Hasseen exclusive wear is just one of the many sari shops on and around Roundhay Road. It stands…read moreout for me because it has some exceptionally beautiful elaborately beaded garments which seem to be of a higher quality and level of detail than the pieces in many of the other sari shops. Some of them really are gorgeous, in vibrant gem colours with intricate patterns of gold and silver beads painstakingly sewn in. It would be worth a visit just to drool over them even if you don't intend to buy anything. The most elaborate garments are suitably more expensive than their less-detailed counterparts, with a very elaborate tunic top selling for £85.Though I'd be worried if it sold for any less considering the work that must have gone into it! If you want to experience the real beauty of traditional South Asian fashion then I would highly recommend Hasseen.

Shiva Variety Fabrics sells women's South Asian fashions -saris and suits and a wide range of…read morebangles and costume jewellery. It is very eye-catching from the outside with a rainbow of bejeweled clothing displayed in the window below a bright red, blue and yellow sign and electric blue window frames. Anyone who loves to see a good splash of colour won't be able to stop themselves venturing over for a closer look. The shop is packed full of a huge range of fabrics, some thin and sheer and almost too delicate to touch and other thicker and more substantial cottons. It's the perfect place to buy fabric for a sari or suit but is also great for buying fabric for cushions or curtains or any other creative urge! The jewellery is very pretty and reasonably-priced and includes an array of metal bangles of different sizes and some large and colourful necklaces with matching earrings featuring vibrant glass gems.

Punjab Jewellers is only a few doors down from Faisal Jewellers and is quite similar in its…read moreoffering. It has a huge range of necklaces that are striking and intricate, made up of many small pieces, either layers of thin chains or many pendants all on the same necklace. All of the necklaces have matching earrings, most of which are large and dangly and would definitely get you noticed! They also sell large chunky bracelets and a wide selection of rings. Prices here are not for the faint-hearted, with some pieces 22 or 24 carat gold and many incorporating diamonds. If you were shopping for jewellery in the area it would be best to pop into both Punjab and Faisal, as if you like one you will like the other, but one of them may have that perfect piece that you're looking for.

From the owner: Punjab Boutique which was formally well renowned Punjab Jewellers of Leeds, opened its doors on…read moreSunday 10th March 2013. The first of its kind in Leeds, we cater for every occasion and only offer the best in quality. Bridal lenghas, Sarees, designer readymade suits, heavy and casual unstitched material & exclusive jewellery - whatever your style - we will cater for every individual need. For 30 years we have built a reputation for serving loyal customers and we endevour to continue doing so.

The sign for Sharan Boutique has a delightfully retro style and has faded over time giving the look…read moreof a shop that has been there for a good while. It is probably one of the biggest Sari shops in the area selling a vast array of fabrics, suits and saris. They also sell similar jewellery to the other sari shops in the area - gold or brightly-coloured and shimmering. Anyone who loves fabrics could spend ages browsing through the range on display. If you're on the hunt for a sari or suit this shop probably has one of the widest varieties of the shops on Roundhay Road so I would make this a priority if you were limited time-wise.

This lovely ladies-wear shop situated just five minutes or so from the Cross Gates arcade shopping…read morecentre. I discovered it on a recent outing to Cross Gates, having heard about the arcade here I decided to check it out. I had some time to wander around and so stumbled across this little store. As soon as I wandered in I realised that the clothes weren't particularly suited to me, but this isn't a criticism. It's just that the fashion inside is very much suited to a more mature lady. They had some lovely dresses and jackets to make up the perfect 'mother-of-the-bride' style outfits, all priced in the region of £150, and lots of accessories. They had some Radley bags, lovely knit cardigans, little shrugs, vintage rose style clutch purses and much more! There was even a very reasonable £10 and under sale rack which had quite a lot of items on it. One of the best bits about this lovely shop however is the welcome. As soon as I wandered in the two ladies who were serving greeted me with some really friendly banter - one of the ladies asked me about my camera which was hanging from my neck. She asked me what I liked to photograph and so I told her I liked taking portraits, to which she responded - "I've a friend who likes photographing the ups vans." I smiled, not knowing what 'ups' was, and she explained - "You know, the parcel delivery guys - ups vans!" I smiled, getting it and said, "Oh! You mean the UPS vans! I see. How strange!" She agreed with the classic - "Well, you know what they say, there's nowt as queer as folk!" And we had a right laugh about her friend and her ups/UPS obsession. They didn't once go for any kind of hard sell, it was completely relaxed and friendly, and a totally lovely experience. I didn't buy anything, of course, but I shall certainly be recommending it to any friends/colleagues who are in need of something nice and occasional. Lovely!

I 1st visited Joans's last year, when searching for an outfit for a special party. Although I…read morefound many of the items in the shop over my budget, I managed to find 1 dress which was reduced to just £20. I am very conscious about my 'slightly larger' size so didn't feel too confident about buying however, both my sister who was with me at the time & the assistant commented it really suited me. I bought the dress (a very ritzy style) as I love glamourous dressing!. at the party I received so many positive comments on how amazing I looked. That was the 1st time for years I have worn a dress so 'thank you' Joan's for boosting my confidence. It will now be my regular shop when I am in need of a special outfit. I have actually seen another dress there this week, for a very bargain price of £10!!! I am aiming to go back for it.

Oh my gosh. I have no idea where a place like this springs from, especially in the LS8 post code,…read moreand yet here it is standing proud. For some of the most high end designer clothes, outside of Harvey Nichols, this is absolutely the shop to browse. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I literally spent about five minutes here as I was so daunted by the price tags. I was, after all, weighed down by a cumbersome ugly rucksack, dirty shoes and a red world-weary face from my travels that day. The lady, who I assumed to be the manager, greeted me very kindly even though she was busy with another customer so I thought that was really nice. Not even close to the reception I'd had in some of the other high end shops, as she was warm and friendly and didn't seem phased by my disheveled appearance one iota. In spite of that I only had to touch one of the beautifully designed dresses to realise that it cost £800 and I instantly became convinced that my hands were covered in grease and had left some kind of grubby mark on the collar. Perhaps this was the paranoia of being in a high end shop. I felt like at any given moment my rucksack may catch an entire display and put me into more debt than my student loan. There is a beautiful range of clothing, accessories and shoes inside this wonderfully laid out shop. They cater for men too, just as exquisitely, but as you may have gleaned by now - we are talking *high end* clothing here. My most coveted item, a jacket costing £300 odd, almost seems cheap in comparison to the dress I first glanced at! In any case, though I really thought highly of the design and the service, there is no possible way I could afford to spend money in here! Lovely, but definitely a place to save up for.

An up market, boutique shop selling high-end fashion wear for the well to-do of this neighbourhood…read more Black, chic, slim build and sunglasses type affair are what you'll find here enter and beware, you are likely to be pounced upon by an over-enthusiastic sales assistant or be greeted in a blasé manner until you flash your amex. Either way browsing isn't the most comfortable option unless you really don't care that is.

Rohan is a specialist in highly functional clothing for all climates and weather. The clothing has…read morea simple, under-stated style and doesn't shout about its careful design and technical prowess. Rohan also sells plenty of travel accessories from medical packs and luggage to insect repellent and water purifiers. This is the kind of shop you might imagine Ray Mears would visit to prepare for an expedition. Prices aren't low but this reflects the careful design and technically high-performance fabrics that are used in their products. The products at Rohan aren't fashionable or beautiful, but that's not the point... the point is that they are highly functional and durable and their simplistic design means that they will not end up looking dated, thus increasing their lifespan. From Rohan's website they seem to take environmental and social responsibility seriously. They are members of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which, though not a gold standard for ethics, at least means that their progress on implementing improvements in their factories is being monitored and they are ensuring a basic level of acceptable working conditions - more peace of mind for customers than is provided by the majority of the high street.

It's silly I know but whenever I think of this place, or walk past and see the name, it conjures up…read moreimages for me of the Riders of Rohan. It also reminded me of the game a friend and I used to play, imaginatively dubbed "The Riders of Rohan", which involved simply trotting home at full speed when drunk. Warning: this may cause broken little fingers, especially when icy. Play with caution! Anyway. I mostly think of Lord of the Rings when I see the name. Being transported away to a magical, exciting place would always make the reality seem a little less exciting, but in my opinion this isn't the only reason I found Rohan dull. I wandered in on the ever more difficult Christmas shopping expedition, tasked with trying to out do last year's gifts. A nice jumper? No. Rohan is filled with, I suppose, nice jumpers, and other outdoorsy style clothings but here is the problem. Not only are the clothes pretty grey - colour wise and excitement level wise, but they are very expensive. I can't justify buying a simple jumper, with no real oomph about it, if it costs in excess of £60. According to their website they are award winning outdoors clothes specialists. Perhaps it is my lazy-bum way of life that deprives me of the special understanding of what makes their clothes worth the buy, but I just can't see it. For now we could blame my ignorance, and say, 3 stars as the chap was particularly friendly to me. But that was it really. Good for high end outdoors style (perhaps more style over hardwearing?) clothes and shoes.

York Designer Outlet McDonald's Indoor York…read more The York Designer Outlet is a large outlet mall, it's operated by McArthurGlen which is a familiar brand across Europe. It's set a couple of miles out of York City centre, it's served by multiple buses including the 415 Sapphire although on this occasion I travelled via car. The mall is fully indoors, it is over two floors with the upper level mainly consisting of places to eat including McDonald's, Five Guys, Wagamama and Pizza Express. For coffee, there is a Starbucks downstairs and a Pret upstairs, amongst a few other options. There is a good number of stores here, and few empty units. Brands with stores here include Adidas, Hugo Boss, Levi's, Nike, Marks and Spencer, Puma, Superdry, The Body Shop, UGG and others. The brands in question mainly sell out-of-season/fashion gear, I did find the prices still to be a little expensive for what should be an Outlet. I did find it a little confusing to get around the mall, especially with multiple entrances and exits, the construction of the mall is designed to force you to walk all the way around, and getting from one entrance or store to another looked so much easier on the map than it was in principle. I notice this has also been mentioned in other reviews, even going back 10 years, so it seems they haven't bothered to do anything to improve the experience in a while. There weren't any employees for the centre dotted around to ask for help either which made things worse. Good selection of brands to shop and dine at, although dining options here is predominantly fast food and coffee.

Excellent shopping experience- I would recommend it wholeheartedly- I visit (usually) once a week.read more

An exciting new addition to the independent label scene in Leeds, Each To their Own have opened a…read morebranch on Duncan Street, following their success of their Sheffield based flagship store. A better job could not have been done in creating an attractive decor. Exposed brickwork, boldly patterned wallpaper and dramatic baroque mirrors suggests an underlying confidence in the quality of their clothes. Catering for both men and women, the garments are mainly designed by Alex, the owner of the shop. He speaks animatedly about his passion for fashion, the love and attention he puts into making the clothes is evident. They have a funky style. There are some lovely dresses with gathered hems next to dressy racer back t-shirts; some sheer, floral camis for bed, next to some knee-skimming low crouched trousers. Originality created by independent designers does slightly increase the price of the garments, but that is an inevitable consequence. Let us unite to support local talent such as this, against the constant onslaught of chain shop mediocrity.

This little boutiquey shop is probably in a slightly unfortunate place as I have a feeling not many…read morepeople frequent that side of Duncan Street (opposite the big Oxfam). I noticed it pop up relatively recently...probably less than a year ago (though I have a poor sense of time!). It is uber fashioney and would appeal to people who like to dress in unusual and striking clothing with a unique look. It's a small shop selling both women's and men's clobber. Men's stuff seems to specialise in giant collars and unusual fastenings as well as low-crotch trousers with long ties knotted around the ankles. Women's wear features similar trousers, some in vintage-style hound's tooth and cheques (which I love) and I like this slightly unisex edge to their offering. There are also quirky little waistcoats for women featuring leather buckle fastening as well as cute freeform tartan dresses and long confusing tops that you'd have to try on to figure out. Prices are understandably higher than average high street as the shop features underground labels and fashion-forward pieces...with trousers around £80. There is a lot of attention to detail in Each To Their Own as well as a love of unusual design and eccentricity, which unfortunately is often lacking in the often brand-name centric offering of many Leeds' clothing shops.

I stumbled across Pop Boutique after visiting the haberdashery right next to it. I was surprised to…read moresay the least. Cute little woollen skirts and check shirts seemed to be the running trend. Along with lots of lurex and sparkles! A lot of the clothes here are recycled, hence their motto - recyclable fashion! The fitting rooms are plastered with cool band photos and pin ups advertising burlesque evenings. I bought a shirt and a skirt from here and can't wait to wear them. Different and affordable with lovely, polite staff. 5 stars from me!

Pop Boutique is one of that strange breed of shop that seems to market itself as a 'vintage' yet…read morestocks entirely new clothing, cut from new textiles in designs vaguely inspired by vintage clothing. There are a few genuine vintage finds in here, but they seem to be getting fewer and farther between as the stock leans more and more towards the new. Put aside any qualms over the label 'vintage', however, and you'll find that Pop Boutique is a fine addition to the pile of central Leeds clothes shops, and while its cute tea dresses and floral skirts may not be originals from the 1950s they're still different - and cheaper - than anything you might find on the high street.