San Francisco Vintage Just Around the Corner

If you’ve been following along then you know I’ve been having fun in the sun in San Francisco this past week. And I can tell you, I now know first-hand why

Tony Bennett sang about leaving his heart in SF – yes, I have fallen in love, too!

Aside from atomic stars and bursts of the heart, one thing at the top of my bucket list was a little vintage shopping – are you surprised? Weirdly that proved to be a lot tougher than I thought – now I bet you really are surprised!

First, I ran into a lot of this…

I’m not kidding. Many of the vintage shops I set off to find ended up being closed, as in shut down, doors closed for good. #SoSad. The other truth is location. A lot of the shops were just too far out of reach geographically… but only for this trip . I also discovered that there are a lot of vintage clothing shops, amazing shops in fact, but not as many focussing on housewares and the treasures of Audrey Would!

On Monday, the last full day of our trip, that all changed. We were out having fun just exploring off the beaten track of the trolley cars and buzz of daily activity that you see below…

When I came upon this box on a little side street.

You might have seen my post on FB, but if you missed it - honestly I did not put this box here, did not label it with FRAGILE, and definitely did not write my name on it! Truly a sign of things meant to be. And that’s because…

When we turned the corner, there in front of us was a little vintage boutique trio – Molte Cose (C-window), Belle Cose (R-window), and the one that caught my eye, Bonhomie (L-window) - all in a row staring at me!

I have to preface, we have had a beyond incredible trip jam-packed with fun adventures, fab outings and memories we will cherish for a life-time, but is it wrong to say this little stumble was like finding 3 olives in my martini without asking?

The shops were filled with beautiful vintage pieces - clothing, housewares and ephemera, and yes Audrey savvy stuff! We wandered and soaked in the offerings as if in a daze, each pass spying yet another something ‘new’.

There were so many pieces that caught my eye, but in the end I had to be street smart in terms of not only transporting amazing vintage goods, but also moving them across the border and factoring in DUTY fees! What I really loved about Bonhomie is its owner, Liesl (pictured above). When I asked if she would consider shipping the treasures I wanted to buy, she was so accommodating and willing to go the extra mile. That allowed me to pick up a few more pieces that would otherwise have stayed… and when packing up today, whew, am I ever glad she did!

So as I sit in the San Francisco Airport waiting for my home-bound plane, I close this trip with a, ‘See you soon San Francisco’, and ‘Thank you, Liesl and Bonhomie’ for being the treasure I was missing in my San Fran mix!

Have any of you been to San Francisco? Do you shop vintage, and if you do, what area should I be exploring next?

Thanks for stopping by!

Photographs by Sheila Zeller. Please link and credit if you choose to use!