Party Seen: Clary Sage Organics Third Anniversary Party

A sign outside Clary Sage Organics greeted guests with this peaceful message.

A solid crowd of environmentally-minded, fashion forward San Franciscans stepped out last week to celebrate the third birthday of Clary Sage Organics, one of the City’s few boutiques carrying 100 percent organic, sustainable products and clothing.

Partygoers mingled with owners Patti Cazzato and Dr. Daniel Kalish in the shop, while mini treatments were offered in the  attached wellness center. Among the items on the racks and shelves were organic body care from Nectar Essences, Benedetta and Farmaesthetics, apparel by Edun and Linda Loudermilk and the store’s namesake yoga apparel line.

Taking the refreshing cucumber water often found at spas a step further, the party offered a sage, elderflower and cucumber white sangria for the of-age guests, who also munched on shrimp cocktail appetizers and listened to tunes from musician Dennis Dove and friends. In the crowd were plenty of interesting locals, including pre- and post-natal yoga maven Jane Austen, EcoSalon’s Sara Ost and Rowena Ritchie, San Francisco Chronicle Style Editor Laura Compton, Michelle Ruiz of ModelinaMichelle, Refinery29 San Francisco Editor Katie Hintz-Zambrano and Joslin Van Arsdale of Eco Citizen.

Dr. Jasmine Therese Esguerra serves up the cocktail of the evening.

RBXpress (a.k.a. The Dennis Dove Band) kept the grooves coming during the event.

Jenny Pao, founder of Nectar Essences, with her line of homeopathic flower essence sprays.

The Clary Sage Organics team scrambled to keep up with wrapping purchases from the night's shoppers.

Photography courtesy of Lindsay Harte

More San Francisco fashion events

The Do List: San Francisco Fashion Events July 25-31

If you’re in the mood to celebrate local style, this is your week to shine, thanks to a bouquet of parties in honor of worthy Bay Area fashion and beauty destinations. And as always, the week ahead brings ample opportunity to shop from local sources. You’ll find the details on the SF Indie Fashion Calendar, and we’ve called out a few of our favorite upcoming San Francisco fashion events below.

  • On Tuesday, the self-tanning experts behind Beautisol join forces with Russian Hill’s Beauty Company for a Facebook Fan Appreciation Party. To partake, just “like” both hosts on Facebook, then head over for an evening of food, drink, goodie bags and self-tanning tips from Beautisol’s Sinead Norenius.
  • On Wednesday, longtime local jewelry line viv&ingrid celebrates the opening of its first retail shop with a party at the new Oxford Hall location in Berkeley.
  • SoMa, the Mission and Pacific Heights each play host on Thursday night to oh-so-stylish events with appeal for different crowds. Retail studio and fashion production house The Factory toasts to its first six months with a Warhol-themed shindig on 4th St., while Clary Sage Organics clinks glasses over its three-year anniversary on Fillmore Street. Last but not least, avant garde fashion is on display at the Mission’s Five & Diamond shop during a Pure Vile trunk show, which promises the New York label’s far-out, one-0f-a-kind accessories made using such macabre materials as doll parts, lace and bone.
  • Top the week off with the array of vendors selling local apparel, accessories, food and much, much more during the latest Treasure Island Flea.

You can find details on all of these events and more happening this week on the SF Indie Fashion Calendar.

Sneak Peek: Clary Sage Organics Spring 2011 Collection

After SF Indie Fashion scoped out the latest apparel from Pacific Heights shop Clary Sage in a recent update on Fillmore Street shopping, we were happy to snag a few shots of their Spring 2011 collection for women, now available in-store.

Check out these looks from Clary Sage’s yoga-inspired collection, whose casual pieces will compliment a session at the studio just as easily as they’ll tag along with you on weekend brunch. To view the entire collection, visit the store at 2241 Fillmore Street:

Photography courtesy Clary Sage Organics

A Trio of Reasons to Shop Fillmore Street

As a compact city, some of the best shopping San Francisco has to offer is in neighborhood shopping districts. The Fillmore Street drag in Pacific Heights is one such area always worth keeping an eye on, and lately we’ve noticed several stylish developments popping up there.

  • First up, there’s a new yoga-inspired women’s spring collection in store at Clary Sage Organics on Fillmore at Sacramento. Get a fresh look for yoga class and after with this eco-friendly line of organic apparel.

Clary Sage Organics

  • Next, a menswear labels entices us with the promise of apparel for the other half. After making its stamp with wallets, fine accessories, and menswear, Hlaska (on Fillmore and Pine) is anticipating its first womenswear collection soon.  Keep your eyes out and take advantage of the discounts being offered to make space for the women’s collection in its stores.

Hlaska started with wallets, like this Evergreen model. The company now eagerly anticipates its first womenswear collection.

  • And last but not least, Athleta, a Petaluma-based company of women’s athletic wear that started out small and is now owned by Gap, opened its first flagship store in January on Fillmore Street. You’ll spot their eye-catching exposed brick space under the Junior League outpost between California and Sacramento Streets. It’s always nice to see a brand that started in the Bay Area choose the heart of the San Francisco for its latest venture.

Athleta at 2226 Fillmore, opened in January

Photography courtesy of (top to bottom) Clary Sage, Hlaska and Athleta

From Couture to Eco-Conscious: Linda Loudermilk at Clary Sage Organics

2009_Fiss.LindaLoudermilk-4515Clary Sage Organics treated San Francisco to a special visit from Los Angeles designer Linda Loudermilk on Thursday and taught us a thing or two about being eco-chic.

“When you get your inspiration from nature, it doesn’t look contrived,” Loudermilk says.

After achieving success on the Paris runways, Loudermilk switched gears in 2002 to develop what many credit as the world’s first eco-friendly luxury apparel line, and we’re certainly happy she did.

Now, seven years later, we just can’t get enough of her sustainable apparel (see the fall collection), made of innovative fabrics from plants such as bamboo and soy and manufactured using environmentally sound practices and fair labor standards.

Along with Linda Loudermilk, Clary Sage Organics carries environmentally-minded San Francisco fashion labels such as Mr. Larkin and Turk + Taylor, as well as its own collection of super soft organic yoga apparel designed by store co-owners Patti Cazzato and Daniel Kalish.

– SF Indie Fashion Contributor Michelle Ruiz

[Photo: Loudermilk, center, chats with a guest at Thursday’s trunk show event. Photo courtesy of Noami Fiss Photography]