Designer store having huge sale

GREER WYLDER

A’Maree’s incredible fall and winter sale starts Saturday from 10

a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (it’s closed Friday to prepare for the sale).

There are great bargains on some of fashion’s best designers,

including Dries Van Noten, Prada Sport, Loro Piana, Marni, Miu Miu

and Transit. Don’t miss the $10, $20 and $50 sale racks, as well as

$20 to $50 shoes that are normally priced from $300 to $500.

A’Maree’s is a modern, elegant apparel boutique for people who

love clothes. Owners and sisters Dawn Klohs and Denise Schaeffer

travel to New York, Milan and Paris four times a year to buy unique

designer pieces that you won’t see anywhere else.

“We have teenagers to 80-year-olds shopping here,” Schaeffer said.

“And they come from all over: Chicago, New York, Long Beach and L.A.”

Designers available include Dosa, Chloe, Helmut Lang, Michael

Kors, Celine and Peter Cohen. For men there are Comme des Garcons and

Loro Piana. A’Maree’s carries jewelry from Los Angeles-based Cathy

Waterman and other popular designers, in addition to shoes, bags,

belts, and accessories.

They have two sales a year: one in June and one in January, with

unbelievable bargains. A’Maree’s, at 1649 Westcliff Drive, Westcliff

Court in Newport Beach, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to

Saturday. Call (949) 642-4423.

PERSIAN AND FRENCH TREATS

La Creme Patisiere specializes in Persian and French bakery items.

Everything is baked fresh daily at its original store, La Palais Du

Sucre Bakery & Cafe in Laguna Hills. Wonderful Persian treats include

rice flour cookies with poppy seed (noon berngie) and chickpeas flour

cookies (noon nokhodchi). Other bakery items include Florentine,

dainty cinnamon twists, tiramisu, opera cake and berry clafoutis. For

those who are tired of hamburger patty-sized cookies, try their

miniature cookies that come pre-packaged on gold trays. They make

great gifts. It includes an assortment of 12 cookie varieties. Custom

cakes can be ordered from an extensive catalog of decorative themes,

flavors and icings. The bakery, at 3601-B E. Coast Highway in Corona

del Mar, is open from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. Call (949)

673-6292.

PEDAL LIKE A PRO

Youngs Training Center offers expert coaching and workouts for

cycling enthusiasts. The founders are Olympic coach Roger Young and

four-time World Champion Connie Paraskevin-Young. Together they offer

workout options ranging from easy pedaling sessions to intense

fat-burning classes offered on indoor bikes. Coaching services vary

from basic coaching, which offers a personalized training schedule,

to personal coaching with day-to-day contact from an Olympic coach,

and a professional athletes training program. They also have a unique

computer that assesses the way you ride a bike; the Youngs can then

help you with proper riding techniques for better results. There are

also fitness tests and evaluations. Youngs in Corona del Mar is at

3617-B Coast Highway. Call (949) 723-5778.

A GIVING FLORIST

Fiore is an open-air market florist. It specializes in

one-of-a-kind arrangements and high-quality fresh florals for parties

and weddings. Fiore can custom order any flower and offers delivery

of gifts with arrangements. Popular gifts include fine chocolates.

Fiore supports local schools with its “Education in Bloom” program,

donating 10% of all sales the first week of every month to the

schools that customers designate. They offer free delivery within

five miles. Fiore, at 21161 Newport Coast Drive in the Newport Coast

Shopping Center, is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Call (949) 640-6393.

VINTAGE DIGS AT FAIR PRICES

Owner-designer Vicki Peterson has two local shops: Chantel and

Vicki Shoppe in Costa Mesa, and Sommerska (dressmaker in Swedish) on

Balboa Island. Peterson has a signature line of novelty rayon print

dresses, bias-cut slip dresses, skirts, tops and lounge pants.

Customers go crazy for the vintage Levi’s with Swarovski crystal

buttons and capri-style Levi’s with rhinestone hems. Hip lines

available also found in L.A. boutiques include Language, Project e,

Hank, Da-Nang and Riley. The prices are fair. The Chantel and Vicki

Shoppe, at 432 E. 17th St., is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday

through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call (949)

646-7506. Sommerska, at 324 Marine Ave. on Balboa Island, is open

from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Call (949) 673-5707.

DRESS LIKE A PRO (GOLFER)

Nonmembers and even nongolfers can shop at Newport Beach Country

Club’s Pro Shop. Find great fashion-forward sportswear for men and

women. Sport lines include Fairway and Greene, Fidra, Polo, Tommy

Bahama, 3 Dot and Helen Kaminski. New additions include Burberry and

Jamie Sadock. The shop, at 1600 E. Coast Highway in Newport Beach, is

open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Call (949) 644-9680.

* BEST BUYS appears Thursdays. Send information to Greer Wylder at

greerwylder@yahoo.com; at 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; or by

fax at (949) 646-4170.