Despite being quite a small shop, this Aldo manages to pack quite a lot in, with a wide range of…read moreshoes for both men and women, as well as hand bags and accessories. Aldo's prices are about average high street prices, or just above...their range appears to reflect this with most styles pretty standard for a high street shoe retailer but with a few standing out a as bit more fashion forward. For blokes , unless you're going for 'casual loafers' or 'sports shoes' you have to abide by the current apparently unbreakable fashion rule that is irritatingly long pointed toes. I must admit I'm getting a bit tired of this look. To me, most guys wearing a pair of these shoes just look overly-self-consciously trendy but it appears a man would have to try pretty hard to find a non-pointed toe on the high street...unless venturing into Clarks or Slaters. It has actually got to the point where a man wearing a more rounded toe will probably look like he's making some sort of fashion statement...cue rounded toes coming back 'in'. Yawn. But if you like your toes trendy and pointed there's plenty to choose from! So to sum up, Aldo's not breaking any boundaries, but probably serves the average shoe-shopper well.

My first experience of Aldo Shoes was wandering past and espying some rather fab looking biker…read morestyle boots that were a bit slender than actual biker boots with a bunch of fab buckles and shoe bling, being a sucker for footwear I wandered in and picked them up expecting their price tag to read £300 plus, colour me pleasantly surprised when they came up at £140. Further poking around, led me to see another buckle clad biker boot for just £90, a quick sniff test and, yes, it was leather. Why hadn't I taken the plunge before? It's always been a place I'd walked by and never felt compelled to explore. Is it because I've got an uncle Aldo and I was avoiding it through disassociation? I'm not sure. It could be down to the fact that every time I've wandered by the store is absolutely teeming with people, or that I prejudged it to be super expensive and beyond my budget. My sensible shoe/non sneaker budget is always less than my kickass sneaker budget. In addition to women's shoes they do a range of men's boots and shoes, although on first glance, your man in your life would have to be a bit on the metrosexual side, as styles are more on the exploratory fashion conscience side of things rather than practical Clarks' types. Some of the selections are hit and miss, and as a demographic it's hard to decide if they're targeting the older middle aged crowd, the fashion conscience students, or the teenagers with far too much money yet a healthy appetite for switchblade stilettos and thigh highs. Hmmm. The last time I went in sale season was still in bloom, and due to busy periods staff were a little fraught and run ragged from traipsing up and down stairs, one imagines. More comment on that when I go back for my boots, preferably at a quieter time.

Like a child to a sweet shop, my eyes fixated on this shop as I walked past. The wonderfully…read morecolourful window display trapped me. There were two horses from a fair ground carousel and jars of sweets. And then I noticed the horse was a vehicle to display the actual product being sold in this shop - handbags! Handbags galore! Bigs ones, small ones, extremely colourful ones and very expensive ones! The whole shop was dressed up to create an image of fun. It said to me - if you have one of these handbags you are fun, classy and crazy! I really like this about the shop and went in to have a look even though the handbags are way out of my budget. I didn't feel intimidated as one might going into a shop where you clearly can't afford to buy anything. This may have been because of the female shop assistants who didn't look very intimidating. I'm sure they smirked to each other as I walked out. HOw rude. Luckily I don't need a handbag to express my personality for me. And I guess if you don't have the cash to splash don't even think about it!

Mulberry prides itself on high quality, high fashion clothing and accessories for both men and…read morewomen. The Mulberry bag is always sought after from fashionistas and always a staple wardobe accessory in Vogues capsule wardrobe collections! It's easy to be taken in by all the beautiful, yet quirky designs in store. But, as always in fashion, beauty comes with a nice, fat price. Shoulder bags will cost you around £650 which is way out of my budget it hurts. The quality is impeccable but I just can't justify spending so much on a bag that I will probably get fed up of after six months. Maybe if i'd been born into a ridiculously filthy fortune I wouldn't think twice...oh well! Anyway, the shops nice, nothing spectacular but nice with a few key bits and pieces. There are a few affordable pieces...you just have to look really, really hard to find them.

I get the distinct feeling that I am the odd one out here when it comes to this shop. It just goes…read moreto show that a person's taste can really affect their opinion of a business. I have no problem what so ever with alternative clothing, nor the people who wear such garments, and so I do not dislike this shop. Simple as that really. I'm not suggesting that the items inside are of my taste, but I don't dislike them on the basis that I wouldn't wear them - on the contrary, I think some of the clothes in here are really interesting and cool. My particular favourites, as you'll see from the pictures, are what I have dubbed (in my mind) the 'Beetlejuice trousers'. I think if I actually saw someone walking down the street in those I would not only be rally excited, but also a tad jealous that they had the stuff to wear them! I love seeing anything that escapes the bromidic zeitgeist items that are paraded about town, and this place is certainly somewhere that you can rely on to be alternative. From vampiric dresses, to sergeant pepper jackets, to neon day-glo doc martins and more, this shop has plenty going on. It is definitely one guilty of supplying Leeds' emo-goth-teen reactionaries with their status gear, but once you see past that element you can really browse with intrigue. Not all the items in their are for me, I am not keen on some of their gear, but I love having a browse. Maybe one day I'll muster the bravery to put on one of their fantastic vampire corset dresses, but for now I'll stick with my vintage clobber! Prices, as expected, range but err on the higher side of a twenty pound note. The lady in there can come across as aggressive, but give her a chance as you might anyone, and she's got some pretty decent banter. I mean come on, she was playing Bjork for goodness sake. Anyone who plays Bjork is right on with me. I don't care who knows it! Give it a chance, you might be surprised.

I don't know about you, but I don't tend to dress up as a prisoner from Alcatraz too often. If you…read moredo, then go to Soho. They do a fine line in Alcatraz branded shirts. In all shapes and sizes. Weird? Am I the only one? I guess this is a shop for a very niche market. It must sell some of these shirts, or else why would they dominate the entrance area? Do you have one? Please, message me reasons why you've got one. And I might alter this rating. If you convince me. Thinking about it, Soho is a good place to go for fancy dress. Or maybe fancy dress ideas. As these not-novelty-but-should-be garments don't come cheap. Maybe I'm being too harsh, just because I'm not in this alternative niche. Perhaps it's because I'm left out. And I can't afford an Alcatraz tee. Go if you're a signed, sealed, delivered emo/goth. If not, steer clear. Unless you've got a fancy dress bash coming up.

A new addition to Leeds Kirkgate Market, the vibrancy and warmth of colour which glows out of this…read moretiny stall is mesmerising. The products on offer are all sourced from India, and they both look and feel decadent. The scarves and pashminas are striking, with gold thread sparkling through their rich tones. A glass cabinet at the rear of the shop houses various pieces of ethically sourced jewellery. There were a particular pair of silver and turquoise earrings which I have mentally reserved as a gift for a friend, a bargain at only £5. Beautifully crafted leather bound diaries and notebooks occupy a section of the shop, this would also solve a present buying riddle for many people. Amongst the wicker baskets of prettily packaged incense which are strewn on the floor, a stunning collection of leather bags sit nonchalantly, waiting to be discovered. The lovely man who ran the stall informed me that they were genuine leather, but there was really no need, their authenticity was unmistakable. A particular leather laptop bag caught my attention, expertly crafted in the style of a satchel. The aforementioned man who is called Manzoor was extremely helpful and disclosed that should I wish to return, we could negotiate a price to suit both parties. I may just take him up on his offer.

This nice little shop caught my eye as I walked into the market recently. It is the first shop as…read moreyou walk in one of the many entrances and is filled with colourful scarves, bags and tops. Its a little bit more exotic than most of the stalls at the market, selling items from Kashmir, India. It has a nice aroma of incense, which it sells also. The scarves are marked at £20 each but I can't decide if this a reasonable price or not. Each one is unique and all the way from India, they are wider shawl-sized scarves but then they are only scarves. At least it is nice to see something a bit different in this part of town.

Irene's manages to cover the exterior of the shop with its wares while still keeping the sign…read morevisible - plenty of other stalls in the market should take note! It sells mainly baby clothes, and some very adorable ones at that (though I am a little biased as I am one of those (probably rather irritating) people who practically squeals in adoration at the mere clatter of a pram so I find anything approximating a baby-grow pretty adorable!) Some of the baby grows are padded to the max with detachable mittens to keep little baba toasty and warm even in our recently snowy climate...I actually rather wish they sold them in my size! They also have other baby grows of standard thickness and some rather more grown-up baby clothes...I actually find it rather creepy when a six month old baby boy wears a nicely ironed checked shirt and jeans and has his 3 hairs gelled in a side parting like a terrifying little man...but these clothes also go up to toddler sizes. There is also a tiny hoodie with the word 'skate' emblazoned across the chest...personally I think trying to make your baby look cool is most certainly not cool! Other clothing includes princess-style dresses for tiny baby dolls ...sorry... 'girls', hmm...also not particularly cool. It would make some sense maybe if she's a baby bridesmaid...I remember my little sister aged 10 months looking decidedly spherical and bored in a pink satin dress and matching headband at my aunt's wedding. Haha! The clothes here are very cheap at 2 or 3 pounds for tops or trousers and £9 for an amazing padded baby grow. Great for parents struggling to cope with the financial burden of a new child, though charity shops also often cater well for little ones.