San Francisco/Bay Area Store Guide

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by keykoo

I went down to Hayes Valley this weekend and found a bunch of cool shops that I didn't know of (although I probably should've headed down to check out MAC sooner...) As a resident of hte area for 6 months I'd like to broaden my haunts. There's a nice shopping guide in the MC forum for SF with a couple cool stores but it caters to a slightly different market. Recommend me some nifty stores for me to check out for clothes, shoes, and other incidentals please.

Places I've Been So Far: (alphabetized for your convenience)
Archive, The
AB Fits
Azalea
Barneys
Cotton Sheep
Gimme Shoes
MAC
Saks
Self Edge

If you are into Marc Jacobs, they have a store on Maiden Lane. Usually, prices are stratospheric. but they have seasonal sales of 70% off. Insane. Prices are stil high, but worth it, or the most part. Also, they get tons of stuff from other stores, so you may score some cool laceups, kicks, etc.. that were really high priced at retail, for $120 or so.

 

[acidboy]

Don't forget Jeremy's.

 

[Casey]

Yeah, I never pay retail for MJ because I know they get marked way down, and it's usually the entire store too.

I heard that the Bloomingdale's in SF has a selection comparable to Barneys, and probably better than the smallish SF Barneys.

 

[Tarmac]

I stopped by this place in Hayes Valley called Nida, they had a lot of good stuff. Filippa K, Raf Simons, Yohji, aka the usual suspects.

 

[keykoo]

Bloomingdale's carries Viktor and Rolf, DSquared (ew), Prorsum, Margiela, Helmut Lang, Marc Jacobs, and that french brand that is obsessed with hemp... Lucian or something like that in their advanced designer section.

Barneys carries other brands and there isn't much overlap between the two. Overall the paucity of their selections are the same though, a couple pieces in limited sizes

 

[Mark C.]

Villains and Villains Vault

. Sure, I'm a bit biased...but Villains/Villains Vault is one of my favorite boutiques.

 

[keykoo]

I hate going to Haight cause parking there is atrocious. At least at Union Square you have a bunch of nice parking garages.

 

[Mark C.]

Originally Posted by keykoo

I hate going to Haight cause parking there is atrocious. At least at Union Square you have a bunch of nice parking garages.

This is true, lol

...although, to be honest, I always manage to find a parking space. Anyway, I just thought I'd recommend a nifty store. Good luck on your search.

 

[keykoo]

Do they ever go on sale?

 

[Mark C.]

Originally Posted by keykoo

Do they ever go on sale?

Yeah, I bought my Regular Ralphs on sale there about 10/11 months ago. I'm almost ready to wash and retire them. I can't wait to look at the results of my hard work

!!!

 

[Tarmac]

Originally Posted by keykoo

I hate going to Haight cause parking there is atrocious. At least at Union Square you have a bunch of nice parking garages.

Never had too much of a problem parking in the Haight.

The only area I consider true parking hell is the Pier area. That's when I go straight to the $10 parking lots.

 

[djh]

Anyone been to Carrots? http://www.sfcarrots.com/ Are there any other stores around it? The website/yelp reviews make me wanna check it out, but is it worth it to make the trek there if it's the only store..?

 

[kiya]

Originally Posted by adidassler

Anyone been to Carrots?
http://www.sfcarrots.com/

Are there any other stores around it? The website/yelp reviews make me wanna check it out, but is it worth it to make the trek there if it's the only store..?

I tried to go there after reading about it for months.. I went on July 5th, (fourth of July weekend), after looking for parking for what seemed like half an hour, walking three blocks, they had a sign on the door that read "Closed for Fourth of July Weekend"
I own three retail stores myself, who the **** closes on fourth of July weekend when the city is swarming with thousands of tourists wanting to blow their money on clothing?

 

[keykoo]

From what I gather, they're loaded as it is and the store (although I'm sure they want to make profit) is something they do as a hobby.

 

[LooseChange]

Does any place around the bay are carry Somets? Anyone with a similar stock as BiG?