Where To Shop: San Francisco & Bay Area

To commemorate my love for shopping and validate my claim that the United States of America is the best place to shop (I mean bargain shop) in the world, I decided to start a new topic Where to Shop. As San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, it shall be the first. The bay area has so much to offer besides hippies, the arts, and silicon valley. In San Francisco, you can shop till you drop in endless rows of high-end stores and chain stores in the Union Square or scout for a bargain in one of these interesting boutiques on Haight Street and Mission Street...oh not forgetting the outlet malls! I am not going to cover the major malls or chain stores of any sort, instead I am only going to cover unique boutiques and outlet malls that I love. These are some of my favorites.

Haight Street San Francisco, CA
As you might have heard, Haight Street is the true epicenter of hippie style and culture - think Grateful Dead and Tie-Dye. The Upper Haight screams 60s psychedelia with rows of charming Victorian houses, anarchist bookstores, piercing salons and funky clothing shops. I had a great time when I was there last month.
I was fascinated by the novelty stores on Haight Street. Some of the toys reminded me of my childhood and some were too cute to resist that I had to get them. These are some of my favorites. (Pardon my photography taken by my Iphone)


One store that absoulutely won my heart and made me feel young again (not that I am in my mids or anything) was Loyal Army Clothing (www.loyalarmy.com). Unique name for a clothing store that doesn't sell military supplies or anything close. The Loyal Army flagship store on Haight street was so kawaii (cute in Japanese). From the moment I walked into the store till the time I left, I felt sunshine of happiness (and by the way I was not high on w**d when I was in the store). The store was filled with endless cuteness of hoodies, graphic tees, totes, and accessories for guys, gals, kids and pets. I Am Recessionista is going to have a Loyal Army contest soon with giveaways sponsored by Loyal Army...check my blog often...3 lucky winners will win merchandise from Loyal Army. I will post this entry one randon day in July.



Napa Premium Outlet Napa, CA
If you love Barneys, BCBG and Coach, then this is a definitely must visit for you. Premium Outlets is one of my favorite outlets owned by the Chelsea Premium Outlets Group. Most of the brands that you see in a typical Chelsea Premium outlet are those that you have been craving for at full retail in higher end department stores. The only difference is that they are much lower priced and not from the current season.

Great Mall Milpitas, CA
This outlet mall is really huge and do it can be overwhelming for some. For me, I map out the stores that I plan to visit and just hit those stores one store at the time. The ones I love are Abercrombie & Fitch, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Off Saks Fifth Ave, BCBG and Victoria Secret.

Bargain Shopping in the United States of America

"SALE" is a 4-letter word that is very close to my heart besides "LOVE"

I have traveled across the globe from the East to the West and everything in between. If anyone would ask me "Where is the best place to bargain shop?", my answer will always be the U.S. Don't get me wrong though, I have shopped till I dropped in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne and many other countries, but the U.S. is still the best when it comes to bargain shopping. Why, you might ask. Well, let's just say that the U.S. has the best SALES hands down. The U.S. is the only country I have found great deals on quality merchandise (designer duds too!) for up to 90% off its retail price.

Being the world traveler and Recessionista that I am, I have decided to blog about the best places to bargain shop in some of the most interesting cities that I have visited; in the U.S. and abroad. I will be tagging these entries under Where To Bargain Shop and Bargain Shopping Labels section (right bottom corner of my blog). Stay tuned!