Return to San Francisco: the Refunding
May. 10th, 2013 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tuftearsAs I mentioned in my previous entry, I had discovered the boots I had gotten up in San Francisco were in fact too small for me. Nervously I girded myself up to venture back north...
I managed the drive up successfully and navigated BART to Powell Street, and took the boots in to Barney's of NY, which accepted the return with, thankfully, a minimum of fuss. From there, I was reluctant to return immediately-- we're talking about an hour each way-- so I gadded about San Francisco for a bit.
There was a Levi's store so I checked in it for denim jackets or vests. Well, no really nice denim vests of the sort I'd had in mind, but they had a black denim jacket that had a few more pockets than the blue jacket I was wearing, and I'm assured that my complexion means I should prefer warm colors to cool ones like blue, so I picked that up.
On the way back, I paused in Union Park to soak up a bit of culture. There was a lady singing beautifully here with a few musicians for accompaniment, and several artists purveying their artwork.
There were quite a few stores I poked my nose into, but I didn't see anything really interesting in most of them. As I mentioned in Twitter in reply to someone's quoting of Abercrombie as 'exclusionary and elitist', I looked in, saw the entire store was dimly lit so that you couldn't see the merchandise, and concluded that it was obviously more about trying to razzle-dazzle you with style and 'coolness' and not about actual quality. What are they hiding? Are they afraid to show you the merchandise?! Besides, I told myself, only unstable people shop in the dark.
I didn't feel like paying for an entire meal to eat by myself up there, but I did stop by one of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dracosphynx's favored chocolatiers, Cocoa Bella. The candy on the left is a mint chocolate chip truffle (not bad) and the one on the right is a Truffle Caraibe, with walnut paste filling, covered in cacao nibs. Decadent!
Up in Bloomberry's (I think the name was) I found this interesting sports blazer. I rather like the looks of it but these are sized for bigger people; this one was a 40, their smallest, and the sales clerk estimated my size at about 34 or so. I would probably want it in a different color, black or red, perhaps.
Here's another item that interested me at Nordstrom! It's a trenchcoat. I discovered to my surprise that the two sets of buttons meant you could pull them further over to tighten them up, creating more of a slimming effect. Would look good with an appropriate shirt on me, IMO!
Once I'd finished looking around in Nordstrom (without having bought anything, the only thing I bought was the denim jacket from Levi's) I headed to the express elevator, which was conveniently close to the BART exit, and headed back home. Whew! I didn't realize how much exertion I'd put in until I felt sore the next day. But it was a pretty decent solo outing; shopping for clothes is much more fun when you're trying to find something new and rare, rather than 'the usual good-enough-to-get-by work clothes'.
Oh, and my boots from Zappo's arrived, replacing the ones I had returned!
This is what they look like, with the pant legs tucked into them.
And this is what they look like with the pant legs on top. I prefer this style, I think. The exposed white edge makes me think they're supposed to be covered.
I should see about something to waterproof the leather! Any advice?
I managed the drive up successfully and navigated BART to Powell Street, and took the boots in to Barney's of NY, which accepted the return with, thankfully, a minimum of fuss. From there, I was reluctant to return immediately-- we're talking about an hour each way-- so I gadded about San Francisco for a bit.
There was a Levi's store so I checked in it for denim jackets or vests. Well, no really nice denim vests of the sort I'd had in mind, but they had a black denim jacket that had a few more pockets than the blue jacket I was wearing, and I'm assured that my complexion means I should prefer warm colors to cool ones like blue, so I picked that up.
On the way back, I paused in Union Park to soak up a bit of culture. There was a lady singing beautifully here with a few musicians for accompaniment, and several artists purveying their artwork.
There were quite a few stores I poked my nose into, but I didn't see anything really interesting in most of them. As I mentioned in Twitter in reply to someone's quoting of Abercrombie as 'exclusionary and elitist', I looked in, saw the entire store was dimly lit so that you couldn't see the merchandise, and concluded that it was obviously more about trying to razzle-dazzle you with style and 'coolness' and not about actual quality. What are they hiding? Are they afraid to show you the merchandise?! Besides, I told myself, only unstable people shop in the dark.
I didn't feel like paying for an entire meal to eat by myself up there, but I did stop by one of
dracosphynx's favored chocolatiers, Cocoa Bella. The candy on the left is a mint chocolate chip truffle (not bad) and the one on the right is a Truffle Caraibe, with walnut paste filling, covered in cacao nibs. Decadent!Up in Bloomberry's (I think the name was) I found this interesting sports blazer. I rather like the looks of it but these are sized for bigger people; this one was a 40, their smallest, and the sales clerk estimated my size at about 34 or so. I would probably want it in a different color, black or red, perhaps.
Here's another item that interested me at Nordstrom! It's a trenchcoat. I discovered to my surprise that the two sets of buttons meant you could pull them further over to tighten them up, creating more of a slimming effect. Would look good with an appropriate shirt on me, IMO!
Once I'd finished looking around in Nordstrom (without having bought anything, the only thing I bought was the denim jacket from Levi's) I headed to the express elevator, which was conveniently close to the BART exit, and headed back home. Whew! I didn't realize how much exertion I'd put in until I felt sore the next day. But it was a pretty decent solo outing; shopping for clothes is much more fun when you're trying to find something new and rare, rather than 'the usual good-enough-to-get-by work clothes'.
Oh, and my boots from Zappo's arrived, replacing the ones I had returned!
This is what they look like, with the pant legs tucked into them.
And this is what they look like with the pant legs on top. I prefer this style, I think. The exposed white edge makes me think they're supposed to be covered.
I should see about something to waterproof the leather! Any advice?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-05-11 11:51 am (UTC)http://www.leathertherapy.com/pages/Waterproofing-Leather-.html
no subject
Date: 2013-05-11 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-11 04:49 pm (UTC)(browses around a bit) Evidently the manufacturer that makes these boots has a recommended spray for it. I guess I'll start off with that one!
The REI hiking boots care article recommends against using mink oil on hiking boots, as it could 'over-soften' the leather.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-11 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-11 08:31 pm (UTC)The sports blazer would be cool too, if it fit properly. :)