Fashioning San Francisco

A richly illustrated survey of fashion, culture, and identity, Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style traces the evolution of style in one of America’s most influential cities—from the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake to the present day.

Featuring approximately 100 garments from the renowned costume collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, this visually stunning volume explores how clothing both reflects and shapes the city’s history.

Bringing together designs by some of the most celebrated names in fashion—including Cristóbal Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, and Yves Saint Laurent—the book highlights the global reach of San Francisco style alongside its distinctive local character.

Through archival imagery and new photography, each piece is presented in context, revealing connections between fashion, film, retail culture, and the city’s vibrant artistic and social movements.

Organized around key moments and themes, the book charts the transformation of dress in response to shifting cultural forces, from post-earthquake reinvention and the rise of department stores to the influence of counterculture, global aesthetics, and personal expression. The result is both a fashion history and a portrait of a city defined by creativity, diversity, and change.

Beautifully produced and image-driven, Fashioning San Francisco is designed for browsing and display—a definitive coffee table book for readers interested in fashion, design, and the cultural history of San Francisco, as well as a compelling gift for anyone drawn to style and visual storytelling.