Fashion : A SPECIAL REPORT: SPRING INTO FALL : Shopping : Mom Has an Itch to Buy
DEAR HOT: My mother the consumer of the century--is visiting. As usual, she’s in search of yet another Ultimate Shopping Experience. We’ve taken in the scene at Venice Beach (she bought a ton of $1 earrings and whistled at the roller skaters who jumped over garbage cans stacked end on end). We’ve done Rodeo Drive (she forced me to take her picture in front of the sculpture of tourists getting their photographs snapped outside Fred Hayman’s store). And we’ve meandered down Melrose (she’s still telling the neighbors about schlepping up the stairs lit with poinsettia-shaped Christmas tree lights at Rachel London’s Garden, that little boutique where Jodie Watley shops). Mom’s ready for more. Any suggestions?
--INSATIABLE’S DAUGHTER
DEAR DAUGHTER: Can we trade moms? Seriously, she sounds like the consumer South Coast Plaza was created for. It’s got 300 stores, ranging from Sears to Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Located in Costa Mesa, this mega-mall contains eight department stores (Bullock’s, I. Magnin, May Co., Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Broadway, Robinson’s and Sears). Plus there are lots of shops you rarely see on the West Coast--Burberrys, Rizzoli International Bookstore, Bruno Magli, Joan & David, J. Crew and BarneysNew York, which Money magazine named its 1989 “store of the year.”
While the Costa Mesa Barneys, with 7,800 square feet, is clearly not the 170,000-square-foot behemoth its Manhattan parent is, it’s worth checking out. The store, which opened earlier this year, carries an abundance of women’s sportswear from such designers as Azzedine Alaia, Jean Paul Gaultier, Romeo Gigli, Charlotte Neuville, Comme des Garcons and more. Tell your mom there are even jaded Beverly Hills shoppers who deign to drive the 60 or so miles to see it all. Think of the trip as a pilgrimage.
DEAR HOT: I’ve always loved designer looks, but with my measly paycheck, I can hardly afford the labels I adore. Is there any way to approximate certain looks, like the Hermes horsey set or the sleek Chanel girls?--WANT THE LOOK
DEAR WANT: A good place to start is in department stores’ juniors’ section. There you can find much of what designers are doing, knocked off for much, much less money. Of course, the quality won’t be anywhere near the designer level, but if you’re just after the look, it’ll do fine. Peruse fashion magazines to see what the new looks are for the season, and try to reproduce them the best you can, especially the accessories. Sometimes they’re the real key to achieving the right effect.
Lots of faux pearls and gold chains over a cropped cardigan jacket and short skirt will Chanel-ize you; an Oxford shirt, boots and a medallion-printed scarf will let you fit in with that horsey set. Echo, the scarf manufacturer, makes terrific “Hermes” scarfs for a fraction of the cost. And J.C. Penney has a good looking, faux -equestrian scarf in its spring-summer catalogue for $28.
If you can, raid your mother’s, grandmother’s or aunt’s closets for treasures. Much of what designers are creating now are just rehashes of older styles.
COUCH POTATO ALERT: Check out the TV sets buried in the floor at the new Aeropostale shops (Westside Pavilion, Del Amo Fashion Center and Santa Ana’s Main Place; the Aeropostale in Topanga Plaza has its TVs embedded in barrels). The Macy’s-owned, European-inspired casual wear shops for men and women are stocked with all manner of pilot-style clothing, including leather jackets and aeronautical lapel pins. The TV sets, which are constantly on, play old, black-and-white movie classics with such stars as Abbot and Costello, Humphrey Bogart and the Marx Brothers. The TV sets are covered with glass so customers can step right on top of the performers. Groucho would’ve loved it.
