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SAN FRANCISCO
Ambiance
(415) 923-9796 • ambiancesf.com
This San Francisco Legacy Business — so named by the city’s Office of Small Business in recognition of being “a valuable cultural asset” — was founded in 1996 and is known for “our amazing selection of clothing and accessories, and our incomparable customer service!” Look for clothing of all sorts in a full range of prices, accessories and gift items.
SAN FRANCISCO/EAST BAY/SOUTH BAY/PENINSULA
Ruti
PALO ALTO
(650) 391-9719 • ruti.com
Cool, flattering and practical — those are the goals former tech executive Ruti Zisser strives to meet with her clothing designs for Ruti, a new Readers’ Choice winner this year. Zisser founded the line in 2009 “to change your relationship with your closet.” She notes, “Our clothes are designed to flatter a woman over the age of 35 without making her look like she’s trying too hard.”
EAST BAY
In Full Swing
OAKLAND
(510) 654-5144 • infullswing.com
Racks and racks here are filled with casual clothing in sizes 14 to 24 and some supersizes, and shoppers stop in accessories, lingerie, swimwear (year-round) and jewelry as well. Top designers make beautiful clothes for plus-size women, and that’s what In Full Swing’s founder and owner Sharon Silverstein stocks in her Rockridge store.
Lesley Evers
OAKLAND
(510) 595-7600 • lesleyevers.com
This Rockridge store — a new Readers’ Choice winner this year — aims to “enrich your life with beautiful clothing and home decor that inspires joy.” All of the clothing is designed in the Bay Area, and the majority is made in Oakland. Owner Lesley Evers, who started sewing when she was 11, launched the business in 2008.
NORTH BAY
Shunzi
SAN RAFAEL
(415) 455-9085 • shunzi.net
“Unique fashion for unique women” — that’s the goal at Shunzi, a “one-of-a-kind boutique offering sophisticated women’s clothing and accessories.” Che Shunzi, a pharmacologist, shifted careers in 1997 and entered the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. In 2002, she opened her first store, which still draws from many designers around the world.