LUCKY LUNCH: St. John Knits, an upscale...

LUCKY LUNCH: St. John Knits, an upscale women’s apparel maker (D1), moved from North Hollywood to Irvine 21 years ago by a fluke. . . . “My husband and I were driving to San Diego one weekend, and we pulled off for lunch in Orange County,” says Marie St. John Gray, above, now the firm’s head designer. “We thought, ‘What a great area for a business--miles and miles of beautiful landscape.’ ” Celebrating its 30-year anniversary, St. John today has seven factories and eight boutiques.