Cow....

I wanted a tweed jacket but not badly. I was going through an old money Cheshire Set thing and wanted one to wear with jeans on walks in Dunham Massey Park. But I don’t have Cheshire Set old money (or the new for that matter) so I needed to get one on a budget. I headed for the affluent, Golden Triangle town of Wilmslow beloved of WAGS and the Cheshire Wives with their orange perma-tans. I’d heard that the charity shops there were a cut above the others and bargains were to be had. While the Chanel, D&G, Hermes etc. that I’d been promised didn’t materialise, I did manage to find a tweed jacket that I liked and fitted me.

The only problem these shops have for me is the smell. There’s a musty, mothballs smell to them with an unpleasant undertone that I’d rather not think too much about. The jacket smelt of this. By the time I got it home the car smelt of it as well. I sent it to the dry cleaners but when it came back the jacket still had the smell. I left it in the garden hoping the wind would freshen it. It didn't. I daren’t put it in the wardrobe in case it infected the rest of my clothes. I couldn’t get past the idea that someone had actually died in it so, when it came time to donate some clothes to charity, back it went to another charity shop unworn.

Which brings me to COW. It’s a vintage clothes store on Oldham Street in the former BENCH store on a corner of the old Affleck & Browns department store. It used to be on Piccadilly Gardens in the parade of shops below Exchange Tower. I’d never been in it when it was there. Apart from the M&S food shop on one corner, the rest of the stores didn’t look too appealing.

Maybe the people who run COW thought they were in the wrong place and have moved to the more aspirational N4. A lot of thought has gone into the new store which has the most wonderful light fittings, a thoughtful layout and attractive displays. I couldn’t decide at first was I in a shop selling vintage, pre loved or just plain second hand clothes, or was I in some trendy N4 store where the clothes were specially made to have the vintage look. N4 hipsters love the vintage look. Bit of both I suppose. But the big thing about this store is there wasn’t that charity store funk that clings to the clothes. It’s a super store and, if yourself in Manchester and looking for something different, it’s a good place to look out.

I loved this light fitting made from old doll’s houses….