Cowbridge high street is filled with little boutique clothing shops that tend to cater for the over…read more30s 'ladies who lunch' type that makes up the population so it's refreshing to see an outsider like 'Blushbaby' in its midst. Blushbaby is the shop equivalent of a rebellious younger sister with the tongue piercing and a vodka stash in her wardrobe. It stocks Christian Audigier, Victoria Beckham jeans and a whole host of other rhinestone embellished goodies. In general it boarders on the 'chavy chic' so it's perfect for orange faced WAGs in training. Not exactly my cup of tea, though I really like some of the evening dresses and find it's great for letting my inner footballers wife run riot for a bit.

Blushbaby may be pitching to the younger generation, something that is unusual for clothing shops…read morein Cowbridge, but it most definitely has limited appeal! Instead of the cool and affordable urban street-wear that you find at Amici, here you will find the kind of designer gear that the wanabes want to wear, regardless of the silly price tags. It's all glitz and kitsch dangling off the rails at Blushbaby! It makes me wonder sometimes where we are heading when shops like this survive the recession and other, more commendable shops like Halcyon Daze, (The Little Shop of Calm), look set to close their doors forever in a month or so... Why? The Little Shop of Calm stocks dresses that are about a quarter of the price and have a load more class... so why aren't people buying their gear from there? We seem to be over-awed by the designer label these days, and are somehow seemingly rendered unable to distinguish between a tag and taste! Perhaps Blushbaby would be more appropriately entitled Bamboozled!?! I don't get it!

Xantippe (try saying that when you've had a few) is a boutique furniture and gift shop that…read morespecializes in all things French. Style wise I'd say this is a place for the ladies as I'm not sure how many men would be keen on the delicate hand painted book cases and pink garden chairs. That aside, if the furniture isn't to your taste then there is a huge selection of gifts for the women in your life. Expect beautiful little china tea cups, candles and hand woven baskets, (perfect for storing bottles of vin!) It's a little on the twee/kitch side but that's exactly my style so you won't find me complaining. If you're not into it then that's a whole other kettle of poissons.

Devon, when I lived there about ten years ago, used to be awash with shops that sell the kind of…read morestuff that Xantippe specialise in... but their prices were never quite so steep! I guess there's been a fair few price hikes in the last ten years, but I'm still prone to a stiff intake of breath when I pick up a mug, albeit a very nice mug, and see that it costs somewhere around the £12 mark! i am also astonished by the cost of butter dishes! Did you know that you can pay as much as £40 for a butter dish...? yes, that's right, a butter dish! And that's on eBay. My quest, whilst not being of the Holy Grail epic proportions quite yet, has seen me visit practically every interior design, kitchenware, and charity shop in Cardiff and surrounding area over the last six months, and so desperate am I to find one soon that I have resorted to looking on-line. I peeled through in excess of twenty pages of dishes the other day, and didn't find one that I was suitably impressed by... well, I did actually, but I am unwilling to pay £40 for it! Sadly, Xantippe also didn't offer me a solution to my perpetual search either! But it did provide me with a half hours worth of extremely contented browsing. This is a lovely shop, that sells a lot of rusticana... delightful!

Visage is a high quality dress shop on Cowbridge High Street. I was drawn into the shop by its…read morespectacular window display. the shop stocks a number of designer labels, none of which I was particularly familiar with, but the owner explained they came from some newish London and Italian based designers. The shop had a number of beautiful hats which were surprisingly reasonable at £40. There was a good range of unusual jewellery, at various prices. There was a variety of long and short dresses tops and shirts. I tried on a particularly pretty floaty top, which at £45 was good value (especially as there would be no risk of seeing other people wearing it, unlike popular high street brands). The changing area was delightful, with a lovely sitting area for accompanying friends/partners. I found the owner very helpful and friendly, she made me feel at ease with browsing and there was no pressure to buy. I would definitely recommend this shop when looking for that special outfit, and I think Visage will become one of my regular haunts.

I see Visage as just another women's clothing boutique on Cowbridge High Street that is…read moreindiscernible from any other in the area, unfortunately. Don't get me wrong, the clothes and accessories are absolutely lovely and many are reasonably priced for designer garb (I saw one in the sale for less than £40), but there's nothing especially spectacular that makes it stand out from the rest. Visage offers a varied selection of special occasion outfits, which comes as a relief to those ladies sick of showing up to a wedding in the same dress as three other people. The boutique carries a wide range of designers including Gina Baconni, Beppe Bondi, Save the Queen and Michel Ambers, as well as hats, jewellery and other accessories to ensure your look is complete. The decor boasts mosaic vases, clear-beaded chandeliers (these seem to be a common theme in this area), and frames constructed out of a gilded gold material. It's not my favourite boutique in Cowbridge, but luckily Visage has enough quality clothing and helpful staff that its appeal will reach far and wide.

Sigh. Why do I go in shops like these? It's only a tease, I tell you, and I love every insufferable…read moreminute of it. Shoe fetishists beware: Jon Ian will seduce your senses and satisfy your urges, as well as clear your purse of any available funds. With designer shoes from Moschino, Lulu Guinness, Ugg and Anya Hindmarch, there's something for every gal here: studded heels (yes, please), cowboy boots (sure, why not?), leather flats (oh, go on then!) - if you're here with your partner, just tell him to leave and come back in two hours. That should be enough time, I reckon. They don't just carry shoes, either. Jon Ian also carries umbrellas, bags, belts and purses so you can get spoil other parts of your body besides your feet. If you're in Cowbridge and have an urge to spend some money, come here first. You won't regret it.

Jon Ian is like mecca for shoe lovers. A good, well stocked boutique shoe shop, choc a block with…read moredesigner names like Lulu Guiness and Armani. They also stock genuine proper lovely Uggs .(I know most men hate seeing these on their girlfriends but they're here to stay boys so get used to it) I fell in love with a polka dot pair of Italian leather kitten heels that came in at just under £170. They fitted my awkward size 5 1/2 feet like a glove. Sadly, when I returned with ample funds to buy them someone with excellent taste had snapped them right up. Don't go before payday, it'll be torture.

Went to colours today just to have an idea of an outfit for my sons wedding. well from stepping…read moreinto the shop for the very first time i felt i was in good hands, the staff were amazing, friendly, helpful and very professional. Julie brought shoes bag fascinator to show me the finished look. thankyou Julie you are a star.

Cowbridge has a reputation of catering for the comfortably wealthy. This fashion shop is trying to…read morecater for the rest of the population. i.e. The ones who have ordinary jobs and who don't have unlimited money to fritter away. It carries an eclectic range of clothing, which seem to range from dressy suits to casual cardis. I find it very hit and miss as to whether I can find something that I like. The range of sizes it good (it caters for normal people, not just stick insects!) However, the colour ranges can sometimes be a bit gaudy, or a bit too dowdy. Still, it's worth a look if you're in Cowbridge, because you may be lucky.

This is actually a unisex clothing outlet that tends to have a bias towards mens clothing. I remain…read moreunconvinced by stores like these as, unless they have an awful lot of floor space, (which this one doesn't) then it's always difficult to pull off successfully. This is mainly because I think that you need to have a fair amount of female stock to have an impact, and this shop unfortunately falls short of the mark. The men's range is better, but again, I'd rather see them specialise in this rather than attempt to all things to all men. It's a strange one... I really like the idea of a unisex clothing shop, and consider it to be pretty progressive, (especially as I have no qualms about dipping into the men's section quite happily... being an apple (as opposed to a pear), mens jeans fit me a whole lot better than the women's do), so I really like it when these unisex outfits are done well. It's just that this shop doesn't quite pull it off in my estimations... but don't take my word for it... take a look for yourself!

You know what? I've been thinking - it's great that Cowbridge offers a more mature league of female…read moreshoppers the opportunity to buy exquisite clothing in a beautiful setting. Although the boutiques aren't generally aimed at women of my age and social standing (a broke-a*s 28-year-old girl with no disposable income to speak of), I am glad they're around. And so it brings me to Beckis - a designer clothing shop nestled in the high street that boasts ranges from Frank Walder, Basler, and Nicole Farhi, among others. Although the decor reminds me of a 1970's South Beach hotel room, with its pink carpet and wicker furniture, it strangely makes for a soothing shopping experience. If you hit when the sales are ripe, you can grab items like a Nicole Fahri top for less than £55. Bargain! And don't forget to have a look upstairs, as that's where all the shoes are displayed.

There are a lot of female clothing stores in Cowbridge, most of which are very much aimed at the…read more'mature women', with very few exceptions. Thankfully Becki's is one fo the few shops that carries labels that twenty somethings would consider buying, although they would have to be rather well heeled twenty somethings if they are going to be able to afford to shop here! This isn't usually so much of an issue in this extremely affluent area, but a recent visit to Cowbridge revealed that retail sales are down considerably at the moment. (I am gutted to hear for instance that The Little Shop of Calm won't be renewing its lease in November... and they are one of the very few shops that stocks realyy good affordable clothing for people under thirty!) All boutiques tend to have good sales. Becki's is no exception. You can expect to find up to 70% off the reatail price, and perhaps even more of a reduction towards the closing stages of the sale... I love Cowbridge in sale season!

I am going to apologise in advance for this review... it only seems fair! I really can't find…read moreanything really positive to say about it, which is rather mean, seeing as they clearly know exactly what they are doing, and they do it pretty well... But, that said, here goes! I really dislike the name of this shop! It is one of a couple of shops, aimed at the wealthier more mature lady of Cowbridge and surrounding area, with an indefensible name... and I bet that they are ruing the day that they decided to call it this, since it pre-dates the advent of Wag culture... for sure they didn't name it with Coleen Rooney in mind! There's very little stock in this shop that actually appeals to me... but that's not to say that it doesn't go down a storm in Cowbridge, which being flanked by houses worth a million + on all sides, has the kind of captive market that tends to lap this kind of boutique up. There's no question that the owners know their market pretty well, and have long since figured how to cater to it artfully.