IN EXCESS : Redressed for Less

What’s in a name? Enough, apparently, to offend the sensibilities of one northern San Diego County town known for its snooty zoning and patrician self-image.

Recently, the discount clothing store Ross Dress for Less chose a bustling Solana Beach shopping center as the site of one of the most recent links in its 225-store chain. A handful of residents immediately set off an indignant outcry about the “tackiness” of having such an unabashed discounter in their midst. The principal sore point seems to be the “Dress for Less” exhortation, which receives prominent play on a 5-by-16-foot store-top sign that is visible from Interstate 5. Solana Beach Mayor Celine Olson says some of her constituents have suggested that, at the very least, the retailer should do away with the offending phrase.

The company refuses to change its name to assuage Solana Beach residents’ delicate sensibilities. Katie Loughnot, manager of investor relations for the company, notes that Ross Dress for Less has never encountered resistance to the name in any of the 18 states where the chain does its approximately $1 billion in business annually.

Makes one proud to be a Californian.