Ninoed to the Nines

All this talk about El Nino has some Orange County people running for cover--but not just any old cover. They’re buying up black vinyl pants by Donna Karan, rain boots by Salvatore Ferragamo and other trendy wet-weather fashions.

Indeed, local retailers are worried that if predictions about heavy rains come true, their inventory of raincoats and other waterproof styles will be wiped out. Forecasts about El Nino came too late for most store buyers to stock up on rainwear.

“Our fall merchandise was put to bed way after [warnings came out about] El Nino,” said Carla Smith, Bridge sportswear manager for Saks Fifth Avenue in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. “Anything ordered [last spring] is all we get. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that this is all media hype.”

Most years, rainwear doesn’t exactly blow off the shelves in Orange County.

When it comes to raincoats, umbrellas and boots, it’s often a short trip from store displays to the off-price racks. To keep from getting stuck with a flood of inventory, store buyers make conservative estimates of the fashions they’ll need to weather winter storms.

Some retailers have sold out of their hottest water-repellent styles.

At Neiman Marcus in Fashion Island Newport Beach, news clips of hurricanes pummeling the coast of Baja sent shoppers hurrying to the store for rain boots, and not just basic galoshes. They snapped up high-fashion $285 black patent rain boots by Ferragamo.

“They sold out even though it was 95 degrees outside,” said Megan Thompson of Neiman Marcus. “We’ve had to reorder them and transfer in more from another store.”

Bloomingdale’s has also braced itself for El Nino.

The Fashion Island store is “intensifying” its assortment of rainwear for men and women, said Kathy McDonnell, Bloomingdale’s general manager. Raincoats have been brought in from several Bloomingdale’s where rain is less of a threat, and “we’re up to our ears” in rain boots.

“Of course we’ll have plenty of umbrellas,” McDonnell said. “We also have waterproof mascara.”

Because of El Nino’s potential for devastation, most retailers have resisted the temptation to openly capitalize on the weather phenomenon.

“We thought about having an El Nino window, but we didn’t want to scare away the tourists,” said Kitty Casale, general manager of Emporio Armani in South Coast Plaza.

Still, stores are welcoming locals who want to build up their wardrobes for a rainy day. They’re catering to customers who want to stand out--even in a downpour.

Emporio Armani has umbrellas printed with paisleys, stripes and florals, all in Armani’s trademark “subdued colors,” Casale said.

The store carries a variety of men’s and women’s raincoats, from ankle lengths to short car coats, in trendy hues such as chocolate brown, deep green and slate gray as well as classic black and navy. Some mid-length nylon coats in the Armani jeans-wear collection feature faux fur collars.

“The silhouettes are very simple and streamlined,” Casale said. Raincoats range from $500 to $800, while coats in the jeans-wear collection sell for $200 to $450. Umbrellas are $50 to $100.

Rain-related pieces by DKNY, Donna Karan’s mid-priced sportswear line, have been strong sellers at Saks. For those who don’t want to look drab in a downpour, there are travel umbrellas in bright neon hues ($25), black “pleather” pants ($125) that look like leather but are made of waterproof vinyl and waterproof black motorcycle boots ($95).

“I’m thinking we should put up a special El Nino shop,” Smith joked.

Despite early strong sales of designer rainwear, there’s still question about whether the rains will trigger a run on raincoats.

“The raincoat market in Southern California isn’t big, whereas in New York City stores you have a whole half a floor of raincoats,” says Kimberly Shepherd, manager of the Helly Hansen outdoor wear store in Fashion Island.

Helly Hansen ordered an ample stock of rainwear for delivery this fall, not because of El Nino but because last year raincoats sold better than buyers expected in Newport Beach.

Styles range from lightweight raincoats that one can pack away in a glove compartment to heavy-duty, everything-proof outerwear. So far, customers have taken a wait-and-see attitude to stocking up.

“A lot of people are saying, ‘When it does start raining, we’ll come back,’ ” Shepherd said.

Some skeptics simply think the heavy rains will never come.

“I’ve lived out here 30 years. My attitude is, I don’t think anything’s going to happen,” said Tom Fuller, owner of Fuller’s for Men & Women in Dana Point.

Fuller hasn’t bothered to stock his store with extra rainwear. After years in retail, he’s seen other stores get stuck with an overflow of raincoats on sale racks.

“If I’m a customer, am I going to go out and buy a $400 raincoat because El Nino’s here? I don’t see it,” he said. “In Southern California, most us have already bought enough rainwear. If it does rain, we might get some wear out of the things we bought 10 years ago.”