The Knowhere Guide

Shops and Hobbies in Reading, Berkshire*

Reading, Berkshire Clothes, Magazines, Art, Galleries, Hobbies

Clothes Shops, Shoe Shops, Fashion and Bargains

• finally i've found a non maintstream shop in reading...its in a skanky rundown old arcade [unusual for the centre of reading] called the market place..sells random unusal clothes and retro stuff..theres also a hippy shop just round the corner from it which is alright. you'll have to hunt though..most shops in reading are crap to say the least
• Rock around is one of the best for decent clothes
• For all the best baggy jeans i can recomend Roch around in the kings walk in reading. Aklso for the best hoodys (Hussy, Goldigga and Sprial) i would Say Hard edge and band hoodeys (KoRn Slipknot, PaPa RoAcH and the like) Sound machine in the broad street mall.
• Punkfish is a very cool shop along smelly alley, rock a round and hard edge
• Every chain imaginable. nothing of note. Most people in Reading seem to by their clothes from GAP. Sad Bastards.
• Brilliant-Harris arcade. sells clothes (Skate, mosher and goth) aswell as makeup jewlery and all sorts of cool things.
• there's hardly ne goth shops...plenty of bloody towny & trendy places but no goth shops!!! A few retro shops like rock-a-round (v cool but full of 'wannabes'). The best greebo shop is sound machine (upstairs in broadstreet) is fairly priced, stocking cd's, hoodies & posters with the occasional keyrings available. We need more goth shops!!!
• Brilliant in Harris Arcade, nr the station. i absolutley live in there, friendly staff aswell. Rock'a'Round in that alley way thing nr The Body Shop, staff are alot nicer in there now. Legends & Hard Edge are good too, VV expensive though.
• none really..i guess you can pick up the odd top from brilliant or something. if you want to be the same as everyone else readings your place, but if you want to stand out just dont bother!!
• The Edge. Bit expensive though.....
• Hard Edge
• Rock-a-Round (altho EVERY 13/14 year old goes in there)... was great 3 years ago when it wasnt "cool" to be a freak and wear clothes i was getting in shit about for wearing years before it hit the mainstream market of nu-skoolers.
• We have the best shops nearest London, H&M is definatley the best low budget shop around! Also visit the bear factory in the Oracle it is wikid! The night & Day cafe in Debenhams is also excellent selling food ranging from snacks to main meals & I definatley recomend the chocolate dome cake & the Hot chocolate Delux!!
• none. BORING TOWNIE PLACE! ARGH!!
• Rock Around sells over-priced vintage flares and corduroy jackets, but the staff are as snooty as hell. H&M in the Oracle sells cheap, good quality High Street clothes which don't make you look like a trendie. Hypnotic in Smelly Alley is good for people wanting T-shirts with profane logos on them. There are also several charity shops and such dotted around, as well as Stoves', which sells Army surplus.
• Where are all the decent clothes shops? Plenty of chain stores like topshop et all, but nowt terribley exciting.
• Well..it has to be 'Rock-around-the-clock!, 50's, 60's & vintage clothing, its in Queens Walk, near the 3B's.
• H&M in the Oracle
• reading caters well for the chain shopper - Ben Sherman shirted wankers abound !
• The usual selection of designer rubbish, especially in the neon hell that is the Oracle. Storms in the Bristol & West Arcade sells Army surplus gear at excellent prices
• Sound Machine is the top place for good rock clothes that are cheap
• The oracle in Reading is fantastic, hundreds of shops for a big shopping spree.
• Although this isn't strictly a clothes shop, I can't believe no-one has mentioned Graffiti, which has got to be the coolest shop in Reading if you're a space cadet - loads of bongs, pipes, novelty gifts, lava lamps, herbal highs and psychedelic oddities, plus a neon glowing room upstairs with loads of funky glow in the dark/uv reflective clothes. Also if you're a hippy, new-age, crusty type or just like psychedelic clothes and jewellery, then Strawberry Fields is definitely worth a look ... both these shops are in Union Street, more commonly known as Smelly Alley (you'll find out why)
• Hypnotic (upstairs), opposite the grocer, in Union Street ('Smelly Alley'). Great collection of unique clubwear and accessories, loads of stuff if you're into UV. Also sell goth clothing too.
• Best to go to London or Oxford.
• Saffron Moon had closed down. there is the same type of shop on an entrance to the Harris Arcade. Also army surplus store now in Bristol and West Arcade
• Depending on taste, we have Topshop, Pilot, Miss Selfrige, Oasis, Gap and Pilot and some lower budget shops such as Kiss Fashions and Top Class. Grunge is around unfortunately and shops can usually be found in the little road, I don't know the name of it sorry, but it is opposite HMV and by the side of office angels. We have major chain stores like Debenhans and Marks and Sparks, oh and a Levi's Store which I visit religiously.
• Saffron Moon, Broad Street Mall. "Ethnic" clothes, also has a large selection of interseting jewellry at reasonable prices. (Unless like my girlfriend, you buy ear-rings in bulk). Storms army gear in Traders indoor market, near the station.Alleycats, plus fat jeans in Hardedge.

Arts, crafts and such (Anything from pukka art galleries to craft shops. Trendy and twee both welcome.)

• Fabric Land is good for cheap fabric and nice staff.. Sew Crafty in Maidenhead is better for trimmings buttons and better quality fabric. Staff are always helpful and full of ideas!
• copy of the Bayeux Tapestry at the museum in the Town Hall
• the jelly leg'd chicken hasn't closed down, just gone for a little walk across town. It is now in part of the museum of Reading plus has temporary exhibitions around town
• RISC One World Shop, London Street. Fairtrade food aswell as ornaments and stuff from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, etc, etc
• Gun street gallery has a good range of art materials. The museum in the town hall has a small art gallery. The galleries of London are only an hour away
• jelly leg'd chicken arts, but i fink its closed down!
• Again lemon Mirinda at the Indian furniture shop near to the Purple Turtle is Marvellow
• not too much art worth seeing
• jelly leggd chicken
• art shop (called art shop' is good for the best of the best art supplies. however the works down Union sTREET does the same stuff at a different brand loads cheaper and in my opinion less posh and more localised. great people help u out and answer all questions. alternatively hobby craft does loadsa beads ribbons and paint all just 5minutes walk from the forbury gardens.
• the art workers by the sony shop is a really good shop for quality artist materials even if it is relatively small
• art worker has realy nice art supplies n stuff
• chicken jelly leg'd something or other. i don't know.
• Is Artworker still in Gun St? (Round the back of St Mary's Butts churchyard) That was always an excellent shop for all Art & Craft supplies.
• The Rising Sun Arts Centre, 30 Silver Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 2ST. Cool palce for music, Salsa and poetry. Open mic poetry, bar, read your stuff, featured poets, SLAM champs and all on the 1st Thursday of every month 8.30pm.
• The gun street gallery near the oracle in reading sells the BEST art supplies ever!
• but is it art. cool shop in the broad street mall
• Local arty crafty people display their gear at 'The Jelly Legged Chicken Gallery', this is inside the dredded Oracle.
• Go to the Jelly Leggd'Art Gallery! Lot's a talented art work exhibited!
• Global cafe, J kay got refused a meal there as he only had plastic.
• In Reading - that's a joke. Try "The Poundland" in Friar street.
• graffiti on 'Smelly Alley' aka Union Street - lots of paraphanalia for the drug connesieur
• Harris Arcade between Station Road and Friar St is full of decent craft stalls.
• The Best by far is the Jelly Leg'd Chicken on the riversidre in the oracle a reg. charity and with monthly exhibitions on the quirky side with some big name exhibitions too well worth a visit!!!!
• Global Cafe on London Street - ethnic craft
• Reading Museum, although it was alot better before the town planners inproved it.
• Studio 62 Art Gallery 62 the High street, Wargrave. Original works of art by local artists. Craftspace at Studio 62, selling Silk-ceramics-jewellery-glass.... and much more.
• Jelly leg chicken down the bottom of Broad Street is an innotative little gallery that always manages to exhibit a funky concoction of weird and wonderful paintings, sculptures, jewellery you name it - and the cafe downstairs is pretty dinky and plays great jazz music
• Well there is Btz Bizzare in the Harris Arcade, which has lots of African art and kinda grungy clothes, that sort of thing and there is also the gun street art shop thingy, sells all sorts of paint brushes and arty stuff to make art with if you catch my drift, If you don't you'd better start swimming.

Magazine and Comic Shops

• WH Smith - u pay 4 ur mags & papers at d door in a little box so just put in sum loose change & u get ur stuff 4 like 6p!!!!
• The Friar Street Bookshop is a one-stop-shop for all your nerdy sci-fi desires, including action figures from some of the wierdest origins you can imagine...
• Friar Street bookshop. The place for nerds to shop on a Saturday afternoon. Also, Merchants Place has cheap sci-fi, and sells old Star Trek books for £2.
• The Friar street bookshop has comics, star wars figures and D&D equipment, everything your socially disfuntional teen might want.
• pretty tame, escape book shop.
• Escape in Cheapside used to be good before its owner decided to switch to two day opening. Failing that the sci-fi shop in Friar Street
• Reading is a joke - who needs comics!
• Escape on Cheapside by the cinema. Quality - 'nuff said.
• The Friar Street Book Shop. Has all the classic and cult books and zines.
• Both "Escape" and "Games Workshop" are next to the Odeon cinema in Cheapside, technically not across from Blockbuster Video - that would be the Argos superstore :-)

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Last updated: 2007-09-29