Top Shops in San Francisco

In San Francisco, singular style is always feted. There are dozens of fantastic department stores carrying all the usual high-end brands, but the following are my favorite specialty shops, an area in which the city excels.

In San Francisco, singular style is always feted. There are dozens of fantastic department stores carrying all the usual high-end brands, but the following are my favorite specialty shops, an area in which the city excels.

Clothing

Beau Targeted to sophisticated young mothers, Beau carries a vast selection of hip lines, like Tory by Tory Burch, Réyes, Vena Cava, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Lela Rose. Open daily. 3571 Sacramento St.; 415-440-1058.

Divine Girls Owner Maria Muzio makes this store, in the Eurocentric Presidio Heights area, food for the style starved, stocking it with such cult labels as Yigal Azrouël and Sinha-Stanic. Shoe addicts love the adjoining shop. Closed Sunday. 340 Presidio Ave.; 415-409-4901.

Jim Elle/Limu Yes, this store in exclusive Pacific Heights probably has a pair of well-cut black pants from Gui. But for sheer unadulterated glamour, search out Peter Cohen's figure-hugging matte jersey dresses. Open daily. 2237 Fillmore St.; 415-567-9500.

MAC (Modern Appealing Clothing) Lauren Hutton and other fashionable residents patronize this shop, in once shabby Hayes Valley, for high-end lines they can't find anywhere else: A. F. Vandervorst, Dirk Van Saene, Walter Van Beirendonck and Issey Miyake protégée Tsumori Chisato. Open daily. 387 Grove St.; 415-863-3011.

My Roommate's Closet This Cow Hollow boutique stocks designer duds at 50 percent off. Owners Cate Corfman and Suzanne Lynch handpick merchandise to ensure that it's from the current or previous season. Imagine: that Alberta Ferretti silk chiffon top with the jeweled collar that was $820 can be yours for $395! Open daily. 3044 Fillmore St.; 415-447-7703.

Susan Ring the bell to enter, then fill your arms with selections from Lanvin, Balenciaga, Rodarte and Barbara Tfank. Closed Sunday. 3685 Sacramento St.; 415-922-3685. Down the street, Susan's cool-girl sibling, the Grocery Store, is a sophisticated mix of Miu Miu, Miss Italy, Cosa Nostra and Alexander Wang. Closed Sunday. 3625 Sacramento St.; 415-928-3615.

Wilkes Bashford At this longtime favorite (shown above), luxurious menswear from Brioni and Valentino vies for space with Oscar de la Renta frocks, Roberto Cavalli cock-tail dresses and René Caovilla's Swarovski crystal-studded sling-backs. Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schwab are customers, as is Bashford best friend and former mayor Willie Brown. Closed Sunday. 375 Sutter St.; 415-986-4380.

Accessories

Gimme Shoes The cool quotient here is high: there are glittery ballet slippers by Repetto and fashionable looks from Chie Mihara, Loeffler Randall, Prada and Jutta Neumann. Open daily. 2358 Fillmore St.; 415-441-3040. 416 Hayes St.; 415-864-0691.

London Sole Charlize Theron snaps up these very addictive ballet flats, which come in more than 500 designs, materials and colors. Open daily. 19 Maiden Lane; 415-397-8088.

Meriwether In her pine-paneled boutique, Meriwether S. McGettigan (a descendant of Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis and Clark) purveys the best fine jewels to San Francisco's leading social figures, including Dede Wilsey. Look for 1940s gold bracelets embellished with rubies and diamonds. They would have looked great on Gene Tierney. Closed Sunday. 3254 Sacramento St.; 415-359-1111.

Zona Moda Chic Adria Bini fills her showroom with eye-catching items from France and her native Italy. Don't miss Angela Caputi's nature-inspired resin jewelry. Call ahead to shop. 888 Brannan St., Suite 2040; 415-255-0845.

Home

Alabaster Even before Hayes Valley's recent renaissance, Alabaster was a magnet. Dedicated shoppers have their drivers wait while they browse for handmade silk lanterns from Paris's Thomas Boog, body products from the Santa Maria Novella pharmacy and Fortuny silk pillows. Closed Monday. 597 Hayes St.; 415-558-0482.

Bae Come for jeweled Moroccan starfish napkin rings, Kim Seybert's white linen fingertip towels with red coral embroidery and Ankasa pillows in snowy silk charmeuse. Closed Sunday. 3101 Sacramento St.; 415-928-1287.
Hedge Gallery At this store in the historic Jackson Square antiques district, the ever-changing display may include a 1968 Pierre Paulin ivory wool-jersey settee composed of three seats that resemble waves or a rare pair of Joseph-André Motte's 1949 tripod fauteuils. Closed Saturday and Sunday. 48 Gold St.; 415-433-2233.

March This tony shop is filled with unique items from diverse eras: a Louis XVI slate-topped wooden table sits next to a pair of 1970s French silver candlesticks and around the corner from some 14th-century Chinese bowls. Closed Sunday and Monday. 3075 Sacramento St.; 415-931-7433.

Martin Richards Martin Scott and Richard Bohonsky fill their boutique, located on swanky Russian Hill, with luxurious bedding from Shades of India along with Argentine silver-plated serving pieces whose handles are made of naturally shed horn and bone. Closed Monday. 1200 Union St.; 866-277-5631.

Kids

Dottie Doolittle An essential shop for the city's best-dressed kids, Dottie Doolittle is a repository for cheerful jumpers from France's Lili Gaufrette and popular togs by Small Paul, whose cheeky monkey, Julius, adorns its sportswear. Open daily. 3680 Sacramento St.; 415-563-3244.

Giggle New parents flock to this Marina district boutique to find top-shelf kid essentials. Moms-to-be can pick up multistage furniture, such as Stokke's oval-shaped Sleepi, which morphs from a bassinet into a crib into a toddler's bed. Open daily. 2110 Chestnut St.; 415-440-9034.

Mudpie Cheryl Perliss's boutique carries fun toys, Isabel Garreton party dresses and even novelty parenting relics (a sterling nanny whistle from the 19th century, for example). Open daily. 1694 Union St.; 415-771-9262.

Pumpkin On sale are trendy lines, like Meli Meli, Ella Moss, Lacoste, Mason, Kingsley and Wise Guys T-shirts; the latter come imprinted with MY PARENTS CALL ME "NO" and other smart-aleck messages. Closed Sunday. 3366 Sacramento St.; 415-567-6780.

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