A huge second-hand shop has opened in Manchester city centre and has already become the talk of the town.
Bare Necessities has taken over the former LOFT showroom on High Street, where you’ll find up to 20,000 items of pre-loved clothing on sale at any one time.
The thrift shop specialises in sourcing high-quality used clothing, which is then expertly cleaned and put back on sale as an affordable price.
And it really is affordable – prices start from just £1.
You’ll find row upon row of denim, coats, knitwear, t-shirts, skirts, and accessories, including a rainbow display of tops that greets shoppers as they come in.
There’s even a whole section of ski clothing, crochet blankets, and fancy dress items.
Inside Bare Necessities / Credit: The Manc Group
Brands like Carhartt, Tommy Hilfiger, Dickies and Barbour are all stocked alongside items like patchwork crop-tops, that have been repurposed from other fabrics.
Bare Necessities says: “Our mission is to source our forward-thinking customers with the highest quality of used clothing at the lowest possible price.
“Slow fashion shouldn’t break the bank, and only when second-hand fashion becomes more affordable will there be a larger shift towards the used clothing industry.”
The team who work there individually source clothes from piles of second-hand items that are heading for landfill.
The items are given a full facelift, from de-bobbling knitwear to fixing zips and pockets to being washed and ironed.
Bare Necessities will also rescue damaged clothing and reuse the fabric as much as possible.
Inside Bare Necessities / Credit: The Manc Group
Since the pop-up shop opened in the last few weeks, dozens of people have been sharing TikToks and social media posts of their hauls.
TikTok user Francesca Perks’ video from the store has now gained hundreds of thousands of views.
She described it as the ‘best thrift haul of my life’ and said it was ‘like no other’, before revealing two bulging bags containing a £30 coat, a knitted red jumper, and one of the aforementioned crochet blankets.
One person commented: “Omg this place seems magical,” and another said: “Literally no idea where this place is but we must go for my sanity.”
Someone else said: “I’ve been debating going but now I’m SOLD.”
Bare Necessities is now open on High Street in Manchester city centre.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Shopping
New Haribo shop to open in Trafford Centre with pick n mix station featuring over 40 varieties of sweets
Emily Sergeant
HARIBO UK has announced plans to open an exciting new store here in Greater Manchester.
The store – which will be the confectionery giant’s thirteenth location in the UK – is set to be celebration of HARIBO’s ‘spirit of childlike happiness’ once it opens its doors over at the Trafford Centre, and Manchester fans will soon be able to shop a delicious selection of all Haribo treats.
There’ll be everything from familiar favourites like Starmix and Tangfastics, to exciting new products such as Nostalgix and Alienauts.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy international varieties of Haribo too, all without having to venture to another country – whether it be Haribo Favoritos and Watermelon from Spain, Haribo Dragibus and Tagada from France, or Haribo liquorice Schnecken from Germany.
A new Haribo shop is set to open in Trafford Centre / Credit: Dan Cristian Padure | Jacqueline Brandwayn (via Unsplash)
To bring back the old-fashioned pleasure of being in a sweet shop, there’ll even be a ‘Pick Your Mix’ station, featuring more than 40 varieties of HARIBO and MAOAM treats to choose from, and in addition to the sweets themselves, the store will also be filled with exclusive HARIBO merchandise, such as plushies, stationery, candles, and more.
Haribo’s most recent opening was in Bluewater, and there’ll be a new site popping up in Glasgow later this month, before the Trafford Centre store opens its doors.
“We’re thrilled to be opening a HARIBO UK store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre,” commented Rebecca Fox, who is the Head of Retail at HARIBO UK.
“Our stores are a way to share even more moments of childlike happiness with HARIBO fans and we can’t wait for Manchester’s HARIBO-lovers and visitors to join in the fun.”
There’ll be a ‘pick you mix’ station featuring over 40 different varieties of sweets / Credit: Luis Aguila (via Unsplash)
Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre, added: “We’re excited to welcome HARIBO to Trafford Centre, with a store that promises to deliver a super-sweet experience that cannot be matched online, delighting visitors of all ages.
“We’re confident that our visitors will love this new brand-new store, which will prove another fantastic addition to the centre.”
There’s no opening date for the Trafford Centre store confirmed just yet, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – Supplied
Shopping
Aldi has launched limited-edition gender reveal Cuthbert caterpillar cakes
Emily Sergeant
Is it a boy or a girl? No it’s a limited-edition Cuthbert.
That’s right, in an ode to the ever-growing trend of gender reveal parties, and to coincide with September being the month that most babies are born in, Aldi has decided to give its iconic Cuthbert Cake a very special makeover for a limited time only.
Designed to offer expectant parents the ultimate way to reveal the gender of their child, this special Cuthbert is now available via an exclusive shopper competition.
The limited-edition cake will be completely free for those lucky enough to get their hands on it.
Decorated with blue and pink chocolate beans, the exclusive new cake has two versions of filling, just as you’d expect – one with pink buttercream icing (for a girl), and blue buttercream icing (for a boy).
The launch of the gender reveal Cuthberts comes after recent research from Aldi has revealed that 58% of millennial Brits have celebrated gender reveal moments, and 48% of Gen Z having attended an average of three gender reveal parties in the last five years – with cake found to be the most popular method of revealing a baby’s gender.
Cake was found to be more popular than balloons, confetti, or fireworks, making it twice as popular much as any other gender reveal option.
And that’s not all either, as following the news that traditional baby names have been seeing a decline in popularity among expectant parents in favour of more unique options, 5% of Brits even admitted that they would consider naming their child Cuthbert after the budget supermarket retailer’s icon.
Aldi has launched limited-edition gender reveal Cuthbert caterpillar cakes / Credit: Aldi
Want to win a gender reveal Cuthbert then?
Shoppers just need to send an email detailing their full name, why they or a loved one would be the ideal recipient of this cake, the address of their closest Aldi store, and the gender of their baby to [email protected].
The competition will open until 11:59pm on 14September, and the lucky winners will be notified of their win via email by 28 September.
Daisy Jackson -
16th September 2022 
