Shopping in San Francisco

I love shopping - especially for bargains ... what department stores are in San Francisco??? Remember, I%26#39;m from OZ - and have never travelled to USA ... so any/all info u can tell me would be appreciated.. thanks

Shopping in San Francisco

Here%26#39;s a quickie list. Many things left out. Plenty of space for others to add to.

Department Stores:

1. Macy%26#39;s. Union Square and way west in the city, Stonestown Shopping Center. This is not bargain, but they do have sales. It%26#39;s squarely middle class. You%26#39;ll find departments from men/women/teens/childrens clothing, jewelry, watches, housewares, appliances, furniture, linens, fine china and silver; cosmetics and perfumes. There is also a food court in the basement that is good, and specialty food (fancy chocolates, etc.)

2. Nordstrom%26#39;s. San Francisco Centre, located just a few blocks south of Union Square at Market Street and Fifthe Street (Go to the Powell Street cable car turnaround and look across the street). This is the ';service-oriented'; department store from Seattle. It has considerably fewer departments; Clothing is the main focus here, especially shoes,shoes and more shoes -- mostly women%26#39;s of course (If you have wide feet, they have a fabulous selection) jewelry, watches, designer stuff. Things are more expensive here, too. They have twice-yearly sales. The concierge desk does things like check your bags if you weary of lugging them around or want to go have lunch without dragging them with you. If you are staying in hotels going as far north as Nob Hill and to the Embarcadero and no farther west than Van Ness Avenue, they have a minivan that can take you back to your hotel with your purchases. It%26#39;s a free service, but don%26#39;t expect on-demand service because the driver has to fit in all customers and deliveries; you may have to wait 10-20 minutes, for example. Not long ago, they renovated their cafe, got rid of the cheaper order-at-the-counter side and went with full service. It has the ridulous name of Cafe Bistro.

3. Neiman Marcus. On Union Square. Affectionately called ';Needless Markup.'; What can I say? It%26#39;s headquartered in Texas and is aimed at the moneyed class. Clothing, jewelry, designer duds.

Others, Discount:

Ross. Market Street at Fourth Street. Discount clothing (Men, Women, children%26#39;s, teens) and home deocorating items, bath supplies).

Marshall%26#39;s. Across from San Francisco Centre, Market Street at Fifth Street. Like Ross.

Loehmann%26#39;s. Sutter near Kearny streets. Clothing, mostly. See ';The Backroom'; for the designer type stuff.

DSW Shoe Warehouse. Powell Street betw. Ellis %26amp; O%26#39;Farrell streets, just south of Union Square. Shoes shoes shoes shoes shoes.

Shoe Pavillion. Ellis between Stockton and Powell. Shoes and more shoes.

Burlington Coat Factory Outlet. Fifth Street at Howard Street. Haven%26#39;t been here in a long time, but others have recommended it. More than coats, believe me. Just three blocks south of Market Street and Nordstrom%26#39;s.

Shopping in San Francisco

And in the Union Square and Powell and Market Street areas, there are plenty of brand name stores all over the place in addition to the department stores. If you like bargains, you%26#39;re better off looking at stores in South of Market (SOMA).

BetterthanBing and RS3sport - thanks so much .. betterthanbing - wow you know your shops .... someone has told me that there are sections of the department stores like Macy%26#39;s where you can get the %26#39;real bargains%26#39; it that the %26#39;backroom%26#39; you mentioned.

Also, you said they have sales twice a year - might the sale be in late November?? like end of season - say summer/fall??

Do you know is there a Ross%26#39; in Hawaii - is it the same store chain???? and it is discounted?? thanks again I really appreciate it..

We enjoyed the shops in Haight-Ashbury. Great jewelry, and handbags.

chookie,

I%26#39;m not too sure if Macys has a backroom with all discounted items. Well, I haven%26#39;t seen one in the Men%26#39;s store. The sale stuff is usually spread out, mixed with the regular priced stuff. However, each section will usually have a rack full of clearance items. And no, I highly doubt they%26#39;ll be a big sale come late November. Late November is start of the holiday shopping season, so everyone will be shopping, so the store doesn%26#39;t have to discount their stuff. The big sale usually comes after Xmas and in early January.

And after looking it up, Ross does have a couple of stores in Hawaii.

Old Navy on Market, across from Ross, has inexpensive trendy things, and the quality is actually not bad. They%26#39;re perfect for trendy things, but I get my slacks for work there too, and they really hold up well.

Aggi00, by mentioning Haight Street shops, touched on something we didn%26#39;t talk about much here. San Francisco has all kinds of shopping, from boutique, one-of-a-kind kind of things to very mainstream, mass-marketed apparel. Our previous posts have addressed the latter.

Depending on your tastes, some very enjoyable shopping afternoons are spent moseying around neighborhood shopping districts, too. There are many in SF.

Addendum:

Nordstrom%26#39;s ';Half-Yearly Sale'; for women and kids begins Nov. 2 this year (I don%26#39;t know how long it continues). The one for men begins Dec. 26.

The ';BackRoom'; is at Loehmann%26#39;s, a discount retailer. These are not bargains on top of bargains; it describes a higher level of merchandise found there. Macy%26#39;s (which is a regular department store, not a discounter) does not have such, nor do they segregate sale items in a separate location. Their sale racks are interspersed among things that are not on sale.

The grand dame of sale shopping is Filene%26#39;s, but it is not in San Franscisco, alas. In Boston, the women in particular know to go to the separate Filene%26#39;s Basement where you can find great bargains.

OOOOPS. I forgot Nordstrom Rack. That%26#39;s Nordstrom%26#39;s outlet. I go there often. (I guess you can tell I like shopping). You%26#39;d like Nordstrom Rack if you like bargains. They regularly discount items that have been there a lengthy period of time so they can move them out the door. I can pick up 5 pairs of shoes at a time there. Nordstrom Rack is located South of Market on 555 9th Street, cross street is Bryant Street (415) 934-1211

You%26#39;ll need to take a cab there or call Muni to figure out whether there is a bus route that can get you there (415-673-MUNI)

Hello again Chookie!

Needless info, but interestingly, the San Francisco Centre that BetterthanBings refers to is actually one of our very own Westfield Shopping Centres.

And check out the beautiful stained glass ceiling at Neiman Marcus.

And while you%26#39;re in the area, also visit the beautiful Palace Hotel in New Montgomery Street.

(As you may have gathered, my wife%26#39;s the shopper - I tag along for the aesthetics).

You%26#39;ll love SF - it%26#39;s our favourite city - could easily live there.