The ladies fashion in Joyell is certainly not aimed at people like me, I believe it is intended for…read morethe older lady (I imagine my Nan would really fancy some of their clothes). I have however had much experience with their school uniform fitting service (though thankfully that was a few years ago). I believe the staff to still be the same, and I always found that they knew their products inside out. They always took a kind, but no-nonsense approach when fitting me for my school uniform, which is exactly what you need when attending high school. I do remember when I was in my first year that they reassured me that everybody would be indeed wearing the same thing, which really eased some of my fears. So if you've got kids starting high school and in need of school uniform, rest assured they are the best in the business!

From the outside it looks like an innocent clothing shop for the more mature lady of inscrutable…read moretaste. But every parent in the north of Cardiff knows there is a much more sinister purpose for this shop. It has the monopoly on school uniform. Yes, an innocent passer-by would wonder just how many mature ladies of inscrutable taste it would take to make such a shop as successful as it is. Until they saw the queues of fraught parents and whinging children on the day before term starts. My advice is to plan your uniform buying and ordering with care. Don't wait until the last minute. If you think your little ones might suddenly become big ones over the course of the summer just buy enormous uniform. Better to embarrass the children than be incarcerated in an eternal queue with all the items of inscrutable taste.

It will be a few years before I'll need to shop at Head Over Heels, but I did recently go to help…read moremy mum pick out a hat for a wedding. I found the staff to be most courteous, and helpful, and the hat selection was fairly good. The last wedding my mum attended two people were wearing the same hat as her, so Head Over Heels is the perfect place to go to avoid embarrassing incidents such as this. They also sell clothes which are generally aimed at mother of the bride and older wedding guests. I can't say the clothes were particularly to my taste, but older patrons in the shop seemed pleased. With individuality though, comes higher prices, so be prepared to spend quite a bit of cash.

I've only ever properly explored the part of Rossiters that sells lots of gifts and knick knacks,…read morejust near the shop's entrance inside Royal Arcade - but in this section alone there's lots of lovely stuff I'd like to be able to afford! From funky ice cube trays to fridge photo frames, it's a great place to pick up small presents. There are some beautiful greetings cards, items of jewellery, well-made children's toys, a few men's accessories, travel bags, purses, umbrellas and much more. The whole place is more intimate than large department stores such as House of Fraser or John Lewis, and the feeling is one of quality over quantity. For me, the gift and homeware areas are probably the most appealing, but glancing into their other 'departments' they have a Homes & Gardens area, a kitchen department, a range of furniture, plus some fabrics, lamps, mirrors, and more. They also offer an interior design service, though I dread to think how much that costs.

Shops like this get me really excited. I'm a big girl when it comes to furniture, home and…read morekitchenware. I just want everything. If I had my way, my house would look like something out of 50s magazine. This store is surprisingly big, considering it's in an arcade, and there is so much in there. The kitchen section is my favourite, because it sells the most adorable retro baking things and teapots and really funky utensils and gadgets that I've never seen anywhere else. Their gift section is also fantastic with brands like L'Occitane and Burt's Bees for toiletries, some really pretty scarves and jewellery, and then beautiful gift bags and paper to wrap them in. It's a shame this department store is hidden away and now has to compete with John Lewis, because it sells such beautiful things and it could be so easily missed if you didn't know about it. It's expensive, but everything is so nice that if I want something, I have to have it however much it costs.