San Francisco

Vintage shops provide unique gear, but their messiness can leave you yearning for the chain stores and the generic pocket tees that made your virginity such a tough nut to crack. Get the best of both worlds with Still Life.

A carefully curated collection of vintage gems and local labels, Life's a walk-in closet sized shop run by a former Victoria's Secret/GAP stylist, who boosts her boutique goods' appeal with the dark corporate art of visual merchandising. Easily findable on orderly racks, vintage standouts include hand-embroidered cowboy shirts, one-of-a-kind leather jackets lined with patterned silk, and '70s-era Mercedes track jackets -- perfect for the man who wants a Benz, but settles for sprinting away with their hood ornaments. The new stuff's highlighted by hand-tooled wallets and belts, and tees from SF indies like Nooworks, 410 BC, and Deadbeat Sister (like a deadbeat dad, who squanders her neglected kids' money on scrunchies).

On Dec 9, Still Life's owner's throwing Indie Mart, a clothing sale/BBQ at 12 Galaxies, where there'll be enough free beer to guarantee that even your nerdily utilitarian tee shirt won't prevent you from finally knowing the touch of a woman.