Therapy - The Mission

Furniture, nick knacks or shoes, this is the store, actually two stores for retail therapy. Both shops named Therapy sit side by side, one for furniture and one for gifts for yourself. Although the breadth of the stock is wide, there it's carefully chosen to reflect a specific sensibility, quirky, urban-cute, anti-hip.

541 & 545 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415.621.5902
415.861.6213

Felicity's Fetiché / Foot Worship - Polk Gultch

The funny window displays and fantastic sign make Felicity's worth mentioning.

This stripper supply store is well stocked with fishnets, stage costumes, plus plenty of naughty nurse and French maid costumes for those who are not in the trade. Upstairs Foot Fetish is well stocked in lucite shoes sized for girls and trannies.

1214 Sutter St
San Francisco,
CA 94109-5517
415.474.7874

Buffalo Exchange - Haight Ashbury

When it comes to recycled fashion, Buffalo Exchange is one of the best. I would go so far as to say it is the best second hand shop on the Haight for everyday wear. It's not full of cheaply made new clothes like Crossroads, or costumey like Wasteland, yet the selection is better honed, and of better quality than the Goodwill on Haight. In addition to a full range of clothes for all sexes, it has a good selection of shoes, bags, belts and other accessories.

1555 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.431.7733

American Rag - Civic Center

Interesting small labels share the racks with big, yet still stylish labels like Comme des Garçons, Pucci, and Marc by Marc Jacobs. The front of the shop showcases new clothes, surprisingly divided nearly evenly between men's and women's fashions. The back is filled with vintage, clearly picked with the swing set in mind.

The selection changes often, so the Moscow rule of shopping is well-advised here. American Rag always has a nice selection of denim, including those übertrendy styles that may not look good on every figure, but, I'm sure, have an audience. Shoes are fashionable, yet walkable, from dressy flats to Pumas and Vans. My favorite section of the store is the jewelry, much of it made by local designers.

1305 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94109
415.474.4553

Off the Rack Bridal at BHS -- Oxford Street

When my sister was preparing for her wedding, I went bridal gown shopping with her. We hit several fancy wedding boutiques in San Francisco. At these boutiques, the bride-to-be, dressed in the appropriate bridal underpinnings, stood on a platform in a vast changing room while an attendant fetched and carried gowns and accessories, and helped my sister try them on. Mum and I sat in the chairs provided for the bridal party and other hangers-on, and watched our own private fashion show, mouths agape at the prices, which ran into the tens of thousands. I can see how anyone who ever had young-girl fantasies of being a princess could be sucked in to the faux couture of a beautifully made wedding gown, shown in a beautiful setting.

My fiscally responsible sis did not buy a gown at one of these boutiques. She ended up finding a very pretty dress in some off-price place in Santa Ana or Long Beach. It wasn't fru fru, layer cake, or overly shiny. She was a beautiful bride in a simple age-appropriate design that did not look bargain-basement.

Ten years later, on the way to indulging in one of my favorite breakfasts at British Home Stores, I walked past the bridal section. There was nothing like this in America when my sister was looking for a dress, rows and rows of bridal off the rack, including gowns, bridesmaids dresses, tiaras, the lot. I can't say they were nice, but they looked a lot better than the prom dresses at Sears. A bride-to-be on a budget can buy a whole ensemble, a dress, a veil and shoes for £200, now that's chavtastic.

252-258 Oxford Street
London , W1C 1DL
020.7629.2011

Teenage Row - Tanforan Mall

It is sheer genius to put the teenage stores together at Tanforan Mall. Of course, one could argue that the whole mall is teenage haven, but some shops, such as Hot Topic, Pacific Sun, Zumiez & Shoe Palace are especially alluring to teens and the mutton dressed as lamb brave enough to shop there without a young person in tow.

Tanforan Mall
San Bruno, CA 94066
650.553.5100

Crossroads - Inner Sunset, Fillmore, Castro, Haight Ashbury

"You have some cool clothes, but...." This is the mantra that must be part of the training for anyone who takes a buyer/cashier job at Crossroads. If you want to sell your frocks, don't bother unless you have designer clothes, or premium brand names, like Levis big E's. Then, if you're lucky, you'll get $5 cash - or $8 in trade.

The selectiveness of the buyers is not reflected in the stock for sale but if you hunt you can find a few good things. For example, a recent shopping trip yielded a $300 pair of brand new, straight legged ACNE jeans for $60. A few designer garments, about 10-20 per store, are hung on the wall above the clothes racks, but overall, there is a lot of polyester, a bunch of t-shirts and jeans and some new, disposable Forever 21-type clothes. If you don't mind used shoes, some real bargains can be had on solid labels. Cute bags, purses and junk jewelry are a good way to complete your environmentally and fiscally correct recycled outfit.

The Sunset branch has the best selection for women, while the Castro branch has the most men's wear.

1519 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.355.0555

1901 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.775.8885

555 Irving Street
San Francisco, CA 94122
415.681.0100

2123 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415.552.8740

Camping out at Niketown - Union Square

It seems that I pass a row of people hunkered down for the night at least once a month outside the Union Sqaure Niketown. Every time a premium pair of sneakers is introduced, these Nike collectors come out and stake their place in line. Often the line of folding chairs and sleeping bags snakes around the block. Niketown seems to encourage this sidewalk squatting by issuing numbered wristbands to those in line every time a particularly coveted style of Air Jordans is released.

The last last time I noticed these campers, it was a Thursday night. They were waiting for a Saturday release of the Air Max Hybrids. Where do these people come from and why do they wait all night, often for several nights in a row, for a pair of shoes they could buy on the Haight without sacrificing a good night's sleep?

278 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94108
415.392.6453

Shoe Palace – Tanforan

I went to high school with Cholas. They stood on the concrete benches that ran along the hallways, hair sprayed into stiff Ms, bra straps hanging out of white tank tops, dark Levi cords accessorized with navy blue canvas shoes and web belts. When it was cold, or perhaps, if the principal made them, they wore Pendleton shirts. The more femme girls wore babydoll tank tops, the smocked kind you used to be able to buy by the foot at the fabric store and turn into a top with one seam.

That was years ago. Now, the Latinas I see on a daily basis are more likely to shop at Forever 21 than the men’s department at Sears. If you want to see Chola style, you must be content to shop at Macy’s for the few bits of inspiration Gwen Stefani stole for her L.A.M.B collection. Where have all the Cholas gone? Is it a style that is no longer relevant? I used to think so, until this weekend, at Shoe Palace in the Tanforan Mall.

I was ogling the wall of youth-sized Nikes, (By the way, girls, youth sizes go up to 6.5, which is the same as a women’s 8.5, at nearly half the price.) when three girls in full Chola uniform walked in. Instead of cords, they wore Dickies, and their tank tops were much tighter and shorter, but they had the same unmistakable Chola hairdo, the same pencil-thin eyebrows and the same black plastic bracelets tied into intricate designs. They were all buying black Vans. It’s probably the closest they could get to the navy blue canvas shoes of the 80s.

If Chola-style is coming back, Tanforan mall, with it’s distinctive urban focus, is the place for it to happen. Shoe Palace is the perfect starting point. The clerks dress more hip hop than shop boy, all of the shoes are up-to-the minute teenage chic and the price is right. I bought a pair of Air Max Nikes for $80. Try doing that at Macy’s.

Tanforan Mall
San Bruno, CA 94066
650.553.5100

Liberty - Oxford Circus

If you happen to be stuck in London with someone who does not appreciate shopping, Take him to Liberty of London. (Note my sexist use of the word “him.”) Liberty is a fantastic Tudor building that was built with the beams two ships. A couple of the nice architectural details include commemorative carvings honoring the Liberty employees who died in WWI & WWII. This should give you at lest an hour to shop, while your companion reads the memorials.

I love Liberty prints. Hankies, tote bags, anything remotely naff with a Liberty print on it, I own it. I get lots of compliments from librarians and well-heeled American grandmothers who happen to spot me blowing my nose or using a Liberty bag as a briefcase. The boutique on the first floor is devoted to these types of inexpensive (for Liberty) Liberty print gift items.

Of course Liberty print dress shirts are gorgeous and difficult, if not impossible, to find anywhere else, but it's not all prim and proper. Liberty stocks a nice range of art house labels for the fashion forward.

Regent Street
London W1
020 7734 1234