A new vintage and pre-loved clothing store has opened in Manchester city centre, selling some seriously big labels for £20 or less.
Catch My Thrift isn’t all about the designer goods either, with plenty of high-street names like ASOS and Levi’s being sold alongside Burberry, Nike and Armani.
But if the item falls under the ‘fast fashion’ umbrella, founder Scott Joseph will donate the money from the sale to the Forever Manchester charity.
The shop has opened at Great Northern Warehouse on Deansgate (down towards Beetham Tower), with rails upon rails of flannel shirts, band tees, denim, sportswear and sweatshirts.
Catch My Thrift is promising to take the ‘musty’ out of vintage clothes, with gender-neutral items sold washed, ironed, and ready to wear.
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For less than £20, you could be shopping for a classic Burberry shirt, a Kenzo sweatshirt, or a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans.
Scott, whose background is in luxury, high-end fashion, including Armani and Harvey Nichols, started buying vintage clothes for himself, selling on anything that wasn’t the right fit.
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A Patagonia flannel shirt for only £16 at Catch My Thrift vintage shop in Manchester. Credit; The Manc GroupA wall of brightly-coloured vintage shirts at Catch My Thrift, Manchester. Credit; The Manc GroupA beer shirt at Catch My Thrift. Credit: The Manc Group
It didn’t take long for him to realise there was huge demand for ‘quality thrift’ – and the business has flourished.
With Catch My Thrift, he’s hoping to make this sustainable alternative to fast fashion more accessible to a wider audience.
The stock is replenished weekly with new garments on display at every visit.
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You’ll find a wall of band t-shirts, featuring the likes of Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Def Leopard (as well as Doja Cat and Ariana Grande), in addition to cotton, denim and flannel shirts, jeans, corduroys, casual bottoms and sweatshirts.
Catch My Thrift vintage store in Manchester.Catch My Thrift vintage store in Manchester. Credit; The Manc Group
Scott’s chosen to price everything by category, rather than label, so designer brands rub shoulders with high street labels in the same price brackets.
Scott says: “Vintage and pre-loved clothing has a story to tell, and it’s a shame that they often end up in landfill. I wanted to create a platform that makes vintage wear more accessible to people, gives them the opportunity to express their own unique style without fear of imitation and at the same time, help the environment by reducing waste.”
He plans to host classes on up-cycling and capsule wardrobe planning in the space, plus a series of talks and roundtables.
Mark Schofield, centre director of Great Northern Warehouse, said: “Catch My Thrift is a great addition to our thriving community of independent businesses at Great Northern Warehouse.
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“The pop-up store highlights the step-change in consumer purchasing behaviours, with Deansgate Terrace, now increasingly recognised as a hub for independent businesses offering a range of services including vintage clothing, coffees to go, and even tattoos, in addition to great restaurants and estate agents.
“We’re committed to supporting local businesses in the early stages and look forward to seeing Catch My Thrift grow and thrive on Deansgate.”
To celebrate its new home on Deansgate, Catch My Thrift will be hosting a weekend of partying across Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 September from 1pm each day, with complimentary refreshments.
Celebrity-loved ‘facial fitness’ brand Facegym is opening in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Facegym, the ‘facial fitness’ brand loved by celebrities, will be opening a brand-new studio in Manchester this month.
Promising ‘facial workouts’, Facegym uses high-intensity hand massage, deep-tissue manipulation, and skin-tightening electronic muscle stimulation to tone and lift the skin.
Facegym’s signature workouts are designed to be energetic, combining massage and movement with techniques intended to stimulate circulation, sculpt the face and leave you with that post-facial glow.
The Signature Sculpt workout, for example, includes a cleanse and warm-up, high-energy movements, sculpting and contouring using gua sha and muscle stimulation, before finishing with skincare and lymphatic drainage.
Basically, it’s a workout, but for your face.
Facegym will be opening its first ever standalone studio in Manchester on King Street this September.
It joins a raft of new openings on the street, including Reformation and American Vintage, with plenty more on the way soon.
The brand has already made a name for itself across London and internationally, with studios in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Sydney, as well as a presence inside Selfridges in Manchester.
Now, Manchester is getting its very own standalone studio on one of the city’s most recognisable shopping streets.
The new King Street studio will be led by franchise partners Minesh and Hoosein, who bring more than two decades of experience across franchising, finance, retail, telecoms and food and drink.
The pair say they were drawn to Facegym because of its innovative take on beauty and wellness, and see Manchester as the perfect city to introduce the concept to a new audience.
The new studio will officially open its doors on 9 September, bringing Facegym’s high-energy approach to facial fitness and wellness to the North West.
And if you want to get involved from day one, Facegym is currently offering a limited Founding Membership for its Manchester launch.
The first 99 members can get a membership for £62 per month, compared with the standard Manchester membership price of £77. The membership includes one workout each month, plus discounts on boosters, additional workouts, skincare and tools.
Aldi on Market Street is officially open again, with a major upgrade
Daisy Jackson
Good news for literally everyone in the city centre – Aldi on Market Street is BACK after a major upgrade.
The supermarket in the Manchester Arndale has been closed for what feels like an eternity (okay, three weeks) while it was given a refurbishment as part of Aldi’s Enhanced Project Fresh initiative.
The closure had left some shoppers less than impressed, with locals previously taking to social media to say it had ‘ruined my f***in day‘.
But after weeks of waiting, the Market Street branch is now back open, and Aldi says there are plenty of changes for shoppers to discover.
The revamped store has been given a new floor layout, upgraded refrigeration and repositioned departments, all designed to make navigating the shop a little easier.
Having popped in this morning, we can confirm that the aisles feel significantly less claustrophobic than they did previously.
One of the biggest additions is a brand-new in-store bakery, alongside expanded chillers and an enhanced fresh produce section.
Buzzball BiggiesThe new Aldi bakery on Market StreetAnd magnums of Aldi’s own chicken wineLoads of new self checkoutsThe aisles feel much wider and calmer in the new Aldi Market Street
There’s also a larger food-to-go chiller, while the freezer section has been redesigned with easy-to-browse freezers.
And for anyone who has ever found themselves trapped in a city-centre supermarket queue, Aldi has also introduced an improved queuing system for its self-checkouts, with the changes intended to ease congestion during the busiest periods.
Store Manager Mark Strickland said: “We thank our customers for being patient during this period of closure and we hope the improvements we’ve made to the store create a noticeably better experience for our shoppers.
“The new floor, upgraded refrigeration, and repositioned departments now make shopping at Aldi Arndale easier and more comfortable than ever.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming back familiar faces and new customers to showcase what we’ve achieved.”
The makeover forms part of Aldi’s wider investment programme across its stores, including the rollout of updated CO₂ refrigeration systems.
According to Aldi, the carbon reduction from the completed programme will be equivalent to the amount of energy used to heat more than 6,500 homes.
So, while Mancs might have had to survive without their Market Street Aldi for a little while, there’s now a shiny new reason to head back into the Arndale.
Daisy Jackson -
1st September 2023 
