“The Three Must-to-go Boutiques in San Francisco”
Promoting gender equality society, while men still dominating the market, Fillmore Street is a place to go to find the best boutiques in town with a focus on empowering women and supporting the women's business.
According to Dell Global WE Cities Ranking 2019, the Bay Area is the most welcome place in the world to be a female entrepreneur and just at Fillmore, at least eighteen stores in less than a half of a mile are women-owned brands. Three stores stand out: the business-oriented boutique The Reset; the very feminine and vintage boutique Sweet & Spark; and, the sustainable and trendy Reformation.
San Francisco is where The Reset was founded a little over three years ago by Maria Peevey. Peevey, the CEO, and the designer Cat Wu create the R Label line where women can find easy clothing, focused on classic, wearable, versatile pieces that are functional for all women on their path to success. Lots of satin and silk shirts, tailored pants, and, pieces made with vegan leather.
According to Nina, store manager, “The brand started as e-commerce for older women, till, Julia Roberts and Oprah started to wear The Reset clothes. Young people started to follow the brand then we started to offer clothing for this new customer.” She concludes, “Everything is about supporting women and empowering women”.
Image 01: The Reset Store
In general, the brand has a very accessible price, making it possible for women ‘to reset’ their wardrobe in any life stage.
Sweet & Spark is a small boutique but full of history and details. Jillian and Emilee - buyer and fashion designer respectively – are the women behind the brand, who put together their experiences inside the market and their passion for vintage jewelry to open their very first brick-and-mortar store on Fillmore street in 2018.
Image 02: Jillian and Emilee inside the store
According to Jillian, “The S&S woman knows what she loves and believes in the power of personal style. She wants to own special things that no one else has, and contribute her unique mark to the world, whatever that may be!”
Sweet & Spark curates vintage jewelry, luxury designer vintage pieces, home decoration from antique fairs and states around the country in addition to contemporary designers. “We have something that appeals to every generation of woman”, says Jo, sales associate. The vintage trademark of the brand allows any woman to feel special and unique.
Just a few steps out from Sweet & Spark, you are faced with the Reformation, launched in 2009 by Yael Aflalo.
Reformation started as a vintage clothing resale business in Los Angeles but Aflalo reformulated the brand within the past seven years due to the environmental and human impact the global fashion industry was taking.
In 2018 she opened the second store in San Francisco and the press has called the brand “The Ultimate Cool Girl Brand for Sustainable Clothes”. “The Cool girl is the brand’s target but we have a big customer age range inside the store”, says the manager, who preferred not to be named.
Inside the store, the retail business is innovative. Customers face big screens to choose clothes to try on without talking to an employee. Clothes are displayed like a big showroom: separated in racks by pattern or color families giving the customer a better view of the product.
Image 03: Reformation Store
Asked about the brand’s style, the manager explains, “We are classy and trendy. We want women to feel feminine, sexy and empowered”. She adds that customers’ feedback is changing the sizes and shapes of their clothes, reinforcing the importance of the brand with their women customers.
It is all about helping women to feel their best. Not just from the point of view of the stores' owners but for the women customers. The women are winning space and voice in a world where men are still considered the ‘provider’. It is important to keep supporting this empowerment for the woman’s independence.
