Amsterdam’s casual style resembles that of San Francisco. No elegant jackets with fur collars here. No Louboutin high heels. The Amsterdam look is pure raw urban street style which is the specialty of Dutch fashion company, G-Star Raw. The best clothes shopping for men in Amsterdam can be found at Diesel, G-Star Raw, and the boutiques in the Nine Streets (Negen Straatjes) neighborhood. For women’s clothing, you can go to agnes b., or if you want a sophisticated edgy look, go to Van Ravenstein.

Nine Streets Neighborhood

Donna Fiera: trendy young women’s clothing, mostly from Italy and Scandinavia; chic yet sporty.

Huidenstraat 18
1016 ES Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 428 9250
www.donnafiera.nl

Lock, Stock and Barrel: urban chic look for men and women; they carry Filippa K, my favorite Swedish brand, as well as accessories, bags and belts.

Hartenstraat 26
1016 CC Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 421 3348

Van Ravenstein: if you like Belgian designers such as Dries van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Martin Margiela, Veronique Branquinho and Ann Demeulemeester but have not time to shop in Antwerp, Van Ravenstein is the place to shop. It’s also one of the few places in the Netherlands where you can find Balenciaga and Givenchy. I like the shoes and bags at this store.

Keizersgracht 359
1016 EJ Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 639 0067
www.van-ravenstein.nl

Skins Cosmetics: the only place to find all of your favorite (but not mainstream) perfumes such as Creed, Diptyque, Coudray, Parfums Frederic Malle and beauty brands such as Laura Mercier, Nars, Nuxe, Ren, Aesop, Dr. Sebagh.

Runstraat 9
1016 GJ Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 528 6922
www.skins.nl

Cortina Paper: if you love high-quality paper goods such as leather-bound blank notebooks from Italy, stationery, writing paper, gift wrapping paper, note pads, Cortina Paper has them all. They also have beautiful pens and pencils from Germany and Japan. A must-see for the paper lover.

Reestraat 22
1016 DN Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 623 6676
www.cortinapaper.nl

Centrum (Rokin, Leidsestraat)

The center of Amsterdam is where you find the chain stores such as Zara and Mango, and the main department store, de Bijenkorf, which is not worth visiting. There is only one place I would recommend: the agnes b. store on the Rokin.

Agnes b.: classic yet modern French style for women and men; they also carry watches, bags, shoes and belts. This is my favorite place to shop for women’s clothes.

Rokin 126
1012 LC Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 627 1465
www.agnesb.com

Filippa K: menswear and womenswear by a Swedish firm that believes in minimalism and simplicity. They do the “basics” well: white shirts, lightweight wool trousers, jackets. The PC Hooftstraat store carries men’s and women’s clothing.

Leidsestraat 53 (women’s collection only)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 20 625 9006

PC Hooftstraat 129
Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 20 673 2343

San Francisco isn’t a fashion capital in the way that Paris and New York are (or even LA). SF style is laid-back, which means most people don’t care what they look like when they leave their houses. As a result, most serious fashion designers leave town and head for New York or Paris. But there are a few who stay and do quite well. In addition to independent designers, there are the luxury brands such as Hermes that have a store in the city. I suspect many of these luxury shops sell a lot to tourists.

The best shopping for men’s clothing in San Francisco is in Hayes Valley, a neighborhood next to the Civic Center / City Hall and of course, the Castro. For women’s clothes, it’s all over the place: Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights, Valencia and 16th  Streets in the Mission, downtown Union Square, and Union Street in Cow Hollow.

San Francisco shops do the rugged urban look very well. Locals love European brands like G-Star Raw and Diesel, and US designers such as Marc Jacobs. This is not the city for sophisticated Italian look, but I am partial to it, so I go anyway to the Max Mara store in downtown SF.  Unfortunately the locals’ lack of interest in what they wear means shoe shopping is a catastrophe in this city. The Gucci and Prada stores in San Francisco do not carry a collection that even comes near what their Milan, Rome and Paris stores have on offer. This is a jeans-and-sneakers kind of town.

Azalea: Women’s and men’s clothing store in Hayes Valley; carries APC, James Perse, Toki-Doki’s quirky t-shirts, designer jeans from Acne (a trendy Swedish brand), and many others; excellent nail spa for manicures and pedicures.

411 Hayes Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
+1 415 861 9888
www.azaleasf.com

Nomads: just down the street from Azalea, this shop carries G-Star Raw and other men’s clothing brands for guys who want to look sporty but still chic.

556 Hayes St
San Francisco, CA 94102
+1 415 864 5692

MAC / Modern Appeal Clothing: also in Hayes Valley is one of the few boutiques in Northern California that carries an astounding selection of clothing from young Belgian, Japanese and French designers. The men’s and women’s clothes are stunning and the service is impeccable.

387 Grove Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
+1 415 863 3011

Rickshaw Bagworks: Looking for a cool messenger bag that’s made locally in San Francisco and inspired by the urban cycling culture? Check out Rickshaw Bagworks. They have messenger bags of varying sizes and colors with efficiently divided pockets and slots, perfect for gadget freaks.

Rickshaw Bagworks
904 22nd Street,
San Francisco, CA 94107
+1 415 904 8368
www.rickshawbags.com

Max Mara: Luxurious, elegant and understated, Max Mara is the place where women go to find the most exquisite coats, jackets and dresses. This Italian company does not believe in adorning their customers’ bodies with vulgar logos, so all their efforts go into impeccable tailoring and fabric. Their Sportmax and ‘S Max Mara lines are my favorites: younger, sportier and more fashion-forward. Service is outstanding. Max Mara is best known for its coats, but everything else is just as impressive.

175 Post St
San Francisco, CA 94108
+1 415 981 0900

Sun Hee Moon: local San Francisco designer who makes urban “classic” womenswear such as A-line skirts and dresses that are sporty and girly at the same time (for the modern Audrey Hepburn, according to their website).  She has three locations in San Francisco. My favorite is store on 16th Street in the MIssion.

3167 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
+1 415 355 1800
www.sunheemoon.com

Marc by Marc Jacobs: the less expensive women’s and men’s clothing line of American designer Marc Jacobs (who also designs for Louis Vuitton) is all about urban chic. His specialty: gorgeous quirky dresses that make you stand out in a crowd, adorable coats, and the best fitting cotton twill trousers for men and women.

2142 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
+1 415 447 9322
www.marcjacobs.com

Hlaska: chic laptop bags for people who don’t want to look like geeks.

2033 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 440 1999
www.hlaska.com

Villains and Villains Vault: one of the best places in SF to get casual, sporty menswear (and womenswear). They carry G-Star Raw, Diesel and the major jeans brands such as 7 for all Mankind. Large selection of jackets and hoodies.

Villains
1672 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
+1 415 626 5939
www.villainssf.com

Villains Vault
1653 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
+1 415 864 7727

Rolo: Located in the Castro, the only neighborhood in San Francisco where you find guys who really care about their looks, Rolo carries a terrific selection of gorgeous sweaters, jackets, coats, jeans, shirts – everything for the stylish man.

2351 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
+1 415 431 4545
www.rolo.com

Bloomingdales: if you must go to a department store, go to Bloomingdales in the Westfield Shopping Centre, downtown SF. Since it opened only recently, it’s modern, light and airy. It is conveniently located above the Powell Street BART and Muni underground stations. Bloomingdales has the best beauty department in San Francisco. Space NK, my favorite London beauty shop, just opened a small space selling their best products (e.g. Eve Lom’s skincare).

Westfield San Francisco Centre
845 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
+1 415 856 5300
www.bloomingdales.com

The hardest things to give up during these difficult times are your favorite luxury bath and body products. If you used to think nothing about dropping $65 on Fresh’s Brown Sugar Body Polish, which is a favorite among many women. But what if I told you that you could buy a sugar body polish that feels just as good and smells even better for $11.50?

I discovered Cottage Garden Therapies while shopping at Etsy, an online store that features jewelry, bags, clothing and even beauty products from small independent entrepreneurs. Cottage Garden Therapies’ products blow away the luxury brands that are sold in department stores. Their soaps are natural, organic, and made from goat’s milk and honey. Lotions are made from  goat’s milk, honey, shea butter, sunflower oil and allantoin, all of which are nourishing ingredients.

My favorites are the sugar scrub, the goat’s milk and honey lotion, the mineral bath salts and soap from the Frankincense and Myrrh line, which smells mysterious and beguiling. The scrub is, in my opinion, much better than any other sugar scrub I’ve tried including the expensive Fresh sugar polish. The lotion is not greasy but it does keep your skin soft all day. So although my budget for luxury bath and beauty products has shrunk, I don’t feel deprived because I can get much better products at a lower price.

Cottage Garden Therapies is owned by Leslie and Cory Mills. They are based in Denham Springs Louisiana. They have a stand at the Livingston Parish Farmer’s Market in Denham Springs on Saturdays from 7 a.m. till noon. I try as much as possible to feature small, independent businesses on Shopplr because they often give much better service and better value for money.

Cottage Garden Therapies
www.cottagegardentherapies.com
cottagegardentherapi.ETSY.com
+1 225 803 2545