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Recession Chic in San Francisco
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I don't need to discuss the many high fashion designers who have graced the walls of H&M. But even the likes of Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Roberto Cavalli, or even Karl Lagerfeld couldn’t make me like the store. I couldn't stand the mass production aspect. If I really liked something ostentatious I didn't want to buy it from fear that every other woman in the city would have it on. And Forever 21 was very much the same—except the clothes just looked cheap to me and that turned me off. The store was also very overwhelming with its endless racks of clothing—everywhere. But during these hard times I've found these stores to be great places to get cute simple clothes to look recession chic.
My most recent purchase at H&M was a gray patent leather bag clearly influenced by the Prada Vernice Sfumata bag. It even has the Nappa bags plexiglass link handles, which of course on the H&M version are really plastic. They're noisy when you handle them but for $50 I don't care. I love it.
Before that purchase I found a black beret for under $10 after telling a friend how badly I wanted one. She told me to go to Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley but I found what I needed right in San Francisco.
Recently I wandered into Forever 21 to kill time between interviews for a story. I admit, I have a green cotton dress that I consider one of my favorites that I miraculously scored there, but I write it off as a blip in the matrix. So I’m usually skeptical when I enter the store and see the barrage of t-shirts and party dresses that just aren’t my style.
I passed on a leopard print cocktail dress with a gorgeous corset bodice simply because of that same H&M ostentatious dilemma. It was too flashy and inexpensive for me to convince myself that everyone wouldn’t have it. I didn’t have money for the accessories I would need to make it unique. But I stuck it out in the store longer than my usual 5 minutes and ended up finding the sweater of my dreams. This navy and yellow 60’s style cardigan was under $30 and is actually made of 100% cotton. It’s so cute I bought the medium they had left, a size too big for me—but I will nonetheless make it work.
Times are hard right now. Even millionaires are scaling back on spending. But honestly, am I going to stop shopping? No! I’m just going to find more cost efficient ways to do that. So I am now getting acquainted with stores I didn’t frequent too often. Of course the best way to be cost efficient is to buy quality, and that won’t change. But if I need a simple bag or shirt, I will definitely stop into an H&M or Forever 21 before I go anywhere else.
A new Nike Store recently opened in Emeryville. Read the S.F. Diet and Exercise Examiner's review: http://www.examiner.com/x-1694-SF-Diet-and-Exercise-Examiner~y2008m11d11-The-new-Nike-iD-experience-Grand-Opening-in-Emeryville
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