Abakhan is hidden behind TJ Hughes and until today, I never knew such a shop existed as I seldom…read morewalk down this street. To my surprise, I was impressed to see how much this fabrics, hobby and home store had to offer. Inside is literally packed full of material in piles that look like an organised random mess! Most of the items they sell will attract the hobbyist such as arts and crafts material, stationery and needlework. They also have a variety of hobby books, cheap fashion jewellery and accessories. There is nothing really more you could ask for and for the prices they sell at, it works out a bargain apart from the more high-end material like animal fur. Common items, for example wool and cotton are inexpensive. If you are into any of the above criteria, I would highly recommend a visit to Abakhan's as the shop is jam packed with bits and pieces.

The small collection of streets of which Abakhan's is a part form what can be considered a textile…read moreand fabric centre of Liverpool and this place is the biggest of the bunch. Over two floors, Abakhan's provides reams and reams of all kinds of cloths, fabrics and textiles at very cheap wholesale prices. If you're the type who is in the business of dress making or interior design or just partake in such activities as a hobby then you can't go on much longer if you haven't found Abakhan's or one of the smaller stores along this road. Just because it is cheap doesn't mean that the quality is any less however you might have to look hard for any styles that are very stylish and modern.

My cousin had her wedding dress made at Nico and it turned out beautifully! 100% recommend to all…read moreof my friends!

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. Ring any bells...it should…read more Thelma Madine, whose shop is Nico's Dressmakers in Liverpool, is the designer favoured by traveller brides competing to wear the biggest, most elaborate wedding dress possible. Her dresses appeared on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding which revealed insight into the process the travelling community go through in preparation for marriage. In 2006, she designed what is believed to be the world's biggest wedding dress which weighed in at a whopping 25st with a 60ft train. The dress had 30,000 Swarovski crystals and 120 metres of silk. As well brides dresses, the shop also stocks bridesmaid and special occasions outfit.

Underwater Street is a great place! I'm 21 and I love it! Haha. But seriously, if you're looking…read morefor something to do on a rainy day with a bunch of kids - this is definitely the place. Their target age is 2-10 years old, which I think is about right; any older and the kids would probably think it "so uncool". There are six zones, three craft tables, science shows, a climbing wall, a real car to paint (which I think is a slight insult to the mini!!), a giant bubble area and a dressing up area. They also have themed activities which you can find out about on the website. There is also a cafe serving a wide range of healthy food, so you don't have to worry about all the E numbers your kid has taken in! It's a great place to host a birthday party too, the staff are really helpful and take the stress out of the organisation. The other great thing about this place is it doesn't cost an arm and a leg for the whole family to have a day out. A group of 4 is £20 at peak times, or a single child ranges from £4.50 to £5.95.

This place is awesome! You will need a kid (2 to 10 years old) though - a niece/nephew? Luckily my…read morefriend needed a break from her children so I got to hang out with them all day at Underwater Street. I don't know whether I am just badly informed but I have never come across such a fun place for kids to learn and play. There is so much to do and all so very varied. There are six zones, including the physical zone, art zone, sensary zone etc. The staff are pretty great and spend time interacting with the children. I don't remember there being places like this when I was 2! Highlights and favourites for me and the kids were - Mr Ben's fancy dress shop, the poochi parlour where you can mend and fix poorly dogs, the Pizzeria where the kids get to run their own restaurant, be the chef or waiter. With the summer holidays coming, this is definitely a great place for the kids!

Possibly a bit over hyped, Chaophraya nevertheless delivers a fine meal. They offer both a…read moreselection of prefixed menu samplings or individual menu items if you are in the mood for something specific. I will say none of the options are overly spicy, so if you are looking for heat, you might need to visit elsewhere. With my group, I managed to sample nearly everything and recommend the duck in any form. The coconut rice is also just awesome! The staff is friendly and attentive. They are more than willing to offer suggestions as well. Finally, don't forgot, if you have a birthday in the group, the staff will be more than glad to embarrass them with attention and a song!

This already became my favorite restaurant in Liverpool that I ended up coming here two nights in a…read morerow! Yes, it's that good! I really enjoyed their green curry, it's excellent! Although I was a bit skeptical at first when my friend brought me here because usually this type of posh and über trendy restaurants serve water down Asian food for non-Asian folks. I know how authentic Thai food tastes like because I have been to Thailand and I hang out with Thai friends who taught me how to cook Thai food. Contrary to my low expectations , I was pleasantly surprised by the succulent massaman & chicken green curry. I thoroughly enjoyed all the food I've tried and I was impressed with the sophisticated and contemporary decor as well. This is a great choice for any special occasion, it was the perfect location to meet up with my old friend whom I haven't seen for more than 20 years.

This branch of Clintons Cards has a fancy dress and party shop amalgamated into it which can only…read morebe a good thing as the actual selection of cards here is pretty awful. With row upon row of 'funny' cards filled with nob gag after nob gag there is almost nothing to please your friends or the joker in your family. The traditional cards are so sentimental they border on plain maudlin (I was going to get my Grandma a card from here but I couldn't seem to find one for a grandmother that didn't seem to imply they were about to leave this world for good). The best bet are the plain awful 'value range' with animals stuck with googly eyes, wearing stupid hats at least these are actually a bit so-bad-they're-good funny. The party shop, Pure Party, is full of all the sort of absolutely useless stuff that you had no idea you needed to throw a party until you came here and found it. It's expensive (as you might expect for party supplies which have the lowest value-for-money standing of almost anything you could want to buy) but the staff are cheerful and helpful and the inflatable palm trees did turn a standard BBQ into...well, a BBQ with some inflatable palm trees.

Clinton's Cards in Liverpool One is a place that leaves you with a smile on your face as it is a…read morecelebration of special occasions. I often find these kinds of places to be tacky and annoying as they push needless tat in your face and although there is evidence of that here this place seems to handle itself with a touch more class than some establishments. The prices here are still too high and it is a little annoying to see that establishments can play on special occasions in order to make people part with extortionate amounts of their hard earned money. On the whole this is a well run store which does a better job than many I have seen and this is in no small part due to their plush surroundings in the wonderful Liverpool One.

Everything about this place freaks me out - the name freaks me out and the window display…read moreespecially freaks me out. It's strange what you don't notice when you live somewhere, or accept as being normal when you pass it on a daily basis but it took a friend visiting from Sheffield last week to point out the strange couple who stand in the window of this communion and christening store. Considering communions and christenings are big events in Liverpool, having what looks like a small man with a terminal illness and a girl pointing and laughing at him in your window is an odd choice. Having said this Little Heirs and Graces does a good job at stocking outfits in a range of whitish colours for real little people for these big social events and I can't really knock it for that - doesn't mean the couple in the window don't scare me!

So the mannequins in the window are in communion clobber, and therefore are supposed to be around 7…read moreor 8? But in actual fact, they look about 40 but miniature, with the boy balding and he looks Very creepy. Odd window display. If you can get past that, inside, they sell a huge range of communion dresses and suits and christening outfits... little bootees and fur hats... so cute!! Lots of cream and ribbon and a plethora of accessories: head dresses, tiaras,gloves,bags,shoes in white (of course!) and photo albums to put those photos of that special day! This place just fills me with guilt and dread, with memories of my own communion present...(A Virgin Mary statue...what's wrong with rosary beads?) which the day after my communion, I knocked off my window ledge by accident and her head fell off. Yes, I decapitated the Virgin Mary. I'm going to Hell.

Pronuptia is located in Liverpool City centre's busy Williamson square, adjacent to the queens…read moresquare bus station and close to the train stations. When a friend announced that she was engaged and wanted me to be her bridesmaid it was the first place that came to mind to start trying on wedding and bridesmaid dresses. I phoned the shop, made an appointment, and we went along a few days later. The shop appears to be very small. Menswear is situated downstairs, which I obviously didn't go in. After climbing a steep set of stairs you enter the ladies section. The first thing that strikes you is the sheer amount of dresses lining the walls of the shop. It is a bit daunting at first but the staff are on hand straight away to help you if you need it, or they will leave you to browse if you prefer that. The staff are very friendly and are happy to assist you in picking out dresses to try on. They happily take any dresses you like off the rails and transport them to the fitting rooms to try on when you are ready. The wedding dresses are extremely varied. They have a multitude of styles and colours to suit all tastes. The range of bridesmaid dresses is smaller but again, they have a good range of styles and colours to try on, and are happy to explain the various colour and size options available for each dress. The main fitting area is spacious, with two fitting rooms, very suitable for 2 or more people who are wanting to try dresses on at once. When trying on dresses the staff are extremely helpful and will assist you with getting dresses on and pinning them in place when the size is not suitable. They are able to suggest accessories to go with the dress you try on, such as tiara's and veils, to complete the look. The staff make a fuss of you and really do make the experience enjoyable. They like to chat about the Bride's wedding plans and seem genuinely interested. They certainly don't pressure you into buying something straight away as they understand the importance of finding the perfect dress for you and not rushing into anything. We ended up purchasing the brides dress from there, and as they then offered discount on bridesmaid dresses we went back and bought them too.

myself and my wife purchased a dress from this shop for our wedding. that was the biggest mistake…read moreof our wedding. the untold problems this shop has caused us is unbelievable. when complaining i asked to speak to the owner or a manager, i was told he was busy and didn't want to speak to me. i insisted i spoke to him after an hour of complaining he eventually spoke to me and asked for us to come back to the shop in a few days. as the alterations that we had paid for haddnt been done. we live in bristol so couldn't. but he was adamant that it wasn't his shops fault that the alterations that we had paid for hadn't been done. all i was offered was £20 back. when my wife tried the dress on for the final time, two buttons fell off, the sides were unequally taken in, the length was cut at different lengths. they had put random stitches in silly places bunching the netting. we had to pay over £200 to get the alterations that we had paid them to do luckily we found a great dress maker who undid what Brides of Liverpool ruined and fitted the dress properly. this shop truly gave my wife the worst customer services ever. never never go with them

If you're big on accessories and love to carry the latest fashion bits on your body, then…read moreAccessorize is one of the best places to visit in town to seek exactly what you desire. There are actually two of these branches in the city centre, with the other in Liverpool One - both of which aren't too dissimilar. This shop sells everything you could imagine such as affordable jewellery, scarves and bags. It is a mecca for young girls as one would generally expect and is almost like walking into a sweet shop because everything is appealing, shiny and colourful with no shortage of any particular item. The window displays feature enough to tempt the young at heart! Accessorize is a well stocked and up-to-date shop that is ideal for buying little feminine treats.

I'm not really into fashion jewellery but if when I want something a bit different then I go to…read moreAccessorize. They have a huge range of jewellery which is displayed clearly in sections of themes and colours, making it easy to find the perfect item. They have an excellent range of items for the holidays such as sunglasses, sarongs, hats and bags. They are not the cheapest you will find in the city centre but they are of a good quality and will last longer than cheaper alternatives. The staff are friendly, welcoming and very helpful. They are more than happy to suggest something for you if you are a bit lost in the massive choice available here.