While on a trip to London we made a quick stop here to purchase a delightful umbrella for my wife…read moreto use during our travels. Fair price, helpful customer service reps, and a clean, well-lit store... I've got no complaints at all and we would gladly go back again if we ever visit Oxford again - hopefully we will.

I love this shop. It used to be a real rabbit warren of a place, a bit like an old fashioned…read moredepartment store. (Think 'Are you being served') It was gutted a few years back and although the building looks the same on the outside inside it's a totally different place. There are three floors (as per usual) which are jam packed full of things to peruse and buy! The womenswear floor is large with a wide range of items for women of any taste. They have a Coast branch inside and a big collection of fancy dresses to suit. The homeware floor is big as well with quite a decent range of kitchen utensils which is nice because a lot of stores skimp on things like this. All in all the store is nice and bright, it can get a bit congested on the escalators and in the lobby though so be careful.

The more 'classy' shopping centre in Oxford, the Clarendon carries a number of designer labels…read moreunlike it's counterpart - the Westgate. The centre is small, with the list of shops in the review below. Note though, that it is open 7 days a week, not 5 as stated below. There are often promotional staff situated in the centre - Paintballing, Sky and Cars seem to be common themes. There is minimal seating available.

The Clarendon shopping centre is more modern and brighter than its slightly poorer cousin across…read morethe road (Westgate centre). Some fabulous shops including: French Connection lovely clothes with ladies downstairs and mens (not so good) upstairs Body shop smells yummy and very nice helpful staff Office - my favourite shoe shop River Island again ladies downstairs and men upstairs (not great, a bit unfashionable) Zara classy and elegant with helpful staff. Great ladies on the ground floor with mens and childrens upstairs. Quite a large size store too Gap good for those basics A lovely little boutique whose name escapes me just now they sell gorgeous ladies clothes and handbags The Christmas decorations this year are a bit dodgy though nice lights but one very strange looking santa riding a reindeer My only complaint about this centre is that is has absolutely no seats for tired boyfriends waiting for us girls to stop shopping!

Mothercare seems a little outdated now, but it's quite a good place to go shopping for kids' things…read moreif you have kids with you as it's very child-friendly. It's great for school shoes for young children and for shoes in general. It's certainly more expensive than lots of other shops, but at least they still do proper fittings, which I've heard is pretty important with growing feet. That said, they won't fit for long and the cost can certainly add up if you're having to buy new ones once or twice a year. The service is great - nice and old-fashioned, and the toilets are a godsend.

I like this branch of mothercare. Esp as i recently discovered they now have TOILETS!!…read more Ok , so that doesnt sound exciting to some of you, but when you are pregnant or have potty training toddlers it's a godsend! trust me! Thought i might point i couldnt fint hem for ages. There was huge sign, but the door it pointed to didnt look like you were allowed to go in! But i asked and was shown the way. Also has a clarks shoe bit +photo studio. You can find anything you need for a chld in mothercare. But i rather shop around as it's def NOT the cheapest place to buy them.

When in the UK I always make sure to do some shopping at M&S. Besides the amazing food sections…read more(and the M&S Foodhalls all over the country), it's the loungewear that gets my attention. Quality is there, it lasts for years and years. This store here had a very good and wide selection of both loungewear and underwear. Lots of other great stuff in this store. Found what I looked for and bought a whole bunch of them. Prices were quite a bit higher than three years ago when I last visited. But still a lot better - especially given the quality - than in my country. Surely a place to come back to when back in the UK.

Every day is a darn good coffee day. We've taken more and more to go into environmentally conscious…read moreM&S cafes as we spend a month touring England. They are bright, clean and spacious, and the seating areas and toilets are kept clean. We more and more opt to avoid the big coffee players like Starbucks, Nero, Costa and importantly for us we trust M&S to ensure that the food and drinks we buy aren't crap laden. They choose their own fair-trade coffee beans and have a coffee on their Cafe menu that they advertise as Magic (Spanish cortado style) which is £3.15 and it's darn good coffee. It's coffee we want. Simples. We don't really want these Starbucks drinks (other chains do exist) that flog you coffee so full of cheap sugar, topped with cream, swirled with some vegetable oil based topping that you means that you are consuming a full days worth of calories in a sickly sweet overpriced cupful. The seating is spacious, the staff are real friendly and the free WiFi is fast. There's always a decent selection of hot and cold food but it's cake for us, usually Victoria sponge and they usually have it. It's become more and more value for money too. Another advantage is that there's a large retail store attached to the cafe - what a great concept and it means I can get an Eccles cake for later from their in-store. Sheer buttery perfection is M&S Eccles cake.

This is pretty typical for a Gap chain store. It's perhaps got an emphasis on slightly smarter…read moreclothes, but has all the basics such as single colour tops for men and women, kids' clothes, the classic Gap hoodie, and those generic two-layer tops with logo designs/writing on. It's not original, but it looks good and fits well. I always question myself if I'm looking for a plain item here, as it's pretty expensive, but it is good quality.

If you want something preppy then this Gap store is the one stop shop for you. Better for girls…read morethan boys I think as the mens stuff will make you look like Dawson from Dawsons Creek! Some of the ladies wear is very elegant and they do the classic look perfectly

FCUKHmm, the joke gets pretty old once you're over the age of about twelve. Still, let's give them…read morethe benefit of the doubt and assume their name just happened to be similar to a swear word. I'm sure you know the deal: designer clothes with a label that screams a certain something. It's more upmarket than Levis, probably about the same as Calvin Klein. They do men's, women's and children's, and thankfully the children's clothes are reasonably priced, although over £10 for a t-shirt that's only going to get dirty and outgrown is perhaps not the greatest investment. Good for smarter occasions though. The women's dresses are what draw me in and yet repulse me. They manage to produce some really gorgeous summery numbers, yet also some hideous sacks that could make Heidi Klumm look like a hag. At £70 plus for most dresses, this makes you think Still, you know you're always safe and oh-so-amusing with one of the classic FCUK t-shirts: men's, women's and children's

If money was no object I would shop in French connection much more often…read more I find it's the best place in oxford for jeans, their jeans are a lovely fit although a tad pricey. Beautiful dresses and super trendy threads, perfect for nights out on the town. The mens section is utter rubbish though, that's upstairs, just not worth climbing the stairs for

Urgh, yes, Clarks. In the town where I grew up, Clarks was quite a good quality shoe shop. They…read moremeasured your shoes, always had them in the right size and it was good, quiet, one-to-one service. Maybe that's just because it was a small town and I was after standard school uniform shoes, but there's a world of difference between those experiences and the Oxford store. It's good for formal shoes for work or nice shoes for going out that are designed to be comfortable, rather than lots of the shoes you get in clothes shops that look good but aren't made my shoe specialists. It's not so good for browsing - at busy times there's quite a wait for an assistsant - or for buying exactly what you need quickly and efficiently. As there's not much in-between, I'd recommend elsewhere, although I still think this is a step above Barratts.

Visited Oxford branch in May and being Saturday was very busy. On mens section only one salesperson…read morebut o boy he needs a medal! Taking orders from number of customers and amazingly when brought a stack of boxes he remembered who ordered what. Very patient with us ordering 4 different pairs on 4 different occasions. Very efficient . My husband loves his shoes.

Brambles is good for a particular style of pattern, usually tied to the yarn it carries, by major…read morebrands such as Sirdar and Patons. If you want yarn, it's fine if you like acrylic, but useless if you actually want wool - the terms aren't interchangeable! It has a good line in standard cheap equipment - Pony needles, stitch holders, etc - but not much at the more interesting end of the market. If you are a traditional knitter who wants to churn out baby blankets and bootees, great - if you are into more contemporary items, you're better off looking elsewhere, I'm afraid. They also stock an interesting line of baby clothes and notions, which are worth a look if you want something traditional or not the standard Mothercare style.

My friend's really into knitting and craftwork and she swears by Brambles. It's not as cheap as…read moreonline, but at least you know what the colours will actually look like. In case you're not familiar with it, Brambles stocks wool, haberdashery and fabric. Apparently quite a lot of people make children's clothes using materials there. It's a shame it's so far out from the centre, but I guess it's not a huge mainstream interest. It's the sort of thing department stores want to be, but so much friendlier and more homely.

Ede and Ravenscroft is one of those shops that really belongs in Oxford. It's a little glimpse into…read morethe past and into the world of esteemed traditional businessmen. I reckon most people who go in are just curious at the idea of a traditional tailors, and it's a refreshingly quiet change to similar shops in London. It specialises in menswear, but I've had a browse around for cufflinks and ties as presents for male friends and family members. Unfortunately for me, the price is high for such quality products, so I remain an admiring window shopper. There is a 10% discount for students, so it's a good place for interview or internship clothes, or even for sub-fusc, if you want quality clothes that will last. It also caters for academics, legal professions and even clerical outfits. You can treat it as a normal shop or get professionally measured and have clothes tailor-made. Great fun to browse around, but definitely not an everyday shop.

The Ede & Ravenscroft branch on High Street is most likely the best choice for suit, shirts and…read moreformal wear in Oxford. As part of the Ede & Ravenscroft tailoring house in London's Old Burlington Street, not only does the Oxford shop offer ready-made suits, sweaters, ties, shirts and accessories, they are also able to deliver custom-made shirts and suits and to my knowledge -at least until recently- had a tailor coming in for bespoke clothes. The choice of clothes and formal wear is quite remarkable for a small city like Oxford, and with quite a few well-off kids joining the local university each year, there definitely is demand for a shop like E & R. They do provide a great variety of dinner suits, and since every student at Oxford University at some point during his university life requires a dinner suit, this would be my recommended place to get it from. And students even get a 10 percent discount (at least they got it during my student time).