Edinburgh shopping advice

[TintinATL]

I'm going to be visiting Scotland this summer, primarily in Edinburgh, but also Dundee, St. Andrews, and possibly the western isles. Any recommendations for what to shop for and where?

 

[jjgold]

When in Edinburgh one MUST do pub crawls!

 

[ysc]

I live in St As and spend a lot of time in Edinburgh and Dundee, so if you post more specifically what sort of thing you are looking for I can give you some more in depth advice, but in general:

St Andrews has golf shops, shops selling clothing for golf and that is pretty much it as far as men's clothing goes. Their is a Johnston's of Elgin which sells some decent made in Scotland (woven and made in Scotland, the cashmere is sourced from china) cashmere and wool knitwear, which is pretty cheap on sale (the sale may be over).

Dundee is a bit of a hole to be honest, there may be some nice shops there, but if there are I have never found them. There is a Zara and a Slater's Mens Wear (cheap, mostly nasty suits)

Edinburgh has a pretty good selection of shops from Harvey Nichols and a few similar priced shops on down. Harvey Nic's is on St Andrews Square, and there are a few other designery shops like Armani near it, most of the other high end shops are along Georges street with a few on Princes street along with typical high street shops. There are cheaper/more street wear type shops going down along Clerk Street and a few indie/vintage shops also.

 

[TintinATL]

Thanks, this is a great help. I'm mostly interested in traditional menswear, perhaps with a bit of a twist (e.g. Paul Smith). Very interested in good shoes, shirts, fairisle sweaters, cashmere and woolens, accessories. Not a golfer, not really looking for "designer" stuff, really interested in whatever one might find in Scotland that would not be easily found in the USA.

 

[gnatty8]

OK, don't take offense at what I say here, but with everything there is to see in Edinburgh, shopping should be the last thing on your mind..

 

[ysc]

As Gnatty 8 says you should be doing a bit of sight seeing clearly.
Paul Smith pretty much means Harvey Nichols I think, although Jenners may carry some, it's on Princes street a couple of blocks down from the main train station on the opposite site of the road.

If you are looking for stuff you won't find in the US, I don't know that there is that much, there are tons of "Scottish shops" but most of them are a horrendous rip off/tourist traps.

George Street and a few of the roads running of it are the place to go, there are a number of less touristy shops specialising in cashmere etc. and a few UK only traditional men's shops like Crombie, and there is an Ede & Ravenscroft near by.

If you are not well versed in UK shopping a few words of warning, Ausin Reed, traditionally solid mens wear seems to have slipped a bit, everything they sell is a bit crappy at the moment.
Steer clear of "Jack Wills" and "Aubin & Wills" which both have a presence on George Street and have window displays which are tempting to the uninitiated, they are something like a cross between A&F and RL, and have rather unfortunate associations in the UK, also pretty overpriced for the quality of the goods.

Have fun in Edinburgh, its a great city, if your wallet is up to it a meal at "The Witchery" is fun, the food is probably not quite worth the price but the building is great (book well ahead of time), also ate in a place called "Iris" not long ago that was quite reasonably priced and was great.

 

[TintinATL]

Thank you again. Full disclosure: I grew up in Edinburgh, lived there until I was 18 and have visited many times since. BUT I have not been back there for about 10 years, and not since I discovered the importance (and pleasure) of dressing well.

So, while all that the city has to offer in terms of culture and recreation will be uppermost in my mind, what I really need(ed) help with is the shopping side of things!

Thanks for all the recommendations and for any more that may be forthcoming.

 

[TintinATL]

Thanks for the suggestion of The Witchery! I mentioned it to my brother, who has had occasion to visit Edinburgh more recently than I have. He went quiet for a moment and then said reverentially, "oh, yes, it's wonderful"...

Originally Posted by youngscientist

Have fun in Edinburgh, its a great city, if your wallet is up to it a meal at "The Witchery" is fun, the food is probably not quite worth the price but the building is great (book well ahead of time), also ate in a place called "Iris" not long ago that was quite reasonably priced and was great.

 

[SirWilliam]

I have not done a lot of shopping in Edinburgh but if you go definitely stop by the department store called Jenners on Princes Street.

It is referred to as the Harrods of the North and its pretty good place to stock up on some Pringle and you can find some pretty good deals designer brands during their Summer sale.

 

[Tangfastic]

There's a tourist tat shop called 'Thistle do nicely' which is worth visiting just to pay homage to perhaps the most audaciously brilliant use of punnage in a shop name in Scotland.

 

[il vecchio]

...

 

[il vecchio]

Originally Posted by SirWilliam

I have not done a lot of shopping in Edinburgh but if you go definitely stop by the department store called Jenners on Princes Street.

It is referred to as the Harrods of the North and its pretty good place to stock up on some Pringle and you can find some pretty good deals designer brands during their Summer sale.
Its Harrods of the north image is long gone. It os now part of a down-market retail chain - Frasrers.
Edinburgh is a shopping wilderness full of tartan shops and cut price low quality cashmere. - all tourist trash.

Best to stick to cultural historic stuff - the city is really interesting in spite of the socialist local authority's best attempts to ruin it.

 

[coachvu]

There is a place called Golf St. Andrews next to the 18th green in St. Andrews that has lots of mens clothing. They also have great sales and carry many Johnstons of Elgin products. That's really the only place I can think of in St. Andrews. Considering how cheap the pound is, I would definitely look for something from Johnstons.

 

[Master-Classter]

I spent about a week there last year during the Fringe festival... so so much to see and do. Although I did actually get in some shopping. I found some really nice stuff at great prices at this shop Walker Slater http://www.walkerslater.com/. Highly recommend. Also, they have some nice silk knit ties right at the register too. All along Victoria street there are some nice shops, but overall it's just a really beautiful and old city. Not too much in the way of shopping. Try to focus on getting some Scotch and Cashmere, although it's pretty touristy so it's not particularly cheap.