Some Good Hunting Spots for What’s in Season All Year

WANTED: Season-spanning suits, separates and dresses willing to work hard in exchange for upkeep. Candidates must be well-tailored, versatile and attractive. Linings and natural fabrics preferred but not essential. Discount pricing would be a plus.

Loehmann’s and Harris Red Tag in Orange County and the nearby Citadel and Lake Elsinore outlet centers offer some excellent recruiting opportunities:

HARRIS RED TAG

This store offers a huge if eclectic selection of past seasons’ European and American designer and better sportswear, with markdowns starting at 40% off original retail prices. On a visit last week, spotted were labels by career wear resources such as Chaus, Claude Z, Leslie Fay, Liz Claiborne, Ellen Tracy, Adrienne Vittadini, Kors, JH Collectibles, Pendleton and Jones New York.

Sizes range from petites to plus for women. On the petite racks, for example, were a gray wool double-breasted spencer jacket by Paul Stanley Petites for $109 (regular retail price was $218) and a black rayon-blend knit short-sleeve pullover top with copper Lurex threads for $72 (from $145).

Among the suit partners was a dressy Anne Klein II white Charmeuse long-sleeved blouse with jewel neckline and inverted front pleat ($68).

In the jackets for regular misses’ sizes were a Noviello-Bloom Suit black wool crepe scuba jacket with red trim ($113) and a Carmelo Pomodoro beige linen-rayon bolero jacket with pink piping ($170).

Among the dresses, spotted were a hot pink linen Max Mara double-breasted coatdress ($150) and a beige textured wool Anne Klein coat-and-dress ensemble ($200 down from $650).

On the blouse rack, there was a black silk bodysuit by Laurel in a moon-and-stars print ($139). For those with an eye on the bottom line, there was a Blassport winter white gabardine skirt with a self-belt ($90) and a pair of Mondi bankers’ gray wool/acrylic double-knit pull-on pants ($125).

Tustin Market Place, 281 El Camino Real, (714) 669-4780.

LOEHMANN’S

This chain, one of the country’s oldest off-pricers, is still a very good place to find suits, dresses and separates at a discounted price.

Sizes stocked here range from petites to women’s. In the Fullerton store last week were items for fall and suitable for the office. Suits included a blue-and-white windowpane check cotton ottoman by Baron Peters ($50) and a dressy sage green wool crepe by Saville with a shoulder-button treatment ($180, down from $290).

For petites, there was a particularly good selection of separates, such as: a collarless rayon jacket in a tiny brown check by Breckenridge ($70) with matching trousers ($40); an Anne Klein II gray flannel double-breasted short jacket with black velvet buttons ($130) and a black wool gabardine riding jacket ($120).

One rounder featured Starington white cotton blouses in various styles ($60).

In a dress, $49.99 would buy, for example, a drop-waisted Ronnie Heller black-and-white tattersall check with yellow trim or an Adrienne Vittadini blue cotton double-knit chemise with white bands. There were noteworthy things on the clearance rack as well, such as an Anne Klein II yellow-and-white houndstooth check jacket in an acrylic/wood blend ($50, down from $352).

1411 S. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, (714) 879-8665. Also at 18595 Main St., Huntington Beach, (714) 842-3755 and 28021 Greenfield Drive, Laguna Niguel, (714) 643-1770.

HARVE BENARD

This store is a real find if you’re looking for fashionable yet not faddy styling, and fabrications that won’t change from season to season. It stocks current-season items, with most discounted 20% to 40% (some are discounted more).

On a recent visit, spotted were suits and separates in everything from brightly colored gabardines to pinstripe flannels and houndstooth checks to sherbet-colored linen blends. Sizes ranged from petites to misses 18.

One eye-catching grouping of lined wool gabardine Harve Benard and Benard Holtzman suits ($140-$150) featured ‘60s structured shapes in red, fuchsia, purple or black. The purple one, for example, had a shaped collarless double-breasted jacket that fastened with gold buttons and came with a matching straight skirt. Also in wool gabardine and trimmed with gold buttons were several variations on the tailored chemise dress, in red, navy, black or fuchsia ($125).

At the Citadel Outlet Collection, 5675 E. Telegraph Road, City of Commerce, (213) 727-7229. ANN TAYLOR CLEARANCE CENTER

The career wear here has a bit of a casual edge, and judging from what was available during a recent visit, most of the buys appear to be in individual pieces rather than in matched sets, although there were some of those.

Garments are sent to the clearance center after they’ve been marked down 50% at the Ann Taylor stores. Most of the stock here carried the Ann Taylor label, but there are other names as well, such as Tahari, Andrea Jovine and Kikit.

One standout was a Charlotte Neuville rayon-linen twill double-breasted jacket ($119; its original retail price was $340). There was a sharp-looking Nipon Studio lined linen suit in navy with red collar and cuffs and white banding ($120). The Ann Taylor green gingham rayon-linen spencer jacket with white band trim ($40 from $128) and matching skirt ($30) might make you think of Adrian’s designs for Joan Crawford. A shopper looking for pieces to mix with could pick up basic cream shoulder-button crepe-de-chine blouse ($30).

At the Citadel Outlet Collection, 5675 E. Telegraph Road, City of Commerce, (213) 725-7033.

LIZ CLAIBORNE

Suits, sweaters, blouses, skirts, pants, dresses--it’s all here at this large outlet store. It’s nine to 12 months behind regular-store stock, but it’s priced 30% to 40% less (with further markdowns monthly).

On a recent visit, all the major Claiborne lines--the Collection, Lizwear, Liz & Co., Elisabeth and Petites--were well represented, with the exception (darn!) of Dana Buchman. Still, there were the lined turquoise or fuchsia silk blazers from that line, at $99.99, from $294.

As for the rest, there was some of everything. There were Armani-esque muteds such as the beige checked lined blazer in a blend ($60; $30 for the matching skirt). There were dresses of all descriptions, in prints or solids, such as the short-sleeved rayon chemise with the inverted front pleat, in lavender or slate blue ($95).

There were fancy suits from the Collection, such as a lined linen-blend black-and-white stripe design that featured white piping on the center front and pockets, and that included a matching skirt and coordinating blouse ($149, from $300). Among the separates, spotted were a pair of unlined black linen men’s-style trousers ($58), a cream silk camp shirt ($30) and a gray silk floral Jacquard suit blouse ($48).

In the Lake Elsinore Outlet Center, 17600 Collier Ave., Lake Elsinore, (714) 674-1406.

JH COLLECTIBLES

Collectibles is the key word here. Items are designed not only to go with contemporary parts of the line, but also with past and future pieces. Most things here are from the previous season, although some are made exclusively for the company’s outlet stores. Prices are typically 30% to 40% off original retail.

Last month, however, there was a fair amount of fall merchandise, such as a nubby wool-blend tweed French-style jacket in toast or purple tones ($110, from $180; $65 for the matching skirt), and a green wool windowpane plaid blazer for $115 and coordinating solid-color trouser ($75). Among the dresses were a double-breasted navy wool crepe coat dress with gold buttons ($135) and a plain rayon-knit short-sleeve shells, in white or egg-yolk yellow ($35).

In the Lake Elsinore Outlet Center, 17600 Collier Ave., Lake Elsinore, (714) 674-0578.