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 :)

Whenever I need a fancy dress outfit for either Halloween, Christmas, New Year or just for the sake…read moreof it; I always go here. This shop has most defiantly grown over the years and now had their own website business as well as the shop. Who doesn't enjoy going having a look at the costumes or accessories here? It really is top-quality stuff and if they do not have it in store, then order it for you. You can try the stuff on too, so you know if it fits. You could seriously spend the whole day in here.

Pretty decent place to get any fancy dress stuff from. I've bought a few things from here in the…read morelast few years for parties and other things. I bought a 'female gangster' outfit from here nearly 5 years ago for a friend's birthday when we went out on a night out. Everyone who went out for the night out all had a brilliant night and people who had seen us all in the fancy dress had a pretty awesome night as well

Great family run fancy dress/ joke and dance shop in Stockport, great variety- nice to browse…read morethrough, staff are lovely. It does attract the alternative kids as there isn't much else like this in Stockport. Stairs to the basement are quite steep, gets really busy before halloween!

I like dressing up about as much as any normal man should do, e.g. for fancy dress parties when you…read morego the whole hog, or if you're re-enacting The Rocky Horror Show down your local pub of a Saturday night. I've never been into this half-arsed university fancy dress thing though, which basically ends up being a competition by girls to see who can look the most slutty (not that I'm complaining about scantily-clad females, honest). However when entering Maghull's Fancy Dress Box, it's hard not to get carried away and dress up in the various and wide-ranging costumes they have both on sale or to hire. The outfits there are generally of a decent standard and certainly better than any local Smiffy's would have and they also stock various other bits and pieces for nights like stag and hen dos or birthday celebrations that can be very useful (they advertise themselves as a "1 Stop Party Shop"). They also have bouncy castles available for hire for just thirty pounds, perfect for those kid's parties where all the adults are waiting for the kids to tire/go to bed so they can all get on the bouncy castle. A very weird and wonderful place to go for any fancy dress or party needs.

Best Kept Secret is hardly the most appealing business when viewed from a distance due to the fact…read morethat it is located inside an defunct petrol station building. Because of this, the grimy forecourt serves as the car-park and the shop itself has a rather mouldy quality. But, as you'll go here to buy clothes you'll only wear once, none of this is really important. BKS has a fairly wide selection of full outfits (doctor, nurse, policeman... MC Hammer) at prices which are much cheaper than those you will find online. Speaking of the internet, Best Kept Secret's website is actually quite accessible, and shows you the items the store has in stock, as well as letting you buy online at store prices. The store also stocks a large selection of unattached accessories that can be used to make your outfit more quirky (wigs, glasses, hats etc) meaning that it gives potential Otley-runners plenty of scope to create a unique outfit. Look like a fool for cheaper!

Best Kept Secret really is crammed with thousands of costumes and accessories but unfortunately,…read morenone of them were what I was looking for! I found the staff to be unhelpful and quite rude. It may have been stress seen as though the shop was packed out with customers wanting to try on outfits in the one and only cubicle... The prices are fine, the accessories are in their masses and there absolutely loads of tacky costume choice. The only thing I liked was that they stocked some Leg Avenue ranges and had a lot of their hoisery available. All at cheaper prices than the internet stores. As mentioned before, Otley runners will have a field day in here but sadly, you will see about ten replicas of yourself on the way around...

This particular Wizzard Cards & Gifts shop in St. Helen's sells a terrific variety of bits and…read morepieces which are ideal for small presents and special celebratory occasions. In addition to offering a selection of ornaments, scary and cute looking toys as well as holographic artwork, they also have a small fancy dress section towards the rear of the shop and sell a range of cheeky adult toys. So, if you pop into Wizzard, you might be in for more than what you bargained for after a wonderous browse! Expect a contrasting variety of cards and gifts from the innocent and cute to the downwright naughty and scary! Overall, the shop has friendly staff as they kindly helped me look for the card I was searching for and at affordable prices, you can't really go wrong.

This has to be the ultimate gift shop! If you need a present…read morefor someone, special or otherwise, you are most likely to find something here. they have gifts from mugs to t-shirts to jewellery.the list seems to be endless, but probably isn't. They even have the cards, tags and wrapping paper to finish off your present.

Now then vintage fans. I've got and ruddy done it again - sniffed out another top vintage shop with…read moremy serious retro skills. How do I do it? Goodness knows. I'm like some kind of beagle for old. Anyway, here it is. In the mini labyrinth of the old Merrion market, where foot fall seldom falls but for the odd parker who's swfitly moving on to the main meat of Leeds' shopping, there stands a quirky stall-come-shop called Antique Boutique. I'm not even sure how I found it, I believe my friends and I were in search of a café we'd heard tell of, and stumbled upon this place whilst navigating out. At first glance it appears to be a fancy dress shop, but a closer investigation of the large shop window reveals that there are vintage treats to behold as well. Of course, I went in for a nosy. It's a long thin structure, packed to the rafters with bits, and doubles up with costume, fancy dress knick-knacks and vintage clothing. Tights, the odd hat and wig, fluorescent items, and more adorn the counters whilst the larger items are hung asunder - hinting at potential outfit building. There are knits, medieval style dresses, seventies prints, tiny waist coats for wee boys, lace jackets and scarves. All manner of things and a good long browse is required - to those who both do and don't know what they're after. I walked away with a joyful rust coloured knit body warmer, for a mere fiver, and the lady was both pleasant and willing to help if I'd needed. All in all, if you're in to your quirky stylings, antique-feel clothes and a right good rummage through the jumble-jungle, this is the ruddy place. A fabulous little shop and well worth checking out by all official magpies!

I have no idea what a Zebrit is. Nor does Google, and Google knows everything. So kudos must go to…read morethe owners of this store (which sells, amongst other things, toys, cards, arts and crafts materials, and fancy dress) for naming a store after an animal that doesn't exist. It exemplifies the shameless childishness and wackiness of this store as a whole. Come here with your children to buy them all manner of unique toys, or on your own to admit to the fact that you never really grew up. Indulge your most childish desires as you wander round with a stupid grin on your face, buying bouncy balls, silly string and water-bombs. Then feel like an idiot when you meet your friends and they ask you what's in the bag.