As a brand I Heart the G-Star. I love it, I think it's excellent quality gear, that's smart casual,…read moreand unusual in design, even more so before other brands started copying it, but what is it they say about imitation and flattery. All that said, G-Star is still pretty unique and the quality of the denim wear is awesome. Can't state that enough. In all my years trawling around Leeds I was disappointed that there wasn't a dedicated G-Star shop. When one arrived, I was really surprised when I realised that the location of the G-Star Flagship store was down at Clarence Dock, which is very scenic, but is really quiet for the location of a store of the G-Star calibre. I expected it to be taking a spot on the Victoria Quarter or maybe Thornton Arcade or even Briggate, I expected it to be in the centre of Leeds is what I'm getting at. This G-Star is portioned up into men's wear in the front, ladies in the back, as a store it's light and airy, and there's a showcase of the finest G-Stars. In my opinion it's the Jeans that sell this brand, and both departments have a wall section dedicated to the denims in each style and size that's available. Staff could do with being a little bit more on the helpful side; there are a couple of places off the top of my head I can name who are bang on with regards to customer care. It's sale season, and I've seen sale jeans for £40 and t-shirts for £20, which considering the average retail price G-Star is a considerable saving. There are plenty of bargains to be had if G-Star is your thing, if it's not your thing, then you're probably not going to appreciate paying nearly £40 for a t-shirt, or £110 for your jeans, but I'm just glad there's a dedicated store in the city.

It's always nice to revisit a place sometime later and find that you like it better than before…read more Today, I did just that with Best Vintage. They've had a bit of a refit on the frontage, it seems, with new signage and suchlike but I wanted to investigate further and see if that had actually changed anything inside. The answer? Yes and no. Basically, I'm a magpie. And what did I spot in their gloriously large upper Victorian window? An amazing shirt. I had to go and check it out. So, I popped in and made my way upstairs. The downstairs seems now entirely dedicated to men's fashion -a brave choice, you might think, since I'm sure that most shops would have the girly bits on ground level to attract more in. Even so, I consider it a wise choice -the girls, like myself, will likely happily venture upstairs and it lets the guys know there will be plenty for them to check out, since most vintage shops overlook or underplay the men's choices. And there really are options for guys here; a hoard of funky t-shirts, cool jeans, excellent shoes and so on. (Perhaps I'm making assumptions about shoppers, but it's my small take on what might be going on.) So, upward I went and had a pre-browse before examining the aforementioned shirt. There's a large sale rack up at present with tons of dresses. 50% off, if you make it in time, which is quite the saving. Amongst the dresses were many different enticing colours and styles, all very vintage. Some of them had a bit of staining, which is unfortunate, but the nature of a second hand browse I have come to learn. As ever, the thing that hadn't changed was the pricing. I think some of it was a little steep, but then I am an honourary Yorkshire, so this penny-pinching may be learned behaviour. That being said, the range was pretty good and I'm certainly going to be back for a second look at the amazing display of beaded and glittery dresses and tops -honestly, I'm not sure I've seen so many in one place. There are plenty of other bits to gander at too. A plethora of fluffy jumpers, totally 80s style, boots and other knick-knacks. (Their jewellery on the other hand was pretty well priced!) But -to the shirt. I asked the chap if he could tell me the price, and he couldn't see the label so guessed at around £35-40. Hmmm, that seemed a little much to me. In any case, he offered to take it off the mannequin so I could try it, and after making sure that this would be ok since I might not buy it, he reassured me and fetched it down. It was a perfect fit, and as a total bonus, the label in fact said £25. Now that's a price I could pay for a one off beaded lemon yellow delight. Perhaps it was as I'd just saved fifteen quid in my head from his original price, but for a very delicate and unique piece, I think the amount was just right. (So obviously, I bought it.) At the till the chap was lovely, and one of the other lads commented on what an awesome shirt it was, so we had a great wee natter too. Basically, the staff must be new(er) as they're SO much friendlier than before. Awesome. They're ace, essentially. The best bit? Apparently a lot of girls had come in before and tried the shirt, none being brave enough to wear it. What an utter shame - ladies, be brave and wear something dazzling with pride! I'm sure you'd have looked fabulous. However, you'll have to find another glittered beauty, as the glory of this baby is all mine! Muh hah hah! (In short: check them out!)

avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store…read more so today i was in there with some frends and purchased what was sold as levis when i got back home i noticed they were primark!!!!! i paid a lot of money for these and to find out they are some nasty used primark is bare joke!!!!! do not shop here, i think they sell many fakes and pretend they are proper brands! i am going back next week to demand my money back!!!! avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store. avoid this store.

Petroleum is owened by the Officers Club and is a large double unit within the centre. It is purely…read morefor men and sells a good mix of clothes both casual and for work as well as a trainer and shoe range. What sets Petroleum out from its competition is its prices, we're almost talking Primark kind of prices here! Obviously this means you get Primark kind of quality too but when you can buy t-shirts for a fiver and jeans for a tenner your not too bothered! Definately worth a look if you want to keep up with the latest fashions but at a fraction of the price!

Man this shop is pokey!…read more Big Deal sell a good deal of stuff for such a small space, that is for sure. Their goods range mostly in music items and electrical goods, most especially amplifiers and guitars although there are a number of other items on sale here too. As a lot of the items have been part exchanged/are second hand it means they offer reasonably competetive prices on their goods. The main issue with this, though, is that when searching for musical items money isn't (and shouldn't be) the main factor. I'm not saying one should go crazy, but it doesn't matter how cheap their Takemine might be, that doesn't mean it is a better deal than a full price elsewhere. I'll elaborate. Unfortunately therein lies the problems with musical instruments - line up seven of exactly the same guitar from the same factory from the same day, and one will be miles above the others for sound quality. One will sing and you'll notice it compared to the others. There just aren't two guitars the same - you can test this yourself by annoying the salesmen in any guitar shop in Leeds and ask to play as many of the same brand and issue as they have! (In buying a guitar recently I did just this to weedle out the best one!) What I'm getting at is that Big Deal have a lot of great offers and some very nice prices, but be sure to test the item first and make sure it sings as well as it should. Unless you've naught the patience for all that, in which case, go enjoy a bargain!

Smiling, helpful, knowledgeable staff in a shop that is tiny and jam packed with so much electrical…read morestuff that is all looked like a black haze to me. If you need anything electrical from cables to speakers, turntables to laptops, guitars and lights they are likely to have it for a good price although this value seems to have decreased (i.e. prices have risen) since el crunchio. You get a three month guarantee with most items and part-exchanges are welcome. Many of my friends have happily purchased second-hand laptops from here (after a mass laptop theft) and all are happy with their purchases. Enjoy a tight-squeezed browse or just ask what you are after and the men will be glad to help.

I think this was perhaps one of my more embarrassing shop visits, to be perfectly honest, and so it…read morewasn't exactly a positive experience. Certainly nothing untoward happened but I don't think I came off in the best light particularly. I was having a bit of a mooch around town and I ended up along Vicar Lane, which isn't my usual area of browsing I must say. Having always walked past Flannels, and not really thought much of it, I saw a divine dress in their window and so decided to nip in. For a start I nearly accosted a guy walking into him as I tried to enter their doors, which was enough of a scene to attract the attention of the two store guys, so head hung in shame I apologised and briskly walked over to my beacon of fashion - the dress. I noticed then that although it was on display in the window it was pretty much the only women's item on show down here and so became really aware that it appeared that I was shopping in the men's section! Irk. Not the case. I quickly glanced at the price tag, feeling the laser beam eyes in my back still watching me from my prior clumsiness, and saw the fee for my beautiful garment. £900 odd pounds. Yeah. I left pretty instantly after that. And they totally knew why. I can almost hear their thoughts now, in my head. "She's too poor to shop here." Gah, how embarrassing! Beautiful clothes, I am sure. But not, in my humble pauper's opinion, worth a third of an MA degree, not worth a third of a good car, not worth a MacBook Pro. God no. Not for a mere dress!

I had never been into Flannels until recently. I don't think the name really reflects the shop - it…read moresounds odd and clumsy and well, makes you think of flannels. It is a vast minimalist space and very sleek and classy in appearance. Men's formal wear is downstairs. They have a bespoke tailoring service, which makes me shudder to think of the price as most of the ready to wear clothing here is way out of most people's price range. I saw a coat for over £700. Seven hundred pounds. There is womenswear in the adjacent room, full of high end designer pieces. There are some very pretty pieces, though in the sale a top was still over £100. Upstairs there's loads more womenswear including shoes and accessories. Again the design of the shop is vary spacious and minimalist with hangers set at fixed points on the rails to make everything have a streamlined, ordered appearance. It's a pleasure to browse, though if you're skint like me the enjoyment is somewhat stifled by the inability to bring yourself to even try anything on! Men's casual wear is also upstairs with a general feel of understated classic chic. This is a shop for people with cash to splash - I imagine wealthy businessmen nipping in on their lunch break to pick up a 'little something' to impress their love interest, for whom only the best will do. And if she likes high end designer fashion and classy, understated glamour he'll definitely be in her good books.

I fell upon this wonderful shop whilst wandering through the Piece Hall. It had the most fabulous…read more50's dress at only £30. I couldnt believe my luck until I started looking through the rail and found oodles more around the same price. There was a good selection of not onlt clothes but accessories and home bits n bobs too. I will definatly be back on payday or maybe before !!

Took my wife to the piece hall in halifax and we went into this vintage clothing shop where she…read morebought a beautiful evening dress for my works event she'd been moaning about getting something different and couldnt get something from the highstreet so thank heavens we found this something very different and unique due to the fact it never been on the high street production lines! Definitely popping in again (according to the wife anyway!)

In preparedness for the Victorian Fayre, Scope had some beautiful Victorian garments on their…read moremannequins which enticed me in for further investigation of other goodies that may have been present. I swiftly turned tail when I saw some of the prices. Obviously a fraction of the price of normal high-street brands but really now, (almost) 4 quid for a flimsy long-sleeved top, second-hand and no real redeeming feature.

I have just taken over as Manager of the Scope shop in Otley. The shop has a brand new refit and…read morelooks beautiful. The items for sale are of a really good quality and are reasonably priced, please come and have a look. We are also in need of any of your unwanted items and also if any lovely people ouy there would like to give any precious hours and volunteer we would be very pleased to see you.

Well, I must say I've never experienced this before. Having almost had the embarrassing rebuttal of…read morea glass door already that day (at Share up the road) I nearly didn't bother with a second fiasco - to gain access to Daniel Footwear one must 'press the button to enter'. It's quite intimidating, if I'm honest, as it feels as though you've almost to prove you are worthy of entering before getting into the shop. Or at least, it feels like you should go in with the dedication of spending, so as not to waste their time! Unless that's just me being a little paranoid, walking into a high end shop where I could rarely afford to make a spend makes me a tad nervous it seems! Anyways. I went in and had a very brief look around. I knew in an instant that not only would these delicious shoes hurt my feet, but hurt my wallet too. Everything about this footwear screams high end, from the uber heels to the fashion rivets and tassles back to the quirky buckles and loud design. Certainly, for a very serious statement and eye opening entrance, this is the place to go with regard to footwear. If you happen to be looking for a cosy pair of pumps I'd jog on, as they say. In my head all I could hear was a stern voice repeating over and over "there's nothing for you here," and so I felt it was time to make my exit. The shoes, although not my taste, are certainly in a class of their own. An expensive class if nothing else!

Fancy, fancy, fancy pants. If what you fancy in perusing some rather sleek shoes with very special…read moreprice tags then this is perfect. At the moment there is a sale on so you can expect to find some more reasonably priced shoes but I'd prefer to save myself for a special pair of Irregular Choice because I couldn't see anything that particularly grabbed me and said 'put me on your feet now and feel amazing in spite of the pain'.