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!

Mysterious shop on Cheadle High Street, it looks shut most of the time. This shops is a vintage…read morewonder, lovely old shop fittings and vintage underwear mannequins from the 50's. The ladies in the shop are lovely old women. The shop sells underwear and hosiery (even seamed stockings!), odd bits n bobs and nighties/nightgowns/slippers- The shop is packed with stock, so much so it's hard to navigate inside- lots of boxes on shelves, but the ladies who work here know where everything is! If they get you chatting you may be there for a long time!

Everybody, look how pretty!…read more I'm writing this not as an actual market customer - more an aesthetic appreciator. I promise I'll be back to Yelp the markets properly. You know Em loves her updates, peoples. I recently attended Stockport's Vintage Village which took place in these impressive Victorian Markets, and boy, are they attractive. Handsome. Like if they were a guy, I'd be giggling like a stupid schoolgirl while they spoke to me. And I'd probably accidentally snort or something. They lent themselves incredibly well to the whole retro vibe, especially those types at the markets who were selling and crafting cute little trinkets. First of all they're covered, which is great for our inclement Manchester weather (ooh, quick warning: do not refer to Stockport as part of Manchester to a Stockportian. Ever. Even 'Greater Manchester'. They'll practically beat you about the face with a handbag and give you the evils for the rest of the day), and they have underfloor heating. Er, bonus! Food was provided by the lovely Zip's Grill, an Australian affair that offers all kinds of tasty treats from their meaty bacon and egg butties and steak wraps to mezzes, soups and salads reflective of the proprietor's Aussie Greek-Cypriot background. Oh, and they have loads of different kinds of bread too. Double bonus. The stalls I saw marked out, closed obviously at the time due to the Vintage Fair, I was very intrigued by. Books! Triple bonus! And many others to boot. Anyway, thus ends my Scrabble-esque chat about Stockport's Market Halls. Now, if I could just find a cab driver who takes me right to the door instead of abandoning me on a drizzle-ridden pedestrian road with armfuls of Yelp goodies, that'd be just dandy.

We popped here while nipping to the regular Foodie Friday in Stockport (last Friday of the month -…read more6-9pm) and the old market does seem to be having a bit of a renaissance period. Ok so I may have had slightly rose tinted specs on due to me enjoying the fine fine food on offer outside but it really is a nice spot. In the week, it's open with a good mix of shops - all sorts of market grocers, butchers and a little cafe - plus some totally random shops and some real gems like High Peak brewing Co (go here for amazing beer from all around the world - amazing x464648!) On this occasion with it being FF, you could sit inside and take a load off, buy from some of the traders and even buy beer from High Peak to drink! A winner for me and great architecture to boot! Some great pubs like the Bakers are in the Market square too if you fancy getting your whistle wet!

This place is an Aladdin's cave and treasure trove of fantastic rolls of fabric, vintage buttons,…read morecostumes to buy and hire and the owner offers a fantastic alteration service on all garments. If you don't immediately see what you were after, ask as you'll get lovely, helpful service.

Hazel is a diamond I always bring my alterations to her. She has been amazing at helping with…read morematerial for dressmaking and fancy dress. Wonderful woman. Jean x

A little gem on the charity shop front. Fabulous frocks at bargain prices ( many brand new or…read moredesigner), vintage vinyl and a small selection of antique and collectables - jewellery, books,china,etc. All reasonably priced and very friendly staff.

an adorable little thrift store with lots of high-end brands, they also had a few kids toys, which…read moreis pretty cool and hard to come across in thrift stores

It's tough to review a charity shop; the stock they have obviously changes so often…read more But, this is my closest one and the folks who run the shop are always friendly and they tend to have a good mix of DVDs, CDs, books, clothing, jewellery (fashion, I think) and a few ornaments and nik-naks. They have also started stocking the non-prescription reading glasses recently. Women's clothing tends to be their main stock item, but I like to pop in just to see what DVDs there are - they tend to get a good turnover so there is usually a new possibility. All in all, I find this one worth a visit from time to time.

I have been coming to the Sue Ryder shop in Ladybarn South Manchester and other branches across the…read morenation for many years and they all get my five-star + vote. Prince Frederick

Bond is a great clothing boutique on Burton Road that stocks well priced and well cut outfits for…read morethe discerning young lady. I've tried on some gorgeous trousers in here (the only reason I didn't make the purchase was because they were the wrong colour in the end) and bought a summer t-shirt for £18 that I've worn to death. They've also got some great accessories in here - belts and necklaces and reasonably priced shoes, although I've never found what I wanted in my size! Probably a good thing because I've be buying all of them

Absolutely love the clothes in Bond and always have to go in for a shop when I'm In Didsbury. The…read moreclothes are very reasonably priced with most items costing between the £25-£40 price mark. Bond is a boutique that stocks tunics, dresses, trousers, tops and skirts by labels such as Glamorous, Sugarhill Boutique and Vero Moda. They also do fab range of jewellery with most pieces costing around £15. The assistants are friendly and happy to offer advice too. Thanks to Bond you can get all the latest trends without emptying your wallet.