Fake Tales of San Francisco

Standing outside of my favorite San Francisco cupcake and candy shop, Miette, in Hayes Valley. Marc Jacobs coat, Balenciaga knit top, Burfitt high-waisted denim skirt, Rachel Comey boots, Wolford tights, DIY Rodarte inspired scarf, vintage wool beret from American Rag, Gryson for Target bag, Antti Asplund cross necklace, and Banana Republic cashmere armwarmers.

So I'm back in San Francisco, and the first thing on my to-do list has been to hit up all of the places that I missed on my first trip. For example, I've been wanting to stop by American Rag for awhile, but it's on a strip-mall style street full of car dealerships, and I couldn't bother to head over there with nothing else to entice me. When we stopped by this morning though, I was not only impressed by their incredible selection of vintage clothing, but how reasonably priced most of it was. As I've gotten older, I've also gotten simultaneously suckier at thrifting and digging for vintage finds, and while Nicollette can walk in and out of Buffalo Exchange in five minutes with a pair of Henrik Vibskov sandals in tow for under $20, I almost always walk out emptyhanded, and with a massive headache. Therefore it is always nice to have someone else buy and gather everything under one organized roof, and I was happy to find a vintage French wool beret for $26.

Afterwards we strolled over to Hayes Valley, which is one of my favorite places for cute boutiques and cafes. How could I have possibly skipped over MAC (Modern Appealing Clothing) last time, one of San Francisco's best retail spots, stocking Martin Margiela, Dries, and Tsumori Chisato, among loads of difficult to come by cult designers---even a few that I haven't seen in New York, like Walter Van Beirendonck. After hearing rave reviews from Laura Wills of Screaming Mimi's, and Nicollette, who declared it the best store in S.F., I knew I had to stop by. I certainly wasn't disappointed, and was most taken by their impressive selection of art, which is displayed amongst the clothing. The pieces, which are mostly works on paper and prints, start at $20 for a poster, and go upwards from there. The artwork provides a nice compliment to the clothing, which is equally curated towards pieces that you'll probably see in a museum some day. Even Jimmy managed to entertain himself with the dapper selection of menswear, and toyed with the idea of picking up a Dries pajama-style button down shirt that was on sale for $150. Alas, both of us left empty handed, but I highly recommend it to anyone visiting San Francisco, if only to enter a gallery where you can play with all of the artwork.

We finished off the day with a trip to the De Young Museum to see the YSL exhibition. I nearly balked at the $20 entrance fee, but it was worth every single penny, and I probably spent 2 hours in the show alone, marveling over every inch of silk gazar, and every oversized costume bauble. Note to self: whip up some oversized bejeweled chandelier earrings ASAP!

Now it's off to meet Lulu for a night at a dive bar, which she warns might be resplendent with douchebags! I love this city...

-Tiffany