I love living in the Mission district in San Francisco, especially on days like today when it was warm and sunny and I got to spend the afternoon getting inspired by the depth of creativity this neighborhood has to offer.
I was hesitant to step foot in any boutique today, not sure if I’d be able to avoid buying something. But the sun was shining and I needed to get out of the apartment so I set out to check out a few shops that I’ve been curious about.
This is a delightful shop. According to the website they “sell useful goods from stand-up makers—hand-picked vintage and new things to wear, to adorn, to hear, to read & write, to furnish, and to love up.” There’s definitely an array of creative items – while there I overheard one of the proprietors, Nile, explaining to a patron that they offered a “whole spectrum of utility”. The decor and vibe of this place made me happy just to be there, even if I didn’t need anything they were selling.
My favorite items were convertible TSA approved scissors, and a pair of brightly colored, patterned, vintage linen cropped pants:
Even though I couldn’t buy I *had* to try on the pants. I’m fairly tall but I think they were meant for someone with even more height. If I weren’t on my shopping cleanse I might buy them and then shorten both the hem and the waist. I might even buy them just to have the print, even if I never wore them. Something tells me these pants won’t still be around in May, but I guess I’ll always have the photo.
Collective offers up vintage, and reconstructed vintage clothing. I actually had to ask the woman behind the counter, Arielle (Ariel?), what “reconstructed” meant. In my mind I pictured skirts being made from dresses and so forth but what I saw wasn’t exactly matching up with that. She explained that it was basically altered clothing. There was a rack of “reconstructed” sweaters that was visually very pleasing, but of course to get the same effect in my closet I would have to buy all of them.
They were mostly Izod/Lacoste (which I always thought were two separate companies), but there was also one Christian Dior. Admittedly most of the store was full of hipster favorites such as plaid shirts, shapeless floral dresses, and the funky belts to go with them. I did, however, find a couple of dresses that I would have bought on the spot – if I could.
Both dresses were reconstructed 80s dresses by Taxi CDC. The polka dot one was cute and I loved the scalloped neckline, but I was ok passing it up. The cool, edgy silver dress on the other hand, I was loathe to put back on the rack. I mentioned to Arielle/Ariel (who took the third photo) that I was doing this thing where I wasn’t buying clothing for three months and she was like oh that’s cool. And I was like no, it’s not! it’s really hard. Both of those dresses were only $65. When I decided not to shop I definitely wasn’t thinking about all the good deals I would surely find.
The Painted Bird stocks mostly vintage items but a few new ones as well. They had an amazing selection of coats and jackets, which I’ve found is disappointingly uncommon for vintage stores. I found this perfectly fitting on-trend Polo Ralph Lauren blazer for $25.
I love love loved the second dress at Collective and this blazer at the Painted Bird. If I had walked away with them I would have spent $85 before tax. That’s a great price for two such fantastic items. It really irks me that I couldn’t buy them. Really. Irks. Me. This is going to be a long 3 months.
What's your opinion?