City feature: Stoke-on-trent
Your probably going 'whu?' about now but stoke does have a close-knit alternative scene & theres alot more to the area than metal bands, oatcakes & 'urghs' Robbie williams.
Stoke's alternative scene shops wise is varied with alot of interesting local shops. You can find gothic & alternative clothing mostly with smaller shops stocking quirky items. The most commonly known area to shop in will be The piccadilly arcade holding several local alternative clothing shops.
Stoke is oddly enough home to quite a few alternative nights & clubs too (now theres a surprise for outsiders). You can find clubs such as The sugarmill, The underground & The glebe holding gigs and nights alongside nights at local pubs & clubs such as Fakk it & The tube's indie night.
I took to the streets of Stoke's 2 main towns Hanley & Newcastle-under-Lyme to document the alternative scene.
Hanley
The picadilly arcade, Brunswick street

The piccadilly arcade is home to several alternative shops. It's a small 'mall' like passageway with shops but certainly worth a visit.
Dignity: Now spread across 2 shops you can find a huge selection of shoes in the first shop with clothing upstairs mostly of the alternative & gothic styles. You can find a mixture of unusual tights & more alternative/'scenester' clothing in the second smaller shop. It's always worth a nose as they constantly get in new stock.
Sneaky culture: Catering for retro clothing & toys from vintage sportswear to transformers the stocks always changing in here.

In the same area, named the 'cultural quarter' you can also find several other alternative shops.
Indecision

Stocking alot of niche & ethnic gifts alongside a huge t-shirt rail from emily strange to sanrio.
Dazed
A skate & alternative orientated clothing shop for those with a higher bank balance!
Moving around the 'corner' on Stafford street you can also find 2 of the areas most well known shops:
Forbidden planet, Stafford street
Obviously more known for selling comics & games but upstairs has a small gothic & alternative clothing selection alongside new rock & swear shoes.
Rowfers, Stafford street
Stocks niche gifts, stargazer make up & jewellery alongside a mixture of gothic, punk & alternative clothing. From t-shirts to loli esque skirts & baggy jeans.
Also in Hanley:
Discretion, Hope street
Was a cyber/gothic clothing shop now purely catering for fetish wear.
Rif raf, Stafford street.
Stocks gothic & punk clothing mostly alongside cheap tights & glow sticks.
Newcastle-under-lyme.
The smaller town in Stoke but definetly worth a visit. You can find a small selection of alternative shops in Newcastle.
Gravity, High street

They stock niche gifts, some fantastic uv body jewellery & stretching gear alongside t-uk shoes (yes the kitty shoes are here!) & alternative clothing. A small shop but alot of surprising stock inside!
Rahki gifts, High street
Similar to rif raf in hanley, stocking niche gifts downstairs & upstairs is a selection of gothic & skater clothing.
Newcastle market, High street
Literally just round the corner from the bus station you can find the huge market, on saturdays there are 2 alternative clothing stalls. 1 opposite the cinema stocking a huge mixture of clothing from gothic to ethnic including nomads, omen & lolita rose clothing. The 2nd stall stocking band t-shirts & hoodies.
You can find images from around Stoke in the gallery.
cotm & photos: Leona