Ness

Ness is a Royal Mile favourite for Scottish-​inspired tweedy women’s fashion. The thing you really need to know about it is– THERE ARE NO REFUNDS. So buy what you are sure you want. Because you will only ever get store credit, which you may or may not want. This is useful for tourists to know because they will never have the opportunity to come back and use the store credit if they buy something in there and then see something else they prefer in another shop and try to return the first item. No dice.

Tartan, tartan eveywhere! But pretty tartan. Tartan that’s light pinks and purples and blues. Tartan on coats, on bags, on purses, on wellies, as flower brooches, as teddies, as hats and scarves. Tartan in the most pretty of ways.
It is on the Royal Mile and might seem toursity; but it’s not. I know many friends who own Ness handbags, wallets and wellies and they look incredibly lovely, fashionable and nice.
It’s also the place I take friends and visitors when they want to take home a nice, Scottish-​themed present that isn’t the usual tourist tat.
Pricewise it’s not too bad either. So all round it’s a winner!

I remember when this was only a teeny tiny little shop on the Royal Mile when I first discovered Ness (probably mid 1990ies), loved it! It felt welcoming, personal and much less commercialized than it is now. Still love the Ness style, colours and patterns of clothes and accessories, less pleased with quality plus the sizes tend to be smaller than expected (which of course isn’t only an issue with Ness but with many brands these days).
My best buys at Ness are still a) the wool gloves, which are surprisingly incredibly warm and b) the pretty fake leather/​wool wallet. Plus their small tartan bags and purses. Adorable.

Love this store!
I wish they had the raincoat i wanted in my size… it was on sale and Sooooo cute! alas, it was not to be.
But definitely worth a visit to check out the cute clothes and accessories

Scotland’s answer to Toast, Ness sell modern pieces of timeless womenswear.
We’re talking pretty blouses, skirts, knitwear, jackets, bags, hats and accessories in a palette of pale pinks, blues, greens and bright pinks. In the autumn and winter a lot of the stock seems to be tartan and lambswool dogtooth but in the spring and summer, they add lighter fabrics like cotton and linen into the mix. Sizes are generous and each garment comes with a feminine name like Greta, Agnes, Bethany or Genevieve.
The thing I can imagine Pedro Almodovar snapping up for his leading ladies however, is Ness’s fabulous range of tartan wedge shoes. At £39.95, they’re a steal and come in a wonderful variety of colours with a fur lining!