Castro luxury consignment boutique Sui Generis (2231 Market Street) will celebrate two decades in the Castro next week with a handful of events and in-store activities.
Founded in 2006 by owners and partners Miguel Lopez and Gabriel Yanez, Sui Generis is celebrating the milestone with the theme "20 Years: A Friends and Family Fashion Affair."
The theme pays tribute to its "loyal clients, consignors, and Castro community that have embraced it since 2006," said Lopez and Yanez in a release.
"We never set out to compete with anyone. We just wanted to do this the best way we knew how," added Lopez. "Twenty years later, we are still here, still evolving, and still serving the people who have been with us since the beginning and growing our Sui Generis Community as it goes."
Sui Generis co-owners Miguel Lopez and Gabriel Yanez. | Photos: Miguel Jimenez Flores/Sui Generis
Customers can join the festivities at Sui Generis' 20th anniversary gala on Friday, October 16 at The Academy. Drag queen and activist Juanita MORE! hosts the event, with remarks from District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.
Lopez tells Hoodline that Supervisor Mandelman has nominated Sui Generis to the city's Legacy Business Registry.
Then, on Saturday, customers can stop by the store for an all-day community celebration with discounts and "two decades of the music that has filled up the shop."
Lopez and Yanez have also completely overhauled and redesigned Sui Generis' website.
"A redesigned website lets shoppers filter more than 8,000 items by designer, size, color, and condition." A new mobile app will also be available along with a free public fashion authentication guide.
A short documentary retrospective, "Sui Generis: 20 Years of Style in the Castro," directed by Luke Anthony, has also been produced. The film will be shown at the gala and available on Sui Generis' social media pages, website, and through its newsletter.
Lopez and Yanez both came to San Francisco in the early 2000s to build their own lives and families. Both came from the garment trade: Lopez's grandmother sold clothing from Los Angeles factories, and Yanez's family was "deeply rooted in Guadalajara's historic flea-market clothing trade."
Originally specializing in vintage concert shirts, a couple of years later, Lopez and Yanez decided to change gears and open a luxury consignment shop. Now, the rest is history.
“When we opened our little store, the community accepted what we were doing and loved what we were doing, so this is how we grew here," explained Lopez in 2016.
In 2008, Sui Generis moved to a larger location at 2265 Market St. In 2011, Sui Generis moved again to its current space and converted 2265 Market into a women's store.
The women's store would eventually move to Cow Hollow in 2014, before closing in 2020.
Sui Generis briefly operated a men's formal store at 2265 Market before combining all of its options under one roof at its current location.
Looking back on two decades in the Castro, Lopez says Sui Generis has been successful by "adapting to change and embracing it, while keeping our core values."
While the neighborhood has changed over 20 years, Lopez said, "Change is the only constant in life — you either learn to adapt or get left behind."
Many businesses have come and gone since Sui Generis opened; Lopez says the Castro "has also gained a vibrantly inclusive energy that keeps its core spirit alive."
"And we hope to continue here for many years ahead," added Lopez
