New Look is definitely one of my favourite high street stores to head for when looking for some…read morepretty new shoes. This store is huge, with a large section dedicated to strappy, sexy, sensible and shiny shoes. The selection is quite overwhelming, all at incredible prices and offering something to suit everyone's feet from pretty flats to sexy skyscraper heels. Oh, they sell clothes too. New Look has come on leaps and bounds over the years, from a once uncool and low end store to one of the biggest names in high street fashion. I particularly love the knitwear here, including big soft cosy jumpers and pretty fitted & knitted dresses. Big names such as Giles Deacon and Lily Allen have hopped on board to offer new and interesting designs, to cement New Look's new found fame and fortune in the fashion stakes.

Is it just me or does Topshop seem to get more and more expensive as time goes on? I can't believe…read moreI actually used to buy clothes from that shop because I every time I visit now I pick a gorgeous item off the rails only to put it back once I look at the price tag. So New Look it is for me then. It offers clothes which are almost as nice as Topshop in my opinion, in much more reasonable prices. I particularly love the range of shoes. I bought a pair of winter boots here seven months ago and have worn them practically every day. At £25 you don't get much better value for money than that. Not to mention the fact that two people have actually walked up to me in the street since to ask where I got them. This branch in Buchanan Street is big, although not quite as big as the one in Braehead Shopping Centre. However, it is definitely worth a browse as it offers a wide selection of clothes, jeans and shoes as well as the individual labels available only in New Look.

I am a massively excited 2nd time mum to be. Basically all of my cards and any access to cash…read moreshould be locked in a safe and I should be locked in a room a long long way away from the safe. So when I casually dropped it into a conversation that I would stop on the way home to go the Argos at Glasgow Fort I thought g might see through my dastardly plan to 'have a wee look' in Mamas and Papas. 13 and a half years of marriage have taught me many things but possibly the most valuable is that if you want to sneak something past him mention it while he is talking or thinking bike. This way I get to be all 'but I did tell you' without really having told him at all! So with no child or husband in tow I was looking forward to a leisurely browse and wondering how effectively I could slip the subject of bankruptcy into a bike conversation. The store is bright and busy with car seats and buggies on the left and clothing, maternity and small person on the right with the furniture, bedding, etc. at the back of the store. Unfortunately, even in the mists of excitement I was conscious that the prices were mental. For the same mamas and papas branded toy elephant that I could get in Tesco for £14 the store wanted to charge me £20. I was in the store for a good wee while. Erm, I might have been having one of those mad lady internal arguments over some very beautiful multi-coloured star covered sheets. They cost £32 for 2, the ikea ones cost £9 for 2. They are so very pretty, they will probably be pooed on. All the while picking them up and putting them down again, over and over again. I didn't see a member of staff floating around let alone get asked if I needed any help. Admittedly they could have been on the phone checking to see if any patients were missing from ward 25 at Monklands. Eventually having decided not to risk giving my husband a heart attack over £32 cot sheets I headed to the till with a magic sheep, seriously cool soundy lighty soft toy that will make my child sleep through the night without fail - grasps at straws manically! Don't worry before I parted with my cash I checked that the sheep wasn't any cheaper elsewhere - thank goodness for 3G. At the till I found the most illusive of mamas and papas things a member of staff. She was however, far too busy and important one fingered typing to serve customers. Obviously far too busy and important to even deign to make eye contact with a customer as she hollered for another member of staff to 'do the tull'. Unfortunately, the lassie who came to do the till must have been on the same customer service course. No eye contact, a grunt response to my futile attempts to make conversation and then part way through serving me turned around to initiate conversation with the one on the computer. I won't be going back to Mamas and Papas. I could forgive the mental prices if you were paying for the 'experience' of shopping in an amazing environment with fawning staff. But if I'm going to put up with service like this then I want a bargain, a big bargain.

This is a nice bright Mamas and Papas store selling maternity clothes and babies clothes which are…read morereally cute but quite expensive. They have a selection of prams and travel systems with plenty of room to have a push and get the feel of them. They have some highchairs and lovely bright toys and walkers. They also have seperate wee rooms to give you an idea of what your nursery can be like it gives inspiration. The furniture is very expensive but the bedding is so cute although they do have 10% days a couple of times a year and a couple of sales which make it a bit more reasonable.

So I think I've reached the point in my life where it's perfectly reasonable for people to ask me…read morethe question: "Do you have any children?" which I answer with "HHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" and grimace. Don't get me wrong; I love babies. Scratch that... I love very well-behaved happy babies from loving families, but these hips ain't birthing any little people in the next 10 years (sorry mom and dad... got things to do, places to see!). So I'm perfectly content being super cool Auntie Lex who spoils chubster babies with amazing gifts! With the arrival of two of the most adorable baby boys on this side of the pond, I was on a mission for quality baby clothing that was quirky as well. I didn't want run-of-the-mill Next or babyGap, and I didn't want anything cheap that would irritate the babies' skin. JoJo Maman Bébé is a Welsh multi-channel retailer (brick and mortar, and online) that just so happens to have a Glasgow outlet in the bustling West End. The shop has everything you would ever want if you are a mother-to-be (I wouldn't really know though, but I assume?) to pre-school age. Since I have been here a few times shopping for baby boys, they offer great selections of adorable quirky outfits (nautical stripes and pirates, yes please!). If you go at the right time, they have some pretty amazing sales as well. Service is friendly and very helpful, never pushy... Sales girl: How are you getting on? Me: I'm trying to buy something for a baby boy who is turning 1, and he weighs about 25 pounds... quite... uh... chunky. Sales girl: You mean well-fed? ::giggle:: Looks like he would be about a 12-18 month old size. Me: Thank you! If you're a mum... or someone like me who likes to spoil your friends' children, and wants to buy those little people in your life something else other than the drab and typical High Street stuff, then definitely pop into JoJo Maman Bébé the next time you're in the West End. p.s. They carry Mama Mio products - if this means anything to you, it's pretty amazing (read: cult-like) skincare products you can use whether or not you've pushed out a little person from your punani, HA!

Saturday was baby shopping day and no baby shopping is complete without a visit to Jo-Jo. Having…read morediscovered Jo-Jo in Edinburgh, I was pleased when a friend informed me one had just opened in the West End, just off Byres Road. Jo-Jo is a small chain, predominately based in England, stocking own brand baby (and small kids) and maternity clothes, as well as known brands such as Avent and Tommy Tippee for baby accessories. They are also a stockist of the excellent Mama Mio maternity cosmetics ('boob tube' and stretch mark cream) which becomes an addiction that must be fed according to my sis-in-law. A great shop - good for gifts and baby products and reasonably priced if you want something that is a bit 'more' than Next/Baby Gap. I have friends who love this shop and having helped my pregnant friend shop for a maternity wardrobe, their clothes for 'mum to be' are great and if you time it right, you can grab a fab sale bargain as their clothes cover everything from casual to work staples.

Great big store in a retail park so you don't have far to lug whatever huge thing the smallest…read moreperson in the family needs now! We dropped in to look at clothes for a wee person and found a lovely selection of not only the traditional pale blue and pale pink stuff but also lots of really lovely gender neutral bits - hooray! I particularly liked the Little Bird range that Jools Oliver is behind. It's bright, colourful and fun. This store being huge not only stocks the usual range of buggies, carseats, furniture and clothing. But also has a Clarks concession in the back corner and a massive section of early learning centre toys. While browsing we chanced upon a shop soiled highchair for £79 reduced from £165. It was exactly the one that I had been eyeing up on line so we asked them to take it to the till for us planning to clean up the cosmetic damage with a bit of elbow grease. Only when we got home we were delighted to find that we had actually paid £79 for a band new, sealed in the box high chair that is still being sold in other retailers for £165!

A typical large out-of-town style branch of Mothercare has the advantage of easy parking in the…read moreretail park, which allows for double checking your boot to make sure a new buggy will fit and the for the store to provide a car-seat fitting service. The store has the usual baby and small child related stuff: clothes, furniture, cots, buggies, toys (now including some Early Learning Centre toys, which aren't as good as they used to be), a small Clarks shoes, with foot measuring but limited range and baby and toddler feeding stuff. In my experience they don't have a lot of stuff that you do need but do stock a lot of things that you don't. However a saving grace was the service I received on my last visit, they didn't have something in stock (nappy-liners, if you must know) a member of staff checked availability and then placed an order for me, to be delivered to me at no extra cost. I would say that this is worth asking for to save you returning to the shop.

Yowza! Nothing trampy about this place, with a bright spacious interior welcoming you right on in…read more The vibe keeps up with the lively staff who really make this place what it is. Theres a roomy changing area which was novel, setting this place in a totally different calibre to ann summers, where unlike the high st giant, the stock wasnt stuffed in leaving no room to move. Also, the stock was infinitely cheaper and my missus will testify also of a greater quality. A memorable visit and most importantly, recommended.