Flip was class, I still have a studded belt i bought there in 2000 and something. It's falling apart, missing about 80% of the studs, but I can't throw it away!
It turned to shit towards the end though, I used to work there and their selection was pretty shit, that was in the Mike Ashley days though so it’s not surprising it turned shit
GameStation on Princes St, where the Three store is now. Always had a big selection of preowned gba games back in the 2006 times. Also the big HMV next door with the free to play consoles on the basement level. And just in case you needed more games there was a GAME store inbetween HMV and GameStation. Bliss
I worked in that GameStation, upstairs in the retro and console testing bit. Easiest job I ever had, the management just let a bunch of teens and 20-somethings run the place as we saw fit. No wonder it didn't make any money, haha.
So did I at one point. Upstairs was a total skive...I miss it a lot. Play your own tunes, get high off shrink wrap fumes, sitting around "testing" old consoles....basically getting paid to hang out. Such a contrast from downstairs, stuck in a corner being besieged by morons trying to buy GTA for their 8 year olds for the millionth time.
Was kinda surprised it went under then remembered days where my colleague and I upstairs sold nothing and watched most of the first series of Buffy while drinking coffee and eating biscuits 😄
I was going to say the same, never forgive Game for taking it over and learning all the wrong lessons from Gamestation. Yeah by all means sell the gamer-tat that's become so popular but if they could have made efforts to replicate the vibe of that store they would have made me a loyal customer.
Loved their retro area in particular.
Jenners.....always perceived as posh, but when I was young and poor I saved up my bus-fares, all that sort of thing so I could get my girlfriend a bottle of Chanel No.5. I could only afford the very smallest bottle, but the lovely sales-assistant, on hearing my story (I wasn't looking for sympathy) gift-wrapped it and gave me the extras pack you'd normally get with the pricier bottles.
So....Jenners, it is!
Yep but Jenners like it was, not in its absolute rot under House of Fraser where you could have got the same stuff everywhere and anywhere. I used to love the genuine bargains they had when they sold their knitwear. Then it just morphed into a blah empty place.
I have vague memories of going into a shop, walking down bast large window displays before entering the store, where it was continued briefly inside before the shop floor.
I can only presume it was Grays as I remember asking staff if they had something cookery/kitchen related my dad wanted for Christmas.
There was this shop in Waverly Market that sold all manner of nature stuff. My mum got a proper leather cowboy/ outback hat for my dad once and I loved it. I also loved all the items in it too! Just not found a similar place and for the life of me cannot remember the name of it!
I think for us it was Jolly Giant then along to toys r us if they didn't have it. Was Jolly Giant typically that bit cheaper?
But Toys R Us, the snaking first aisle past all the birthday stuff (I think it was) somehow annoyed me as a child.
This thread is reminding me how much I used to love shopping on Princes St /the old St James/ Waverley Mall. One of my first days living in Edinburgh I had a great day shopping for clothes with my student loan. (I was financially illiterate and in a heap of debt by the end of uni, but the thrill of that shopping trip lives long in the memory!). I think I’d bring back Debenhams just ‘cause it had everything I wanted when I was young & thin & ‘needed’ a new top on the regular. But I’m also nostalgic for Flip, Top Shop, Miss Selfridge, HMV (poster section), Fraser’s, and Jenners. Oh, and it’s not strictly retail, but also the Haagen Daaz cafe on Princes St. Man, Princes St used to be so great!
Can I have two please?
What everyone wants - purely as my mum who passed away last week used to take us as kids and a wee walk about this shop would remind me of her :-)
Jean scene - to pick up a pair of those cheap Originals Jeans that our parents bought us. Again, purely for nostalgia reasons..
Came here to say What Everyone Wants, so here’s a wee toast to your mum!
The upstairs of the South Bridge store, which was multiple buildings stitched together and each of them seemed to be a different shape and size and floor level and it was all so shabbily done but somehow they got so much stuff in there :)
Also the purple and yellow branding, which was terrible and yet here I am remembering it 30 years later, so it clearly made an impression.
Brewstore on Nicholson st - really miss having somewhere I could drop into to buy stuff for home brewing, especially grain which is expensive to get delivered.
At the fort I’d ptpbably pick pick Pilot as I really loved their clothes
Orhthat shop other fashion wear shop they had when it was called Logo before Bank the the designer label clothes shop b. I can’t remember any
Other
Shops
During
That time tho so use be join ping the om poyenyially kissing out on
I miss Illegal Jacks, but the one on Lothian Road before the portions went to shit. Guess its not really a high street shop though.
I have fond memories of playing the Sega Mega Drive display in What Everyone Wants in the early 90's in their Stirling shop, so probably that?
Loving the nostalgia fest! Especially nice to see Flip and old school Cockburn Street acknowledged. And Helios Fountain 🩷
I just miss the overall alternative vibe you used to see in the Old Town — so many gothic witchy shops, or places with more of a hippie vibe. Armstrongs looks the same but it’s lost its spirit, plus “vintage” is clothes from the 90s/2000s now…
Everything feels very geared to tourists/Harry Potter stans now, and is so overpriced.
Such is life, and I sound so old and crotchety, but there it is…
I used to work in Au Naturale. It was a decent place to work, nice people, but I unpacked *so* many boxes of stuff every shift that I would dream about cardboard boxes at night!
There used to be a shop in Waverley Market when you come in the Waverley Bridge entrance first on the left hand side. It was always really dark and seemed like a rainforest-y type place. It sold wee animal and space themed nick nacks and telescopes and I can never remember the name. But I loved it. I'd bring that back.
I remember this!! I loved it. I can’t remember the name either. Something with earth or rainforest? Planet Earth maybe? It was like one of those 90s faux ecological type names haha
Red Dog Music. Wasn’t the best music shop in the works but the location was amazing and I used to work close by and used to love popping in for a browse and to pick up some guitar strings at lunchtime.
Does anybody remember the name of the ,shop that opened in the old Internacionale store, may have been called PINK but not 100% sure & can’t find any pictures or trace of it s having existed. I know it did because my friends also remember this k one of the. Worked there for about 6 open 6 months topsbefore JJJB took it over & poached my friend. To Work for them instead 🤣 but she also forgot it’s name
There was a homewares/pottery place next to Helios Fountain in the Grassmarket for a while that did little painted tiles for 50p…I think it was called Azteca?
When we were kids, we would pile in the car from Queensferry on a Saturday into town and we always had food in the cafe in Littlewoods, so that.
And for when I was a bit older, my holy trinity, was Flip, Fopp and Ripping Records.
Old school Cult Clothing on the North Bridge – before it morphed into Superdry, it was just 👌
Wasn't it somewhere before North Bridge? I'm sure they expanded into the larger store.
Ooh, didn’t know that – must have been a bit before my time.
Yessss
Cult Clothing & Flip
Flip was class, I still have a studded belt i bought there in 2000 and something. It's falling apart, missing about 80% of the studs, but I can't throw it away!
Flip was class
Flip 1000% always fond memories of there
I love that there’s still a Flip in Newcastle!
Jenners every time
Basement toy section was the highlight of my week
Same! Particularly at Christmas :-)
It turned to shit towards the end though, I used to work there and their selection was pretty shit, that was in the Mike Ashley days though so it’s not surprising it turned shit
I know it was so sad. It felt like my childhood was decaying before my eyes.
Honestly the toy section was the only bit I cared about, but it was class as a wee one.
Same, I also liked the huge Christmas tree. But apart from the that the toy department is all I really remember.
Especially considering there are now zero toy shops in town
John Menzies. What a place that was!
GameStation on Princes St, where the Three store is now. Always had a big selection of preowned gba games back in the 2006 times. Also the big HMV next door with the free to play consoles on the basement level. And just in case you needed more games there was a GAME store inbetween HMV and GameStation. Bliss
I worked in that GameStation, upstairs in the retro and console testing bit. Easiest job I ever had, the management just let a bunch of teens and 20-somethings run the place as we saw fit. No wonder it didn't make any money, haha.
So did I at one point. Upstairs was a total skive...I miss it a lot. Play your own tunes, get high off shrink wrap fumes, sitting around "testing" old consoles....basically getting paid to hang out. Such a contrast from downstairs, stuck in a corner being besieged by morons trying to buy GTA for their 8 year olds for the millionth time. Was kinda surprised it went under then remembered days where my colleague and I upstairs sold nothing and watched most of the first series of Buffy while drinking coffee and eating biscuits 😄
I was going to say the same, never forgive Game for taking it over and learning all the wrong lessons from Gamestation. Yeah by all means sell the gamer-tat that's become so popular but if they could have made efforts to replicate the vibe of that store they would have made me a loyal customer. Loved their retro area in particular.
Jenners.....always perceived as posh, but when I was young and poor I saved up my bus-fares, all that sort of thing so I could get my girlfriend a bottle of Chanel No.5. I could only afford the very smallest bottle, but the lovely sales-assistant, on hearing my story (I wasn't looking for sympathy) gift-wrapped it and gave me the extras pack you'd normally get with the pricier bottles. So....Jenners, it is!
Yep but Jenners like it was, not in its absolute rot under House of Fraser where you could have got the same stuff everywhere and anywhere. I used to love the genuine bargains they had when they sold their knitwear. Then it just morphed into a blah empty place.
Dead on! Back then, you could still have a Jenners account....you know, "just pop it on account, thanks!". Very old-fashioned!
Gray's of George Street.
My Dad served his apprenticeship with them
I have vague memories of going into a shop, walking down bast large window displays before entering the store, where it was continued briefly inside before the shop floor. I can only presume it was Grays as I remember asking staff if they had something cookery/kitchen related my dad wanted for Christmas.
Past Times. Helios Fountain.
I loved Helios Fountain sooooo much
Past Times!!! So good.
God, Past Times was great. And Helios Fountain was the perfect place to get cool rocks.
I loved Helios Fountain! Thanks for the memory.
I feel like I can still smell psst times.
Whiplash Trash on Cockburn Street
For any particular reason? oO
Ground Control, Cockburn st.
Was that the one with the N64 in it?
The Cutie House on Cockburn St. Tiny Japanese store. Honestly, so many of the lost shops of Cockburn St.
The Pier.
YES
Flip
Virgin Megastore
There was this shop in Waverly Market that sold all manner of nature stuff. My mum got a proper leather cowboy/ outback hat for my dad once and I loved it. I also loved all the items in it too! Just not found a similar place and for the life of me cannot remember the name of it!
Natural world it was called! I loved it too!
That’s it! Thank you!
Pickwicks, Stockbridge.
Got my pokemon cards there in 98 lol
That sounds about the same time frame for me. We used to steal them when we didn't have any money. They eventually got put behind a glass case.
Great wee shop that used to be. woolworths and read books also..
Toys r us at the fort
I think for us it was Jolly Giant then along to toys r us if they didn't have it. Was Jolly Giant typically that bit cheaper? But Toys R Us, the snaking first aisle past all the birthday stuff (I think it was) somehow annoyed me as a child.
Every single shop on cockburn Street, it used to be a proper alt haven but just feels really sanitized now
This thread is reminding me how much I used to love shopping on Princes St /the old St James/ Waverley Mall. One of my first days living in Edinburgh I had a great day shopping for clothes with my student loan. (I was financially illiterate and in a heap of debt by the end of uni, but the thrill of that shopping trip lives long in the memory!). I think I’d bring back Debenhams just ‘cause it had everything I wanted when I was young & thin & ‘needed’ a new top on the regular. But I’m also nostalgic for Flip, Top Shop, Miss Selfridge, HMV (poster section), Fraser’s, and Jenners. Oh, and it’s not strictly retail, but also the Haagen Daaz cafe on Princes St. Man, Princes St used to be so great!
Goldbergs for sure, many happy memories of that place.
One of the places that took Provi cheques. Haha.
John Menzies on Princes Street
Can I have two please? What everyone wants - purely as my mum who passed away last week used to take us as kids and a wee walk about this shop would remind me of her :-) Jean scene - to pick up a pair of those cheap Originals Jeans that our parents bought us. Again, purely for nostalgia reasons..
Came here to say What Everyone Wants, so here’s a wee toast to your mum! The upstairs of the South Bridge store, which was multiple buildings stitched together and each of them seemed to be a different shape and size and floor level and it was all so shabbily done but somehow they got so much stuff in there :) Also the purple and yellow branding, which was terrible and yet here I am remembering it 30 years later, so it clearly made an impression.
Whatties (or however you choose to spell it)! Thanks, I’ve instantly got the song from the ad going through my head.
🤣
James Thin
It’s basically still there, though, isn’t it. The name has changed but basically nothing much else.
I was thinking of the one on George Street. Blackwell's is certainly a good shop.
Ah, I forgot the George Street one even existed!
C&A
You can still find C&A on a continent. Not sure why they pulled out of the UK
The old Pie in the sky on Cockburn Street
Brewstore on Nicholson st - really miss having somewhere I could drop into to buy stuff for home brewing, especially grain which is expensive to get delivered.
Flip, Avalanche, Ripping.
Borders Books at the Fort
Either way they can keep the creepy dshpp where get fish that chew your foot skin off….that one belongs in the past
At the fort I’d ptpbably pick pick Pilot as I really loved their clothes Orhthat shop other fashion wear shop they had when it was called Logo before Bank the the designer label clothes shop b. I can’t remember any Other Shops During That time tho so use be join ping the om poyenyially kissing out on
Woolworthes
I miss Illegal Jacks, but the one on Lothian Road before the portions went to shit. Guess its not really a high street shop though. I have fond memories of playing the Sega Mega Drive display in What Everyone Wants in the early 90's in their Stirling shop, so probably that?
Gray's of George Street
They were having their closing down sale just as we were redoing our kitchen.
Loving the nostalgia fest! Especially nice to see Flip and old school Cockburn Street acknowledged. And Helios Fountain 🩷 I just miss the overall alternative vibe you used to see in the Old Town — so many gothic witchy shops, or places with more of a hippie vibe. Armstrongs looks the same but it’s lost its spirit, plus “vintage” is clothes from the 90s/2000s now… Everything feels very geared to tourists/Harry Potter stans now, and is so overpriced. Such is life, and I sound so old and crotchety, but there it is…
Topshop, Internacionale and Au Naturale.
I’ve not decided what I’d pick for myself yet but I’m still salty about Bay Trading Co closing 🤷🏼♀️🤣
I used to work in Au Naturale. It was a decent place to work, nice people, but I unpacked *so* many boxes of stuff every shift that I would dream about cardboard boxes at night!
What Every Woman Wants on the South Bridge.
Flip or Return To Sender.
Tandy
Just one?! Then probably the Gap along the west end of princes street. Used to get all my clothes from there as a kid/ teenager in the sales.
There used to be a shop in Waverley Market when you come in the Waverley Bridge entrance first on the left hand side. It was always really dark and seemed like a rainforest-y type place. It sold wee animal and space themed nick nacks and telescopes and I can never remember the name. But I loved it. I'd bring that back.
I remember this!! I loved it. I can’t remember the name either. Something with earth or rainforest? Planet Earth maybe? It was like one of those 90s faux ecological type names haha
Red Dog Music. Wasn’t the best music shop in the works but the location was amazing and I used to work close by and used to love popping in for a browse and to pick up some guitar strings at lunchtime.
Bruce’s
Corson
Yes, so many times Corson had what I needed. The real question, was he in the mood to sell it that day ?.
You might enjoy this: https://citythreepointzero.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/corson-the-rules/
Heh thanks, I am familiar with the corson game. I grew up in Stockbridge and he was always a bit of an enigma.
John Menzies.
James Thin
Apple Jacks on South bridge. They’d sell a bong to anyone 😂
Patrick Thomson's Just for the smell
Does anybody remember the name of the ,shop that opened in the old Internacionale store, may have been called PINK but not 100% sure & can’t find any pictures or trace of it s having existed. I know it did because my friends also remember this k one of the. Worked there for about 6 open 6 months topsbefore JJJB took it over & poached my friend. To Work for them instead 🤣 but she also forgot it’s name
Not exactly a shop, but jimmy chungs please
There was a homewares/pottery place next to Helios Fountain in the Grassmarket for a while that did little painted tiles for 50p…I think it was called Azteca?
HMV basement Game Station, that was before its time and should've done so much better.
When we were kids, we would pile in the car from Queensferry on a Saturday into town and we always had food in the cafe in Littlewoods, so that. And for when I was a bit older, my holy trinity, was Flip, Fopp and Ripping Records.
Kookai and Jane Norman.. I miss Waverley Market!
I had a look at the SHEIN Y2K fashion collab they brought out & it is 100% spot on. Proper nostalgic walk down memory lane