Shopping
Shopping in Brighton is great fun, you never know what you might pick up in and around town. As usual there is something for everyone.
Shopping in Brighton is split into four main areas:
The Lanes- Full of very nice, but in the main fairly expensive shops. Main themes are antiques, jewellery and clothes (generally the more formal type of designer labels).
- North Laine
- This is more like it, lots of small value for money shops. Main themes are music, clothes (casual, second-hand & club culture influenced fashions), this is also the place for natural remedies and similar esoterica. This area is also very popular with students. In short the best way to describe it for anybody who knows London is a sort of Covent Garden / Neals Yard without the hype or the expense.
- Churchill Square / Western Road and North Road
- The main shopping thoroughfares, this is where you will find most of the main chain stores - Next , Body Shop, Ann Summers (!!!), Virgin Megastore et al.
- Kemptown / St James's Street
- This is of course the Gay Village, so whilst it might not have a great variety of shops it is still worth a quick sashay around Morrisons. This is also the place where most of the specialist gay shops listed below are found.
Gay Shops
- Café 22
- 129 St James's Street
+44 (0)1273 626682
Apart from the usual coffees, teas, soft drinks, sandwiches, cakes and various other snacks. Café 22 also sell tasteful cards and calendars plus some clothing which although limited at present will be extended in the New Year.
Catering for everyone whether they are gay or straight although most of the customers are from the LGBT Community. - Cardome
- 47a St James's Street
t: +44 (0)1273 692916
For an unusual selection of cards, as well as gay magazines, videos, posters, books and novelty items. - Clone Zone
- 32 St James St. Kemptown, Brighton.
+44 (0)1273 626442
Apparently the largest chain of gay shops in Europe, with outlets in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth, London (Soho and Earls Court) and of course Brighton. They also do a great mail order section via post and the internet at www.clonezone.co.uk and last year launched a great magazine called Manzone. - Fundamentally Female
- Fundamentally female - online shopping and lifestyle for lesbians.
- Limit4
- A new men's clubwear shop on St James's street, selling tops, shorts, tees, tanks, underwear and jeans. They also do a basic range of clothing for men who want to impress and be distinct.
- Lacies
- 164 Portland Road, Hove, BN3 5QL.
Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11am - 4pm.
A lingerie and footwear store in downtown Hove. Specialising in the needs of the transgendered community and are 100% gay friendly.
Lacies specialise in all kinds of footwear - 5 or 6 inch stiletto's, platforms, knee and thigh high boots. They have a fab wig boutique in-store, lots of Victorian corsets, stock TG/Gay literature, contact mags, PVC, make up, and a wide range of lingerie and sex toys. They also have an array of niche items including artificial vaginas! - The Pink Pamper
- 1 St James Street, Brighton BN2 1RE.
+ 44 (0) 1273 608060. - Spanki
- Sydney Street, +44 (0) 1273 697475
Gothy, punky, glamorous, club gear. - Skintech Tattooing
- A gay run business for lesbian and gay people, clean, safe and hygenic all other details can be found on the web site.
Other Shops
- Angel
- Fetish wear, a few mags and source of information/flyers, etc.
Sydney Street in the North Lanes. - Ann Summers
- In the Town Centre (right near the Clocktower) has a range of fetish clothing, toys and novelty items at the rear of the shop. Aims at a mainly heterosexual crowd.
- Darren Wallace
- Artist - Custom Framing - Studio Arch 245, Kings Road Arches, Brighton.
- Garb
- Leather / latex / PVC / restraint gear on Noakes Lane in the Lanes.
- Leather Workshop
- Leather (surprisingly enough !!!) wear and restraint items 'off the peg' and made to order on Gloucester Road in North Laine.
- Madison Travel
- Madison Travel are a gay / lesbian travel agency situated just on the frontier from Brighton and Hove in Western Road. They are an all-gay-run and owned company and have been catering for the gay community in Brighton and Hove for the last 14 years.
- Master U - online ordering
- Master U makes the finest floggers and whips at an affordable prices. All the whips are handmade in London and based on a standard that has proven reliability. They only work with traditionally tanned leather from mainland Europe and highest quality rubber from the UK. Also make a fun range called Demon Lashes. Check site details for fairs in and around Brighton.
- Pink Products
- Dedicated gay and lesbian online store, created specifically for same sex couples who are looking to create, decorate and innovate.
Sunbed Studios
- Tanarama Sunbed
- 42 Preston St, Brighton.
- Tube Station
- 84 St. James's St, Brighton
If you own or know of a shop that would be relevant in this section please contact me.
You can cross-reference these shops with our Shopping pages on Virtual Brighton's Tourism site for more information.