A Shopping Trip to Bristol
We’re very lucky in Bristol to have a massive selection of second hand shops (both vintage or charity), but despite living here for almost 4 years in total, I still am pretty clueless about where to go. I hopped on a bus, and headed up to Gloucester Road first of all.
Gloucester Road
Gloucester Road is a great place for independent shops, and it has so many charity shops along it too. Within a few minutes walk of each other, you have St Peters Hospice (which raises money for the only adult hospice in the Bristol area), Cancer Research and Marie Curie Cancer Care. Recently, CLIC Sargent opened a shop just along from these which is specifically a vintage charity shop. I’m not sure how exactly a vintage charity shop differs to the usual type, but vintage is also matter of what Urban Outfitters classes as “Urban renewal” this week. Theres also a Amnesty International bookshop - I can never resist a charity bookshop!
Just down the road is RePsycho, a vintage and retro shop. This tiny shop is crammed with mens and womens clothing – theres barely any room to move! This means that there’s the chance of finding a hidden gem, but when I visited there was quite a few people in there so it felt a bit claustrophobic. Apparently they also hire out party wear and have a music exchange in the basement – though, I couldn’t actually see where those were!
Further down, past the railway bridge, is my new favourite shop, Cox and Baloney Vintage Boutique. I’m a little bit in love with this shop I think. On one side, theres a little tea room, with gorgeous china for sale, and on the other, different rooms full of clothing, books, things for the home and even a dressmaker in the basement! Definitely one to visit again soon.
The Love Gloucester Road website has more information about some of the shops that are along here, but I think the best way to find out about them is to just wander down there yourself!
Clifton Village
Clifton Village is often the first place people mention when looking for good charity shops. The Oxfam shop on Regent Street tends to be my first stop because they usually have a great selection. The Save the Children shop just along the road, also, has great choice, although whenever I’ve been there’s still so many bags of donations to be sorted through you get the feeling the best stuff is being kept from you. Focus on the Past is an antiques centre where different dealers have set up a co-operative to sell more homeware based items. If you’re still stuck and need further guidance, Clifton Online has a list of charity shops in the BS8 area.
Park Street
Walking towards the town centre from the Village will usually lead you along Park Street. Theres not many charity shops along this stretch, with just the Oxfam bookshop at the top of the hill. Being so close to the University of Bristol, this is a great book shop for hunting down non-fiction books. Walking down the hill, you’ll come to Uncle Sams American Vintage Clothing. I’d love to tell you more about this shop, but in the 5 years I’ve been visiting Bristol, I think I’ve only seen this shop open once! The one time I did go in though, they had a great selection of vintage clothing, mostly mens clothing, but they had some gorgeous shoes and a pair of roller boots that I really wish I’d bought. Further down, BS8 is a huge shop on three floors made up of different sellers – my favourite has to be the little gift shop at the front of the basement! Motel is a familiar name to quite a few people because of the success of their clothing in places like Topshop, but the Bristol store also sells vintage accessories, with a great collection of shoes and bags.
The Lanes
The Lanes started off a few years ago just as a bowling alley with a bar, but its expanding all the time. Upstairs, you’ll find the Rock and Bowl Motel and downstairs, Gimme Shelter vintage boutique. Gimme Shelter also organises a vintage fair ever month at the Lanes, bringing together some of the best vintage shops around Bristol. If you’re more Bath based, then later this month, “Its Darling!” vintage and artisan fair will be held in the Friends Meeting House.
Too busy to get out to the shops, or are you like me, and never seem to find those amazing bargains your friends always seem to come away with? Go online! St Peters Hospice is the only Bristol based charity I know (please correct me if I’m wrong!) that also sells items on eBay that would normally go into the shops. This is a fab idea because it allows people all around the country to get in on a great bargain, and help a great charity. Oxfam is another charity who has taken similar initiative and does the same sort of thing with their second-hand store.
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hi guys, a lot of people seem to miss out on the totally fantastic St Peter’s Hospice on St Michaels Hill. The clothes and other items for sale in this shop are amazing!! and staff are very friendly and helpful too. The shop itself is setback, next to the flower shop and kinda diagonally opposite the co-op. This place is a real gem in the city and is definately worth a visit a couple of times a week new bargains are in all the time!