By Lupita Franco Peimbert
One of the iconic San Francisco stores and a hippies and burners’ treasure trunk is about to close for good. Located in the famous Haight-Ashbury, “Distractions,” known for extravagant costumes reminiscent of the Victorian era, Steampunk, the 1960s and 1970s, and other counter cultures, will be non-existent after October 31, 2023.
“I opened my first store when I was twenty years old,” says Distractions founder Jim Siegel. “I have sold hundreds of interesting hats, dresses, and accessories to interesting crowds, including musicians and artists for the last 47 years. It is time to end it.”
He says that since the COVID-19 pandemic, his business never fully recovered. Between that and people moving out of the City, less tourism, and certain media’s negative propaganda against San Francisco, it has been difficult to continue. After many years in business, he is ready to spend more time taking care of his properties and traveling. “I have made so many friends all over the world with my store, it is time to visit them,” he says.
Distractions is a unique store. It looks impeccable and well organized, with sections for hats, coats, pants, and dresses, and areas for different eras. The counters are neatly arranged, displaying bracelets and other accessories. Sales are done with minimal electronics and plenty of pen and paper. Behind a counter is Jim Siegel, friendly, and welcoming. He wears a Victorian vest, his favorite era.
“People think that the hippies wore tie-dyed shirts, but no, they first wore Victorian clothes,” Siegel shares. “Victorian houses were torn down in the Fillmore District and the “Diggers,” would recover trunks and chests full of Victorian clothes. The Diggers were a counter-culture movement that believed in a free society. They wore the old, sometimes torn clothes. They shared them with other hippies,” Siegel says. “The colorful, tie-dyed clothes appeared in 1969 and after.”
Siegel vividly recalls how his store and his career came about. Distractions on 1552 Haight St., was originally opened a few blocks west, on 1692 Haight St., but a fire from a nearby location extended to his store in 1988, destroying it completely. A few months later, in early 1989, he opened Distractions at its current location.
“Prior to that, I had Pipe Dreams with two partners, but the partnership didn’t work out,” Siegel says. “And even before that, I opened my first store, White Rabbit, also with two partners, and also the partnership didn’t work out.” He proudly shows a photo of him outside of White Rabbit, looking young and with long hair. It was 1976. He was a young gay man who came to San Francisco with hopes and ambitions. He wanted to keep the spirit of the hippie movement alive.
(Photo by LFP).
His store evolved according to the needs of the crowds he served. It was first a hippie store and a hat store after that. Later, he sold clothes and other merchandise for those in New Wave, pump rock, and for the fans of the Grateful Dead. A rave store followed, and that is when it became a ticket outlet for Burning Man. “For twenty years, I sold the tickets and the survival guide for Burning Man, and I did it for free.”
As the interview for this article was happening, on one of the counters, a laptop showed a live feed of Burning Man. This was on Friday, September 1, 2023. It was mainly dust, with a few large structures barely visible. “The weather is very bad there today,” he says. “It doesn’t look like fun today.” The popular festival is held in the Nevada Desert, but this year is impacted by dust, rain, and mud. Siegel is still following closely, from his store.
“In the 90s, I organized the first rave village at Burning Man,” he says and smiles. But this year, his priority is obviously to get ready for closing his business. He is doing a few storewide sales and most likely a surprise Diggers event at the end.
Siegel has many memories to cherish and is proud of the celebrities who became his clients. The funniest thing that happened was Chris Farley’s visit, he says. The famous Saturday Night Live comedian jumped in but means of a pirouette —he was a big man, and flamboyantly said ‘I am Chris Farley.’ Other clients were Jefferson Airplane, Robert Plant from Led Zepellin, and the members of Big Brother and The Holding Company. “Lots of musicians and artists bought Victorian hats and vests; they are so elegant and look great on stage,” Siegel says.
As for the bestseller piece, it is a dress, at least for the last ten years. “People loved this burlesque dress for the Edwardian Ball or the Dickens Fair.” Siegel refers to a black lace dress, as “a saloon girl dress. A proper Victorian woman would never show her legs.” Remember, his clients were those sporting counter-cultures.
It is easy to see how much Jim Siegel has enjoyed this long-running adventure and how much he loves it. “I am sad. I lived in Haight since 1972. I will come back to visit other store owners who are my friends and eat at Gus’s now that they have a parklet, but I won’t have my store. My heart is in the Haigh-Ashbury.”
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