whole building without seeing anyone other than the staff!

not as good as you would expect it to be…read more if you are expecting a child/have a new born or have a child say 3 plus then your fine. you'll find pleanty of stuff here for your child. if you have a 1/2 year old then you have pretty much no chance, everything is either too small/young or too big/old i went here looking for xmas pressis for my little girl she is 20 months old now and is a bit past teddy bears but too small for the dollys prams sold here and many other toys too. toys are us is good for older children, tonnes and tonnes of stuff for them to play with while you look around. the staff are lovely and always willing to help and check stock for you.

Beware: do not take your kids in here because they will want EVERYTHING!!…read more This is fantastic when your trying to find a present for a kid cos they cover various ages and sell alot of stuff like bikes, toys, collectables, audios/cds,books, games, games consoles etc. They have a babes R us section too; baby bibs, clothing, bottles and toys etc. The Retail park has plenty of car parking spaces, plus you have aldi, onatural, pc world and other stores nearby.

This is a really lovely independent toy shop in Broomhill, absolutely packed with toys. For such a…read moresmall shop it has an amazing amount of stuff! Lots of lovely unusual toys like hand puppets, as well as the usual character stuff, and a good selection of Lego and Playmobil at the back. Also lots of crafty things and jigsaws.

Do you know what? It is hidden away in a corner!…read more This shop used to be part of the Market back in the day before the market moved and it's now got it's own little shop! And I really like it! Full of great fancy dress costumes and bits to add to fancy dress costumes, that part is obvious from the very bright and tacky shop window. Dig deeper and you'll find tons of different tights, colours and types and sizes for everyone and every occasion, really good quality and really cheap too!

The perfect shop for people who get stopped at parties and asked what they are fancy dress'd at…read morewhen in fact this is their plain, casual look. Neon tutu's, legwarmers tons of different colours and patterns of tights - things like that. The mannequins styled in the window give you a good idea what to expect. Its all a bit mish mash in here but for fancy dress it is less packagey and samey than going to the bigger Luvyababes a few doors down in the Arndale.

American Graffiti is a vintage shop in the Northern Quarter. Nothing new there, right? The Northern…read moreQuarter is jam packed full of vintage shops. So what gives American Graffiti its review-worthy uniqueness? Well, it's vintage taken to its Nth degree. Vintage that is so specific to its timezone it can masquerade as fancy dress. You can mix and match and get away with it, or you could quite easily attend a party as Jackie O. The website categorises the clothing by decade. Whether you're a 1940s jitterbug in your pillarbox hat and dainty skirt suit, a 1950s circle skirt and pinched waist lover, a Carnaby street-hopping 1960s monochrome dream, a 70s disco diva or all 80s power-suits and shoulderpads, you'll fit in well here. It's not just vintage, retro and fancy dress clothes you'll get here either. Alongside a massive array of shoes and accessories there's even some homeware to be going along with. And they even provide costumes for stage and screen, including Life on Mars, Coronation Street and Take That. The atmosphere is welcoming and nothing is dusty or musky - all the items are lovingly laundered to a tee, dry cleaned and presented beautifully. Well, that's passed my vintage 'ewww!' test then. With friendly staff and a downloadable 10% discount voucher, you don't need any more excuses to pay it a visit.

An essential place for fans of vintage and retro, American Graffiti is a colourful boutique packed…read morehead to toe with original and unusual clothes. Whilst most vintage shops in the area seem pre-occupied with the 50s to the 80s, the owner has an eye and passion for every period from the 1920s onwards. As a result, you'll likely to see old flappers outfits nestled next to psychadelic flares and breath-taking dresses from the summer of love. As well as a fine selection of trousers, skirts, blouses, dresses, coats, jackets and accesories, there's a varied selection of shoes, boots, wigs and homeware. Like I said: Essential!

This shop is quite simply the best alternative shop in the north of England. Spread out over three…read moreadjacent units in the Piece Hall the shop has a wide range of Goth clothing, mystical ornaments, spell supplies and books. The prices are good and as it is a family run business the staff are friendly, helpful and remeber their regular customer. Don't miss it!