Scope

The sculpture in the window of this charity shop of a larger-​than-​life-​sized man reading a book is very impressive for a charity shop, or any shop, window display. Intrigued, I went in to have a closer look, and to scope (!) out any bargains whilst I was at it.
It’s large for a charity shop, with an upstairs selling bridal wear and downstairs selling men’s and women’s clothes, books, DVDs and brick-​a-​brack. There were lots of baking things on one shelf — whisks and re-​usable silicone cup cake holders. You can get 3 DVDs for £10, quite a good deal as I only ever see video’s in charity shops it seems!

There are two things my Gran can never avoid when out in town. The first is walking past a busker without giving them any money, and the second is walking by a charity shop without investigating the bargains. Schooled by the master, I am now an expert in the art of scavenging.
Scope is a fantastic charity, their aim is to provide disabled people with the same opportunities to fulfil their life ambitions as non-​disabled people. Usually, charity shops are somewhat of a jumble, but this one has been thoroughly departmentalised. There is a men’s clothing section alongside the music and books, which leads out into the main room, filled with women’s clothing and shoes. The shop is excellently stocked, there are a huge amount of items for sale. To such an extent, that a customer asked for specific type of handbag, and the exact kind was hastily fetched from the storeroom.
A totally fun-​packed upstairs has a vast array of vintage and fancy dress clothes, kids toys and an impressive range of wedding dresses. For the budget conscious, this could be an invaluable discovery.
The element that makes this branch unique to Leeds, are the artistic creations featured in the shop. A local company called ART display their ongoing projects in prominent positions. Their aim is to popularise the medium of papier mache whilst showcasing their work at Scope, and donating part of their proceeds to the charity. Made entirely out of recycled newspapers, the pieces really are excellent, and would make a unique talking point for an office or at home.
My love of second-​hand shops is even greater with such expressions of regional identity.

Whoa, I didn’t think that I could have such an impressive time in a charity shop (despite my unending love for them) but here in the city centre is a gem of a place.
At the time of my visit they had a chap making huge paper mache art sculptures in the window, which completely caught my eye, and so I wandered in. Having inquired about what he was up to it seems that he was independent of Scope. If you like what you see, incidentally, you can email the fellow using this email:
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Now, to the other exciting good stuff. In the main room downstairs you could be forgiven for thinking that it is much the same as any other charity shop experience. They have numerous second hand clothing, which if you sift through, may or may not come up trumps depending on your taste.
But if you move through to the other room downstairs you are immediately confronted with their own specially made fancy dress section! It’s blooming awesome! Obviously you have to wade through some bits, which have appeared to have been placed there as they might be useable in a costume, but there are many other items that are totally fancy dress. They had a number of really strange and quirky bits but it was all worth a look!
Finally, keeping in theme with the street itself, upstairs they have a bridal section. They had some of the most beautiful and divine dresses ever upstairs. Of course, being wedding dresses, they were a little more pricey but given how much more one could pay they are quite the bargain. Some were a little eighties, some were a little plain, but most of them were utterly beautiful. My favourite was the medieval styled one in a gorgerous ivory and deep red elements hewn in. It even had a toddler’s mini version too!
So, for all your usual bargains and so much more, Scope in town is totally the business. Woop!