Aspecto

With a bright lime green Aspecto sign it’s kind of hard to miss this store even though it’s pretty dark and small.
The Y-​3 Yamamoto range is also what drew me to this store as I haven’t seen it available in many areas around Leeds despite seeing lots of people wearing Y-​3 items!
The staff are polite, the shop has some nice items and there are many sales.

Aspecto Aspecto Aspecto. Smack bang in the middle of Briggate, it’s nice to see one of the more independent retail units amidst the large chain stores that dominate the high street. The first thing that attracts you about Aspecto is the window display which showcases a wide range of styles and brands of footwear. There still aren’t many places you can buy the Y-​3 Yamamoto range on the high street, and as a sucker for something that has the potential to be one of the minority rather than what EVERYONE is wearing, Aspecto appeals in this area. Footwear circles around the store, on what I guess is a display shelf, and halts at a full wall display at the back of the store. The staff are on commission, which means you get the usual «can I help you?» when you stay more than 20 seconds at a pair of shoes, but they’re all well mannered folk, and seem willing to help or assist on choices and trying on of shoes. I admire the patience of the guy who I sent up and down that ladder more times than I care to cringe at over the perfect pair of Timberlands. The glass pane in the middle of the floor still gives me the icks, but it’s a good reminder that there’s a lower ground level, with cool denim wear and other types of clothing, Adidas Originals, G-​Star, Carhartt and sturdy Belstaff to name but a few. Stock rotation is fairly good, and there’s always something new to poke at every time you go in. The time Aspecto really comes into it’s own is sale season, I’ve seen Timberlands drop to the £70 mark, and I was lusting after a G-​Star cardigan that when the sales arrived saw a £60 drop in price. Good place to nosey at if you want the more designer side of casual footwear, always worth exploring the über cool basement.

Aspecto is a ‘nice’ shop. Slapped next to Harvey Nics, it must be a requirement. It looks nice from the outside, it looks nice on the inside, the people who work in there look and are nice. Nice nice nice. Sorry, I’ll get my thesaurus out shall I?
Right, here goes. Aspecto is an agreeable shop. It looks amiable from the outside. And really is delightful on the inside. The people are approachable and look well-​mannered, which is always, um, nice. Sorry.
It was here where I first found a pair of Nudie Jeans. Back then, a fresh new label producing what are now by far and away my favourite denim producers and available next door, at Harvey Nics. They’ve got their fingers on the pulse, then. As well as having the latest lines from Adidas, Nike, Penguin and a catalogue full-​worthy list of others.
Again, probably because the rent for what is a spacious, airy, bright shop means they have to. Go here for a new pair of trainers when there’s a sale on.