Shopping in California
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Vroman’s Bookstore
Loiterers and laptops are welcome at friendly Vroman’s, SoCal’s oldest and largest independent bookstore. Working hard to keep customers happy, Vroman’s has wi-fi, weekly story times, a MySpace page, a blog, a coffee shop and regular author signings. Inveterate bookhounds and page-flippers love the combined 85,000-book inventory.
reviewed
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B
Harry Winston
The priciest store on Rodeo may be the happiest to see you. After a recent move to brighter, more accessible digs, the famed diamond purveyor replaced its formal counters with small islands to improve pedestrian flow. Silk velvet and silver leaf adorn the soaring walls, complementing the still-stunning array of sparkling baubles.
reviewed
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C
Goorin Brothers Hats
Peacock feathers, high crowns and local-artist-designed embellishments make it easy for SF hipsters to withstand the fog while standing out in a crowd. Straw fedoras with striped tie-silk bands bring the shade in style, as do flat-brim baseball caps with warrior embroidery by Hawaiian San Franciscan tattoo artist Orly Lacquiao.
reviewed
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D
HD Buttercup
A home decorator's nirvana, this airy, super-sized showroom in the former art deco Helms Bakery unites innovative and top-quality items from dozens of manufacturers. Silky bed linens to vintage steel desks, Turkish rugs to postmodern coffee tables, you'll find them here, along with bath and body products, gift items and jewelry.
reviewed
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E
Miette
Pure candy heaven: racks of licorice twists, a table of artisan chocolate bars and a fully stocked cupcake counter. Tots load up on Pixie Stix and chocolate fire trucks, while adults ogle salty French caramels and dark chocolates spiked with chili. Ask for help first, so you don't get caught with your hand in the candy jar.
reviewed
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F
Goodwill 'As Is' Shop
'Ooh, that wedding dress would look fierce with some blood on it!' Getting to the bottom of the bin before the regular crowds of emerging designers, vintage resellers, drag queens, serial costume-partiers and the rest of San Francisco's fashion rebels isn't always easy, but items cost $2.50 and the commentary is priceless.
reviewed
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Green Arcade
Everything you always wanted to know about mushroom foraging, worm composting and running for office on an environmental platform. This bookstore emphasizes helpful how-to books over eco-apocalypse treatises, so you'll leave with a rosier outlook on making the world a greener place.
reviewed
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Cocoabella
This San Francisco chocolate purveyor commissions chocolate makers around the world to produce treats with delightful flavors and exotic good looks: a hazelnut chocolate mushroom, a chocolate peanut butterfly, a Russian tea-scented chocolate painted like a Kandinsky, and a confectionary cappuccino in a tiny chocolate cup.
reviewed
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American Cyclery
If you’ve been lusting after a banana-seat Stingray, you might find one here. The oldest indie bike shop in SF, American Cyclery carries contemporary mountain and hybrid bikes as well as the occasional vintage model (the owner’s a collector). Though the shop hosts events and rides, alas, there are no rentals.
reviewed
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Global Exchange Fair Trade Craft Center
Consumerism with a heart of gold: wild splurges on splashy Rwandan laptop bags, fair-trade chocolate, sweatshop-free sneakers from Pakistan and crates of smiling, organic Egyptian-cotton carrots seem somehow noble, since the proceeds go right back to the community cooperatives that made them via nonprofit Global Exchange.
reviewed
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It's a Wrap
Dress like a movie star - in their actual clothes! Packed-to-the-rafters It's a Wrap sells wardrobe castoffs - tank tops to tuxedos - worn by actors and extras working on TV or movie shoots. Tags are coded (there's a list at the check-out counter), so you'll know whose clothing you can brag about wearing.
reviewed
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L
Trashy Lingerie
Those who worship at the altar of hedonism should check into this cluttered store, stocked with burlesque-inspired corsets, cat masks, school-girl outfits and whatever else girls and boys with imagination might need for a night of naughtiness. To keep out lookyloos, you must pay $5 for an 'annual membership' at the door.
reviewed
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Foxy Lady Boutique
Pick up some naughty habits while you're in town - the mini-skirted nun's outfit comes in men's and women's sizes, or perhaps you'd prefer something in the librarian-dominatrix department? If you want your Halloween costume to pay off this year, try the 'Sexy ATM Machine' costume … and yeow, watch those deposits.
reviewed
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Uko
Laser-cut, draped and micro-pleated are the fashion-forward signatures of Uko’s inventive garments for men and women. Get bonus fashion IQ points for clever jackets with hidden pockets-within-pockets, Cop-Copine wrap skirts with oddly flattering flaps, and silver drop earrings that add an exclamation point to your look.
reviewed
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O
Sunhee Moon
Minding your girlish figure so you don't have to, Sunhee Moon creates svelte shirtdresses and flattering fern-print tunics to make those curves work for you. You'll never need to wait for a sale, since there's always a rack with 20% to 50% off – yet another excuse to splurge on locally designed, free-form hoop earrings.
reviewed
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De La Sole
SF gets its kicks at De La Sole, from mod Duckie Brown-Florsheim wingtips, to radiator-vented sandals by Montreal brand Industry. Says the sales rep to a customer squeezing into a 60% off Palladium boot: 'Don't worry, it won't always be so tight.' Chimes in a fellow customer, without missing a beat: 'That's what they all say.'
reviewed
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Q
Ooma
Feel-good style is what Objects of My Affection is all about: ticklish coral waterfall earrings, springy Poetic License wedges, and locally made, sweatshop-free Del Forte organic denim. Better still, most items are in the affordable double-digit range, including laser-cut wood bubble earrings by local designer Molly M.
reviewed
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R
Tortoise General Store
This compact Japanese shop applies the ‘slow food’ philosophy to housewares, jewelry and crafts. Its two floors are packed tight with traditional, made-with-care products evocative of a simpler way of life. Wooden soap dishes, rattan baskets and tenugui cloths are just a few of the eye-catching items on offer.
reviewed
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Massage Garage
Feeling as run-down as your '89 Honda? Why not pull in for a ‘test drive' (30 minutes), a 'tune-up' (60 minutes) or an 'overhaul' (90 minutes) at this industrial-flavored yet comfortable day spa? Choose from five massage treatments, including shiatsu and Swedish massage. For the complete detox, book a mud wrap.
reviewed
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Prada
The new Prada ‘epicenter’ on Rodeo is as much about ogling as shopping. The 24,000ft showroom, designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhouse, yawns directly onto the sidewalk like the world’s haughtiest garage. Inside, faceless fembots, all fabulously frocked, pretend they have something better to do.
reviewed
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Soko Hardware
Ikebana, bonsai, tea ceremony and Zen rock-garden supplies are all here at fair prices.
reviewed
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Tessuti Zoo
PG's compact downtown is centered on Lighthouse and Forest Aves. It's well on its way to quaintness, but there are numerous little boutiques and antique stores that are worth a gander. One excellent place is Tessuti Zoo which is owned by a designer who hand-makes funky items ranging from ponchos to lawn ornaments.
reviewed
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Mission Skateboards
Street creds come easy with locally designed Mission decks, custom tees to kick-flip over and cult shoes at this shop owned by SF street-skate legend Scot Thompson. This shop is handy to Potrero del Sol/La Raza Skatepark, and for newbies too cool for kneepads, SF General. Check the website for events, including street races and documentary premieres.
reviewed
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Crossroads of the World
One of the LA's first malls, Robert Derrah's 1936 Streamline Moderne complex has an eye-catching nautical theme. The central structure is shaped like a ship, with its bow topped by a tower crowned with a rotating globe. The surrounding cottages, many in mock-Tudor style, house the offices of Taschen publishing.
reviewed
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Human Rights Campaign Action Center & Store
If this storefront seems familiar, you're right: this was once Harvey Milk's camera shop and one of the locations used in the Academy Award–winning Milk. Now it's home to the HRC, the GLBT lobbying group and its affiliated shop. Make more than a fashion statement in signature HRC tees designed by Marc Jacobs, Kenneth Cole and other fashion-forward thinkers, with proceeds supporting civil-rights initiatives. Hopeful romantics head here to sign marriage- equality petitions and pop the question with rings inscribed on the inside with aequalitas (equality).
reviewed