Remember the fairy tale of The Elves and the Shoemaker? Well, when I walked in here, I was almost…read morecertain that this was the Shoemaker. The shop is a tiny little shop, with leather in a pile, a heavy duty sewing machine, and many finished shoes in racks. All the shoes are handmade, and he has been making these for 20 years. What an amazing skill, and I am so happy that this shop is still around. It's a great shop to get sandals, slippers, and doc martenesque shoes where you get to meet the man who makes them! He does repairs too, so bring on down your old shoes and him and his elves will fix them up good. If you need a good boot, or some sandals for the summer, don't go to the high street; come here instead for something different!

If ever there was a shop that is as it was a hundred years ago, this is it. A prime example of a…read moretraditional skill taught, learnt and being used to earn a decent living. Phil Wilkins is said labourer and The Handmade Shoe Co is his business set up through the traditional working of leather. Having been in the game for some twenty seven years Phil has set up shop in central Bristol in his shop space / working space. Being something of a small time craftsman myself I have from time to time popped in to get information and advice. The shoes, bags, belts and leather accessories are all made on site and of good quality. The shoe designs are unique and can be made to measure even the tiniest of paws and the biggest of loafers. This is also a good place to bring any leather goods that need repairing. A good place indeed to see people, not machines, hard at work doing what they love.

This shop exists quite discreetly in a lane off Park Street. Seeing as Park Street has many…read moreclothing shops which are quite popular, every time I try to explain where Seven is, I draw blank looks. When I say, it's right next to The Woods, people usually nod and say 'Yeah, we know The Woods, but I didn't know there was anything next to it..' Well there is! A shop just bursting with flavour, style and individuality. The next time you're shopping up Park Street, or drinking at The Woods, keep your eye out for this graffiti laden shop and enter its grotto of awesome tees, caps, shoes and posters; some produced by the designers at Seven, others by independent Bristol designers and also a handpicked selection of other imports. This is just a really cool shop - small but everything in there is ace.

This place is cool…read more This shop reminds me of the little vintage/independant boutiques I used to rummage through during my time in East Berlin. You access it by walking down the stairs from the front door into a small shop area. There's pretty cool music playing and a small selection of clothes which isn't too confusing to navigate. Check out the little suitcase of vintage items right by the stairs, definitely a few cool finds in there, all for £10, and above that there are some awesome trainers. If you're looking for a designer tee, they print their own, for RRP of £25 but you can find sale ones for as little a tenner. It's a very low-fi shop; they don't even have a till, but appreciate any custom they get and are really grateful and friendly.

If you're in search of a quality pair of shoes, I'd suggest you avoid Shoe Zone at all costs. I've…read moreonly bought one pair of shoes from this shop and they lasted about a week. Admittedly, I only paid a tenner for them as I was skint and about to start a temporary office job, but seriously...By the end of that long week, my feet were in a similar state of disrepair to said shoes. If you're looking for a pair of flimsy ballet shoes that will see you through a weekend, this is the place for you. But if you require shoes with a soul, don't hesitate to look further afield...

Now I can't imagine what it must be like to have normal sized hoppers but for me I'm rather tall…read moreand thus my feet are rather large. Tough it is then to find shoes that fit and happy I am to find somewhere when I do. Shoe Zone in Kingswood may be just another link in some mighty chain but they're so good at what they do. Every festival season for example, I can always find a good few pairs of budget rubber boots for just a couple of quid. Sandals, work boots and trainers too - all for really good prices. If it's high quality and style you want then this may not be what you're after. But if like me you're happy to find something that fits and doesn't kick the wallet, then this place fits just right. Sorry about the atrocious puns.

Stead and Simpson do have a good range of summer sandals in at the moment - is the gladiator sandal…read morestill in fashion? Thats what they seem to have racks and racks of. Prices are cheap but I've been put off buying boots from here as I haven't been impressed by the quality. Its ok but it doesn't have the styles or quality to blow me away. Also the store itself is a bit dark and uninviting.

Office makes me drool just thinking about it. Who would have thought such a funky shoes shop would…read morehave such an incredibly dull name. Oh well. I've been a fan for a while now (since I first stepped foot in the London branch in fact) so excuse me if I go off into Carrie Bradshaw mode... They do beautiful, retro-chic trainers and deliciously high heels. Right now there's shiny leather boots and cute pumps jostling for space on the shelves. A word of warning - leave your credit cards at home - you could spend a fortune on canvas and leather right here. I keep expecting the shop to move into Cabot's Circus, but so far it's remained separate. Watch this space though. A downside is that the sales staff are on the snooty/cool-as-a-cucumber side, but always happy to get you the correct size (and take your dosh!)

While some sports shops concentrate on providing sporting goods, and others try and keep a balance…read morebetween that and fashion, Office concentrates solely on the aesthetically pleasing side of the trainer world (with added shoes thrown in). The likes of Adidas, Nike, Etnies, Converse and New Balance are to the fore here. This has to be Bristol's best trainer shop, with shoes of all sizes and colours (many too fashionable for the likes of you or I to attempt to don), a proportion of which are exclusive to Office. They also seem to have a permanent sale on, which is worth checking out.

Shops like Curry's have moved out refusing to pay the raised rents. They have recently put in Zebra…read morecrossings with cars either side blocking your view of pedestrians. In the car spaces are below your eyeliner barriers which often get hit damaging cars. There are no litter bins only Mc Donald's and Greggs' which everyone uses to overflowing over the paths. Avon Meads suffer from lack of thought and seem only interested in taking the money. The car barriers are totally unnecessary and expensive to hit even gently. Apart from good entertainment centres the low stars are for the above mentioned problems which I doubt will be resolved until someone gets hurt.

Don't you just love these ugly out of town meccas to all things capialist? No, me neither but I…read morestill seem to go to them every now and then and sometimes I even buy stuff (sometime stuff I even like!). This one sits in their usual habitat (a massive concrete car park), though it does boast a flyover arcing overhead (classy). Contained within are the usual suspects - cinema, bowling alley, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Chiquito - plus a load of warehouse sized shops (Boots, Comet, Currys, Brantano Footwear, JJB Sports, The Range and, er, a small Marks and Sparks for some reason). These places usually get the single star treatment though this receives an extra one simply for being the one that's near my house.

great sales but massive shame about the customer service! i…read morefind the prices to be similar to clarks yet theres never anyone to help with sizing childrens shoes

Uncle Sam's has been here for as long as I can remember, and I do quite like it, but despite saying…read morethat, I haven't actually bought anything from here. It is a fairly small shop, a beacon to vintage lovers on Park Street. They sell records, leather wallets, jackets, 80s dresses, cut off levis.. anything vintage that pops in your head, they do have it here. You do have to dig abit to find things though, which just adds to the fun. This is somewhere I always pop by to have a browse, always expecting to find something awesome, but never really do. Maybe that is because the prices are quite steep; rising with the rise of the love of vintage fashion these days.

From the outside it looks as though Uncle Sam's is going to be the best offering that Park Street…read morehas. A classic American vintage sign, a window full of Levis and checked flannel shirts, but it's best not to judge a book by its cover. (Or a vintage clothes store by its window!) I love a bit of a rummage through piles of retro clothing, but the interesting finds here are so few are far between that it doesn't make your wait worth-while. On the whole, I find that men do better here than women with some fantastic leather jackets and belts to be had. Just be prepared to pay a hefty price for some of the better pieces. It's worth a look for die-hard vintage clothes fans, but personally I prefer to save my pennies and go rooting around Bristol's fabulous charity shops. Cheaper, with added feel good factor!