O'Neills is a sporting goods shop primarily famed for its dedication to Gaelic Gear equipment and…read moresportswear. Located next to world-famous (kind of) Casement Park, this shop does a big trade from gaelic supporters which there are plenty of in Andersonstown. The shop has a typical sports shop lay-out, with displays and racks of goods stocked around the floor. There is always a problem with sports shops that they are all quite expensive and the majority of their products can be found if you shop around on the internet. O'Neills does have expensive enough tracksuits and equipment, but the gaelic jerseys are pretty much as cheap and you are going to find anywhere else. The staff are more than happy to let you browse about and are very approachable if you require any assistant. One particular member of staff was more than happy to look out the back to see if they had a rain jacket I was looking for in my size. Turned out they didn't but he was happy to order it for me. I told him it was grand and got it off their website instead but the staff are really nice and more than helpful. I can see why there are more and more of these sports shops opening up all over Ireland as it is a very well run, efficient, pleseant shopping experience.

A lot of visitors to Belfast like to bring back souvenirs when they're going home. For many of…read morethem, if they have friends or relatives who originally hail from here (or, indeed, if they hail from here themselves) they like to bring back items that are specific to a particular area or region as a symbol of their roots or ancestry. That's why the souvenir of choice for a lot of people is GAA shirts. Most opt for the county tops, with some even going as far as getting local club tops. O'Neill's is a stockist of such items, and sells county jerseys for around £25 - £40 (depending what time of year you buy them I think - if you can leave it until late August, which is near the end of the GAA season, then they're at the lower end of this price range). It also supplies some sporting equipment, including hurling sticks, as well as some rugby and soccer items.

Paragon Fabrics, I have discovered, is a good place to find plain coloured linen type fabrics which…read moreto me anyway can be very useful. There is also a wide variety of all sorts of other fabrics ranging from dress fabrics, including prints and satins to cotton checked ginghams and rolls of bright pink nylon fluffy stuff if that's what you're after. There are often ends of rolls being sold off cheaply if you happen to be in the right place at the right time - I found a large bolt of calico once for not much money which filled a gap at the time and if you want to find a local curtain maker this is also a good place to ask. I have visited two branches at Donegall Pass and Holywood Road and have found both shops have a similar standard of usefulness though perhaps there is a larger and more varied stock carried in the shop on Donegall Pass.

I always use Paragon Fabrics, Donegall Pass for all my quilting fabrics and blender materials - a…read morelarge range of fabrics that are brilliant for using with your embroidery machines - very competitive prices offered

Liberty Blue used to be the shop indie boys would go to for their t-shirts and cord trousers. These…read moredays, it's where the hipster teenage girls go to get their fix. Basically, if you're an Urban Outfitters fan, you'll like this place. Hell of a transformation, no? Well, Liberty Blue pulled it off with aplomb, becoming one of Belfast's favourite boutiques. In fact, it's one of the only independent shops in the city centre these days, which is nice. It's a great place to go for a funky dress or a vintage-inspired top and while it is slightly more expensive than its high-street counterparts, sometimes you just have to be prepared to pay for something less ordinary.

I love this shop. It is a treasure trove of all things lovely!…read more It really reminds me of what used to be my favourite clothes shop in Dublin, Sabotage, on Wicklow Street in that it is quirky, fun, individual and stocks some classically stylish clothes. Liberty Blue tends not to follow any trends and instead trusts their customers discerning eyes. When I was at college in the city, I used to come here and browse through the rails of clothes hoping that all the studying would pay off and I would land a top newspaper job so I could buy all these lovely clothes. Seriously, I used to motivate myself to work harder by lusting after clothes I couldn't afford. It works! The window displays are usually very striking and are the thing that draw most punters in off the street. Inside the store is beautifully laid out, it's the kind of place which is a pleasure just to come in and browse around. There are cutesy skirts, cool Edie Sedgwick t-shirts, gorgeous dresses, both casual and fancy, Audrey Hepburn style cardigans and good music to boot. On display in the middle table there are some handmade broaches, rings and jewellery trinkets, funky tights and a battered old suitcase with some vintage belts in every imaginable colour- a snip at £4 each or 3 for £10. The jewellery also deserves a special mention, the necklaces are really cool, chic and very charming. Long gold chains with bird cages or little gold Eiffel towers. These necklaces have done me for many birthday presents this year, they all come moderately priced too. The assistants are really friendly and always make a point of saying hello, which is a really nice touch I think. Check out the sale rail down the back for some bargains. Prices vary and should suit all customers. The more expensive party dresses range from £50-£70 and there are really good quality dresses from about £20. Definitely cheaper than their contemporaries Topshop and Urban Outfitters. I don't mind paying money for something quality that looks unique and it's always an added plus to be supporting such a fabulous and unique local business.

The Gatehouse Boutique (or Gate House Boutique) is a fabulous, quaint clothes shop. It's filled…read morewith quirky, unique womenswear and has some gorgeous hats and scarves. It'll not be to everyone's taste but I absolutely love it.

Bang Boutique is at the higher end price range of vintage shopping in Belfast. In my opinion it's…read moredefinitely not as good as the other shops I've been to (Rusty Zip, Best & Vintage) They do sell some really funky clothing, stuff you really wouldn't see anywhere else. But in my eyes it's all second hand clothing, but here it's got the 'vintage so expensive' tag. One bonus though is the manager and staff who are awesome, you'll often find them in adjacent Muriel's (By the way, go here! It's great!) One thing that did disappoint me was a visit I made after going to buy a friend a Michael Jackson t-shirt I'd seen. (This was shortly after his death, she was devastated) we had a bit of banter together and then I enquired about it, he was asking £50! I mean, no way! Said friend was (is) his hugest fan, but even she would kill me for spending that amount of money. It was absolutely ridiculous. That's totally just cashing in on the mans death, I wasn't impressed.

Bang Boutique is a cool little vintage clothing store just across from Muriels bar…read more It has really cool and funky clothes but I fear it is one of those vintage shops where everything is great to look at but you never actually buy anything because it's all too pricey. There were some cool things to browse through on the counter like an old school telephone and a girl's annual from the 1960's called Boyfriend, which had some really cool drawings in it. I also spotted some cool leather handbags but at £20, they were a tad too expensive. The owners are really nice and friendly and will chat away to you as you browse. I could imagine the members of Belle and Sebastian doing all their shopping in a place like this.

This family run men's and boys wear, as well as all local school wear, shop has been growing from…read morestrength to strength. The newly extended store has added lots more room for its school wear section. All local schools in the Glengormley area are stocked here. I got my two girls uniforms from here!! There are also many branded ranges in the high class, dressy and casual ranges, with many well known brands. As well as clothing there is also a super range of footwear and accessories all at keen prices. So pop in and see for yourselves.

This shop is an absolute pleasure to go into. My two boys are very different sizes and go to a…read morelocal grammar school. Nothing is ever too much bother for the guys who own the shop - sorting out different sizes and styles for the boys. The wool blazers sold her are of a different make than Cartmills and are of a far superior standard and wear much better. I brought one of the blazers back just before school last year to change as my son had a growth and there was not a peep about changing it. I cannot recommend this shop highly enough!

Located within Holywood Exchange retail park, Decathlon is the cheapest sports shop (warehouse)…read morearound. No matter what you're looking for Decathlon will have it. They have everything from Canoes to Dart Boards. Often with cheaper sports shops you sacrifice quality for price but this is not the case at Decathlon. They sell their own brand items called Kipsta and I must say that these aren't great quality but likewise they sell big name brands like Nike and Adidas at a lower price than other High Street stores. This Decathlon is huge - you could spend a full afternoon here wandering through the isles. I would make a list of what you want before visiting or else you'll come out with a new home gym and nowhere to put it. Great parking is also available - really handy if you are buying a bigger item and need to cart to the car.

Massive store and very tempting. You go in looking for one item and end up coming out with half a…read moredozen other things. They have equipment for every sport that you could think of racket sports, Kites, windsurfing, swimming, running, horse riding, boxing, biking etc etc I have bought many items from decathlon and found the quality good enough and all at very reasonable prices. I have bought cycling helmets, gloves, goggles, clothing and ski equipment, many big name brands are available and at better prices than other sports stores. They have a loyalty card scheme too.

Linen is essentially what was used to make the majority of clothing in Ireland many a year ago. The…read moreadvent on cheaper cotton and man-made materials like polyester have now almost made linen extinct. It's now primarily used in the production of higher end goods and the few remnants of days gone. Linen is basically cloth woven from the flax fibre, which was grown in Ireland for many years before advanced agricultural methods and more suitable climate came into play. This little stall is located towards the back of the market and I had to take a look to see what was on offer. Now I will say I didn't purchase anything. It's not really my cup of tea (flax waistcoats and jumpers for example) It does seem to hark back to scenes of the famine in Ireland or from pre-Irish civil war regalia. That said the quality does seem to be of the highest. Everything is very well sown and put together. I can imagine tourists to the area would certainly lap this up, I think it's the kind of thing they have in their minds eye when you say 'Ireland'. Pictures of cottages scattering a barren landscape with women dressed like the Amish washing their clothes on a washing board.