Vacation

Possibly the best vintage store in SF. They have a small, but very well curated selection. Everything is clean, and the store is nicely organized. Each time I’ve been I have found another piece to add to my wardrobe. Really can’t say enough good things about them.

Great little vintage shop! Came here on the recommendation from the shop girls at ReLove and loved it! Small store but really well curated with great pieces. I didn’t purchase anything on my visit but tried on really cute things that just we’re not my size. I’ll be back for sure!

Love this shop! Definitely one of my favorite places to shop for clothes and one of the most unique places too. They have great art shows too and books, jewelry. Everything is reasonably priced and the people there are super helpful and nice. Found many great gems, including one of my favorite shirts I wear ALL the time.

Awesome clothes, and a super great staff. They have shows in the basement sometimes which are always really fun. The stuff they stock is nice but isn’t too expensive which is nice.
They used to be a little sketchy about shipping stuff (just slow, basically) but recently everything’s gotten shipped super fast – maybe they just needed some time to get on their feet.

Shopkeeper & I literally had a #tothewindowtothewall moment as she directed me to a local arteest flyer I was trying to find which was on the window. I mean the wall. Hold up — the window. Miniscule selection (esp mens) but rad art.

Came here many months back but it was pretty memorable. I was curious how this place does on Unilocal.Let me try and wrap my mind around/​expand upon why some other Unilocalers may describe the vibe as «rude»…
Five people were working – a female behind the counter and then four guys, of the garage rock persuasion. Disinterested in the clothing, I sat down on what little space I could find whilst my partner looked at the clothes (again, some of which were interesting.) I reach for the closest reading material – an early 80s Artforum, of which there were about 20. Instantly, one of the men «installing» zoomed up, first inquiring if I was ok, then proceeding to ask who was the critic of that issue: Michel Foucault or Sylvere Lotringer? He then asked, maintaining the rapid fire, if I was «an artist, a critic, or a just a generally cultured person?» I guess my grey sweater and oxford shirt rendered me guilty as charged. I, however, responded none of the above, desperate to avoid further conversation, though laughing my ass off in my head that people still use post-​structuralism as a coolness barometer. Could this artifact of lo-fi’s linguistic turn really be mugging me in his own store?
The conversation picked up in fiery pace: soon, he was questioning me on contemporary novelists that everyone who can read knows about. I continued to play dumb, inquiring which Sebald to start with; then, he moved to ask about my schooling, my familiarity with his sense of holy writ garnering not an «I wonder if we grew up near each other» but a staunch statement of pride for his alma mater. At this point, my partner began to speak for me, as I couldn’t – amazed that somehow I knew this would happen, it was too perfect. This was it, the cartoon of chillwave congealing into living, breathing form, the bourgeois apathy of post-structuralism’s nightmares, now clad in cali-​sun faded denim, having built itself a sandcastle.
My terse responses somehow didn’t get me out of the hot-​seat. The feeling was not necessarily a good one: like being tickled, it was confusing, vaguely violent, uncomfortable, though done with friendly intentions? Maybe even enjoyable? I don’t want to rag on this place too hard, because deep down, I found the interaction really pitiable and hilarious. Now, if I weren’t strapped with heavy names to drop, to counter the barrage, I may indeed have felt a bit, erm, put off…
The truth is, the place is great if you want to find thrifted pieces turned over at price because you didn’t do the work. They have some genuinely cool stuff here. Especially what I like is the relative disposability of the clothes – nothing is too precious but each piece was unique and valuable. And, its fairly priced.

Cool clothing and very creative Barbie window displays but it’s in a terrible location. As a woman I don’t feel safe is this part of the tenderloin day or night.

So, my day was going terrific when I was excused from jury duty at the superior court with a little time take in a gorgeous July afternoon in the city when I happen upon Vacation, a lovingly curated vintage store in my neighborhood. The day got even better when I scored an unbelievably beautiful pair of Giorgio Armani harem pants for a song!!! I am practically giddy right now. About the shop: cute space, hosts art and music, and clean — no vintage funky-​stank, just unique, funky, well-​made clothes and accessories at very good price points. Check out their online offerings and their Pinterest page too. This place is a gem!

I walked into the store and was greeted with a nasty stare from a woman I later found out is the business owner. She only became interested in assisting me when she discovered I wanted to make a purchase. Apparently I wasn’t «hipster» enough for her and her crew of apathetic sales people. I suspect her store will not be in business very long due to her lack of business acumen and customer service.

Interesting place to see a show. Walk down a narrow stairwell and you arrive into the basement. Low ceilings and loud music are in abundance. Don’t forget the beer!

Cooler-​than-​you vintage clothing store in the Tenderloin that occasionally hosts art and music events in their tiny basement. I felt like a mewling can-​I-​play-​too dweeb when I first set foot in there. When I asked if the store had an e-​mail mailing list, the owner looked at me like I had suggested we trade notes via carrier pigeon. Now that I have gotten to know this shop, I really like it.
This store isn’t large: it’s basically one room with a high-​ceiling, a handful of racks and art on the walls. But it is excruciatingly well-​curated. And even though men’s gear is only a minority of the offerings, I’m destined to make a purchase on every visit. I always find something killer and for a reasonable price.
When I found out they host FREE live music shows announced mere hours beforehand via Instagram, I had to attend one. Ended up seeing Shells (
) in their basement and I had an awesome time. Do you kids still say that? «Awe-​some?»
Go Vacation.
Obligatory Title Pun: Beats the REST.
Menu Readability: Their Instagram is their menu.
Need to mention: You can follow
to peep what’s on sale.
What this place teaches me about myself: When I open a vintage shop, my only net presence will be on Snapchat. Your move, Vacay.

concerts and art shows are always good. kristen makes a lovely host. always find one piece of clothing no matter what. love this store. sweet shop girls.

Terrible customer service-​the owner was flagrantly rude to me when I went in a few months back. No thanks.

I recently stumbled upon this place to purchase a cute skirt (and it was before dinner so I didn’t want to carry with me) so I prepaid $ 25 for it and mentioned that I’d pick up later since I live closeby.
I get that it was a few months before I returned (I went on a long holiday and seriously forgot the address of the place and name). So saw it on my stroll home and decided to see if my skirt was around!
The fact that the owner remembered the skirt… BUT told me that she might have resold it and that «I was drunk when I came in.»
Why I am saving you from this bad encounter:
1. I wasn’t drunk (and isn’t that rude to tell someone that as an excuse not to give them something they paid for?)…
2. I could have demanded a refund but I kindly came in to ask her if she still had my skirt. Perhaps the right thing to do would have been (common courtesy?) offering a refund if she saw that I never picked it up.
Sure, she offered my number in case she found it — if she’s already claiming that I was drunk and that it was my fault for not coming back sooner because she must have resold it. I’m sure she won’t be going out of her way to look for it or call me back.
After seeing online that she did the same to someone who was missing merchandise… This is pretty bad ethics for a small business.

I saw a vintage 49ers varsity jacket on Vacation SF’s instagram, so I immediately inquired and was told I could PayPal the money and then come pick it up. Which I did. Unfortunately, when I arrived to pick it up, the owner (Kristen) told me that it was «at the dry cleaners.» She then promised she’d hand deliver it to my house the following week.
Except she never did.
A few emails from me later, she swore she’d put it in the mail that day.
Except that the jacket never arrived.
I’ve sent numerous emails and have received no response. I’ve also tried to go to the store several times during «store hours,» but it’s never actually open.
Sadly, I now have to waste my time and hers by filing in small claims court.
All she had to do was either give me the jacket or refund my $ 125. Such a bummer.
I will NEVER shop at Vacation SF again and I’ll make it my super fun mission in life to ensure that no one I know ever shops there either.
UPDATE: I want to respond to the comment from the Vacation owner (below).
1. It is true, after I sent one final email saying I was taking her to small claims court that my money was refunded. This was THREE months later.
2. I sent numerous emails. I never received an explanation or an apology. Not even AFTER my money was refunded.
3. The refund came via PayPal, again with zero explanation as to what happened. If it is true that the jacket was sent back to the store, I could have easily gone in to pick it up — like I originally tried to do. But I wasn’t even told the jacket was returned in the mail, so this whole story sounds super sketchy.
4. My gut tells me this jacket was sold to someone else and the owner just didn’t want to deal with it etc .etc.
So yes — I never had to go to small claims court because after NUMEROUS requests for assistance — all of which were received with radio silence — my threat to take her to small claims court finally prompted her to refund my money.
Sorry Kristin. I know this is your business, but you’re twisting the facts and I still cannot recommend anyone shop at your store.

This place is what I wished my closet looked like.

Kristin has great taste, and Vacation carries guy clothes too, along with records, art magazines, and shoes. I got a sweet vintage YSL button-​down not too long ago. Make sure to stop by for their curated art shows — usually great art and performers.

Vintage finds!

Cute store with a nice selection of vintage clothes at very reasonable prices.

Between the servings of beef at Pagolac, I was insanely lucky enough to stumble into Vacation and was immediately bowled over by how awesome the store’s selection and prices were. Most everything that I saw was in the less-​than-​$ 20 range for some quality vintage. Pieces with labels had appropriate markup, but were still insanely inexpensive. I scored an amazing silk chiffon polka dot blouse along with 8 other shirts and a pair of almost-​new Ralph Lauren loafers for around $ 225. I mean come on now, that’s a bloody steal!
Still up for grabs were a few all-​weather Dooney & Bourke bags, a Chanel, and a ton of adorable clothes. Not saying that I didn’t expect to come across this amazing windfall of clothing in the TL, but to be honest it’s never really a place I’d ever thought I’d be shopping in, let alone scoring so many amazing pieces.
Although the collective experience is fab, the real gem is the proprietor, Kristin. She’s super friendly and passionate about what she does and the neighborhood around her. Above all, her pricing is beyond fair for what she’s offering, and all of the clothes are well cleaned and in impeccable shape.
In addition, I was told that the space was going to be hosting some great events, including a few art shows and a Thee Oh Sees show in the near future!!! You can’t deny how rad an addition like this is to the neighborhood at large and I plan on making it a frequent stop when I’m in the Tenderloin.