Here are the 17 best places to shop in San Francisco

It all started with Michael Preysman’s desire to create a great T-shirt in 2010. Fast-forward to today and the founder’s SF brand has become a favorite IRL shopping destination where hipsters, moms and dads, creatives and regular Joes and Janes of every age load up on quality basics. The digitally native retailer offers “radically transparent” pricing (although some would disagree). With a neutral-leaning color palette, the 3,000-square-foot flagship on Valencia Street (the Folsom Street location has closed) is clean, bright and airy—not a mannequin in sight. What you will find: denim, cotton tees, cashmere sweaters, regiments of neatly arranged wrap dresses, hoodies and sweatshirts lounging on minimalist wood displays. Plus, plenty of shoes in the shoe salon.

Denimheads have been visiting this bastion of men’s and women’s jeans for over 30 years. Situated in its original, still-charming spot in North Beach, loyal shoppers come for a collection of blues that very few stores could rival. Sure, you’ll find familiar-ish labels like Raleigh Denim, INDI + ASH and Atelier Delphine. But discovering obscure, high-quality brands from around the globe (MATiAS, We Norwegians, C.O.F. Studio) is the really fun part. Along with the crazy-good jeans lineup, AB Fits owes its success to the guy who finds them: the owner, denim genius and all-around nice guy Howard Gee. Make sure to check out the store’s own AB Fits jeans and pick up a STAY OKAY trucker hat. Don’t worry, you’ll also find a smattering of equally stylish tops, jackets, and accessories to wear with your fly jeans.

Synonymous with cool, edgy vintage, this Haight Street store in its current location since 1989 is a must-shop. Along with true vintage finds from the ‘60s to ‘90s, the cavernous space is rife with vintage-inspired clothing from the aughts to present-day. You’ll see everything from denim jumpsuits and grungy plaid to awesome band tees and one-of-a-kinds, courtesy of contemporary and high-end brands. Serious shoppers could easily spend an afternoon perusing the racks and walking the long, narrow store with warm wooden flooring.

This Nob Hill boutique is worth a visit for ladies and gents who get weak in the knees for high-end labels (like Chanel, Armani, Prada, Hermes, D&G and Gucci) at reasonable prices. It’s a luxury collection so special one Yelp reviewer mentioned flying in from L.A. for routine visits. Since the clean, bright space is on the smaller side, poring through racks and ogling shelves won’t feel overwhelming—even for not-a-fan-of-shopping types.

Topdrawer is a Japanese-American company that’s like a stationery store that got distracted. It sells a variety of backpacks, notebooks, writing tools, bento boxes, house shoes and sunglasses: Basically, anything you need for work and travel. You’ll find locations in the Mission and Cow Hollow (also in Marin, Burlingame and Berkeley and nationally), but the one on Union Street in Cow Hollow is the original created by Akira Ito and Peter Dunn.

Founded in Sausalito in 1948, this storied tile and ceramics company moved into a cavernous old linen supply and laundry facility in 2012 and has been a hub of design ever since. The working tile factory is also a wonderland that includes a gallery and showroom where shoppers browse the brand’s famously minimalist dinnerware, ceramics (Heath’s signature bud vase is a go-to gift for locals), bags, baskets and candles. Bonus points for the Heath Newsstand, stuffed with glossies, design mags, travel guides and other hard-to-find printed matter. Plus, when you get hungry, the connected Tartine Manufactory is right there to satisfy your morning bun and water-buffalo-milk ice cream fix (and of course uses Heath dinnerware). Take a $15 factory tour with advance registration.

This trendy shop is female, first-generation Chinese American owned and operated and LGBTQ+ friendly. It offers a little bit of everything—swing by for new clothes, kids’ clothes, coffee table books, jewelry, cards and pretty much anything (not surprisingly, it’s a great spot for gifts). Most of the goods come from local makers and artisans. Therapy has Mission and Bernal Heights locations (and eight others in day trip distance).

Located along Divisadero in Nopa (the 24th Street location has closed), Rare Device is one of San Francisco’s favorite shops for gifts, cards, plants, home goods, art supplies and playfully-curated kids’ toys. Quirky is the key word here. The bright and happy color scheme makes it a pleasure to shop, and the website features each employee’s answer to “what is the favorite gift you have given,” which provides a great way to think about shopping and how the pleasure is on the giving end. The shop also hosts art shows and occasional events. Bonus: The store’s name comes from a Coleridge poem.

Calling all Francophiles: Get thee to this très charmant Pacific Heights boutique, a treasure trove of fun and exotic finds from around the globe, in place since 1995. With a distinct Parisian feel, the medium-sized space is jam-packed with covetable items old and new. Atmosphere is everything in this boutique with delicate jewelry and Old World baubles, handmade quilts, vintage-inspired glassware, fine stationery, décor and European children’s toys.

If you’re looking to go vintage shopping—but you don’t feel like sorting through massive amounts of packed racks, head to the Golden Hour for thoughtfully curated, fashion-forward retro fits. A trip to this shop in the Inner Richmond is always a fun treasure hunt, offering a diverse selection of European, British and American designers. You may walk out with cowboy boots from the ‘70s, a leather jacket from the ‘80s or a perfect ‘90s dress for a night out. There’s also a jewelry section and an apothecary with soy candles.

Fresh out of articulated cat skeletons? You’ve come to the right place. Gawking window shoppers are routinely drawn into this strange but wonderful Mission mainstay, an eclectic den of plants, animalia and oddities. You’ll find anatomical posters, glass cases holding jewel-toned entomology specimens, small taxidermy (including tiny stuffed mice dressed as religious figures), fossils, earrings fashioned from butterfly wings, animal bones (red fox penis bone, anyone?) and, logically, pocket knives. An assortment of garden supplies, tools, hummingbird feeders and hanging planters are also found here, and check out the peaceful landscaped courtyard in the back with plants for sale.

Jenny Chung Seeger established this jewelry store in 2013, which now showcases the work of 32 artisans from around the world in its Russian Hill home on Polk Street. You’ll find everything from antique diamonds to modern cuts, as well as sapphires, gray diamonds and opals—and you can come with a concept that the team can realize. The interior itself is artistic, designed by San Francisco’s Geremia Design, with jewelry displayed in low-lying cases, making for a more intimate experience.

With its velvety midnight blue walls, teeny Metier in the Hayes Valley is a sumptuous jewelbox of a jewelry store overflowing with treasures. The shop artfully mingles estate sale finds and one-of-a-kind vintage brooches and pendants with modern pieces from designers like Gillian Conroy, Christina Odegard, Gabriella Kiss and Kathleen Whitaker. The selection trends towards jewelry that is slightly unusual in its cut or style and quietly glamorous. The truly unique selection of wedding bands and engagement rings is fantastic. Prices range from modest to luxury.

This off-the-beaten-retail-path General Store is well worth the trek to the Outer Sunset for California-centric home items, found objects and books. The neutral-colored dream space is oft-photographed and Instagrammed for its wondrous circular wood passageway. You'll also find a selection of women's, men's and kids' clothing (including really good vintage) and jewelry. Make sure to check out the lovely succulent-laden garden out back and breathe in the ocean air.

This community-based store that is Native American-owned started as a surfing film and morphed into a silkscreen studio selling shirts out of a zebra-printed van, expanding to encompass today’s shops in the Inner Sunset, the Haight and SFO. You can grab beautifully illustrated crop tops, tanks, joggers, beanies, sweatshirts and dog hoodies. In September 2024, SFP collaborated with artist Ferris Plock for a new line featuring cats gone wild.

This artistic design store and art gallery sells art, books, apparel, homeware and stationery, all with a bright eclectic vibe. The art gallery hosts 10 exhibitions per year, and owners Jamie Alexander and Derek Song also collaborate regularly with artists to create products, everything from skate decks to zines and prints. The first Park Life is in the Inner Richmond at 220 Clement St., while another opened in 2023 at 201 Clement. But these folks aren’t done yet: There will soon be a pop-up store at SFMOMA and a Park Life collaboration bookstore opening October 2024.

We can’t have a best shopping roundup without mentioning one of San Francisco’s incredible independent bookstores—and it’s hard to just pick one. We adore City Lights, Green Apple Books, Booksmith, Books Inc., Dog Eared Books, Book Shop West Portal and Bird & Beckett, just to name a handful, but we gravitate towards Book Passage in the Ferry Building. Here, one glass wall lets in natural light and views of the bay, while wooden bookshelves hold masses of books for sale. Both this location and the sister store in Corte Madera regularly host authors for book launches, and the history of this business is fascinating, including a police sting with a wire-wearing shoplifter—and we may have Book Passage to thank for the idea of author talks rather than just book signings.