A friend and I were at Lucky Roots on Main Street last week, fondly remembering CP Shades, the Sausalito-based clothing company, in its Berkeley heyday. Once a year, it would have a half-off sale, and its store on Fourth Street would be mobbed. Since all the dressing rooms were immediately snapped up, women stripped down in the aisles to try on clothes, and men who’d unwittingly accompanied their wives or girlfriends to this melee were reduced to looking nervously up at the ceiling so as not to get an eyeful.
Nowadays, the whole affair would be splashed all over TikTok.
Ah, simpler times.
Now, CP Shades, which was founded in 1979, is wrapping up its manufacturing and closing its stores at the end of the year. Much of its remaining stock—and there’s a lot of it—will be sold at a new store called Avalon on Sebastopol’s Main Street. You’ll find lots of classic CP Shades styles here, including the relaxed, hand-dyed linen tops, dresses and skirts that CP Shades is known for.
How did CP Shades founders, David and Denise Weinstein, decide on Sebastopol for the new store? Answer: their daughter, artist Karima Cammel, lives in Sebastopol, and Avalon sells her art in addition to the clothing.
This new store in Sebastopol marks the end of an era for CP Shades, which once had 52 CP Shades stores across the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
“Our plan is to just end the business on our terms,” David Weinstein told the online newspaper, Berkeleyside, earlier this month. “You know, 50 years is a long time and we’ve weathered every storm possible and we’re going out on a high…We make clothing that people love and keep. CP Shades isn’t for everybody. But for the people that it’s for, they really are committed to it.”
All of the CP Shades clothing at Avalon is half-off, which means it will be in the hundred-some-dollar range, instead of the usual two hundred and some dollars.
Located in the same block as Martha’s Mexican Restaurant and Buddha’s Palm Tattoo, the store opened on July 3. It’s a lovely space: light, airy and spacious with tall ceilings and a minimalist, globe-trotting aesthetic.
Lilli Cavey, the store manager, said there’s enough CP Shades clothing in their backlog to last through several seasons. In addition to CP Shades clothing, she said the store carries a few other brands, including the Indian brand Péro and 45 RPM from Japan. There’s also mixed rack of lovely, CP-Shade-ish things that Cavey described as “a mix from different brands, like designer, vintage stuff from Europe.”
The store also carries some Indian textiles, pottery and other items collected by the Weinsteins in their travels over the years.
Honeymoon Yogurt co-owner Robin Russell has an exciting new venture this year called Serene Clothing and Gifts. Although the store has been open since last November, it had its grand opening just three months ago.
If CP Shades is minimalist, the fun and distinctive clothing at Serene goes in the opposite direction, with large, dramatic prints and a maximalist aesthetic.
“I specialize in natural fiber clothing,” Russell said. “I would say at least 85% of my shop is natural fibers, and I lean towards boho and casual everyday wear. Most of my items are in a two-digit price point. I only have a few things that are over $100, but I’m trying to make it reachable to a wider audience—like for the girls at Analy to have a place to shop—and just to have more variety for more people.”
Her store isn’t just for teenagers. It’s for anyone who likes bold, dramatic and fun clothing that’s anything but “basic.”
Some of her favorite brands at the store include Market of Stars and Vintage Sack.
“This particular one does extremely well for me,” Russell said of Vintage Sack. “These are all made from actual labels in incredible cotton muslin. I sell out every time I get it.”
In addition to clothing, Serene carries gift items like jewelry, unique purses, Filthy Farm Girl soaps, and more.
Serene Clothing is located on the corner of Main Street and Burnett, just a few doors down from Retrograde Coffee.
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