Bloggers / SAN FRANCISCO CITY GUIDE: A STYLIST’S GUIDE
It’s day two of our San Francisco trip (are you following our adventures on f21insider on Instagram yet?) and we had the privilege of meeting stylist and blogger Hasti of Mode Bay Area in neighboring Sausalito today. It’s about a 15-20 minute cab ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, but if the weather is nice we recommend renting a bike and riding it over. Trust us, the views (and Instagram opportunities!) are so worth the burn.
So what is it about Sausalito that makes it a must-visit for you?
Well, I love the city. I like to go to San Francisco during the day for work, and there’s a lot of energy and people. Then I come to Sausalito, it’s so close and it’s beautiful, to decompress and make the effort to relax after a busy day. Look at that view! You can see whales and seals in the water, it’s quieter here. There are also great places to spend some time, like Lappert’s Ice Cream (817 Bridgeway) which is completely amazing and worth coming all the way here for.
We do love ice cream. While we’re eating a cone, where else do you recommend we go?
There are great novelty shops, like Sausalito Ferry Dot Com (688 Bridgeway) and Games People Play (695 Bridgeway). You can get silly things, like bacon flavored candy, miniature erasers that look like cupcakes, little tiny plastic toys. It’s a massive Instagram-ing opportunity! I just started using Instagram and I’m hooked. I love that shopping and technology are so interwoven, you know?
Yes! We love tchotchkes and fun little things like that. What else does Sausalito have that you can’t get anywhere else?
It’s such a cute little place, and it has a ton of art galleries. You can see galleries all over the city, but I wanted to show you my favorite– the Dr. Seuss gallery (690 Bridgeway). Every time I go in, I talk about buying a piece, and the joke is always, is that for you or for your kids? I say it’s for the kids… but it would be totally for me.
We dig. Now, tell us about fashion in general and in particular San Francisco fashion– what are your thoughts about it?
It has a lot to do with style vs. brand. Other parts of the country, it’s about the designer. Here, it’s about the look from head to toe. I think our bloggers photograph fabulously because of their use of colors and textures and layering. I’ve always been a black-beige-neutrals girl, and SF has opened me up to pops of color. One of my favorite trends for spring is fluorescent pops! I feel like it’s the 80s with an edited eye.
Great advice from a professional! What would you say is the perfect outfit to wear while touring San Francisco?
For sightseeing, for sure skinny jeans. Flat moto boots for walking a lot and for sure a moto-inspired jacket. Do a tee and a sweater for layering. Oh, and don’t forget a great knit scarf! (We’re so into Hasti’s tips that we put together a look for our readers to shop, below.)
Loose Knit Scarf ($8.00), Basic Knit Cardigan ($11.50), Wide Stripes Tee ($10.80), Moto Jacket ($32.80), Distressed Leather Ankle Boots ($34.80), Skinny Jeans ($27.80)
Thanks for the tour and the tips! Any parting words, about the city, about style, anything, for our readers?
I have a funny story actually: I started Mode Bay Area and am a professional stylist, and I love what I do, but I actually got sent home from my first retail job for not being dressed well enough! (I was wearing a silky/satiny maxi and thick foam sandals– ugh.) Finding your style is about looking around you for inspiration and making it your own. My favorite part of my job is helping someone who doesn’t feel great about the way they look and teaching them how to change it. Style can put a spring in people’s steps, and that makes it fun to play with and fun to work in.
Follow Hasti at her blog Mode Bay Area, on Twitter at @ModeBayArea, and on Instagram at ModeBayArea.
Can you please change the name of your blog? I think that calling your blog the “Skinny Blog” is sending the complete wrong message to your readers and loyal customers. I, for one, enjoy shopping at Forever 21. I do, but the name of this blog sends the message that so many young girls (your clientele), including myself, are already bombarded with on a daily basis, whether it be magazines, friends, mothers, fathers, advertising and just about any other source these days. I think your job as a company that is so wide spread is to help alleviate this issue of the only beautiful is skinny. It is not true. All sizes are beautiful. Your brand and company should promote that being a clothing line that carries an entire line for plus size women and girls. If this blog is supposed to be a representation of your company, it’s lifestyle, beliefs and message, please, please change the name. It is doing more harm than it is doing good. Women and girls need to be told they are beautiful, no matter their shape, size, color, height, hair color, whatever it may be. Women and girls look to your brand for fashion advice so please let them also look to your brand as a source of inspiration and not as a source of pressure. This message is not malicious. I hope you don’t take my words with a grain of salt and actually consider making these changes. Fashion is supposed to be universal. These days fashion is only targeted to women who are very skinny which is the main reason eating disorders and depression are so prevalent among young women and girls. Please, please, for the mental and physical health of your readers, customers and who ever else is reading this blog, change your name to something more positive, uplifting and inclusive. Please.
Thank you,
Samantha Roualdes
Great blog
lovely fashions
http://www.ginamarievintage.com
I like the SF outfit! I’ll have to get some of those things for my fiance so she can be stylin! Now if only I had any style…:-) Great tips ModeBayArea!
Great article from a west coast (nor cal) fashion perspective!
great article, fashion tips and city! The places mentioned are so fun to check out and the eateries are YUM!
liking the Tee also! :]
Lovely. Mode Bay Area has some serious style!