Everywhere you look in Jones Bootmaker, you can see leather. That's what they do, you see…read more Aside from stocking famous brands like Cat and Ted Baker, this serious shoe shop stocks a massive selection of leather shoes and boots. In fact, it's so much about the leather that they only carry four or five trainers for boys. Jones Bootmaker also has a great range of shoe care products behind the counter. If you want to tenderly care for your shoes then they have brushes, polishes and shoe horns. Who would ever want to buy a wooden thing shaped like a foot that you put in a shoe to help it keep its shape? Is this the kind of thing a boy will never understand?

My wife and I visited Salford quays outlet shopping centre yesterday 1st December 2023…read more We haven't been there since last year and we were shocked to find how poor the outlet has become Nearly all of the upstairs shops had gone! It was like a ghost town. It was also very cold (no heating) probably couldn't afford to put any on ! We won't be visiting again as they are still charging for parking which seems stupid when it's in such a decline. Something needs to be done quickley or I can see it closing down.

The Lowry Outlet is just ok its nothing that special apart from a couple of decent stores like the…read moreGAP outlet and a few others, but it's only really kept open by the Vue Cinemas and the very busy Costa Coffee, There is also a couple of chain restaurants which include Harvester, Pizza Express, Cafe Rouge, Lime Bar and the recently opened Nandos. It does have a lot of potential if it had the right stores in there. Its ok for a browse through if youre around the area or in Media City UK though. Its also very easy to get to from the City Centre with a direct tram heading straight towards to Media City UK.

This is the discount version of the famous Manchester store back in the city centre. The kind of…read moreshop I don't really contemplate entering (for I am not a well paid footballer) but also they don't really sell the types of clothes I usually wear (I do smart, under duress, but a couple of times a year). However I never say never and now again something will catch my eye and my brains tells me That would look great on you on holiday. Usually it's right, but then I never end up wearing it again following that one time in a restaurant, near a beach, in somewhere hot (a white linen shirt, worn once stands testament to that). Still, there are some remarkable discounts to be had here. You can literally 'save' hundreds of pounds such are the mark downs on many items. Usually however, the items at such discounted prices have a reason for being so: they tend to be the wrong end of garish and flamboyant and 12 sizes too large. But persevere and you just might grab an absolute gem for a very good price. I think the Women's department (I say department, but it's just a large open plan one floor shop) is more represented than the Men's but there's not much in them. Look out for a good price on shoes too.

This M&S Outlet store is certainly not the best or most exciting of stores from the Marks and…read moreSpencer brand, it is an Outlet store which mainly gets rid of old, out of fashion clothing which even the bigger stores wouldn't sell anymore, and often might have put on sale with no success in the past, still around sale prices. This is a slightly small branch in the Lowry Outlet in Manchester, they do seem to have made effort to improve it slightly such as with a nicer, slightly more modern and welcoming sign, and I presume this is a new addition for this store especially since it was last reviewed in what is nearly four full years ago. The staff didn't seem to stand out in anyway. I don't normally like Outlet stores and most of the fashion here was nothing great and more out of date rather than modern, which people would want to wear and the prices were just average sale prices and didn't stand out in particular, so I sadly feel this store does deserve a single one star rating.

Peddlers of pricey clothing with a penchant for food porn…read more The rise of supermarket clothing and budget store Primark has seen the once untouchable snobbery and borefest that is the mighty M&S slip sharply from it's perch. The elderly won't be around forever you know! Where's Take That when you need them?

There are stores that have a strong identity and style and others that aim to appeal to everyone by…read morestocking a bit of everything. One glance at their confused window displays reinforces that Moda In Pelle fall firmly into the latter camp. There's no attempt to woo new customers with eye-catching graphics or cool displays, just simple rows of heels and sparkly shoes on the bottom row, ankle boots on the middle row and knee high leather, suede and jewelled boots on the top two rows. This might work if only some of the shoes and boots in the window weren't so damn ugly! Inside the shop is just as bad with radically different styles rubbing soles next to each other. I actually spotted a fabulous pair of white boots with tasteful silver studs but I wasn't going to shell out £120 on them when they were next to boots I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy! To quote teachers across the world: Must Try Harder!

You'll notice a lot of my reviews are focussing on sales at the moment... well, tis the season, and…read moreon (at the time of typing) this, the Monday that is supposed to be the most depressing Monday of the year (first bills after the festive period and what-not), what better to bring cheer to yourself (girls) or any female you know than a nice pair of footpieces. Yes, there is nothing that quite lifts the spirit like a new pair of shoes, and I have to say, Moda in Pelle has one of the best sales I've seen in a long time. A shy and retiring little boutique amongst the smaller Market Street shops, this branch just off St Ann's Square is a right little gem. And as for those reductions, well, you can't argue with a stunning pair of bright red wedge sandals reduced from £80 to £25. Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you, and it'd be rude not to grab them - after all, thinking of that summer holiday is probably keeping you going right now... I've always found the staff in Moda in Pelle very friendly and helpful, and they give you space to browse. There's a great range of shoes on offer too, from the aforementioned wedges (and plenty of them... I love my summer wedges, so this is a must for me) to Ugg-esque Edhas and Dais and biker boots, fancy courts and pretty pumps to a lovely variety of handbags. To me it feels like a nice little halfway point between the ostentatious self-worth of Kurt Geiger and the cheerful high street demeanour of Office and Faith. If you're after a little treat in the sale, don't miss this one out.

Clarks! Who didn't love using the strange foot-measuring machine as a kid? What little girl didn't…read morewant a pair of Princess Magic Steps with the key in the sole? The joy of the foot-measuring machine was that slight nervous anticipation when you thought it could potentially squash your foot but it stops just short. Parents trusted Clarks because they seemed very focussed on ensuring their children's feet weren't going to be uncomfortable or deformed due to shoes. They wouldn't sell you anything just for the sake of making a sale, they want to sell you the RIGHT shoes. And the left ones too for that matter. Hehe. So you'll never get a pair of foot-massacring party heels at Clarks, so what? That ain't the Clarks way. It's cosy and comfy feet in their book, and anything with a heel has a heck of a lot of cushioning, and that heel sure as hell won't be a stiletto. It'll be something chunky, like in the 60s. Clarks very handily categorises its shoes via function, such as workwear, smart, casual, college and so on. You know you're getting quality, with their soft leather, well-fitting footwear. And they even do half sizes as standard. Do you know how many shops just refuse to acknowledge that half sizes exist? Tons. It might be sensible, but Clarks doesn't have to be boring. They've always catered to their audience while maintaining a subtle plateau of innovation, and that's what we love about them. When I worked at Barratt's I used to gaze longingly at the Clarks a few shops down. There's a shoe shop where people care about feet, I thought, explaining for the fiftieth time that day to a customer that we didn't do half sizes. Clarks has proved itself recession-proof, and it might just be time-proof too.

This is Manchester's Clarks store, yes they is some in smaller towns like Bury and Oldham however…read morethis one is in the city centre, and is much better than my local one, which is quite small and located opposite Heaton Park in the Sainsbury's They have a private section for kids upstairs, which gives you that little bit more of peace when looking for shoes. Both sections are a decent size Most Clarks' shoes are stocked here however they is a selection avaliable on the website to order in. The staff seemed quite nice and helpful. Unfortunatly I had to leave with no shoes and none being right for me due to feet problems and they was nothing on the website. This is a nice store and I prefer the in store experiance rather than online especially for shoes and it looks like I am going to have to kiss Clarks' goodbye. 3 stars for the good size of the store and staff, I can't give more due to the price of some shoes and they could definitley be more selection, in colours for example other than laces shoes, which I don't like.