Fashion Exchange
Category: Used, Vintage & Consignment [Edit]
Neighborhood: Nob Hill1446 Polk St
(between California St & Pine St)
San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 441-1331
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
47 reviews
Neighborhood: Mission
"Idol Vintage has a great selection of boots (over-the-knee, thigh high, ankle, knee high..you name it!). For vintage clothing and…" read more »
13 Reviews for Fashion Exchange
am i an idiot for not noticing all the hooker clothes other reviewers complain about here? maybe. or maybe i was just entranced by the mad amount of practically-new, office appropriate yet thoroughly adorable, way inexpensive designer clothing. i'm hoping that's more like it.
seriously, i got a betsey johnson skirt, a bcbg skirt, and two sweaters for $60. total. every garment i've gotten here has received numerous compliments, and honestly, i just don't think there's nearly enough pleather and boas to detract from one's ability to find tons of great new wardrobe additions.
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I may not know everything...that I will admit. But what I do know are Jeans. I can walk down the street staring at people's asses and tell you what brand of jean they are wearing. I'm serious. Anyway, went into the Fashion Exchange this past weekend. Briefly looked at the shoes, jackets and sweaters. Eventually made my way over to the jeans section. Let me tell you on first look I thought "wow awesome prices for designer jeans"....that was the first thought based only on looking at the price tag. Then I did my usual jean dissection. Check fabric quality, label, stitching... Some of those jeans were definitely not authentic. The denim felt like jeans from Forever 21. I'm not saying I wouldn't go back in there for other things....but if I am going to buy a knock-off I at least want others to know that they are knock-offs.
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i have found some killer stuff at this place, including a giant garnet and sterling silver ring (for $23.50!) and my favorite pair of sevens (for $35 bucks!) but you do have to sift through a lot of sequinned and pleather crap to find it. some of the stuff is so laughable i have to wonder how many "working girls" go to sell their stuff there. my girlfriend and i used to call it the hooker store. actually, we still do.
you'd think i'd give more than two stars to a place i frequent so regularly but i have to say the folks who run this place are lazy, like "urgent" is not in their vocabulary, the racks are CRAMMED so full it's tough to browse, and after getting burned twice by buying ripped/broken merchandise that was not marked AS IS, i check everything c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y. you should too.
Normally all I find in here are whore-endous outfits... rinestones... feather boas... sequins... hooker boots. Not your typical non-profit worker uniform.
But one rainy morning, as I walked into fashion exchange, a beam of light descended from the ceiling, a chorus of angelic voices began to sing and trumpets played their fanfare... there they were, the cowboy boots I'd been looking for for MONTHS.
They've been glued to my feet since (perfect for this shitty weather). The moral of the story kids? There are gems to be found amidst the $2 rinestones and sequins. And don't judge a book by its hooker-boot-clad cover.
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Sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy black vinyl hook-n-eye hooker boots for Folsom Street Fair. Check
Sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy black vinyl hook-n-eye hooker gloves for Folsom Street Fair. Check
Sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy, sexy knee high white fishnet stockings with bows for LoveFest or "something". Check
BRAND NEW Juicy Couture "Surfing Royalty" T-shirt for that cute surfer boy I'm seeing next week to ogle my chest in. Check
4 stars for those items.
-1 star for Halloween costumes that I KNOW are overpriced because I already own them and paid less for them at a certain website I know of.
Have I mentioned I heart costumes?
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This has become one of my new favorite places to shop. If you are a bargain, thrift shop, discount designer, or vintage clothing lover you will love this place. You can find high end vintage couture for some of the most reasonable prices around. Also, if you love designer jeans you will hundreds at this store for prices that you cant beat anywhere else in the city.
I have not ever been to any of their other locations, however, I recommend this store over the others because it is simply closer to PAC Heights and Nob Hill. Therefore you will be more likely to find couture designs at this location.
Also the people who run the store could not be nicer!
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My favourite place to shop!
One of the few places where I usually find stuff that I like... and it's also one of the few consignment shops left with reasonable prices.
I always find awesome stuff in this place. I haven't been there since they moved, but I'm really looking forward to it!
Another plus is the fact that they have both men's and women's clothing. Finally a place I can shop with my boyfriend - he can't complain that there's nothing for him to look at and then take off somewhere else. Sweet.
Edit:
Finally went to the new location... It's bigger, but that's about it. I didn't buy anything when I was there, even though I had cash... which is shocking. Gotta go back on one of those stars.
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Higher prices than Crossroads and the stuff isn't as cute. Many more high end labels but labels only mean so much (to me). Much better than your run of the mill Goodwill or Out of the Closet. Run by some interesting Russian folks. I don't think I'd go out of my way to come here but I'll probably be peeking in when I'm in the area.
If I had only one store to shop from for the rest of my life, I would pick this one --and there would be no close seconds. NONE.
I have never been to the one on Clement, but the one on Polk and Sutter is perfection. The locals there are often... well, lets just say they dress sexy. And this is, as a result, the most sexy selection you can find at the lowest price you never thought possible.
Mens clothes too... sexy cool selection for them too.
**update** can someone please explain to me how I've gone this long with "shop" misspelled as 'chop' in the first line without anyone bothering to tell me what I retard I am?
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I really need to go more often. You have to pick through it all and there seems to be little organization rack -wise, but you get some fabulous deals on quality, brand-name clothing. The place is big and clean.
My only beef is with the flimsy curtains over the dressing rooms. It's not comfortable changing when a slight breeze could expose you to the store.
i don't get it.
seriously.
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I love thrift store shopping because you can find the craziest things to wear and it's so cheap that you don't care that you can only wear them once! So, I have been looking for black satin opera length gloves (a la Bettie Page) for a while, so I happened to come across this store. I found exactly the kind of gloves I wanted! And then, I saw the most wicked pair of boots that were thigh-high, shiny black patent leather, 5-inch heel, with laces and buckles . So, of course, they only had one pair a half-size too small, but I had to try them on. I felt like Cinderella and her glass slipper! Perfect fit! And they were sooo cheap! I had to buy the boots too. And the people who run the store were so nice to me. ("Yah, with those boots, you can have any boyfriend you want" in her thick Russian accent.) So... I wore the boots and the gloves on my next date. I think my boyfriend really liked my outfit. I am definitely going to go back to this store and check out the other merchandise...
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