This is quite an odd store that I found while searching in vain for a Christmas present for the men…read morein my family. Really, why must they be so difficult? I suppose this is not the appropriate place for my tantrum, so let's move on. This store comes across as a little of a disorganised jumble, but once you get past that you realise that it actually stocks a lot of well-known brands. Basically any form of men's clothing you are after, you can find here. There is work wear, formal wear and casual wear, along with lots of the most popular surfing brands. When I was there it was busy, full of men of different ages attempting to withhold the right to choose their entire wardrobe from their wives. Even though I didn't particularly like the setup, the staff were courteous and helpful, and there's no denying there was a lot of good stuff to choose from.

I first went to David's Mensland years ago, because it was near my then work. I'm a bit on the…read morecheap side and don't usually wander into shops unless there's a sale on and I have to say I've picked up some great bargains for my Dad and partner there at times - like a couple of Italian dress shirts at about 75 percent off for under $30 each; golf shirts, jeans... there's always something on the racks outside. That's the grown up side of the shop. then there's Cylinder Surf Cleveland, a more recent addition to the store. They are adjoined, so you walk from one section to the other internally, but what a difference. Cylinder Surf is for guys and girls, and is on the corner of Bloomfield Arcade, so long windows on two sides are filled with cool surf gear. I like the summer and winter sales, when I've picked up some great Roxy gear, boots, bags, jumpers, tops, at really good prices. The range of stock is good for a relatively small store.

I found this store to sell a rather random mix of clothes. There were dresses perfect for a Year 12…read moreFormal, outfits suited to a day at the races, along with more casual wear aimed at a slightly older crowd. It's a large store, and the amount on offer certainly reflects that. Items in every colour of the rainbow, suspended on the numerous racks, line the walls and a maze of pretty dresses fills the floor space. I saw some things that piqued my interest, but most of the items in here were a little out of my price range. I picked out a beautiful blouse that turned out to cost somewhere around $100, before quickly placing it back amongst it's friends and retreating from the store before the staff noticed me. Despite it not being perfect for me, I noticed many happy customers browsing and some interacting with the friendly sales staff, so I think for the target customer this is a great place to shop.

It was the silky, seafoam green floor length dress in the window that caught me eye. In fact, all…read moreof the dresses in the window spoke to me of beach photo shoots. These are dresses designed to get swept up with the ocean breeze. While I posed in front of a mirror in the seafoam green, I realised that satin and silk aren't good materials for those who aren't in supreme shape. My beer gut was getting a bit too much attention. Back to the rack. You'll find all sorts of clothes in here. Dresses fit to wear to formals, casual daywear for older women, and I want to say 'beachside couture' (even though it's not couture) for the young and fit. I want to make note of the accessories. They are well worth the look. The pieces for the most part are quite contemporary with a beachside twist. You might find some sea worn glass pieces here for example. Expect to pay a little more. It will surprise you as nothing in the store says 'boutique' except the price tags. I was a little put off, but still, it was fun to swan around in beautiful, breezy dresses while I was there.

Walking through the door of this shop I got the feeling its target consumer is a little older than…read moremyself, although some of the clothes belie that fact. It was a bit confusing really, trying to work out if I belonged there or not. Some of the clothing beckoned me while others made me wonder gloomily what I will be able to get away with in thirty years. Regardless of my confusion, there was a huge range of clothing, friendly service from the owner herself and muted lighting provided by chandeliers. The shop design was fairly basic with not much of a layout to speak of, but I think with stores such as this one the emphasis is on the clothing rather than anything else. This is the type of place where I'm sure you can find plenty of appealing items, if you're willing to do some foraging through the overflowing racks, which is half the fun as far as I'm concerned.

Louky is a tiny little boutique full of women's clothing, mostly for special occasions. Along with…read moredresses and such, they sell jewellery, fascinators and bags. It is small so the range of clothing is not enormous, but there are some lovely items here, and the accessories are plentiful. It's a popular place, busy with young girls and their mums browsing. I saw a number of things I really liked, but without having an event in mind for their debut, decided it was best to hold back this time. The prices are moderate and everything appears to be great quality. I was surprised to stumble across it, situated in a tiny shopping mall opposite a Coles supermarket - not where you'd usually expect to find a trendy boutique.

From the owner: Louky Boutique is your go to fashion store for gorgeous Special Event Dressing, Racewear, Mother of…read morethe Bride/Groom, Beautiful italian linens & silks, Fascinators, Hats, Handbags & Fashion jewellery. We also have an instore stylist

Cylinder Surf is your run of the mill surf store, mainly for women. The walls are lined with a…read morevariety of tops, shorts, dresses, skirts and bikinis of all different brands including Billabong, Roxy, Quiksilver and Ripcurl. You'll also find a myriad of thongs and other casual footwear, along with accessories synonymous with these stores, such as leather wristbands and necklaces made using different types of shells. Despite the products being of the same quality and style the big surf brands are known for, I didn't enjoy the atmosphere of this store. The interior was a little stale; the shop could use a bit of a revamp. However, there's plenty of great clothing to be found here and the staff are great.

Cylinder Surf is a nice little surf store in Cleveland. I like the store, the staff are helpful…read morewithout being overly pushy. They have a range of surf wear like colourful swimmers, beach dresses, thongs and casual shorts. You will find the typical brand names you would expect like Roxy, Rip Curl and Quicksilver. There are no real surprises here, it is your average surf store. Great to grab something for the weekend or before your next trip down to the Gold Coast.

The fact that the guy working in this place mistook me for a recent high school graduate, when in…read morereality I am closer to attending my ten year reunion, could have a lot to do with why I loved this store. But I don't think so. I really can't express how positive my experience here was. Everything about this shop is adorable; the design, the vintage clothes, the atmosphere and the locally made jewellery. This is no ordinary secondhand clothing store. Everything has been carefully chosen and only the best items make the cut, so the store is not cluttered, but tastefully arranged with perfect clothes to space ratio. Not only are the clothes here unique thanks to their preloved status, but they are all in excellent condition. While the clothes are lovely, it is not that alone which makes this store what it is. The design compliments the shop perfectly; giving customers the feeling they are exploring a charming boutique. Perhaps my favourite thing about this shop was the locally made jewellery. I love supporting local artists and buying pieces like this not only ensures you do so, but also guarantees that you won't end up looking exactly the same as every girl that shops at mass-produced jewellery stores. Finally, when I visited, not only was the sales assistant extremely friendly, kind and a poor judge of age (to my immense pleasure), he was also ironing. I found this an enchanting touch. How often do you see staff in a shop ironing? It added such a welcoming feel to the store, and also assured me the people here really care about and take pride in their work.

Willow & Fox work under the banner of 'Recycle, Reduce, Reuse'. Even from the outside it's…read moreendearing. They have handwritten protest articles written up on the door about stopping the palm oil industry. HANDWRITTEN! The owners are people who really do care about the state of our world. Their collection is humble, but immaculate. The threads they sell are all secondhand, in perfect condition, and I guess you would say that most of them come under the category of 'hippie clothes'. They've got all sorts of excellent bits and bobs around the place- there's some reused tetra pak bags there for sale, and some beautiful reused wine goblets. My favourite item was the lampshade made from natural fibres. This store is one of it's kind in the Cleveland area. It provides people with an avenue to have all the nice things they want without costing you or the environment too much.

Bare Traps is clearly aimed at short girls with tall boyfriends; I didn't see one shoe without a…read moreheel in the store. I'm not complaining, as I am one of those girls and it's nice that we're being recognised as a demographic. In fact, I loved this store. It's simple, airy and uncluttered, with lovely shoes and laid back sales staff. They had an especially huge range of wedges, my only shoe weakness, so my quick stroll through took a little longer than anticipated. I thought it was great that the store wasn't crammed full of shoes. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty to look at, but it seemed like in this case they believe in quality over quantity which is a philosophy some shops could certainly learn from. The design was simple, so that nothing distracted from the shoes, although I suppose most women don't have trouble staying focused when shoe shopping.