The best shopping in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh's small (mostly independent) shops are the best place to pick up souvenirs or gifts. You can pick up a ready-to-wear kilt, peruse heaving delicatessens and pungent cheesemongers for picnic supplies, or taste test unusual shortbread flavours (lemon and poppy seed, perhaps?) for family and friends back home. Telegraph Travel expert Linda Macdonald shares her guide to the best shopping in Edinburgh.
Old Town
Hawico
Enter Hawico to find stacks of cashmere sweaters and scarves in a rainbow of desirable colours. There are 49 shades to choose from, but if you cannot find the combination of colour, size and style you want at the shop, they will make it specially for you as part of their 'Create Your Own' special order service. The Hawick Cashmere Company (re-christened Hawico) have been in the business a long time, but have tempered the stuffy twinset and pearls image – occupying the territory between frump and fashion with elegance and ease.
Contact: 0131 225 8634; hawico.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm
Prices: ££
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Corniche
Ask for designer labels in Edinburgh and you are likely to be pointed in the direction of either Harvey Nichols or Jane Davidson’s splendid shop in Thistle Street. But if your taste runs more to Vivienne Westwood Anglomania, rather than Diane von Furstenberg, you will want to check out this UK Designer Store of the Year. It has a discreet presence on Jeffrey Street where the Royal Mile turns into Canongate, and has labels for the guys as well, such as Comme des Garçons and Masnada Men. Scottish designers are also well represented.
Contact: 0131 556 3707; corniche.org.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10.30am-5.30pm
Prices: ££
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Kilberry Bagpipes
Did you know that as well as Highland bagpipes, there are Scottish smallpipes? At this Old Town workshop you’ll find both, and all other things bagpipe, too. They ship worldwide and offer a 'Bagpipe Package Deal', which includes pipes, carry case, learning materials and maintenance kit – that's everything except the kilt and the red face. Or you can think of the neighbours, and take home a practice chanter learning kit and try the pipes without the bag instead. They also sell music, DVDs and books, as well as sporrans, buckles and belts. Think of it as a one-stop piping shop.
Contact: 0131 556 9607; qualitybagpipes.com
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 8.30am-4.30pm; Sat, 10am-2pm
Prices: ££
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Walker Slater
Whether you’re looking for bespoke tailoring or off the peg, or if you’re trying for young fogey or embracing your inner Laird (or Lady), this glorious shop – all wood panelling, leather chairs and oriental rugs – on picturesque Victoria Street fits the brief in every way. As well as tweed jackets, skirts, trousers and suits, they sell everything you need to complete the picture: knitwear, shirts, belts, braces, hats and shoes – even watch-chains and hip flasks for that extra touch of verisimilitude. Arrive as Ena Sharples; emerge the Duchess of Devonshire.
Contact: 0131 220 9750; walkerslater.com
Opening times: See website
Prices: £££
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Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop
This is one of the oldest and last surviving independent bottlers in Scotland – you’ll not come across many others like this. Behind the unobtrustive shop front in the Canongate you will find bottles, casks, worn wood and the all-pervading smell of angels weeping whisky. They bottle the ‘pure product’ of small, independent distilleries and offer single malts straight from the cask, as well as their own artful blends (rums and cognac, too). You can buy smaller amounts in bottles carefully packaged for travel – the label handwritten with your name and the date of purchase.
Contact: 0131 556 5864; wmcadenhead.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10.30am-5.30pm
Prices: ££
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Ragamuffin
Ragamuffin started life a long time ago in a caravan on the Isle of Skye, selling handmade woolies and fisherman’s smocks. It has always been a little bit offbeat, but it has moved on and grown up too – opening this Canongate shop to offer their unique take on Glasto-meets-Scandi design. As well as their own label, they stock fashion from Oska and Flax and knitwear from Lorry Marshall, a design team from the Scottish Borders. If you are looking for tailored you should probably move on, but if unstructured fashion floats your New Age boat, this is the place for you.
Contact: 0131 557 6007; facebook.com/ragamuffinclothesandknitwear
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 12pm-6pm
Prices: ££
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Fabhatrix
Pop into this slightly mad shop in busy Grassmarket to try on a few hats. You can take your pick from every hat you have ever heard of and quite a few you haven’t (bicorn, anyone?), in any fabric and colour you can imagine. There are fanciful and practical hats, hats for weddings and the races, and hats to walk the dog in the rain. They aren’t cheap, but they are always unique. Can’t find the perfect one? Fabhatrix will design one just for you.
Contact: 0131 225 9222; fabhatrix.com
Opening times: See website
Prices: ££
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W. Armstrong & Son
Armstrong was selling vintage clothing long before vintage was a 'thing'. It opened in 1840; today, it’s still certainly the biggest vintage shop in Edinburgh, with a huge selection of almost anything you could ever want or need to wear. For women, there’s everything from bathing costumes to wedding dresses. Men can kit themselves out in full highland dress or as an Admiral of the Fleet, while couples can go the full Sonny and Cher. Have a rummage or just choose a decade; odds are you will find something that fits both bill and budget.
Contact: 0131 667 3056; armstrongsvintage.co.uk
Opening times: See website
Prices: £
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I J Mellis Cheesemonger
Look out for Stinking Bishop and Old Lochnagar at this pungently traditional cheesemongers. Iain Mellis bought his first shop on Victoria Street because it was damp and cold, perfect for selling cheese – you’ll understand when you see the shop. There are branches in Morningside and Stockbridge, too. There are cheeses from all over the world, in what would be a bewildering variety if the staff behind the counter were not so knowledgeable and helpful. They are generous with the samples too, so don’t be shy.
Contact: 0131 226 6215; mellischeese.net
Opening times: See website
Prices: ££
Edinburgh Farmers' Market
More than 55 producers sell meat, fish, eggs, honey, seasonal fruit and vegetables, cheeses, breads, plants, and a whole range of specialties here. Pull up a bench and have some creamy porridge with whisky or a hot hog roast roll while you gaze up at the forbidding walls of the castle. The adjacent NCP Castle Terrace car park offers a discounted rate during market hours – validate your ticket at the market information stall. If you miss the Saturday market, there’s a Sunday farmers' market in Stockbridge and smaller Saturday markets in the Grassmarket and Leith.
Contact: 0131 220 8580; edinburghfarmersmarket.co.uk
Opening times: Sat, 9am-2pm
Prices: ££
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Cranachan & Crowdie
You may be surprised to discover that there are 20 different kinds of oatcake in Scotland, never mind a shop that stocks them all. But if it’s Scottish and you can eat or drink it, you stand a good chance of finding it here – from haggis to smoked salmon and Hebridean sea salt to Irn-Bru. There are some appealing non-food items as well, such as Belltrees Forge candlesticks, or a great present for any child – a copy of The Gruffalo in Scots or Gaelic. You can also buy frozen ready meal, which come in handy if you’re self-catering.
Contact: 0131 556 7194; cranachanandcrowdie.com
Opening times: Daily, 11am-6pm (closed in January)
Prices: ££
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Pinnies & Poppy Seeds
You can’t go to Scotland and not buy shortbread, right? Give the tins with photos of castles, Scottie dogs and highland cows a miss and head for this tiny shop on St Mary's Street in the Old Town. The shortbread is made by hand out of quality ingredients (local and organic with real butter) in a variety of flavours, from traditional to lemon and poppy seed by way of cardamom and white chocolate or spiced Scottish oat and brown sugar. They are come in pretty packaging to take away, too.
Contact: 0131 261 7012; pinniesandpoppyseeds.com
Opening times: See website
Prices: £
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Edinburgh Book Quarter
Edinburgh’s ‘Soho’ lies between the West Port and Bread Street, the bookshop equivalent of Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley and home to a clutch of characterful independent booksellers. Edinburgh Books is the biggest second-hand bookseller in the city; Peter Bell specialises in Scottish books, history, military and maps. Main Point books is particularly good on philosophy, mountaineering and paperback fiction, while Armchair Books is a lightly alphabetised jumble sale of groaning floor-to-ceiling shelves. There is even a bookbinder – Owl and Lion – which sells journals and notebooks and runs regular beginners’ bookbinding workshops.
Opening times: Opening times vary
Prices: £
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Mr Wood’s Fossils
Even if you think you have no interest in fossils, think again. And not just fossils, but minerals, meteorites, ammonites, trilobites and most exciting of all, dinosaur fossils. Surprise yourself and visit this Grassmarket shop full of unexpectedly fascinating and beautiful things. Embrace your inner dinosaur-loving child (and instantly convert any child you might have with you into a miniature palaeontologist), and leave with some amber (otherwise known as fossilised tree sap) jewellery.
Contact: 0131 220 1344; mrwoodsfossils.co.uk
Opening times: Daily, 10am-5.30pm
Prices: ££
New Town
21st Century Kilts
If you are a strict traditionalist when it comes to kilts, you might want to look away now. These are kilts as fashion items, both off the peg and bespoke. Ready-to-wear kilts come in Harris Tweed, leather and denim while bespoke kilts come in – well, pretty much any fabric you can imagine, even traditional tartan. Styling is bang up to date: you can have your kilt in a ‘hipster fit’ or with detachable pockets. All the accessories are there too; whoever thought a sporran would be a fashion item? Be sure to book an appointment in advance.
Contact: 07774 757 222; 21stcenturykilts.com
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 10am-6pm
Prices: £££
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Anta
Anta could easily be credited with single-handedly rescuing tartan and tweed from the Brigadoon school of hotel carpeting, giving them a new identity as modern, covetable design. The shop originally started out by selling carpet, fabric and stoneware, but they expanded into furniture, accessories and fashion with everything on show in their flagship George Street shop. The shopping and kit bags made from offcuts of carpet are more appealing than they sound and particularly useful; don’t worry if you want the same carpet on your stairs – they have a bespoke design service in the shop.
Contact: 0131 225 9096; anta.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 11am-5pm
Prices: £££
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Gamefish
Want to join the huntin’, shootin’, fishin’ set or just want to look the part? Try this home to all things tweedy, woolly and waxed; it’s the place to buy smart outdoor clothing, as well as all the supplies that are needed should you require to catch or dispatch fish or game. They even sell second-hand tackle (in case you have a problem with commitment). Best of all, you can buy a fiendishly clever Kelly Kettle – light a small fire of dried leaves or bits of grass, and you have almost instant boiling water. It’s heaven for overgrown boy and girl scouts.
Contact: 0131 220 6465; gamefishltd.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm; Sat, 10am-5pm
Price: ££
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Crystal Chandelier Company
You may be thinking, who buys a chandelier on holiday? But it’s not like you have to take it home in your suitcase; they send these fragile beauties around the world every day. This is a showroom for all that sparkles. Pick up a Murano crystal for the ensuite, or maybe add a touch of Regency elegance to the potting shed. And the great thing is, should you ever have a breakage, they also repair.
Contact: 0131 226 6355; crystalchandaliercompany.com
Opening times: Tue-Fri, 11am-5pm; Sat, 12pm-4pm
Price: £££
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Concrete Wardrobe
Say the word 'craft' and people might think hand-knitted tea cosies or macramé plant hangers, but this design-led craft shop is something altogether different. It was opened by a textile designer and a weaver as a place for Scottish-based or trained craftsmen to showcase their designs, and it offers an eclectic, quirky mix of fashion and accessories for you and your home. There might be badges, bags, blankets, and ceramics, cushions, or chairs. You never know what you will find, but it will always be something you are unlikely to see anywhere else.
Contact: 0131 558 7130; concretewardrobe.com
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 11am-7pm; Sat, 11am-6pm; Sun, 12p,-5pm
Prices: ££
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Mary’s Living & Giving Shop for Save the Children
There are a lot of great charity shops in Edinburgh, but this – the first of Mary Portas’ chain of re-imagined charity shops for her television series Mary Queen of Shops – is one of the best. You can easily kit yourself out for a dinner party, holiday or new office job. The quality is consistently good and there are designer labels to be found (Stockbridge ladies do seem to have rather superior cast-offs). Miss the sign on the door and you will think you have wandered into a fashionable little boutique – until you see the prices, that is.
Contact: 0131 315 2586; savethechildren.org.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 9.30am-5.30pm; Sun,12pm-4pm
Prices: £
Edinburgh Printmakers
This space is a working studio, gallery, non-profit organisation and shop. It's the first open-access printmaking studio in Britain, and has been going strong since 1967. Visitors can watch artists at work, see an exhibition, attend a lecture or buy original prints, books, jewellery and other splendid stuff in the shop. You can spend £2 on a matchbox by Laurie Hastings or £1,200 on a John Bellamy etching. They also participate in 'Own Art', an Arts Council scheme to make buying art more affordable through interest-free loans.
Contact: 0131 557 2479; edinburghprintmakers.co.uk
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 10am-6pm
Prices: £-£££
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Quarters
If this isn’t hipster heaven, it comes perilously close; it sells a carefully edited selection of items chosen, according to owner Richard Murphy, to 'meet the requirements of the modern man'. Step inside the man cave to find grooming products (including oils for those who haven’t passed peak beard), good-quality accessories (Bellroy wallets, Finlay & Co sunglasses, Harris Tweed iPad cases), tech stuff such as Marshall Major headphones (check out the Bluetooth speakers disguised as sunglasses-wearing bulldogs), candles and even furniture.
Contact: 0131 629 1303; quarters.life
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 11am-5pm
Prices: £££
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Covet
This Thistle Street boutique sells the kind of accessories that will bring an entire outfit together. There are handbags, gloves, scarves, bracelets and brooches – made of buttery leather, suede, silk and velvet. The shop features European labels you’ve heard of: (Cochinelle and Becksondergaard), as well as new designers you may not know and are unlikely to see anywhere else. And if you’re thinking shoes, you only have to pop a few doors along to Pam Jenkins, where you’ll find a pair of Jimmy Choos or Louboutins to consolidate your state of bliss.
Contact: 0131 220 0026; thoushaltcovet.com
Opening times: See website
Prices: ££
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Valvona & Crolla
Scotland’s oldest Italian delicatessen dates from when most Scots bought olive oil in small bottles with droppers from the chemist. It’s a wine merchant as well, with a good café/bar hidden at the back. But the deli remains essentially unchanged, with meats, cheeses, olives and all manner of other good things behind the counter and hanging from the ceiling, while old-fashioned grocer’s shelves are packed with cans, jars, bottles and packets of every description. Nowadays there are good delicatessens all over the city, but people still make the pilgrimage to Valvona & Crolla — it’s part of the city’s history.
Contact: 0131 556 6066; valvonacrolla.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Thu, 8.30am-6pm; Fri, Sat, 8am-6.30pm; Sun, 10am-5pm
Price: ££
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Unicorn Antiques
This lucky dip establishment is a treasure hunt for the dedicated trawler of bric-à-brac; it’s more old curiosity shop rather than antique’s shop, and is spread over several basement rooms in Dundas Street’s mini 'antiques row'. If you need to match a brass doorknob, replace a bone-handled knife, are looking for a coal scuttle, a china dog, a candlestick, or something to put in your ornamental whatnot, this is the place for you.
Contact: 0131 556 7176; unicornantiques.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 11am-6pm
Prices: £
Mr Purves
Mr Purves' Lamp Emporium is the place Aladdin would go if he needed a new lamp, or even just a new wick. Where else could you buy a hurricane lamp for £7, never mind get it repaired? Even if you do not think you need a lamp, Mrs Purves is an Edinburgh legend, a fountain of local knowledge, and a dedicated wearer of tartan. Sadly Mr Purves has passed away, but the splendid shop goes on. It’s only open on Saturday afternoons, or at other times by appointment.
Address: 59 St. Stephen Street
Contact: 0131 556 4503
Opening times: Sat, 1pm-6pm
Prices: £
Southside
Toys Galore
Independent toy shops may be in danger of extinction in a world of superstores and electronic gadgetry, but in Edinburgh, you can find a traditional one rammed with all the the toys you thought had gone forever. There are toys for indoors and outdoors, musical toys, educational toys, and toys for all ages, including jigsaw puzzles and board games for older children. There are toys that encourage children to create, build, run, think and imagine; toys to remind you and your children what fun is all about. Take all your pocket money.
Contact: 0131 447 1006; facebook.com/Toys-Galore-Morningside-209897275787711/
Prices: £
The Nomads Tent
You’re unlikely to stumble across this eastern emporium of decorative delights accidentally, so it is worth taking the short trip off the beaten track to Newington to visit this self-styled 'warehouse of tribal art'. Inside, you’ll find things such as a Iznik vase, a wooden purse from Sumatra and an Anatolian saddle bag. They sell everything from inexpensive and unusual gift items to temptingly portable kilims and breathtaking rugs; there are also themed exhibitions and even a small corner of interesting books.
Contact: 0131 662 1612; nomadstent.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm; Sun, 12pm-4pm
Prices: ££
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Coco of Bruntsfield
This pretty little shop sells all organic, homemade chocolate. The only difficulty is choosing between gift bags (including toasted and caramelised chocolate-coated almonds or scorched chocolate hazelnuts), slabs of chocolate in flavours such as pine nut and sea salt, rose and black pepper or tobacco; assorted creams and pralines and drinking chocolate blends. The nice presentation means they make great gifts if you can bear to give them away. If you can’t wait to try them, have a cup of hot chocolate to go with the goodies you’ve selected.
Contact: 0131 228 4526; cocochocolate.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 12pm-4pm
Prices: ££
Pekoe Tea
Owners Jon and Lynn regularly travel to source more than 100 varieties of tea, building up close relationships with their suppliers who are all monitored by the ethical tea partnership. They are happy to explain the difference between a first and second flush Darjeeling and are stockists of the first tea grown in Scotland Kinnettles Gold. You can also try their expert brews at the tea bar – sit in or take away – with a macaron or piece of cake. They sell coffee too, and carefully chosen wares for brewing and accessories. Beware – you may never be able to use a tea bag again.
Contact: 0131 477 1838; pekoetea.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm
Prices: ££
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Totty Rocks
Totty Rocks was set up by two lecturers from Edinburgh College of Art who now dress the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon; but please don’t let that put you off – there’s nothing stuffy about their clothes. Their designs are always wearable, with a clever modern twist on often nostalgic looks and a winningly modern way with tartan and tweed. They bring a whiff of fun to serious fashion. The Totty Rocks mac is set to become a design classic – and not just for the fabulous linings.
Contact: 0131 229 0474; tottyrocks.bigcartel.com
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 11am-6pm; Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 12pm-5pm
Prices: £££
Leith
Georgian Antiques
There’s an extraordinary antique furniture shop down a side street off Leith Links that you’ll want to seek out if fine furniture makes your heart beat faster. Expect five creaking floors of fascination in a former whisky bond warehouse, which contains everything from oak chests to Orkney chairs, tea caddies to taxidermy, and cabinets to candelabras. Staff are knowledgeable, not intimidating, and you don’t have to worry about getting a Victorian wardrobe in your carry on – they can arrange delivery anywhere in the world. But don’t go in if you’ve a train to catch; cross the threshold and you’ll be there for hours.
Contact: 0131 553 7286; georgianantiques.net
Opening times: See website
Prices: £££
Harburn Hobbies
This is the sort of shop that makes model enthusiasts come over all dewy-eyed. Harburn Hobbies have been in business since the 1930s and is crammed to the gunnels; they sell trains in every gauge as well as every kind of accessory (they are exclusive suppliers of Scottish buildings to go with your Scottish trains). Not into trains? Find Scalextric, Thomas the Tank Engine, doll’s houses, furniture and fittings, model airplanes, battleships and every kind of Corgi car, truck, and bus. You can even buy a dinky model of an Edinburgh bus to take home with you.
Contact: 0131 556 3233; harburnhobbies.co.uk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 9.30am-6pm
Prices: £
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Elvis Shakespeare
Elvis Shakespeare isn’t the name of an impressionist with identity issues, it’s an impeccably logical name for a shop selling vinyl records and books (and CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, magazine, fanzines, comics and graphic novels, too). Owner David Griffin has curated (there is no other word for his imaginative and meticulous selection and organisation) an amazing collection of the rare, the obscure, the well-loved, and the lost but not forgotten. Where else are you going to find The Clash and The Smurfs mixing it up in the same place?
Contact: 0131 561 1363; elvisshakespeare.com
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm (open on Sun, May to Sep)
Prices: £
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