While on a trip to London we made a quick stop here to purchase a delightful umbrella for my wife…read moreto use during our travels. Fair price, helpful customer service reps, and a clean, well-lit store... I've got no complaints at all and we would gladly go back again if we ever visit Oxford again - hopefully we will.

I love this shop. It used to be a real rabbit warren of a place, a bit like an old fashioned…read moredepartment store. (Think 'Are you being served') It was gutted a few years back and although the building looks the same on the outside inside it's a totally different place. There are three floors (as per usual) which are jam packed full of things to peruse and buy! The womenswear floor is large with a wide range of items for women of any taste. They have a Coast branch inside and a big collection of fancy dresses to suit. The homeware floor is big as well with quite a decent range of kitchen utensils which is nice because a lot of stores skimp on things like this. All in all the store is nice and bright, it can get a bit congested on the escalators and in the lobby though so be careful.

Great store, lots of variety. I bought too much in UK and needed an extra suitcase for the trip…read morehome and found a very nice on sale at a very reasonable price. Sales people were helpful and polite as would be expected in UK. Last time I was in Oxford ('08) I also bought a bag so it is my place to go for luggage type purchases, although they have other things as well.

Boswells is a GREAT department store where you can find so many varying things that you can do a…read morewhole load of shopping all at once. From bed linin to plates, from shampoo to hankies, from alarm clocks to pen knives.... it really does have everything. The kitchen dept. is pretty large doing some really unique cutlery, place mats and odds n bobs. At christmas time it also sells alot of christmas decorations and candy goods etc. The staff are helpful and their are quite a few tills which is good as it can be quite busy. The goods are cheaper than most other department stores and so for that reason alone are worth a browse!

When in the UK I always make sure to do some shopping at M&S. Besides the amazing food sections…read more(and the M&S Foodhalls all over the country), it's the loungewear that gets my attention. Quality is there, it lasts for years and years. This store here had a very good and wide selection of both loungewear and underwear. Lots of other great stuff in this store. Found what I looked for and bought a whole bunch of them. Prices were quite a bit higher than three years ago when I last visited. But still a lot better - especially given the quality - than in my country. Surely a place to come back to when back in the UK.

Every day is a darn good coffee day. We've taken more and more to go into environmentally conscious…read moreM&S cafes as we spend a month touring England. They are bright, clean and spacious, and the seating areas and toilets are kept clean. We more and more opt to avoid the big coffee players like Starbucks, Nero, Costa and importantly for us we trust M&S to ensure that the food and drinks we buy aren't crap laden. They choose their own fair-trade coffee beans and have a coffee on their Cafe menu that they advertise as Magic (Spanish cortado style) which is £3.15 and it's darn good coffee. It's coffee we want. Simples. We don't really want these Starbucks drinks (other chains do exist) that flog you coffee so full of cheap sugar, topped with cream, swirled with some vegetable oil based topping that you means that you are consuming a full days worth of calories in a sickly sweet overpriced cupful. The seating is spacious, the staff are real friendly and the free WiFi is fast. There's always a decent selection of hot and cold food but it's cake for us, usually Victoria sponge and they usually have it. It's become more and more value for money too. Another advantage is that there's a large retail store attached to the cafe - what a great concept and it means I can get an Eccles cake for later from their in-store. Sheer buttery perfection is M&S Eccles cake.

If you shop at Argos at a less busy time they are quite happy to unpack the goods and let you…read moreinspect them - I once had a long discussion with a very helpful lady about kettles. We unpacked three before we found one with a spout wide enough to go under the tap so you can fill the kettle without lifting the lid which, strangely wasn't something the catlogue description had mentioned. They'll swap things without quibbling. You can use the web to check if they have things in stock and to reserve them so you can pick them up later. And the reason they get the 5 stars is that today the staff were all very understanding when I asked if I could bring my bike into the shop. I'd left half my bike lock at home and needed a new one but I didn't have anywhere safe to leave the bike while I bought the lock. The staff didn't mind. In fact they even tried to speed up the purchase by finding the catalogue page with the bike locks for me.

Argos is fun because of the novelty of ordering from a catalogue. For those who've never…read moreexperienced the way it works, it's a relatively small shop containing mainly catalogues. You find the item you want, type its number into a little calculator gadget which tells you how many are in stock, then pay for it and wait for your order number to come up on a TV screen, at which point you run to the till, triumphantly brandishing your receipt, to collect your prize, which is usually in an obscure box or package, making you look really mysterious. They've got pretty much everything here, from furniture to toys, to electronics, sports equipment, jewellery and gadgets. There's usually a good range for each product, meaning several hours of painstaking decisions between 10 sorts of kettle. The descriptions aren't as good as seeing the items themselves, but it's just about worth it for the fun of waiting for your number to come up. For some products, you can get a good deal, such as MP3 players and games consoles; for others, such as camping gear, Argos is definitely a budget brand and should be approached with caution. The Oxford store is quite scruffy with pages coming out of the catalogues and always, inexplicably, hundreds of pushchairs and whole families standing around arguing.

TK Maxx: The not so surprisingly secret behind so many people's designer clothes…read more The good: - You can get some real bargains - It stocks a brilliant range of clothing, from ball gowns to trekking boots. - It's not just clothes: check out their shoes, bags, sunglasses and accessories. - You never know what you're going to get - Often it's reduced just because there's new stock in the main stores now; most of it is good quality The bad: - Sometimes it's obvious why nobody's bought it - some of the items here are hideous! - Sometimes there's the perfect item but only in the wrong size. - Clothes are arranged according to size, but as there's such a variety of brands, the sizing isn't very consistent - It can feel like permanently hunting through sales bargains, including loads of clothes strewn all over the place and people barging their way around competitively.

TK Maxx - what can you say. Cut price fashion, but its not for everyone. You do have to search…read morearound for things, but you can really find some excellent bargins. You have to make sure you visit after they have had a delivery as some of the shelves (esp shoes) can be a bit bare. Look for the clearance areas and have a good rumage. Always confirm sizing on the garment as the tags can sometimes be wrong.

Peacocks in Cowley Centre is a fairly large branch. They have ladieswear along the left, menswear…read morealong the right and kidswear at the back. The items are all very reasonably price and seem of a good quality. They sometimes have good offers, like multi-buys. The ladieswear has a good range of woolies and cardigans, and little party outfits at great prices. The sportswear is very good too. They have a lot of shoes, handbags and accessories, and are quite in trend. The only problem is the sizing, items are sized over two sizes, e.g. 10-12, 14-16 so you may have problems in getting a good fit. The menswear has a good range of tops and shirts, both casual and smart. There is only a selection of gift sets and gadgets for men and woman, I got a fold up windscreen cover for my car which has been very useful in this frosty weather! Definitely worth a look in this shop, plus a great location of being in the centre, in the warm and dry and close to many other great shops!!

Exceptionally poor customer service at Laura Ashley store in Summertown, Oxford:…read more I have just encountered possibly the worst customer service at Laura Ashley "Home Furnishings" store in Summertown, Oxford. The store manager was so appallingly rude to me that for the first time I feel compelled to write a negative review and complain to the head office. In summary, do not shop in this store. I telephoned the store to check stock availability and sale price of an item. I spoke with someone who confirmed both that the item was in stock at the store and that it was indeed on sale at the price specified. About half an hour later (5min before closing) I arrived at the store. Although the item was available, it was not priced at the sale price. I explained that I had just called and had had the sale price confirmed. While we were trying to this sort out at the till, the store manager arrived. She proceeded to tell me that I incorrect about the price and that I could not have possibly phoned their store that afternoon. I later double-checked my phone records and had indeed called their store. The store manager was extremely unhelpful and continuously interrupted me and then proceeded to argue with me in a loud and hurried manner. I felt that she was trying to push me out the door. She repeatedly told me that the price they had today was the price stated and that was the end of it. The only concession she made was that they would place the item on hold for me and I could come back for it another day if the price dropped. I found her manner exceptionally rude and completely inappropriate for someone working in professional customer service. In fact, the other two sales associates in store were much more courteous. While I am happy to waive away the actual sales incident, it is the manager's rude conduct and dismissive manner that cannot be excused. I have encountered bad customer service in the past, yet nothing as extreme to prompt me to write a negative review and a letter to the main office. I am resolved to never shop at this store again.

This is a nice store with a good range of homeware items. I went during the January sales and…read morepicked up a few bargains with many smaller items at least 50% off. I primarily went in to buy some wallpaper but they didn't have the particular design that I wanted in stock so could either order online (with a delivery charge) or get it delivered to the store (free delivery). I chose the store option to save on the delivery. I was told they have deliveries on Mondays and Wednesdays. I had ordered it on a Wednesday so was hopeful that it be in the next Monday's delivery but it wasn't, nor the next Wednesday. It finally arrived the following Monday so that was almost two weeks after I had ordered it. Whilst I wasn't in a particular rush for the wallpaper, having to wait nearly two weeks these days when you normally only have to wait a few days for a delivery seemed an excessive time to wait. Especially since I'd ordered something from Marks and Spencer to be delivered to their store which managed to arrive only 3 days later. The staff were helpful and very friendly though so perhaps the manager referred to by JB-reviews has since moved on!

There are treasures to be found here, but I warn you it is not for the faint of heart. Heed my…read moreadvice, you need to be both mentally prepared and determined to emerge with a successful find here. Racks are overburdened to the point that if you manage to pull something out, you will not be able to shove that hanger back in. The shop pieces are mostly better for women than men, unless you're looking for nice blazer, jacket, or costume. There are quite a few nice menswear pieces in there. And if you have a specific style in mind, for example, a nice tweed, the the owner lady definitely has some kind of mental catalog of her stock. So if you feel overwhelmed, she can pick some stuff out for you if she has an idea of what you're looking for. Prices aren't the cheapest, but this place is a treasure trove of vintage one-offs if that means any added value to you. Also, no price tags. She prices items as you ask her. From what I gather, it depends on the age and value of the brand.

Like walking into a giant dressing up box. Fancy dress, tea dresses, jazzy shirts and net skirts. A…read morevintage wonderland. You will need to rumage as there are bundles of clothes EVERYWHERE and only really space for 3 people to stand. I brought a black waistcoast with silver hearts from the 60's for £15 :) The reason i'm not giving 5/5 is because its frusting when you find one great shoe- but not the other! One very sweet lady who works there. If you are looking for something in particular she will tell you if she has it or when she thinks she will have. Opening times: MonSat 10am5.30pm