The Golden Hour, Richmond District, SF

When I first came to San Francisco, I lived in a tiny room off of Lake Street in a crumbling Victorian house. It was inhabited mostly by nurses who were all clean, efficient, and hard-working. My landlady, an eccentric woman who loved to play mah-jong, charged half the price for the mainly unheated room. Despite the claw-footed hot tub, (I had my own private bathroom), the freezing SF fog and wind drove me to despair but the location boasted safe environs, multiple bus lines a few steps away, and the bustle of Clement Street just around the corner. Since I came to the country intending to go back home, (on a J-1 visa as an "official visitor") and stayed in SF just as a "try-out," I did not have any immediate plans or anything pressing to do. I would mostly pass the time visiting the nearby lake with two beautiful swans highlighting my daily flaneur-style constitutionals.

This time, 2022, when I veered off of the beauty and solitude of that part of Lake Street (whenever I had the chance to visit it), Clement Street beckoned and now looked so differently from the past. Stores of every imaginable target demographics have sprouted up. One day, curious, I peeked at one of the most attractive fronts of all the shops in the upper Clement (close to Arguello).

This particular store is named "The Golden Hour," and has a vast array of wonderful boho wicker bags and leather purses, dresses, jewelry, scented oils and many other curiosities that women and men, might find interesting!

What struck me was that the owner must have taken the time to take such great care in choosing the pieces in the store including the conch shells placed all around the many tables in the shop, the vibrant plants, the Mexican blankets, the multicolored geodes, the golden vintage mirror, even the peacock chair in the dressing room resonated for me on this very brief visit.

It was not entirely a shopping trip for me when I ventured ou, but I promised myself that I would go back, take my time, and take advantage of the fairly priced items at "The Golden Hour."