5 Bay Area Locals With Impeccable Style

The Bay Area doesn’t have a formal fashion scene, but it’s not hard to find people who know the difference between throwing on clothes and putting together a thoughtful, self-expressive look — and we all know impeccable style when we see it.

While Aritzia and Patagonia still color many of our streets’ lackluster shades of predictable, these five Bay Area locals dress with a point of view. Here are their looks, how they describe their approaches to self-presentation and their thoughts on style in a region that’s so often dismissed as lacking any.

Jenay Hatchell, 23: ‘Bold, Versatile & Authentic’

Art and politics are inextricable, says Jenay Hatchell, who wears black, red, green and white in homage to the Palestinian flag and the pan-African flag.

“Right now I’ve just been thinking heavily about how the struggles of Black and Brown kids in Oakland are tied to the struggles of people everywhere,” Hatchell says, “especially the struggles of Palestinian children and the struggles of children in the Congo and Sudan.”

A culture of making is a big part of Bay Area style for Hatchell, who also proudly wears jewelry and clothing made by friends and friends of friends. Clothes are a rich dimension for self-expression, including remembrance, says Hatchell, who wears an A’s hat adorned with the number 9 to commemorate her friend Justin Ross who passed earlier this year.

But the lifelong East Oaklander has noticed that some Bay Area residents conflate cool with money.

“Bay Area style at its worst is this flexing culture of just throwing together a whole bunch of expensive brands to look cool, but not putting any thought into what you’re actually wearing,” Hatchell says.

Bay Area style at its best, though, happens when people dress themselves with care and creativity, not necessarily with big price tags, she says.

“People wear things differently than you might expect, like mixing patterns, a lot of bright colors, jewelry — and not necessarily jewelry that’s super flashy,” she explains. “We make street fashion and comfortable fashion very unique to the point where it kind of looks like we’re dressed up.”

The details: red tank by Maya Avery, knit skirt by Maya Avery, Savage X Fenty fingerless gloves, hand-painted jeans by Graham Peyton with graphic line work, A’s hat, silver chains outfitted by Hatchell with a red earring from dipsandcoils, wire bracelet with pearls, wire coil bracelet, watch gifted to Hatchell by her mom, silver hoops by Urban Outfitters.

Terri Wong, 68: ‘Colorful, Eclectic & Asian’

For vintage heads who like to reinvent older pieces, Terri Wong is a sort of virtuosa whose main complaint about Bay Area style is a lack of color — a deficiency she makes up for in her own ensembles. The former opera singer pairs vibrant vintage textiles that reflect her Chinese heritage with contemporary pleated garments and accessories.

“My sense of style is 80% vintage and maybe 20% contemporary,” Wong says. “I learned from my grandmother — she was a phenomenal seamstress.”

A bright side of regional style for Wong is an unapologetic sense of individuality among those folks who do lean into dressing up, which she embodies wholeheartedly.

Wong’s outfits are elaborate and whimsical — and they’re not meant to impress anyone, she says. Her vintage collection, though, is impressive in and of itself, which includes 200 ornate children’s hats.

The details: capelet knitted by Wong, Issey Miyake cobalt blue top, Ann Taylor pants, jade bangles, bat earrings, and an antique child’s hat with bat details.

Namixtu’lú’ Esteva, 19: ‘Balanced, Unique & Playful’

Namixtu’lú’ Esteva’s style is constantly evolving and shifting between conventional ideas of femininity and masculinity, she says. Esteva also credits her godmothers — in true godmotherly fashion — for helping her elevate and root her looks in her Native identity.

“[I’m] definitely influenced by my Indigenous culture,” Esteva says. “So a lot of the jewelry or things I accessorize with I grew up wearing from Oaxaca or from other parts of Mexico.”

Esteva leans towards baggier clothes on the spectrum of silhouettes and cites a pair of overalls as one of her most beloved items; they’re comfortable and go with everything. And her favorite part of Bay Area style is the influence of Black and Brown Bay Area culture.

“That’s like streetwear, but also cultural streetwear and things that embody hyphy like Mac Dre and Too Short,” she says.

Esteva especially loves the dialogue around wardrobes in the Bay and how willing people are to give each other advice on how to dress and where to get clothes.

The flipside of that is something Esteva doesn’t care for, which is gatekeeping: when people are secretive about where they find good deals and cool looks.

The details: ceremonial macaw feathers, black tank top, flared blue jeans, floral Native scarf worn as a belt, black Adidas sneakers with snake charms, gold bamboo hoops, gold bracelet, French tip acrylic nails, Tonantzin/Virgen de Guadalupe arm tattoo, nameplate necklace, Virgen de Guadalupe necklace.

Raymond Holbert, 78: ‘Collage, Seasonal & Experience’

Raymond Holbert is a “die-hard” for dyeing his own clothes. The Berkeley resident makes batches of coral, mint or robin-egg blue dyes to transform white garments he finds all over the Bay Area.

In his playful yet classic silhouettes, the fashion photographer says he finds harmony. And a big part of that is feeling good in what you wear no matter your age or sensibility.

“You can see them come together as you dress,” he says of his approach to combining elements. “It’s like an arts store or a buffet of sorts.”

Bay Area weather never gets cold enough to wear his beloved outerwear, though, Holbert laments.

On style broadly, Holbert celebrates the expansiveness of how different people dress themselves in a way that transcends gender too.

“What I liked about style in the Bay Area is that you’re encouraged by that mixture — one of the greatest mixtures [of people] I’ve ever seen in my life,” he says. “It’s like an open market for everyone.”

The details: moon-faced stud earrings, Marine dress shirt, chocolate-colored tie with buttons sewn on by Holbert, black Yves Saint Laurent vest in a multicolored frog print, lime green corduroy pants, avocado socks and two-tone dress shoes.

Jason Mai, 28: ‘Slow, Intentional & Personal’

Jason Mai thinks a lot about what ethical clothing really means. Their critique of style in the Bay lands on corporate babble about ethics and sustainability that don’t ultimately hold water for Mai. They call this pitfall “the culture of conscious capitalism.”

“I’m thinking about these SF fashion companies like Everlane, Rothy’s, Reformation, Stitch Fix — all those companies that co-opt radical language like transparency, ethics,” they say.

So Mai makes a point to be deliberate in how they dress, considering versatility and sustainability when they shop, but also how true brands actually are to their professed values.

Visually, Mai’s sense of style is “all over the map,” they say.

“I can be preppy one day, all black and avant garde the other day, or in a hoodie and T-shirt the next,” they laugh.

Mai’s style depends on their mood at any given moment, but a highlight of their look is a glorious feast of textures — layers of pleats, folds and ruffles.

“I’m referencing my own history, my own memories and my own experience,” Mai says. “And I like to dabble in different aesthetics.”

The details: silk blend blazer by Jil Sander, white button-down, black tie, brown and black plaid miniskirt, taffeta blend skirt with a bubble hem, checkered skirt with ruffles, white tube socks, black loafers, silver flower earrings, ring by Soft Good studio inscribed with Mai’s last name.