I'm sure that the name of this business has more to do with clothing fastenings than it does the…read morelegal intoxicant that was broadly used, particularly in gay nightclubs, across the UK back in the 80's! Ah, the heady smell of Amyl Nitrate! Nasty! There's something I'm less sure about... Does Beverley, the owner, know about this other meaning? I guess not, but I can imagine that she'd find it amusing, like myself. Beverley Soar is as laid back as any of the business owners on Pontcanna Street., and she's got a sense of humour. When I called in recently she was inspecting the damage done to the huge plate glass window that fronts the shop. The phantom tagger had paid her, (and everyone else down the street), a visit, leaving their tag, or signature mark, etched in the glass. The damage to all was going to cost the insurers a small fortune. Beverley was taking it in her stride, and seemed surprisingly up-beat, considering the disruption and mess that the repair would cause. She owns a particularly beautiful shop with some pretty expensive stock.... clothes by Grea, Annette Gortz, Hebbeding, Indies, Krines, Ischiko, Sonja Marohn and Oska... and I haven't met a tradesman yet that doesn't move everything so that you can't find it, and leave dusty footprints in the carpet! I guess she just reconciles herself with the knowledge that if it needs to be done, it needs to be done, and that's that! I like Beverley as much as I like her shop. The street wouldn't be the same without them both. With customers ranging from their mid thirties, up into their nineties, (her oldest customer is a very well dressed 96 year old, who has lost none of her sophistication and sartorial taste with the passage of time), Poppers is responsible for some of the best dressed women in Cardiff!

I ventured into poppers rather hesitantly as I thought the prices would be way out of my league!…read moreAlthough not exactly cheap, the prices weren't to bad, I saw a stunning black dress for £125 (it could have been worse)! Poppers is probably more suitable for 45+ (I won't be falling into that category for a long while yet), but it did have some very stylish numbers and on the sales rack I spotted a rather nice urban style top reduced to £20 (not bad)! Poppers also stocks a small range of jewellery and bags but at £54 for a necklace, it certainly isn't cheap!

Great little hidden gem, in Pontypridd. Caprice provides high quality clothes and accessories with…read moreall the latest styles and designers. It's only a small shop but does provide a wide range to choose from althoug the prices can be quite large you do get your money's wroth. :)

I wish I'd known about this shop before my 6th Form Leavers Ball. I didn't go because I knew…read morewhatever dress I wore wouldn't compare to the dress I'd had made for my Year 11 Prom. If I'd discovered this shop before, I'd definitely have gone. This shop sells the most beautiful gowns I've ever seen, and the ones on display in the window change weekly and they're always even lovelier than the ones they replace. They also sell gowns from a size 2 to a size 16, which is a fantastic range, and definitely something I could have done with, having really struggled to find a dress in my size. There are other clothes on sale here besides gowns, and they are just as lovely. The lady who manages the store is really helpful, too, and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of her stock which is rare. This shop makes me want to marry a really rich man so that I can go to fancy balls and dinners and wear every single gown from this shop.

Went to Luxor with my best friend, staff amazing with supporting you with what will suit you,…read moreclothes for lots of occasions, we bought some amazing clothes, we are very happy with all we bought. Staff very helpful and kind as usual we are looking forward to our next visit to the store. Thank you Heather and Kavian we love all the new stock keep up the good work making us look lovely at our events. Thank you Lucie and Ceri

I love Noa Noa, and have bought plenty of eveningwear and sweet summer outfits from them. They are…read morehard to resist! Producing individually designed, well made clothes at exceptionally good prices compared to the commensurate offerings from the top end of the clothing chain shops, this Scandinavian shop has my loyalty! I have to admit that I often wait for the sales. They really know how to shift stock fast to make way for the new season. Incredible bargains are their only ploy, which suits me down to the ground!

The problem with me reviewing this place is that I'm not really the target market. I could really…read moresee that from the window display but I thought I should give it a go. In case you are wondering why I would be so foolish, I have my cheerleading ball coming up soon. I had found a dress but then it was sold out of my size. In desperation (after looking at many MANY dresses on websites and driving my housemates to distraction) I turned to the shops I hadn't visited before. The staff were really lovely, though none of them seemed genuinely pleased to help me - this is probably because they knew that I wouldn't buy anything... The fact is, though, that I don't think my mother or grannie would shop here...

Bryls Boutique is a surprising little addition to the high street…read more More a shop for my mum (that said I do often steal her clothes) there are some real gems and bargains here. My has come back from shopping trips red in the face and busting at the seams to show me bargains and beautiful finds she's acquired. I like the atmosphere of the shop, it seems like you could spend days on end sifting through the rails and bespoke jewlry sniffing out a bargain. It can be a little pricey though.

Byrl's Boutique is a charming shop on Barry High Street that offers a range of clothing and…read moreaccessories from brands like Ted Baker, French Connection, Ugg, and BiBi. I think Bryl's is one of the better women's clothing boutiques on this road - the selection is more contemporary, while the shop layout is clean and well-organised, enabling an enjoyable shopping experience for ladies with a range of tastes and budgets (if you grab a sale item, that is - the prices here are on the higher end of the spectrum, but I think you get what you pay for). The ladies who man the shop are helpful, but equally happy to let you browse without pestering you every five minutes.

She Wears It Well is a small boutique located on Barry High Street that offers a range of women's…read moreclothing, shoes and accessories for a more mature generation of women. Although it's not my taste, the clothing appears to be well-made and reasonably priced. However, handbags appear to be the main draw here, with a range of styles and colours to suit a selection of tastes. She Wears It Well appears to have most of their autumn/winter items on display now, which include scarves, tights, hats and faux fur boots. Another reminder that summer is sadly over. Weirdly, She Wears It Well carries a range of Monsoon toiletries, which may prove helpful for devotees who can't make it to the Big Smoke. The shop assistant was incredibly cheerful, despite the disgusting Welsh weather that we come to expect in October. As much as I hate the seasons here sometimes, it does prove to be a fantastic conversation starting point, so for that I am grateful.

The Queen B is run by very glamorous young women who watch you with beady eyes as you touch their…read moreprecious merchandise. It's full of shoes, bags and accessories (incidentally, my favourite things in the world... and now you know) It's very glam without being garish and some of the wedges are so delicious you have to fight the urge to drool, but the atmosphere is a little frotsy. I want to go back there and have my pretty woman moment... "You work on commission right? Big mistake... HUGE..."

Unlike Tiffany, I'm not a fan of this shop at all. The products that they have to sell I think are…read moregarish and overpriced. I've been in this shop a couple of times now and have yet to see anything that I would consider buying for myself. However, I know the products, though not to my taste, are always likely to be to someone else's. But the staff are so odd that I think they'd put off most people from any real purchases. I think that 'The Queen B' says it all really. This shop is for women who think it's named after them. And unfortunately it's run by them too.

From the outside this shop is slightly unforgiving. The mood is certainly dark and gothic, with a…read morewall of old fashioned sewing machines right inside the window that stretched from floor to ceiling. You can't even see any of the clothes through the window, and have to go inside to see what they actually sell. Above the door is a skull and antlers in a strange pagan kind of welcome. Once inside, it's all a little bit confusing, because this shop really isn't anything like anything else on the high street. Think Topshop meets Blue Banana and you might almost be there. The outside theme of the brooding continues in the clothes, and you imagine that their target audience are people who write late-night poetry and really like Twilight. An extremely interesting shop from the outside, but sadly the products inside do not quite live up to the hype.

Love all saints clothing. Wanted to buy a leather jacket. Went to sale rack bc closest to stairs…read moreand had leather jackets. Multiple sales folks kept telling me to follow them to other leather jackets area. Brought me other ones and i explained i liked a style they brought others from full price rack. "But i like this one do you have in large?" "No follow me over here" (I didn't because was still looking) "How about this brown one we have more follow me over here" . (Still looking) Ok fine. "I think i like this one." Salesperson "Follow me over here" I get it if i liked. Just felt so upsold and high pressure sales force rather than enjoying browsing. I guess one could argue "being helpful" or "just showing you others" but it was oddly too quick to pull me from one rack. "These are too tight" "no they stretch" "i like the style no collar over here" "no these will have your size". I guess i didnt feel like pushing back. I guess a mgr would say "thats what i want, upsell them " But I went and looked at ones i wanted and got out to buy online. Oddly friend shopping downstairs in woman's said same and she left earlier. "They were too pushy" "I thought it was just me" I say bc mgr of shop should tell sales force to dial back the high pressure sales. Its too obvious. Make someone happy to browse vs high pressure sell and ill return for more sakes vs one hard sell. But hey you folks know your business. In fairness, maybe clear im a tourist here or maybe I'm not the target audience. Ill just buy online though so they lost a sale of leather jacket 200-350 and shirt i wanted (99). So tried them on, got my size and left bc i didn't want to have to feel passive aggressive upsell. Writing bc i like your stuff.

Xantippe (try saying that when you've had a few) is a boutique furniture and gift shop that…read morespecializes in all things French. Style wise I'd say this is a place for the ladies as I'm not sure how many men would be keen on the delicate hand painted book cases and pink garden chairs. That aside, if the furniture isn't to your taste then there is a huge selection of gifts for the women in your life. Expect beautiful little china tea cups, candles and hand woven baskets, (perfect for storing bottles of vin!) It's a little on the twee/kitch side but that's exactly my style so you won't find me complaining. If you're not into it then that's a whole other kettle of poissons.

Devon, when I lived there about ten years ago, used to be awash with shops that sell the kind of…read morestuff that Xantippe specialise in... but their prices were never quite so steep! I guess there's been a fair few price hikes in the last ten years, but I'm still prone to a stiff intake of breath when I pick up a mug, albeit a very nice mug, and see that it costs somewhere around the £12 mark! i am also astonished by the cost of butter dishes! Did you know that you can pay as much as £40 for a butter dish...? yes, that's right, a butter dish! And that's on eBay. My quest, whilst not being of the Holy Grail epic proportions quite yet, has seen me visit practically every interior design, kitchenware, and charity shop in Cardiff and surrounding area over the last six months, and so desperate am I to find one soon that I have resorted to looking on-line. I peeled through in excess of twenty pages of dishes the other day, and didn't find one that I was suitably impressed by... well, I did actually, but I am unwilling to pay £40 for it! Sadly, Xantippe also didn't offer me a solution to my perpetual search either! But it did provide me with a half hours worth of extremely contented browsing. This is a lovely shop, that sells a lot of rusticana... delightful!