A treasure trove of second hand & vintage items!…read more This is a charity shop which funds the work of the Mustard Tree. They support vulnerable people across Greater Manchester in a variety of ways. This shop is a couple of minutes walk down Oldham Road, just out of the end of the Northern Quarter. They have a huge range of second hand items including furniture, white goods (but not cookers), clothing, bric a brac, electricals and entertainment items like vinyl. Everything is very reasonably priced as you would expect and they get some amazing vintage items in. They offer delivery for either £5 or £10 depending on the distance which is much cheaper than most other local charities. They also accept donations of items and can collect furniture for free on their vans. Call their office to book in a collection of you want to donate or you drop things like clothing off at their site. Check the website for opening times. It's well worth the extra small walk out of the main city centre to have a rummage in this hidden gem!

This place has furniture so laughably cheap I could, well, laugh. As the proud new owner of a small…read morehouse I visited here one Saturday to kit the place out. I left with: 1 double bed (frame) 1 single bed (frame) 1 double wardrobe 1 single wardrobe 1 chest of drawers 1 bookcase 4 kitchen chairs 1 hallway unit All look very nice, all very functional. Combined cost: £253. Add on a tenner and they delivered the whole lot, carried each piece into the correct room etc. NB: CASH ONLY. They know where the nearest ATM is, but don't get caught out.

What a name. The rehabilitation of retro garments... I'm SO there…read more Dinky? I'll say. There's a lot to be said for small vintage shops as you can do all your rummaging quick sharp, and this place is perfect for that very purpose. As previous Yelpers have confirmed the stock rotation is indeed frequent, so be sure to pop in any time you're in the Northern Quarter. One of the things I love about this titchy boutique is the shoes... the brunette and I were drooling over little red pixie boots for quite some time. There are plenty of customised one-offs and second hand garments to choose from, and no doubt anything you buy from there will attract envious attention from friends. Unfortunately it doesn't cater for men, however a great many high street fashion shops don't either, so I don't have a gargantuan issue with that. The staff are very friendly and appropriately quirky themselves, so if you're stuck for inspiration you can always have a gander at what they're wearing. Prices vary depending on the item but no label has made me gasp in agony thus far. And I had no idea about the buy one get one free sales, so thanks to Alexandra I'll certainly be looking out for those in the future! And who can resist aqua-marine, well, I can't. This store has done extremely well in making itself conspicuous amongst the many shabby chic boutiques along Oldham Street, and it has definitely earned its place as one of the shops that very much makes the Northern Quarter feel like the Camden of Manchester. Chin chin to you, Retro Rehab.

Great little vintage shop. Great place for if you want a real one off piece. There is no rummaging…read morethrough piles of old clothes here, all clothes are pressed and ready to wear straight from the shop. Sorry boys but you wont find much here but hey at least they put the most important people first! Very often this place puts on a sale which is 'buy one get one free' so keep an eye out girlie's :)

One of the most "retro" "vintage" charity shops I have ever been in. They have really made the…read moreeffort to make this charity shop stand out from the rest, and there are about 8 charity shops along this road in which we visited all of them yesterday but this is the only one worth reviewing! They have wedding dresses for £24.99. And not tatty old wedding dresses with things spilt down them, but proper heavy well designed fancy pants dresses in perfect condition. Almost made me want to get married just so I could buy them, not quite enough though. Seen all these new vintage shops selling old clothes for a small fortune? Well visit this Barnardo's and get the same stuff for less money with the knowledge a charity gets the money! Also a nice change - not walls filled with books, dvds and cds - only really old old stuff! Well worth a visit x

The second Sunday of every month is one of my favourite days of each particular month. That's one…read moreSunday when I'm happy to set my alarm, get my caboose out of bed and fly on further south in Manchester to Stockport's historic Victorian Market Halls, because that's where I can find epic 70s flowery maxi dresses, Smash Hits 'Best of the 80s' annuals and trinkets galore. Welcome to the Vintage Village! I've been to a lot of vintage markets and shops in my time. Once, I even travelled all the way up to Edinburgh for a coat, I brought back over £40 worth of vinyl and a 56 year old fur from Glasgow and I've been known to scour our little Manchester boutiques for hours at a time. But what Stockport offered last month just blew me away, knocked me sideways and had me gazing around open-mouthed like I did when I was taken to Disney World at six years old. This was epic. The quality was remarkable, the prices were insanely affordable and the sheer variety on offer was stunning. I defy you not to walk from stall to stall and see at least three things per section you covet. If you were to slap something not only like this, but of this calibre (exceptional quality, eclectic variety) bang in the middle of Manchester City Centre it would be completely overrun with fifteen-year-old Noel Fielding stalkers in knee socks and oversized Urban Outfitters jumpers (not that there's anything wrong with them - I've been known to rock a woolly from UO regularly and have frequent NSFW dreams about Mr Vince Noir myself), but as it's tucked away in a sleepy town centre in the South Manc 'burbs, it attracts a much calmer, quieter, more discerning clientele. Families bring along their children and have soup and bacon butties at Zip's Grill. Couples with dogs mooch around for gifts. It's incredibly relaxed and wonderfully friendly. I lost count of the amount of conversations I struck up with stall purveyors. This is worth getting out of bed on the day of rest for. Seriously, do it! You won't regret it. And if you do, come and have a go at me. I'll probably whup you upside the head. (P.S. Zip's Grill serves some of the finest coffee I've ever had the good fortune to taste, and the food looks all kinds of fabulous. I'll definitely have a soup this Sunday.)

Vintage Village is on every second Sunday of the month in Stockport's totally brilliant market hall…read moreplace. If the truth be known, It was more my wife and sister in law who were the instigators in us going but I wanted to stretch my legs and go out for the afternoon so thought I would give it a shot! Gotta say, it was really really good and there were all sorts of stalls selling vintage clothes, records, antiques, furniture - pretty much anything from yesteryear. Nice touches were a skiffle band playing live, with a DJ playing hits from the likes of Elvis throughout and a load of vintage cars and motorbikes on display outside. Great street food was provided from the (both) excellent Lord of the Pies and Honest Crust Pizza. I'll definitely be heading there again in the coming months as it's a great day out and only a £1 entry - bargain!

Great spot for shopping. Lots of treasures. We loved all of the different businesses in building…read moreacross 4 floors.

Back in the days of Madchester, Afflecks Palace was the place to go to get cool flares, psychadelic…read moreshirts, sunhats and all the right threads. Rumour has it Urban Splash founder Tom Bloxham even had a stall here selling bootleg Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays tees. These days, Afflecks is a bit of a ghost town. There are still dozens of stalls selling everything from vintage and secondhand clothes to military wear, drugs paraphanelia, henna tattoos, wind-chimes and furniture. Sadly, there aren't as many old goths, rockers, emo teens and ageing punks as there used to be and you can sometimes walk round the whole building without seeing anyone other than the staff!

Unless you're off to the jobcentreplus next door, there is little reason why you would walk past…read morethis little charity shop located in Chorlton Place - the eyesore of a shopping centre some people want to knock down to build a supermarket and others want to preserve due to the independent shops it houses. The Red Cross shop is, however, worth a look, and is much better-stocked than the other Red Cross shop on Wilbraham Road, where they stock odd furniture items and the odd vinyl record. This shop is packed to the brim with clothes and books, and there are always bargains to be had - the cheapest items are often displayed outside the shop. I don't like the thought of paying over the odds for a greetings card, which is essentially a piece of card. I do make an exception when I buy them from charity shops and this one has a good selection (especially for old people). I went into this shop on Halloween and heard somebody asking if they had any wedding dresses which they could use as a costume. The friendly Red Cross lady said that they were out of wedding dresses but went out the back to check if they had any suitable bridesmaids dresses. You wouldn't even get that level of customer service in most high street shops!

This is a pleasant, quiet charity shop in Longsight. As a charity, Scope works on behalf of…read moredisabled people to gain better rights, liberties and opportunities within our society. It's there in a sentence how great this charity is, so it's always worth popping in to see if they've got someone else's hand-me-down that is actually exactly what you want or need. I immediately liked Scope in Longsight because they had Marc Bolan on the stereo. It was a blast from the past but added a good bit of character. Some charity shops can seem a bit like a jumble sale at times. Scope is neat and tidy, warm and welcoming. They also have some awesome old jazz cds.

The Twig Shop. Well…read morenot so much a shop, rather a garage. Yes it's just a car garage, It's been going for some years now. Wednesday and Saturday it opens up the top sliding door to reveal a bit of an Aladins Cave of bits and bobs. It's all run as a charity to help people in third world countries. Every penny goes to the help needed. All items it sells are donated by the community and sell for a very small price. It's not the most elegant of little charity shops but it does what it says on the tin and really does help others. I nip in there very often and find those little gems that add something to my life. Very much the old saying Someones rubbish is another persons treasure.

Second hand clothes seem to be all the rage nowadays, at least with the girls I know. They often…read morevisit Oxfam looking for that one off piece which may be in and it's always worth a nip in. The guys that run the shop are friendly and helpful and will happily show you whatever has come in. They've also got a photocopier at the back for those last minute things you need a copy of before slogging it into you're lecture. Other times it makes a great Christmas card buying spot along with that divine chocolate you can't find anywhere elsewhere. O best pointer buy some spiced apple tea bags, you won't regret it.

Location, location, location. No, nothing to do with a man who can't say his R's and his curvy…read moresidekick trying to sell properties to middle class people. More to do with my philosophy on charity shops. Y'see, just as the Oxfam in Notting Hill Gate has a sickkk selection of Hermes scarves, and Oxfams in small Northern market towns have awesome ranges of waxed coats and jumpers that smell of dog, the University of Manchester campus branch has a pretty decent range of togs and books. Firstly, to the dress rack, which is always my first port of call in this shop. It's split into two bits; the actual second hand bit and the upcycled second hand bit. The actual straight up second hand bits are really decent; Oxfam don't sell crud so expect to see dresses from Mango, Toppy, Miss Selfies and Warehouse, all usually priced £5-£10 depending on awesomeness. The upcycled dresses are really something; from local designers such as Me & Yu who rework second hand clothes into cute and funky new stuff. The stock is always changing as these bits are hot property, but one memorable piece was a dress constructed with a purple vest top, and a cute pleated skirt made from a man's YSL shirt, which sold for £28. £28 for a piece of upcycled YSL! Tres bon. As far as I'm aware, these upcycled bits are made from donations, and the designers only take a cut for the actual time and resources, so it's a great way of giving a chunk to charity while also getting something totally unique and awesome to shimmy your stuff in. The book section here is great if you want a bit of light reading. They always have student staples such as Nick Hornby, Irvine Welsh and Jack Kerouac. Last time I popped in, they had three copies of the second Bridget Jones book, in case you really, really like Bridge. As with most second hand book sections, there's a pretty plumptious crime thriller section. I ruddy love crime thrillers, and come here for my Val McDermids and Patricia Cornwells. Paperbacks are generally priced about £2.99. The textbook section is mediocre in size, but always worth a look; for the 2 minutes you spend perusing, you could save a lot as most of the books are fat law and medicine texts, which I know can cost a helluva lot new. Textbooks are generally in the £10 region. Out back there's a bric a brac section that usually has some decent teacups and cute bits and bobs, and for great prices. There's a section of DVDs and videos here, too. Most of them are cack, but as with the textbooks, it's worth a few minutes of browsing for the bargain you might find. As far as boy clothes, there's a sizeable section, but I cannot vouch for the quality as I don't wear boy clothes. On the counter, whilst paying for your charitable purchase, you will see loads of fairtrade chocolate from Divine. Chocolate and charity, lovely stuff.

The Childrens Society is a cool charity shop on Stockport road, going through Levy. There's a few…read moreof these around across Greater Manchester and this one is pretty compact. They sell clothes, books, games and bric a brac. Basically if you're after a bargain it's worth popping into as there can be some real finds. I personally like to have a scan for decent board games as yes I am a bit of a nerd and am always looking for fresh games to play at home - especially if only a few quid. Levy has some great food options like Trove/POD so come and check these places out if you're in town.