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The Best Shops In Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco

Amoeba Music
Amoeba Music | © Stephen Kelly/Flickr

San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district is known for its rich history as the home of the Summer of Love, and to this day the neighborhood still embraces its notorious hippie identity. The streets are filled with an eclectic mix of locals, and the shops are just as colorful and vibrant as the people. Read on to get to know our favorite shops in the area, from independent record stores to unique clothing boutiques.

Amoeba Music

Shop, Store

Amoeba Music
© Jumilla/Flickr
Amoeba Music is a popular independent record store with three locations throughout California, including San Francisco and Berkeley. This shop sells a huge selection of music in both CDs and vinyl, in addition to movies on DVD, Blu-Ray, VHS and laserdiscs. What Amoeba is most known for, though, is the awesome events that it offers. Every location hosts a series of live performances, DJ sets, and signing events, all of which are open to all ages and 100% free to attend.

The Booksmith

Bookstore, School

The Booksmith
© Steve Rhodes/Flickr
The Booksmith is an independent bookstore on Haight Street. This shop is the perfect spot to shop for the classics you’ve been dying to read as well as the hidden gems you haven’t heard of yet. The shop even hosts events and author readings onsite, maintaining a strong relationship with the surrounding community and supporting local writers and artists.

Goorin Bros.

Shop, Store

Located right on the corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets, Goorin Bros. is a clothing and accessories shop. This boutique will reel you in with its enticing Victorian atmosphere, but it will keep you hooked with the amazing quality of the clothing it offers. The store emphasizes the importance of using the finest fabrics possible and supporting unique and personal craftsmanship, so you will be sure to find something with incredible details.

Black Scale

Store

Black Scale is an edgy menswear brand with an emphasis on concepts like religion, government, and death. The company proudly ‘challenges the consumer to question the ideals of everyday society and to decipher the world objectively, disregarding the view of the status quo.’ Black Scale has brick-and-mortar stores in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Shanghai. The company is also known for collaborating with a variety of popular brands, including Diamond Supply Co., Android Homme, Hall of Fame, Frank151, DTA, High Point, and G-Shock.

Gypsy Streetwear

Store

Gypsy Streetwear is a clothing boutique that has been open in the Haight since 2011. This shop truly embraces the neighborhood’s colorful cultural history, while making sure to adapt to the most current trends. If you are looking for something unique to wear to an event or festival, or even just to stand out in your everyday life, this is a great spot to find everything you need. Plus, the clothes are much more affordable than their quality would suggest.

Jammin On Haight

Shop

Jammin On Haight is located just a block east of the Haight-Ashbury intersection at the corner of Haight and Masonic. This is another spot that seeks to showcase the vibrancy of the neighborhood’s history, and the perfect place to find all the tie-dye your heart desires. The shop has even gone so far as getting multiple printers onsite so that local artists can have their work pressed directly onto clothing and posters.

About the author

Editor of The Culture Trip's San Francisco section, Courtney is a writer, manager, yoga instructor, feminist, and arts enthusiast. Attempting to fill her days with as much creativity and humanity as possible, she loves to explore the unique spaces and cultural happenings taking place around her, taking inspiration from them to fill these pages with topics like travel, art, literature, music, wellness, and nature along the way.

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