From bookstores to boutiques to bars all conveniently next to the 16th street Bart station, Valencia street is for everybody, but nobody more than somebody who justifies purchases just because they’re secondhand “they’re vintage!” This romantic corner of the Mission is the place to go when you want to fall in love with something at every stop.
Latte at Craftsman & Wolves
Fuel up with an iced oat milk matcha latte and a pastrami croissant at Craftsman & Wolves: a nonexistent line and ample seating make for thoughtful beverage consumption, journaling shopping intentions, non-creepy eavesdropping, etc.
Parking Lot Flea Market
On 17th and Valencia, Saturdays and Sundays see a gathering of clothing sellers, vintage dealers, and artists of all kinds. Highlights include large t-shirts and other straight boyfriend-esque things, or enough so that he can say he went shopping too while you ditch him after grabbing some of the good stuff for yourself.
Flowers and Fashion at Romy
At first glance, Romy is a flower shop. Pink bouquets of baby’s breath and peonies wrapped in dreamy parchment paper decorate the outside, and the inside only gets better. A row of silk and satin slip dresses — some of them vintage Christian Dior — hang from a suspended tree branch across from another sea of flowers. Romy is decorated by Marie Antoinette’s great great grandchild. Allegedly.
Perusing Porter Vintage
Porter Vintage is an outdoor weekend pop-up shop located across from Romy’s. The owner spent years selling their pre-loved finds out of their garage, and now boasts a plentiful collection of cowboy boots, handmade jewelry, brightly colored sunglasses, and a thoughtful curation of vintage dresses and jackets. The perfect place to stop if you forget your sunglasses for rooftop brunch and your friend last minute invited somebody you don’t know.
After Lunch at Afterlife Collective
Enjoy a meal at Bottega (their truffle mushroom pizza is to die for) and digest while shopping at Afterlife Collective. It’s a trading post for multiple artists, a trove of one of a kind pieces, secondhand gems and chunky chrome jewelry. Act fast, because pieces here don’t stay forever, and as the name would have it — we only have one life.
