Looking for $600 cardigans or $220 bee venom-infused face serum? Head to this San Francisco street, where expensive everyday items are the norm.

Katie Canales

Dec 22, 2019, 20:03 IST

Looking for $600 cardigans or $220 bee venom-infused face serum? Head to this San Francisco street, where expensive everyday items are the norm.

fillmore street pacific heights san francisco 14

Fillmore Street runs north to south through San Francisco's Pacific Heights, a neighborhood known for housing tech bigwigs and old-moneyed families.
There's clearly a market for high-end shops full of high price tags, and a six-block stretch of Fillmore Street consists of exactly that.
We took a stroll, weaving in and out of the upscale retailers, and found everyday items at sky-high prices.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

If there's going to be a concentration of high-priced luxury shops nested together in San Francisco, it might as well be near the Pac Heights neighborhood.

It's one of the most prestigious districts in the city, and where a good portion of San Francisco's tech billionaires live. The median real-estate value is $2.02 million, but that doesn't mean homes aren't listed well above that - a $27 million mansion a block away from the city's "Billionaire's Row" is currently for sale.

So there's clearly a market of shoppers with cash to burn within walking distance of Fillmore Street.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

The roughly six-block stretch isn't the only nest of upscale retail shops in San Francisco, but it's the main shopping district for the Pac Heights neighborhood.

Brands like Ralph Lauren, Intermix, Reformation, Frye, and Rag & Bone are just some of the hot shops dotting the district.

We took a jaunt down the street to find out what lurks within the glistening shops and found, among other things, $600 cardigans, bottles of bee venom-infused face serum for $200 a pop, $1,184 pairs of jeans, and $30 face massagers.

See for yourself.

Fillmore Street runs north to south from the water's edge in the Marina neighborhood through the Fillmore District and into the Lower Haight.

The Fillmore District south of Pac Heights has a long-standing reputation for its music scene, with the annual Fillmore Jazz fest specifically being a city favorite. Banners for the event are strewn up and down the street.

The hills on the north side of Fillmore street were once home to the city's working-class citizens. Then the 1906 earthquake hit, and the wealthy took the neighborhood for their own and never looked back.

Pac Heights has been a hotspot for old-moneyed families and tech bigwigs ever since.

Apple's former design chief Jony Ive and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison are just some of the industry's big names that call the neighborhood home.

The median real-estate value for the Pac Heights 'hood is $2.02 million, according to Zillow.

There's even what's known as "Billionaire's Row," a block from which a $27 million mansion currently sits for sale.

And so the residents in those homes have some cash to burn, which is something retailers are most likely aware of.

There's a growing trend in San Francisco that's seeing retailers skipping over Union Square — what has historically been the hot place to set up a brick-and-mortar store — and instead snagging space in elite neighborhoods.

The controversial Gwyneth Paltrow-founded Goop is the latest example of that.

The wellness titan recently opened its fourth retail location in the country on Fillmore between Sacramento and California Streets.

The brand has been known to sell products that critics say skirt the realm of pseudoscience. And yet, wealthy self-care members of Goop's loyal following continuously eat them up.

Inside were vibrators, $15,000 necklaces, "psychic vampire repellent," and $600 cardigans.

And no, those vaginal eggs were nowhere to be found when we visited (Goop settled a lawsuit related to the health claims of the eggs for $145,000 in 2018).

There's a wide range of skincare shops, clothing stores, cafes, and restaurants in the area, but they most certainly have one thing in common: high price tags.

In one space, startups Garin and Seabedee sell $300 cardigans and topical CBD oil and gummies, respectively.

Rothy's, the sustainability-centric shoe startup selling flats made from recycled plastic, was packed when we passed by.

Its shoes are machine washable and retail for $125 and upward.

In another, a shop named Aday, is clothing made from a material that's a mix of cotton and spandex.

This mustard short-sleeve shirt was $75. It was supple and soft.

And this long-sleeve number cost $135.

A bit further down was Sage, a Canadian-based chain selling aromatherapy products. There was oil designed to mitigate period cramp pain and diffusers.

The diffusers came disguised as what could be home decor statement pieces fit for the illustrious Pac Heights homes surrounding the shop.

These nasal inhalers are $18 a box, with two included that collectively will last about a year, according to a sales associate. They came in different scents like "Brainstorm" and "Stress Release."

There was a face massager for $30, which also came bundled with a face toner.

A few storefronts down was 45R, a Japanese store. French music was playing when we walked in.

These caftans, priced at $410 each, were hanging on their own display. In their defense, they had pockets.

Most of the denim pants were $300-$400, but one pair, which was dyed in true Japanese indigo, cost $1,184.

A store called Cotelac was chock-full of funky eccentric bursts of colors and fabrics. A pair of wool-looking yellow socks with glittery gold heels cost $40. A measly-looking, sheer black knee-length dress was priced at $410. A cerulean blue scarf? $155.

And finally, at SpaceNK were finds that would make any self-care addict giddy.

There were Oribe hair products and a hair brush for $75.

An entire section was devoted to "High-tech skincare."

Among its collection were yellow bottles of bee venom super serum by Rodial for $220 each. A warning on the back advised avoiding use if you have a bee-sting allergy.

My takeaway? There's a price to pay for beauty and luxury.

Next Story This $10 million 'Star Trek' themed Silicon Valley home looks like a spaceship and has a two-story airplane hangar door