Haight St: Perhaps the best place to find cute second-hand clothes, cuz it’s lined with Buffalo Exchange, Wasteland, and a bunch of indie thrift shops.

But the place I actually bought stuff: Crossroads Trading Co., recommended to me by Anna of Bring Your Own, who says she does pretty much all her shopping there.

There I am, to the right, re-outfitted with a new buttondown shirt ($15) and sunglasses ($10). I liked the shirt so much I wore it to the Commonwealth Club panel, along with my recycled belt :)

Like Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads gives you cash or store credit for your old clothes. And Crossroads are all over SoCal too, though I didn’t know that till I visited its website today. Drop in, save money, save the planet.

Crossroads Trading Co. San Francisco. 1519 Haight St. 415.355.0555. Los Angeles: 7409 Melrose Avenue. 323.782.8100. Santa Monica: 1449-B 4th Street. 310.255.0500. West Hollywood. 8315 Santa Monica Blvd.323.654.0505.

Update, 3/4/06: LA Weekly offers some tips on how to get the most bang for your buck when cashing in your clothes in LA. Try the shops in this order: Wasteland, Crossroads, Buffalo Exchange, and Squresville.

Update, Where NOT to shop in San Francisco: I was psyched when Elsa found this article about sustainable clothes in San Francisco — But you’ll notice only a few of these are physical stores you can walk into — and only 3 of those sell women’s clothing.

Still, I tried them out — with no luck. Sahara Organics and A Happy Planet, which share the same space, were closed — Aphone call only let me leave a voicemail :(. And Swirlspace had already been replaced by a vintage store, though I believe a showroom’s still open somewhere in San Francisco, by appointment.

Update, 1/29/07: I made a lil money selling some old duds to Crossroads! :)

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