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stores. I've seen chenille knit wraps for under $100 and some eclectic San
Francisco-themed tees that put the standard tourist tat to shame. Selections are
haute but not pretentious—enough to pique jealousy but not to drain the purse.
Right nearby,
Lemon Twist
(537 Octavia St.;
%
415/558-9699; www.lemon
twist.net)
is a good second stop in the area for shoppers seeking local-made casual
clothing that, by virtue of its originality, your friends will never be able to copy;
everything is made in San Francisco.
The Haight
Hoodies, sweatshirts, tees with left-leaning inscriptions, shoes, and other imple-
ments of hipsterdom fill the rails at
Villains
5
(1672 Haight St., at Cole,
%
415/
626-5939; www.villainssf.com),
one of the Haight's largest and most established
clothing shops (since 1986). The store calls its ethnic “street style,” but I like to
think of the look you get here as “stylish slacker.” Bargains of 25% to 75% off are
in the back and to the right. Across the street,
Villains Vault
(1653 Haight St., at
Belvedere;
%
415/864-7727)
carries a similar style but with designer labels, giv-
ing it a higher price point.
Installed in a fabulous early 20th-century building left over from the street's early
days as an amusement center,
Wasteland
55
(1660 Haight St.,
%
415/863-3150;
www.thewasteland.com)
repeats the Haight formula of mostly affordable hipster
wear, except in designer-y vintage—$20 pants, $15 shirts, and $40 designer tees are
the norm. There are interesting selections of jewelry and shoes, too. The deals aren't
amazing, although the selection is diverse. Staff is daffy, to put it kindly, and on its
own planet.
For more “stylish slacker” stuff—things you'd see a wealthy skateboarder wear—
there's
VA
(1485 Haight St., at Ashbury;
%
415/701-7822; www.rvcaclothing.com).
Do your best to see past the pretentious preening with which it presents its prod-
ucts as artistically sound; it claims to be “free from passing trends” when it's any-
thing but. However, one-of-a-kind tees are $40 and well-cut shirts are $80, which
isn't too bad in these parts.
USED CLOTHING
If consignment stuff is your bag, a run up and down Haight Street near Ashbury
will do you good, because it's the city's unofficial seat of used clothing.
Those capricious clotheshorses of Russian Hill and Pacific Heights cast off
their perfectly good, barely worn couture to
CRIS
5
(2056 Polk St., at Broadway;
%
415/474-1191),
where they're resold in a fancy environment that belies the
50%-plus discounts you're actually getting. Cris, the owner, is expert at helping
customers put together looks that suit them. The stock changes per the whims of
its former owners and what they're weary of wearing, but Prada, Chanel, Gucci,
and Versace are typically in rotation.
Samples, clothes from past seasons, items used in window displays and ads—
they all end up at
Jeremy's
55
(2 South Park, btw. Bryant and Brannan;
%
415/
882-4929; www.jeremys.com),
where clothes are not pre-worn but cost as little as
if they were. You can find some amazing stuff from Jimmy Choo, Dolce &
Gabbana, Prada, and other high-end, dressy labels you never thought you could
afford, plus more middle-ground names like Jill Sander and Vera Wang. I've
received word that one woman found a gown for $299 that was selling 8 months
