By Laura Peach
Although San Francisco kisses the Pacific Ocean, the possibility of cold, fog and rain keeps its residents from looking like they live by the sea. Flip-flops rarely graze the sidewalk, and sheer sundresses are often eschewed in favor of warmer, more substantial fabrics and garments.
Petaluma native Meggie White wants to change that. Her breezy, beautiful new Union Street boutique, .meggie. — which is having a special sale event this Friday (see below) — is breathing fresh, sea-salty air into San Francisco’s shopping options. Walking into her shop is like walking into a beach house, bathed in bright pastels and punctuated by bleach white starfish and seashells scattered about the shelves.
Better yet, this beach house is a giant closet. Seersucker shirts with embroidered hems hang off cabinet corners. A rainbow of light, oversized scarves filters the sunshine pouring in the window. Shoes and boots trot up a stepladder. Loose knit throw sweaters hang beneath wooden picture frames. Delicate gold earrings dangle from white branches.
Those glittering hoops are what inspired White to open her beach house boutique. She wanted to stop selling the jewelry she designs and makes through stores so she could bring the prices down. And she wanted to create a space where other small, independent lines could thrive. “I know how hard it is to go knocking on store’s doors and get your label in there,” says White. “I have fun building relationships with local designers, I love hearing how excited they are when what they make flies out the door and I have to order more.”