On The Fly

Update: After writing my initial review, I received both an email status update as well as a Unilocal apology. As a store that started out online-​only, it’s pretty surprising that their customer service /​email response system is so poor. I received a discount and the gift was shipped overnight, but they still forgot my emboss request.

Amazing selection and first-​class service (Mike is awesome!). They have every size and shade of Wolverine 1000 Mile boots.

Great clothes especially like the shoes and jackets. Nice staff but come on no bathroom, really ???

I loved this place. Came here on my trip to San Francisco. They specialize in high-​end everything. A fine selection of premium shaving supplies by Truefitt and Hill from England. I picked up the 1805 shaving cream and some pre-​shave oil for my birthday, can’t wait to give it a try. They also offer in-​house luxury straight razor shaves which I haven’t yet tried but I will next time around. The clothes are beyond my wallet but they do look great and are cut nicely.

I happened to stumble on their Montgomery St. store during soft-​opening on 9÷20÷12 (before the grand opening in a week). They have a good selection of traditional trousers, belts, coats, shirts, luggage. Most items are not trendy, with a few exceptions such as modern briefcases. Jessie, one of the owners, was quite knowledgeable about some wallets I asked about and even recognized what I wore, so it’s good to see owners who know their merchandise well. It’s located in an bank built in 1908, so the environment is quite interesting. I almost hesitated walking behind a teller’s window, where there were some items on display. Items are very similar to what you find in the Hound (on Sutter)

Classic and quality fashion and accessories for the discerning gentleman.

Update: 12/​5, just checked my credit card statement and it shows that this company charged my credit card. I never received the order which was made two months ago, and I also cancelled the order a month ago by email. Scary business practices… time to contact the CC company.
Third update: Just contacted the company, they refunded the charges and gave me the product on the house. Nice save Hugh! I’ll add a star.

While not inexpensive, On the Fly provides great servce and a unique selection of fine quality clothes and awesome accessories for guys with a sense of style. They also offer some unique discounts and loyalty options. Definitely worth a visit!

I love this store. A friend of mine raved about how he loved everything in this in this place, and now I know why. I want one of everything! And I’m a woman, so that doesn’t exactly translate. But I bought a beautiful Davek umbrella and a Barbour hat. You just can’t go wrong… If need something special for a stylish man in your life — go here.
Rick Morris (store manager) was the one who helped me, and he is awesome.

Classy ass store. These guys know their shit! While they seem to target an older demo, they have a few things in here i’d kill for. Also, they have by far the best Wolverine 1000 Mile boot selection in the city (country I’d imagine too?).

Sadly I must give 1 star… purchased a pair of boots which popped a rivet on the first day.
I was told they would be replaced. However, when I went to the store I was told they could be repaired to like new condition. After a week I returned to the store to pick up the boots (my third visit). The repair was noticeable and I asked for a replacement, here’s the problem, the salesperson (Ian) told me the shoes were no longer available and all he could do was a refund. When I agreed to the refund he changed his story and told me he might be able to get the boots… when I called him on it, I got a lot of stuttering… but ultimately a full refund.
I would not recommend this store, for the kind of money you spend, you can go to Neiman Marcus and get real customer service.

I had a mission. Buy a tie for my date. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I searched up and down and all over. I finally found a beautiful Burberry tie from Bloomingdale’s. I’m not going to lie. I almost broke down and almost left the store in tears because it was such a headache trying to figure out which tie would go with my dress. You would think a store that had over 100 ties, finding one would be simple right? No.
Anyway, my good friend saw the tie that I picked up and suggested that I go to On the Fly to look at the ties there and possibly find a pocket square to match. So I went down to check out the store and to my surprise, I was very impressed. My friend threw me into the hands of one of the stylist/​employees and he went to work. I showed him the tie that I bought, my dress I was going to wear and told him to work his magic. He decided to keep the tie (because it was so awesome) and matched it up with a yellow shirt and a beautiful paisley tie. I was floored. He put the outfit together in less then 10 minutes. I bought the shirt and pocket square and literally dressed my date in it.
These guys know style. They know luxury. They know what men should wear and how they should wear it. Hands down the best shopping experience I’ve ever had. I was in and out in less than 15 mins.
My date looked amazing and oh so delicious. Many thanks to On the Fly! 5 stars.

I was casually walking to the Landmark to watch the Billy Cunningham documentary when a sign caught my eye. The words «Bespoke» on a sign had my heart pacing.
Could it be? An actual Bespoke clothier in San Francisco? My eyes peered into the closed store. I noticed Southwick cloth samples to my chagrin. Southwick (a suit company out of New York or Western Mass.) was made to measure and not true Bespoke…
…yet the fact that someone had the gall to even use that name was significant. Who were these rapscallions who dare speak the holy and unutterable name of «Bespoke». Bespoke is the highest level of clothing that can only be obtained from tailor from Saville Row on tour, a visiting New York tailor, or an obscure tailor with an online store from the Far East.
Do we have a young and worthy challenger to those venerable dinosaurs of Wilkes Bashford and Cable Car Clothiers? Or are they just another kitschy hipster flash in the pan store? Only time will tell. They certainly merits more investigation.

There are a few things that give me the odd desire to be a man – cigars, big barbeque grills, and On the Fly. Luckily for Will, I am not a man, but I do like to shop for him at On the Fly. I got a really nice dopp kit for an MBA graduation present and a unique, engraved brown leather belt for Valentine’s Day. Another reason to love the unassuming yet always delivers Emabradero stores!

I’ve been a loyal patron of On the Fly almost since the day they’ve opened their doors. When I first stepped in to their original warehouse, so nondescript that finding it was a challenge, I immediately noted that all the wares were precisely the sort I would pick myself had I chosen a life of haberdashery rather than hedgefundery. Laid out before me were sharp razors from Truefitt & Hill, sumptuous luggage from SF-​based Mullholland Brothers, impeccable Ike Behar shirts and terrific Toschi loafers. Many more subsequent visits resulted in me discovering new products that have since become some of my favorite everyday luxuries, like a lizard skin Martin Dingman belt or cufflinks made from an antique watch movement.
While proper product selection and a continuously current inventory are crucial, a major component of any boutique that dares bestow a «luxury» designation upon itself is service. Here On The Fly shined like a diamond (very much) in the rough at its first warehouse location, and continues to out sparkle the cubic zirconium surrounding it at its new home in the Embarcadero Center. Most salespeople these days fall into two categories — either they will smile politely as you walk in, but immediately (and snobbishly) lose all interest when they decide you’re «just looking», or they will follow you like a rabid sartorial stalker. Unfortunately neither approach leads to loyalty or repeat business. This is particularly true in an era when finding deals online that beat any brick and mortar’s prices is simpler than tying a pre-​tied bow tie. The service at On The Fly harkens back to an era when your haberdasher knew not only your name but how you liked your scotch, and provided advice in addition to alterations. Although the guys (and recently girls) that Ami hired are a diverse group of characters they all share in his principles on how to run a truly top-​rate business. They’re courteous, charming, smart and will do everything in their power to make sure you’re satisfied before, during and after your purchase.
In short, if anyone ever asks me what the perfect model for a store is I’ll give them the answer On The Fly.

If you’re a guy and wear khakis on occasion (hint: you should have occasion to), you owe it to yourself to pick up a pair of Bill’s Khakis. They’re at once luxuriant and rugged, built to last, and have a quietly gained an iconic reputation as the Levis of khakis. And the best selection and variety I’ve seen in San Francisco is at On The Fly.
Aside from pants, this is definitely a gentleman’s store. There’s a certain J. Peterman-​like quirkiness to what they carry: ties, dopp kits, cigar cutters, money clips, flasks, cuff-​links, backgammon sets… and as the very courteous sales guy told me, the store functions like a retail showcase of their more complete online offerings (
).
Cool store, along with Edward’s Luggage, one of the better reasons to shop the Embarcadero Center.

After many years of faithful service, it was time to retire my everyday briefcase. One of the rivets that secured the handle had popped, the leather around one of the buckles was badly cracked, and a host of other, more minor problems. Plus, the bag had a bit of a history to it, and not one that ended well for yours truly. So, after 10 years of companionship, it was time to put it out to pasture. But first I needed a new one.
Given that I have basically no free time at the moment, I was concerned about how I would have time to do some research and find the perfect replacement. But then I realized that my boss is one of the city’s foremost consumer of ultra-​luxury merchandise, and I could save myself a lot of time by finding out what he has and buying something similar. And he had one word for me: Mulholland.
One CAN buy Mulholland bags directly from the good folks at Mulholland (a local company). BUT one can also buy them from On The Fly. AND when I stumbled into On The Fly in the middle of a wine tasting party late last year, I walked out with several 15% off coupons. AND On The Fly was offering the bag I wanted for the exact same price that Mulholland was offering it for.
Mulholland makes a bag called «The Rancher’s Brief.» Sounds like a match made in heaven, no? On The Fly’s website describes the product thusly: «We’ve never seen a Rancher with a bag this nice, but we think he’d be our type of guy.» I could solve all their problems for them in one fell swoop! Except that (1) the Rancher’s Brief was bigger than what I was looking for, and ridiculously well-​padded inside [you could bowl your briefcase down several flights of stairs and this bag would deliver it safe and sound back to you]; and (2) the $ 750 price tag was a bit beyond what I was looking to spend. Indeed, I would hazard a guess that the price has something to do with why you don’t find a lot of ranchers with that particular bag. I know many ranchers whose pickup didn’t cost that much.
I ended up purchasing the Angler’s Bag (for the record, I don’t angle). Wonderful leather, good features, well made. And the folks at On The Fly did a great job helping me out. They offered me a number of alternatives, walked me through the various features of the different bags, and one guy even pulled his 3-​year-​old Mulholland bag out of the back in order to show me what to expect the aging process to look like.
I’ll be back.

During my lunchtime wander to clear out the cobwebs, I suddenly found myself in Embarcadero One, standing before a shoppe I’d not previously noticed. «Solutions for the Modern Gentleman,» its signage boasted … hmmm. Count me intrigued. The staff was super-​friendly without being pushy, and the offerings were so laden with testosterone that I swear my voice dropped an octave. I browsed imported scents, cigar cutters, cuff-​links, bar-​ware, totes, tough-​guy clothier — imagine J. Peterman humping Eddie Bauer in a Sharper Image store and you won’t be far off-​base. Anyway, I can see this being a godsend for any shopper whose list includes a man who has everything.

I just got back from On The Fly and immediately thought I should Unilocal it. I found their store through google maps and checked out their website. I was unsure if I wanted to check out the store however as I’m a very casual person and I couldn’t really tell what the vibe was there. But they had a safety razor there I wanted to see and made the trip.
I had a GREAT experience there. Knocked on the door (they run their shipping out of the building and only get a couple walk-​ins during the week) and was greeted by a friendly young guy. Super cool showroom, casual, but thorough. The two guys working were very helpful, VERY honest about the products even when it didn’t benefit the sale, and I walked out with some free samples, a discount certificate for next time, and a great deal on a razor and accessories.
I was planning on heading to another shop afterwards to pick things up, but I got it all at On The Fly instead and will be back!
They’ve got a wide range of stuff from inexpensive to premium, just check out their website.

This place is super hot for you gents out there. If you can’t seem to find the right clothes, accessories etc. Check it out. Ask for Ami — he rules…