General Store

Yeah General Store is rubbish. Back when he was Corporal Store he was a nice chap, but since he’s been a General its gone to his head.
Now he sells quite average clothes for quite high prices. Fifty odd quid for a t-​shit. Come on General, you remember when we were both Privates, we got along well, cant I have a discount? No, now I’m General Store and I do things my way.
His way is poor clothes for rich people. So we’re not friends any more. Na na na na na.

General store runs on the same pretences as ed hardy except instead of tigers and ed hardys name on everything you’ve got sequins and shiny slaps of gold and silver inks on everything. The staff are nice enough folk and will bend over backwards or given you the honest opinion on a piece of wear (not me it’s not my thing I’ve got siblings who drag me in here).
But Christ everything is bleeding crap, the general store claims to do unique pieces but I’m not agreeing at all. Everything has print on it or an attempt to make it look vintage (this usually involves someone taking a Stanley knife to it). It ain’t cheap either; expect to pay £50 on t-​shirt. If that’s your thing I get the impression general store is a mecca (my brother did all his shopping here, but then again he should of been used for stem cell research), if not stay well clear.

Deansgate is something of a new thing for me in Manchester. Despite the fact that I’ve lived here for six months, in my mind shopping didn’t really go beyond Market Street, the Arndale and King Street.
However, there’s a good few stores on Deansgate that are well worth checking out. The General Store is definitely one of those to check out.
The first impression I got as I walked into this place was awful. I was faced with some Union Jack jeans. This, in my book, was a very bad sign. But when I ventured up to the menswear section upstairs I actually discovered there were some pretty cool clothes here.
Lots of the clothes here were perhaps a bit glam for my liking, but at the same time there were some t-​shirts that I would love to wear that had really interesting stitching and prints.
The sales staff at General Store were absolutely lovely. Attentive but not in a hassling kind of way, and really chatty and down-​to-​earth

In general this shop is cack!
In general this shop sells crap All Saints rip off!
Generally I would never shop in this shop.
The general rule here is not to shop here if you generally have an ounce of taste… Generally speaking.

Warning– Serious risk of over embelished clothing!
Honestly, who owns the General Store Midus?!
Non gold leafed areas of fabric in here are like Tokyo real estate– much needed but impossible to find.

The General Store is the place some ‘fashionistas’ have been waiting for. Depending on whether you snigger or smile at this phrase, have a look in this fashion shop looking out from the Barton Arcade onto Deansgate.
The local fashion industry (what there is of it) loves this place. They have a competition at the moment to win £250 to spend in store. Manchester Fashion Network subscribers get 20% off selected lines but more importantly, the INDIs awards are looking for independent and student design talent in the city. But if you are an unknown designer who hasn’t got onto the graduate fashion show no-​one want to know, right?
WRONG. There are two categories — one student, one open to everyone else and you just have to submit work this month to be in with a chance. Magic.
In the store itself already are more established, cult brands that are in the mid price bracket. There is a focus on urban and streetwear, lots of jeans. Kind of like All Saints’ kid sister. You’ve got Religion, Buddhist Punk and House of the Gods amongst others.

My favourite shop in Manchester as I absolutely adore the Religion and Ringspun clothing brands, they are different and make you stand out from the crowd. I always find something I like from the brands and don’t mind paying more to get it, if you don’t like that then go to Primark!
The mens clothing is just as impressive as the womens and the décor in the store is fabulous.

Yet another trendy shop selling over priced clothing, though I do like the décor. I give it marks for its location (anything that brings people to the beautiful Barton Arcade) and upbeat, friendly staff.