I have been to two Boden Clearance sales in Cheltenham. The first was in May 2007 and the second in…read moreNovember 2008, so hopefully they will continue to return every 18 months. My first sale was not a huge success. I arrived at around 4pm on the first day to find that although it was quiet there was very little left. With this in mind I would recommend trying to get there as early as possible. This time I was queueing outside from 20 minutes before the doors opened. Once inside everything is well signposted. I headed straight for Mini Boden, which is my absolute favourite range of clothing for children. The clothes were separated into tubs on long tables, one table for each size. Again, everything was well signposted, and there were price lists under the sign. It was a case of rummaging around because there was so much in each box. Although it was busy, and the other customers were frantically working their way through the boxes, everyone was civilised and no fights broke out (something that people had joked about when I told them I was going along!) The stock was mostly Summer clothes - a lot I recognised from the sale, but there were also a few things from previous seasons. There was also a row of cardboard boxes, containing factory seconds. The prices were a bit hit and miss - I got a perfectly good pair of basketball boots for £5 (normally £26) but some of the shorts, priced at £9 regardless of style and quality, were actually as expensive as they are at full price. I would recommend Boden Clearance sales to anyone that likes their clothing. It's well organised, queues move quickly and the staff are very friendly and helpful. It's worth nothing that it's not possible to get a refund on any sale items unless they are faulty. You have to exchange items that you just don't like for whatever reason. You can't do this by mail order - you have to go back to the sale. My top tips would be: arrive early, make sure to look properly in every box on the table as things do get mixed up and amazing bargains are often lurking out of sight, and take lots of money!

It is worth a trip to Ludlow - it starts with the funny shop name "expensive mistakes" which…read moredescribes it perfectly. They sell second hand designer clothes from high class brands - normally when you hear second hand, you're not really keen but here a lot of items still have original tags and have just been hanging in a wardrobe. They have quite a choice of clothes even though the shop isn't that big. The service in the shop is fantastic! I highly recommend to go :-)

The shop has a slightly boutique feel about it, but is still quite fashionable. Went in looking for…read morea birthday present but I don't think it was quite the store I thought it was. It's not young trend (nore does it pretend or want to be) it is more for the professional woman, who is looking to add a bit of style to her outfit (bloody hell, listen to me, I sound like Gok Wan!). The ladies working inside are very friendly, and they could notice very quickly that I was quite lost and out of place and suggested some places I would perhaps find what I was after. You would be looking at spending quite a bit if you did your clothes shopping here, so not for the students out there!

Hmm, I can't quite put my finger on this place…read more Definitely not my style. It's full of things that maybe should be nice, or in someway could be nice but they just don't seem to be quite right. I suppose Sam's right, really it is for the older lady - it's kind of the middle-aged women who is trying to still look young and trendy feel. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Their website doesn't quite seem up and running yet - at least they don't put all their stock on it so you'll need to pop in to get a feel for it. Don't forget your credit card - of you buy anything you'll need it!

I thank my lucky stars the day my friend's mum found this amazing place. Situated around the back…read moreof the Newport Retail Park its a clearance store for the Matalan fashion store chain. Matalan itself is pretty reasonable when it comes to prices but this place is amazingly cheap! There is a wide range of clothes here - ladies and mens clothing as well as childrens, shoes, underwear and some (not much) homeware. It's all stock from previous (and occassionally current) seasons that they now wish to get rid of. There are no changing room so my tip is to wear a vest that you can try things on over (there are mirrors) and a skirt so you can try trousers/skirts on underneath! It's pretty basic but worth the rummage and lack of changing rooms for the prices. They often have special deals on - I went recently and it was buy one get one free. I bought a really nice shirtdress and a lovely silk top which were £6 each. This came to a total of £6 for the two items - that's £3 each wow! My friends and I have come out with bags of stuff from here - it's a real pot luck but on a good day you won't believe what you can get. I love it!

If you are not after the latest fashion, but a good bargain, then this is the place to go! I bought…read moremy daughter 3 complete new outfits (tops & bottoms) and paid under a tenner! And lots of times you get 3 for 2 as well. In times of the credit crunch, I am over the moon to have access to a shop like this.

I was absolutely amazed by the extensive range and variety of outfits. I came looking for something…read moreto wear for my wedding. Wendy listened to what I had in mind and, without fuss, found dresses and outfits that might suit me. She encouraged me to consider alternatives and was kindly honest about what did (and did not!) work. This is a wonderful place to come if you are looking for something special. I am a very satisfied customer!