North Beach & Chinatown
Hepcats and slick chicks get their handmade threads at Al's, where vintage styles are reinvented in noir-novel twill, dandy high-sheen cotton and mid…
Must-see shopping in Northern California
San Francisco
Looking good in leather since 1979, Johnson Leathers custom-tailors classic cuts to suit all styles and genders. The motorcycle gear is made with quality…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
San Francisco prides itself on innovation, but this one's Canadian: custom-blended lipstick, with food-grade essential oils and nontoxic, organic…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
America's most-wanted men's look is classic California outlaw – and nobody does it better than designer John Varvatos. Western jackets, waxed jeans and…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
The reception area looks more like a doctor's office than a Haight hippie den, because Sparc has been a medical marijuana pioneer since 1998 – and to be…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Hey bargain hunters: see those upscale design boutiques lining Fillmore St? You can probably score their recent designs for less at Crossroads, thanks to…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Action-packed shelves of novels and graphic novels keep Missionistas well read, and trusty staff picks ensure you don't miss out on key local authors and…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Keep those muscles warm and show local cyclist pride as you whip through downtown streets wearing San Francycle's California-bear-on-a-bicycle tee and SF…
San Francisco
Gifts come from the heart inside this front-parlor gift shop, packed with outer-avenues necessities: flax clothing, indigo beach totes and fisherman's…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Hang a left at Ruth Asawa's bronze Origami Fountains and discover worlds of possibility. Family-run since 1968, this paper-craft emporium is fueling a…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Seven floors of name brands spanning a city block and the historic marble I Magnin building offer charming old-school amenities – including actual powder…
San Francisco
Popsicles, tide pools, stained glass: Tina Frey's hand-cast vessels light up rooms and fire up neurons with their hypnotic, translucent color. If the urge…
San Francisco
Nob Hill socialites share a secret that's hiding in plain sight on Polk St: hot-off-the-runway high-end fashion for men and women, bought and sold on…
Lyle Tuttle Tattoo Art Museum & Shop
North Beach & Chinatown
Tattooed ladies are the life's work of icon Lyle Tuttle, who inked women across seven continents – including Janis Joplin, Cher and Joan Baez. Since the…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
The mother lode of magazines since 1973. The Magazine's old wooden shelves barely contain all the 1940s pinup mags, 1950s Vogue, trippy 1960s underground…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Host gifts that earn return invitations to SF dinner parties come from Fatted Calf. This Bay Area salumi maker's showcase is a one-stop shop for…
North Beach & Chinatown
Ditch your day job and take up painting at this employee-owned art-supply store, housed in the former Hippodrome burlesque theater. This Barbary Coast hot…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Strap on goggles and hang onto your top hat: with steampunk styling from Distractions, tonight you're gonna party like it's 1899. This gold-rush mad…
North Beach & Chinatown
Hollywood pinups borrowed their slinky silk-robe style from Chinatown burlesque stars back in the '30s – and now you can rock that retro hottie look in…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Get geared up in San Francisco–designed styles to suit every local weather condition: arctic Alamo Square winds require minimalist Golden Gate hoodies,…
Sausalito
Near Sausalito's houseboat docks, this factory has been baking and glazing iconic dinnerware and home goods made of clay since 1959. Even chef Alice…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Get cheeky with BeneTint (liquid blush made from crushed roses) or raise eyebrows with Big Sexy Eye Kit – two of Benefit's signature products, invented in…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Stuffed deer exchange glassy stares with skeletons over rusty dental tools: the signs are ominous, and for sale. Head upstairs for Goth gifts, including…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
For the prankster in your life, Houdini's stocks all the classic gags – rubber chickens, exploding caps, marked cards, escapable handcuffs – plus…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Ignorance of the fog is no excuse in San Francisco – but should you confuse SF for LA (the horror!) and neglect to pack the obligatory sweater, Margaret O…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
It's a wonder you got this far in life without penguin soy-sauce dispensers, Pikachu socks, extra-spiky hair wax and the ultimate in gay gag gifts, the…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Wabi-sabi is the fine appreciation for imperfect, organic forms and materials, and the stock in trade of Gallery Japonesque. Owner Koichi Hara arranges…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
The perfect stop before a long flight, Fog City stocks a vast variety of domestic magazines and newspapers, plus 700 international titles from 25…
North Beach & Chinatown
Detour from reality at Eden & Eden, a Dadaist design boutique where espresso cups give you side-eye, lightning strikes on dresses, shaggy tea cozies make…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Big air and big style are the tip at this SF skateboard outfitter, featuring Western Edition decks designed by local guest artists. Show insider flair as…
San Francisco
Blow minds with souvenirs that get visitors mistaken for locals. Go from downtown protests in tees featuring the Golden Gate Bridge and the city's…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Fragrant Japanese incense for every purpose, from long-burning sandalwood for Zen meditation to cinnamon-tinged Gentle Smile to atone for laundry left too…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
A tiny shop for girly girls with big clothing allowances, Dress draws from leading contemporary designers, such as Diane von Furstenberg and rag & bone,…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Nothing screams San Francisco quite as much as a new leather outfit – it's what Hillary Clinton wore in SF the first time she spoke publicly after losing…
San Francisco Railway Museum Gift Shop
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
The next best thing to taking an SF cable car home with you is getting a toy streetcar from this tiny, free Municipal Railway museum showcasing SF public…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Do you have a spiritual need involving herbal remedies, organic supplements, essential oils or magic crystals? This store can manifest such things. They…
North Beach & Chinatown
See the world from the comfort of your living room with a wall of Real Old Paper finds: vintage travel posters, Dutch Star Wars promotions, Pacific WWII…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Whether you just broke a guitar string jamming on Haight St or left a Fillmore show determined to learn ukelele, this legendary music shop will rock your…
San Francisco
When date nights and last-minute party invites catch you unprepared, head here to score casually fabulous Californian looks for women. For bargains, start…
Oakland
Two Jacks is an indispensable resource for East Bay men who need to come correct. It specializes in selvedge denim – made on a shuttle loom with a…
