Lorraine Sanders

Lorraine Sanders

Lorraine Sanders, author of the fashion blog sfindiefashion.com and self-described shopaholic, gives us the skinny on what makes San Francisco the ultimate shopping city.

Q. What’s unique about San Francisco’s fashion, design and boutique communities?

A. The sheer diversity. In the span of any given week, you could easily meet a high-profile, celebrity designer in town for a public appearance at one of the major department stores surrounding Union Square, find a huge sale event focused on anything from fitness apparel to fine silver jewelry happening at Fort Mason and stumble across countless Champagne-tinged happy hour events taking place in smaller boutiques across the city.

There are certainly people here who attend the major fashion weeks in New York, Paris and other locales while, at the same time, there are just as many people whose style focus is more trained on the latest bike messenger bag. And San Francisco stores really reflect that diversity. You’ll find the rare, the mainstream, the über luxury and the affordably priced — all within storefronts on the same block.

Q. What standout trends have you been seeing around San Francisco lately?

A. It’s almost always a trend in San Francisco to be un-trendy, for lack of a better word…. It’s completely normal to find someone decked out in high-end vintage walking down the street behind someone in head-to-toe lululemon gear and someone else looking like he or she is trying to mimic what all the gorgeous people on the latest MTV reality show are wearing. But in a general sense, I think the vast majority of women in San Francisco love a great pair of dark jeans, a striking pair of knee-high boots, versatile jackets and the occasional standout vintage item thrown into the mix. Or maybe I just described myself. Ha!

Q. We’ve been writing about some of the city’s great museum gift shops. Are there are other unique or nontraditional shopping opportunities you’d recommend?

A. Speaking of great museum gift shops, the Museum of Craft and Folk Art gift shop has a fabulous selection of housewares, accessories, jewelry and gift items made by artists in the Bay Area. As for nontraditional shopping experiences, the multi-designer shopping nights and independent design fairs that take place here throughout the year are among my favorite opportunities to purchase unusual, handmade items from artists who make their livings producing small, independent lines of apparel, jewelry and gift items for the home.

Q. What’s the item at the top of your wish list this year?

A. For some reason, I always seem to start a year with a new bag. Then I proceed to run it into the ground. Two bags I’d gladly swing from my arm until they fell to pieces: a bag from reMade, a local company that turns cast-off leather jackets into new handbags, or anything in the spring collection from 49 Square Miles, another San Francisco-based handbag company. Neither are cheap, but they’re well-constructed, unique and made by local artisans that I admire.

Q. What inspired you to start a blog about independent fashion in San Francisco?

A. I’m a big believer in the idea of conscious consumerism, and SF Indie Fashion really grew out of my interest in that. I’ve always loved fashion and style, but at a certain point in my twenties, I began to think more about where my money was going and who it was supporting. Around the same time, I was building my freelance writing career in San Francisco, so I was constantly on the hunt for new ideas to pitch to editors. I’d walk different neighborhoods and leave notes under the doors of businesses that were about to open asking the owners to call me and tell me about their store so I’d have an idea to bring an editor, and I’d attend any shopping event or trunk show I could find out about in hopes of finding someone or something new that hadn’t been written about before, things like that. As a freelancer, that’s the Holy Grail: something amazing that no one’s covered yet.

Along the way, I realized there were far more Bay Area designers, artists, small business owners and events in the city that I wanted to write about than the media outlets I wrote for could possibly accommodate — even if they wanted to — so I decided to put everything I was finding on one site, and that became SF Indie Fashion.

Our focus is primarily independent apparel and accessories designers, but we also like to write about independently operated boutiques in the city, whether or not their focus is primarily on independent brands, the reasoning being that most small businesses — whether they are designers or retail owners — don’t have the time or financial resources to support major marketing or public relations efforts like their larger competitors might. So SF Indie Fashion kind of tries to fill that role, in a sense, by getting the word out about sales, promotions and events that people might not otherwise hear about. We’re like cheerleaders for independent labels and small business owners because we really believe they enhance San Francisco and our lives in it.

Q. You cover a ton of local events on your blog. Do you have a favorite annual fashion or shopping event you attend in San Francisco?

A. There are so many small events happening here all the time, from trunk shows to multi-designer shopping nights, and many don’t remain consistent from year to year. In general, I’d suggest fans of fashion check out the SF Indie Fashion Calendar or other local media sources before they visit to see what’s happening when they’ll be in town.

That said, fashion and shopping events that happen here multiple times a year that are always worth a visit do exist and include the Union Design Festival held in Hayes Valley, Appel & Frank multi-designer shopping nights and Chillin’ Productions’ events, which bring designers, artists and music together in nightclubs in the city.

Q. What are your top picks for San Francisco neighborhoods to shop?

A. If you’re new to San Francisco or haven’t visited within the last decade, I’d highly recommend a visit to Hayes Valley. The neighborhood has changed dramatically in the last few years with the addition of Octavia Boulevard and the accompanying park. As for the shopping, it’s what I’d call a surefire crowd pleaser — a destination neighborhood that offers great restaurants and cafes, bars, design-driven stores for the home and boutiques boasting everything from premium vintage apparel to hard-to-find European footwear brands. Whatever your taste happens to be, it’s likely you’ll find something of interest along Hayes Street and the surrounding side streets, from shops that cater to local independent designers such as R.A.G. to the upscale, cutting-edge labels at M.A.C. and Acrimony to the cute, always-gift-appropriate items for women and babies at Lavish.

Anyone seeking a truly San Francisco shopping experience should head to the Mission, where thrift stores mingle with upscale boutiques, used bookstores, art galleries, cafes, burrito shops and trendy restaurants.

I routinely send anyone 25 or under who visits me to the Upper Haight, while Pacific Heights and Cow Hollow are my picks for those seeking a more pristine shopping experience with a mixture of major brand names and sophisticated little boutiques.

If you’re really serious about shopping San Francisco’s independent designers, I’d recommend arranging a tour with Fashion Slave, a local company that arranges visits to designer studios and stores specializing in apparel and accessories made by Bay Area designers and artisans.

Q. What’s distinctive about San Francisco’s style?

A. When it comes to San Francisco style, two things stand out to me time and time again. First, people in San Francisco aren’t afraid to take risks with their style. I remember my mother visiting me one time and marveling at a man who passed her while wearing a pair of pale pink Capri pants. I told her she hadn’t seen anything yet — and I meant it. Walk through any neighborhood in San Francisco, and I guarantee you that you’re going to see at least one person whose outfit makes you turn your head and look twice. While there’s certainly no one reason for this, I think the eclectic fashion choices here have a lot to do with how diverse the Bay Area is. People who live here are constantly running into different cultures and lifestyles and digesting all manner of media, and we all seem to borrow from each other and everything we see around us.

Second, the weather here is unlike anywhere else in the nation, and that really affects peoples’ fashion choices. Flip-flops and pea coats? Sure, we’ll do it. Scarves and tank tops? But of course. What’s more, because the temperatures are relatively stable year-round, we don’t have distinct seasonal wardrobes like many people do in other cities. We tend to buy pieces that will be wearable throughout the year. The reality of microclimates (head up to Twin Peaks on any given day, then venture down into the Mission and compare the temperature differences) makes layering not only a style choice, but a practical one, as well. And lastly, a lot of people here get around by walking, biking and using public transportation, so it’s common to see San Franciscans wearing clothing that is durable and comfortable enough to make it around town on two wheels, yet put-together enough to look good during a post-work happy hour venture.

Q. What are some of the more interesting eco-shopping experiences, or unique eco-friendly items, you’ve seen in San Francisco?

A. There are many. If you’re a fan of eco-friendly clothing, then shops such as Eco Citizen in Russian Hill and Clary Sage Organics in Pacific Heights are must-visits. I’m also a big proponent of the eco-friendly aspects of vintage fashion. Sure, most vintage apparel isn’t made with eco-friendly fabric, but reusing clothing from the past and giving it a new life is certainly a sustainable consumer choice. If you’re looking for amazing, high-end vintage, you could spend all day at Torso Vintages near Union Square. For less expensive, quirkier finds, I can often be found hunting for vintage at The Painted Bird, CC Rider and Retrofit, among many others.

Q. What key items should someone traveling to San Francisco pack?

A. Layers! If I were composing the perfectly packed suitcase for a visitor to San Francisco, I’d recommend bringing versatile pieces that are comfortable and can be dressed up and down for an easy transition from, say, sightseeing downtown to dinner in SoMa. For women, a classic wrap dress, a great pair of jeans, flat-footed boots or sandals (depending on the season) comfortable enough to traverse the city’s many hills, a few lightweight cardigans or sweaters, a versatile scarf and fitted jacket will give you enough to look good and feel comfortable just about anywhere you’d want to go anytime of year. For guys, the best advice I can give is to bring a pair of long pants and a lightweight jacket, even if it’s the middle of the summer. Other than that, pretty much anything goes — it’s a casual town; ties are not necessary in most of the city’s restaurants and bars. Lastly, while I love my flip-flops, I wouldn’t recommend them as the best footwear for exploring downtown streets.