This gorgeous boutique is situated in Queen's Arcade, and is a tiny but perfectly formed shop which…read moresells the most beautiful dresses. Every possible colour, shape and style is avaliable, as well as numerous delightfully kitsch gifts, making this an excellent place if you're shopping for a special occasion. It is pricey enough, with the dresses ranging in price from £60-£200, but you would be guaranteed that no-one else would be wearing the same one (such a disaster when that happens!). When my sister and I took a peek at these exquisite dresses, her cries of "oooh" and "ahhh" reflected the level of wonderment at such lovely garments, and for me, this is what really makes Atelier. The girl who was 'on duty', so to speak, was lovely and helpful, and didn't mind us hunting through the rails. Even if you go just to window shop, definitely pay this lovely wee place a visit.

Atelier - (for those who -like me - didn't know, this is defined as 'an artists studio or workroom'…read moreI didn't think much of this name until I discovered this!) Stop press! Wow! Wow! Wow! How have I never known of this shop before? It's so elegant and beautiful. There are three lovely girls who work in the shop and they design all the items they sell. Lizzie makes the dresses, Ursula makes the accessories, handbags and head wear, then the other (I'm so sorry I've forgotten her name, I'll repost it) creates the jewellery. This whole process just makes me smile. I love it! I will definitely be back here. It's such a little gem of a shop hidden away in this arcade. The store is beautifully laid out and they sell some amazing items (see 'The Good Book' a hollowed out book with a mini flask hidden inside!) The dress maker, Lizzie Agnew, is famous by name. Her dresses have featured in Tatler, The Wedding Journal, and The Guardian. She creates beautiful vintage inspired silk gowns designed and made to order. I've seen some of these both in the shop and on her website and OH WOW! If I ever have the funds/occasion/need to get a tailor made dress it will be here. They're simply heavenly! Ladies, get yourself down here now. Don't miss out any longer!

After many frustrating hours of looking for a dress for a formal evening party I attended last…read morewinter, I ended up at Coast, having looked in several times already. For elegant, simple formal wear to me Coast is hard to beat and I bought a long evening dress. As it wasn't cheap - £150 - it took a while to decide upon buying but as I couldn't find anything else I liked, need a dress like that so rarely, which as it's quite classic can also be worn again, I went for it. Compared to what you find in more expensive shops Coast is a good value alternative. The clothes are well cut and comfortable enough for the sort of formal clothes they mostly are. The stock in the Victoria Centre Coast seems to differ a bit from that in Debenhams, so look in both if you are interested.

I don't really like this store at all. The staff to me are very stand offish I think they think I'm…read morein to sell something lol. I been in a few times looking for a nice dress for weddings and the staff don't seem to want to help out. So I've decided to not return here. I would either ship online or go to another store.

I was walking by yesterday and out of interest I popped in for a look - that and the fact the shop…read moreitself smells absolutely delightful. They must spray perfume at the entrance. To me, this store seemed like a Zara outlet - it was much more up market than other competing High Street stores. There was a large selection of clothes and accessories for women and when I popped in it was well staffed. Obviously there wasn't much in there for me but If I was a fashionable lady I would give Stradivarius a go ;)

This is my new favourite clothes store. It's a welcome addition to Belfast, as I had got sick of…read morethe same old clothes across all of the usual high street stores. It has occasional quirky little items. Stradivarius has casual clothes nicely arranged at the front of the store for everyday wear and more dressy towards the back. All of the accessories are arranged around items that they would go particularly well with. The changing rooms are well staffed and run effectively. There are pleasant staff members at the check out too. Reasonable prices.

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.

Zara has recently reopened after a major facelift. The old store was looking a little tattered so…read morethe revamp was more than welcome. So what's changed I hear you ask? Well the woman's section occupies the first 2 floors and then the kids and mens department is on level 2 which is the 3rd floor (hopefully that makes sense). In my opinion Zara is at the higher end of High Street fashion. I think Zara really comes in to it's own in the summer as most of their men's clothing is made from lighter materials. I really like Zara Men's clothing - it's great for smart casual gear and you won't see too many other people about town dressed in it. Their clothes seem to be of Mediterranean style and I'm not sure if a ginger pasty man like myself could pull off white linen trousers but I'm sure there's some Belfast folk who could. One thing I noticed about the new store is that is that it is impeccably well kept by the staff, there wasn't a garment out of place and there seemed to be plenty of staff on hand to offer help. Overall the refurb is great and it's nice to have a Zara store gracing Belfast's City Centre once again.

I really love my clothes and I've recently come to love Zara. It;s kind of sad as I can note a…read moremental graduation from the cutesy/hippy stuff of Miss Selfridges onto the cooler and slicker Topshop and now I'm in the limbo of being a young woman and beginning to dig Zaras sleek tailoring. I popped in here recently to get some clothes for an interview (the job will pay for these clothes I told myself- even though I didn't get it!). I had my eye on a pair of high waisted trousers with a peg leg and one of those fashiony knot belts. I got myself these for a bargain £30 and a crisp white classic shirt. The range of clothes in zara are great. They are more classic than following faddy trends which is commendable. There are some gorgeous dresses, shoes and bags but Zara really come up trumps for tailored suits and jackets. If you are going to an interview and want to impress, Zara is your (wo)man!

If fine fashion is your fayre, Una Rodden has to be on your boutique to-do list…read more While she is regarded as the number one Northern Ireland designer of note, you shouldn't be afraid to pop in this pretty store. Quietly unassuming the rails do have her limited run designs, but also some other labels she apparently sources personally and while not high street prices, there are plenty of price ranges available. While I'd normally be shy about these sort of 'posh shops' there is no pressure in here so felt free to browse, and to dream of my future dressy disposable cash!

This is yet another one of those places that alot of people complained about being overpriced when…read moreit opened. When, in my opinion, you get what you pay for and you get quality in here. It is well known brand and has over 70 stores worldwide which makes me think they kinda know what they're doing. It annoys me when people complain about things being expensive, it just exposes Northern Ireland as the cultural backwater that it is. This is the kind of place that you call into if you want to pick up a suit or some nice dress wear for work or a job interview. The stuff is real quality and I'm all for spending a bit of dollar if you have it. Anytime I have called in I have found the staff really dead on, even though I've never had any real reason to actually buy anything from here.

Reiss clothing are sophistocated and gorgeous, I lived in…read moreLondon for 12 years and have always loved Reiss. I was so glad to see it arrive in Belfast! Having worked in fashion for many years I know that few high street fashion companies create such beautifully tailored, sophistocated clothing as Reiss!! For those who think it is expensive, you should probably stick to Primark and Tesco specials which is mass produced tat!

Way back in 2010 I was perhaps a little harsh on this branch of TK Maxx. I think that sifting…read morethrough clothes is the reason that people shop at TK Maxx, they enjoy the excitement and the possibility of getting a real bargain. Sifting isn't actually too bad at this TK Maxx as the staff keep the rails in pretty good order. Belfast now has plenty of fashion outlets but it doesn't have much similar to TK Maxx. This store is huge and set over 3 floors. It has a woman's section, kids section, men's section and even a dedicated jewelry counter. My advice would be that if you are looking for something specific then come to TK Maxx and see if they have it in store, you could save yourself a few quid.

Tkmax is a huge department store with men/women clothes, footwear, homeware, food, kids toys,…read moreluggage and general random things like frames and art. It's all supposed to be 60% less than regular high street prices. There are always was/now prices to give idea of prices. The home department is my favourite part.

Wow! Do you want beautiful, elegant, fashionable, stylish and well tailored clothing? Then come…read morestraight to Fran & Jane. Oh I could have spent hours in here. I think I would have seemed a little manic running from rail to rail gasping at each exquisite piece of clothing / shoes / accessories I saw. But, oh swoon! If only I had the money (be prepared ... it's not cheap!) It is worth it for the money though (except maybe the shrug I saw for £400 ... a little excessive by my standards?!) Anyway, Fran & Jane are a boutique Irish clothing store, established by a mother and daughter over 35 years ago. The items in their store are so insanely beautiful; they sell everything from jeans to coats to dresses and beautiful formal wear. Ah I could go on for ages about the oh so special items I could have happily taken home with me, what stands out most though was the beautiful black coat with a funky pattern and long wide sleeves and an oversize collar (Oh please Santa please!) as well as the *ohmygoodnessimusthavethemnow* shoes *see picture* that I REALLY wanted to buy (sense dictated me not to) Fran & Jane are another one of those pay day shops where you NEED to treat yourself to something special then take a run up here and I'm sure you won't be stuck for choice. Ah, clothing bliss!

Going to an all girls' school meant that the hysteria of formal dress shopping was heightened to…read morethe absolute max, with every girl hoping that the delightful pink dress they had just purchased wasn't the same as their best friend's choice. Cue delirium. Unfortunately (I think), those mad days are long since gone for me, but it's nearly that time for my little sister, so I do kinda get to relive the dream again. Yippee! I told her (yes, she didn't have a choice) that Posh Frocks should be the first port of call for ideas, and she happily agreed to take a look. Posh Frocks was one of the stores many of the girls ventured to in search of the perfect formal dress, and there were definitely some beauties bought there. The shop had, and still has, a reputation for good-quality, stunning dresses, and is one of very few formal dress shops in Belfast, so it is completely inundated with formal requirements from as far as Magherafelt (I was reliably informed by the extremely helpful sales lady). We were also told that many of the dresses sell out within days of first appearing...so we'd better get our skates on! There isn't a huge range of dresses, but due to the fact that new designs are constantly coming in, this doesn't really prove a problem. The dresses vary in price from about £100 to £300, with the more embellished ones coming in at £295, whereas the plainer ones are around £165, and the cocktail length ones are obviously cheaper. Having had lots of really helpful tips and information, and a good nosey around, the two of left with plenty of food for thought. I think I'm actually more excited that the little sis...

On our never-ending quest to find bridesmaid dresses for my best friends wedding (no, not the…read moremovie) we ended up in here. They have a vast array of gowns and dresses for all sorts of events and occasions, be it a formal, a gala dinner type event, or a wedding as a guest or as a bridesmaid. The woman in charge that day was SO helpful, and really cheerful and pleasant, she seemed happy to help, and genuinely interested, which is what you want in a good shopping experience. They had every colour, shape and style of frock, but not, unfortunately, every size, and my size 18 frame was not really catered for. There were a couple of dresses that sort of fitted, but they weren't proper size 18s, and therefore were NOT flattering. The price tags weren't extortionate, but they weren't cheap either. If you're skinny and have a bit of cash, this is a good place to get a dress that isn't from the high street.