Birmingham Shopping Guide

When it comes to finding seeking out the best places to shop in big cities, word of mouth is usually your most reliable source, so if you have just arrived in Birmingham, I am going to make your life a lot easier by telling you what would probably take you a year to discover. Birmingham is not lacking in good shops, however they are scattered all over the city and therefore there is a common misconception that there is no life outside the Bullring. There is! And here’s where you can find it:

COW Vintage, Digbeth: Grunge clobber from the 90s, paisley dresses form the 60s or spandex from the 80s- you are in for a treat and whichever fashion era is currently floating your boat you are bound to leave this shop satisfied. But give yourself at least an hour to find your way in and back out again. Birmingham’s biggest and most notorious fashion warehouse also has sister a warehouse in both Leeds Nottingham and Manchester and its enormity above anything else is what makes it so great for vintage clobber. Brilliant for vintage and retro fashion of any sort the warehouse is packed full of vintage dresses, belts and one off hand-made pieces. This place is a reliable haven for vintage fashion lovers all year round with wonderfully cheap boots, Barbour jackets and knitwear for the winter and mountains of jumpsuits, t-shirts and leggings for you to rifle through in the summer. Deliveries tend to be on a Tuesday so get down there at the beginning of the week to get the good stuff first. Unlike most vintage shops Cow has an exchange policy so keep your receipt in case you change your mind! COW is open 10-6pm Monday to Saturday and 11-5pm Sunday.

Yo Yo, 7 Ethel Street, Birmingham City Centre: Probably one of Birmingham’s longest running Vintage Shops. Small but crammed full with handbags shoes scarves and kitschy accessories it is a great place to secretly spice up an outfit you’ve bought from a high street store. Worth checking regularly for good steals because although it is small the stock is rare and dates back to the sixties. Yo Yo is open Monday to Saturday 10-6pm and Sundays 12-4pm, but don’t swear by this as they don’t.

Topshop, The Bullring: Topshop is proof that you can get high fashion clothes on the street, and that is why although an obvious choice it belongs on this list. It is the other flagship store in the UK therefore stocks all the collections the Oxford Circus Flagship stocks, on a smaller scale but still a blessing. Rare, Boutique and Unique are all on the second floor and with your 10% student discount this shop is an asset to Birmingham’s City Centre. Bullring opening times apply.

Urban Village, The Custard Factory: This is the best vintage clothing shop in the West Midlands. Urban Village hasn’t starting charging designer prices for vintage clothes like a lot of other outlets in the uk and the prices are beyond reasonable. This is vintage of the finest quality with absolutely no mass produced t shirts or rubbish and really helpful staff and clothes for both men and women. This is so good I almost didn’t share it with you. Open from

Vintage Fare, The Hare and Hounds: This only happens once a month but is well worth a visit as it’s a collection of all the vintage shops and wholesalers in the area who each have separate stalls. You can haggle with them as well which you can’t necessarily do in the shops. The vintage fare fills up most of the downstairs of the pub so you can have a drink whilst you peruse your way through rails and rails of vintage pieces at your leisure. No fitting rooms of course so serious shoppers will just have to make do with the toilets!

Atoo: If you are a young man who likes to spend a bit of money on his appearance then Atoo is money well spent. Although a bit too trendy for its own good, when it comes to men’s shops in Birmingham Atoo is its best kept secret with exclusive ranges from

Candy Store, The Burlington Arcade: Notorious for having customers such as Rihanna and Nelly this boutique is for serious skate and urban wear.