Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style

A visual celebration of the evolution of style and fashion in San Francisco from 1906 to today, featuring some of the world’s most beloved designers, such as Cristóbal Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, and many more.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) are home to one of the most significant collections of 20th- and 21st-century women’s fashion in the United States, and this book shares a particular segment of that collection: San Francisco style from 1906 to today, showcasing approximately 100 garments featured in a major exhibition.

San Francisco Style starts in 1906, when the devastating earthquake forced people to rebuild their lives from the ground up. The city’s desire to redefine itself and assert an international status in the wake of disaster manifested in the dress codes of its prominent women. The early collections in this book reflect San Francisco’s bohemian tendencies and its long-standing practice of using fashion as a form of personal expression.

Complied by curators Jill D’Alessandro and Laura L. Camerlengo, San Francisco Style features designs by some of fashion’s most notable names and pays homage to the role of film and the counterculture in San Francisco dress codes—a perfect gift book for both fashion lovers and historians.

Includes Color Photographs

About the Author

Jill D’Alessandro is a curator in charge of costume and textile arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Her recent books include Guo Pei: Couture Fantasy, a monographic catalogue on the Chinese fashion designer.

Laura L. Camerlengo is an associate curator of costume and textile arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She recently edited Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love the first book on that fashion designer.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, are the largest public arts institution in San Francisco.