One good thing about recession - it makes second hand cool again. In a time when everyone is…read morewatching the pennies, charity and vintage shops are making a killing. This store opened up in 2009 and seems to be doing very well. I love going in for a wee hoke about and while, like at most second hands, the results are varied, I've managed to find a few little pieces amongst the rails. It is predominately clothing, but there is the odd bit of furniture which tends to be beautifully crafted dressers or wardrobes - just what you need to hold all your beautiful vintage items, right? The staff are always very welcoming, the prices are right and there's always something new to find, rather than the same old stuff you see on the high street normally. Plus, it's run by the East Belfast Mission who do a lot of good work in the poorer parts of East Belfast, engaging with young people and homeless outreach, so everyone's a winner!

'Vintage, re:use, re:style, re:store'…read more I love the idea of this shop. I hate waste and I'm always one for restyling my own clothes. This isn't just another vintage shop, it's slightly better quality than the others. They do a great job with mannequins, I'm always impressed with their window dressing skills. The clothes in the shop front was the first thing I ever noticed about the place. It's always a really good job. So kudos to whoever sets this up. Inside the store it's always laid out brilliantly, some vintage shops are a bit like TK Maxx at the best of times, you need a good few hours to sort through the jumble until you find the gem you're after, but in Vintage they've got everything in order around the shop and you can immediately find some real gems. They sell (amongst a myriad of others) trousers, skirts, dresses, shoes, jackets, formal and casual wear. Anything and everything. Paradise! Even their furniture is for sale (so pretty too!) Like most vintage shops they don't offer refunds but do offer a credit note exchange. I find this particularly handy if you don't have the time to try items on. You're always going to find something you're after anyway.

Twice is Nice is my favourite newest discovery. I happened to stumble upon here on a lazy afternoon…read moreshopping with a friend. Now, to be fair, if I even so much sniff a second hand book I have sensors that flare and light up the room. I'm lassoed by an invisible rope that drags me toward it. I can't help but nosey around for a bargain. I was pleasantly surprised that there were actually some good books in here (note: some, most of them were rubbish) but this was juxtaposed alongside a funky range of second hand clothes, that were dirt cheap, probably the best prices I've seen in a shop. There's an array of teddies, ornaments, toys, shoes, a bike helmet (hopefully for a collector or decoration, but if anyone ever buys this I really hope they get a severe safety warning!) but just nosying round the memoirs of the past gives me a real sense of history and the charm of all these products being recycled makes me happy (I'm a tree hugging hippy, what else can I say?)

I'm a real book worm. I love a good book and can get through them like nobody's business. The only…read moreproblem now is that my house is coming down with them! Unless a book was particularly fantastic, I will only read it once, so for that reason, I don't like to spend an awful lot of money on them. I popped into Twice is Nice on the off chance, just to see if they had any books, as a lot of charity shops don't have a great range, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had lots! I found two books I hadn't got from a series of books I had been reading, and also picked up three good well known cookery books. Best of all, when I took them to the till, the whole lot only came to £6.75. I could easily have paid that for one of the books if I had bought it brand new!

I was cutting through Wellington Street on my way to Upper Queens Street yesterday when I stumbled…read moreacross Octopus's Garden. Belfast used to be a wash with Vintage stores but over the years these have slowly become extinct so it's always good to see a new one rise from the bottom of the ocean - much like an Octopus. Octopus's Garden has many strands or arms/tentacles (may as well continue down pun street). It sells vintage clothing for both males and females, old school vinyl and various other retro artifacts. The main thing I liked about Octopus Garden was that their was a varied choice - the rails were jam packed with everything from flannel shirts, band T's to leather jackets and potentially bum cheek exposing denim hot pants. The prices were reasonable too - you often find that vintage stores inflate the prices of their stock but it seems that Octopus Garden have made a concerted effort not to extort their clientele. I was only going in for a browse but I ended up walking out with a loud shirt that has already proved a controversial choice - but that's the beauty of buying vintage items - they always divide opinion and create a talking point. I recommend popping in here for a wee duke round - you never know you might come out with your (not everyone's) new favourite shirt.

If I was trapped in the Garden of The Octo I would never have a time of misery or boredom. This is…read morethe slickest place so far and I would tell anyone who visits this city that loves music and old clothes to begin their journey here. I love this place!

Stuck in the back of the now very depressing Flagship Centre is The Elim Relief Association which…read moreis basically the Elim Church Charity Shop. This store is in a fantastic location in the centre of Bangor but unfortunately I doubt it gets much footfall in the struggling Flagship. The store itself sells all sorts of large items at cut prices. you can get decent second hand sofas, wardrobes and I even saw a few baby cots when I was in today. There was also a Lazy Boy recliner I had my eye on. The prices are extremely reasonable and I'm sure there would be some wiggle room if there was an item you really liked the look of. If you're renting an unfurnished property I'd make this your first port of call - you might just nab yourself a bargain.

This is a charity shop with a difference and frankly, was a bit of a god send to me whenever I…read morerecently moved to a new apartment that was dangerously empty when I got there. Unlike most other charity shops this one accepts and sells a lot of furniture and house hold appliances for shocking cheap prices, compared to what they would actually cost brand new. I got a full sized book case and coffee table from this place for around £45 all together which is great value, and they are in perfect condition. If your moving into a new place and need a lot of furniture for less or are just looking for a bargain, this is the place to go!

I love this charity shop, and have converted many a reluctant friend by dragging them along and…read moreleaving them to their own devices while I dive straight in among the clothes racks. They sell the standard clothes, hats, shoes, belts etc that all others do, but there's also a very wide selection of books and plenty of furniture and electrical stuff in great nick at great prices. My best bargains picked up there, apart from the many books, were a tie belt for 50p, and a full length grey Kookai coat for just eight quid. I got loads of compliments on both from other laydees who wanted to know where I'd bought them, and who were invariably disappointed when I told them. Even my mum's friends made a point of complimenting the coat, a true rarity for any item of my wardrobe. (It very nearly put me off it.) While most charity shops are of the 'call in as I go past' variety, the SVDP one is one I'd recommend getting on a bus for if you're not from the area. In fact, I think I'll take a run up there on Monday.

This shop has now moved to Stone Row. Don't turn your nose up because it is a second hand shop many…read morepeople are glad of the items they sell. They have a brilliant second hand book section where you can buy books for very little and in the credit crunch it all helps. When you go in to browse the books why not take a bag of old unused clutter from your own home for them to sell! The staff are voluntary and do a wonderful job.

This place was the best!! Definitely one of my favourite vintage/secondhand clothing shops to date…read more We noticed clothes plastered along the upper windows of a building and knew we had to check it out, so we eagerly followed the sign. The place is simply covered in everything you could ever want! I love finding quirky, original pieces, and it couldn't get much better than this. The man (who seemed to be the owner) was perfectly lovely, let us browse in peace and was very cheerful. He informed us that everything was half price- this was amazing considering how low the prices already were. It was overwhelming to look over everything but so much fun. We found great pieces and took our time trying them on in the spacious changing rooms. Dresses, blouses, skirts, jackets, pants, from all the various time periods. All the while, he was playing 60s hits and dancing and singing along! Adorable! He was incredibly helpful and not at all pushy- when a tunic didn't fit, he went into the storeroom to find more options. I ended up getting one of those and a gorgeous jumpsuit for a total of £7.50! He doesn't accept card but there's an ATM right across the street. I'm definitely planning my next trip to Belfast just to come back here!

This isn't you're average charity shop, the idea behind Vintage Glow is to regenerate old and used…read morefurniture or up style it in girly terms. They are really on point with this idea as this seems to be a real trend gripping Belfast. I popped in on Monday and some of the items they had on offer you would expect to see in High Street shop windows, the beauty of this place is that all the furniture is reasonably priced and not only that but it will be a one off. Glow isn't just a great shop but it's also a great cause - the idea behind GLOW is that it provides women from both communities the opportunity to develop confidence and self-belief through creation and craft. The beauty of this place is that you can either purchase items that are donated to the GLOW team or you can bring in your own tattered furniture for a makeover. I would definitely pop in for a look next time you're on the Lisburn Road - you could pick up a bargain and help a good cause.

Amazing shop and salon:) the two girls are the kindest people , so friendly and always a great help…read more:) such a good envoirment to be around in the shop :)

i love fresh garbage a lot but the queue to get in is long and you have to wait 20-30 mins it's…read morebefore even getting into the shop itself, whenever you get in you can't even move because there is so little space, if you spend a lot of time in the shop you feel guilty of holding up the line outside. it's also really hard to let people past you because of the small space, you have to stand in a spot for a long time in order to let people pay and your just wasting time there. not to mention the overpriced clothing!! most are cringey as-well, most of the skirts there are around £60 and yes, are nice but wayy too pricey. good shop for alternative people but also not because there isn't a large variety. you cant even try clothes on aswell which is stupid staff are nice and will help :) i think that fresh garbage could do with an upgrade in a shop as in space because it's super hard to move around, and you cannot even look at clothes because you feel like you holding up a line or room for people to get past. bigger shop is definitely needed!! overall it's a good shop but very small. i'd say come during week days when you have the chance because it isn't as crowded.

Word of Advice; Do not under any circumstances try and go into Fresh Garbage at around 4.30pm on a…read moreFriday afternoon during term time. The reason I say this is it will be packed full of geeky emo's looking for their next quirky crazy purchase. I could not even walk into the shop to do a decent review, so I left and am now spreading what I have learnt toy the good people of Yelp.