The last-minute mush
Alicia Robinson
Shoppers at Fashion Island on Saturday were probably wishing for an
early Christmas gift of a parking space as they circled the mega
mall’s many lots waiting for someone to drive away.
On the last weekend before Christmas, the shopping was “out of
control,” as sales associate Lauren Billing described it. Billing
works at the Closet, a hip clothing store at Fashion Island.
The parking, which could take up to 20 minutes, apparently didn’t
dampen the Christmas buying spirit, or at least the rush to get it
done.
A few people at stores Saturday were so focused on finishing their
shopping, they didn’t know what they wanted for Christmas.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” said Ludo Leideritz of Rancho
Santa Margarita, who was shopping with a friend at Sony Style at
South Coast Plaza. “I’ve been thinking about what to get other
people.”
What they were shopping for included cotton shirts and fine
lingerie, store employees said.
A popular gift for women is clothes by Made, with a line that
includes thin cotton shirts in bright colors like orange and yellow
-- perfect for the layered look, which has been hot this year. Made
clothes run between $13 and $31.
“We sell a ton of it,” Billing said. “It’s really thin and really
wearable.”
For men, gift givers are buying clothes from Salvage, which
Billing called “urban rock ‘n’ roll wear,” and gift cards are always
a big seller.
Friends of food lovers are giving a box of tapenades -- spreads
made of olive paste -- and a set of three kinds of olive oil in
bottles that can be displayed on the table, said Melissa Graves,
store manager at Oliviers & Co.
At Tower Records in Costa Mesa, hot music gifts are rocker Gwen
Stefani’s new solo album and the box set from Nirvana, which includes
three CDs and a DVD, said Xres Turner, the store’s audio
merchandiser.
An eggplant-colored velvet and silk robe and lacy bustiers are
topping holiday lists at La Perla, a fine lingerie store at South
Coast Plaza, where Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa, has been known to
shop.
The $700 price tag hasn’t deterred shoppers from the robe, store
manager Kathy Mohammad said.
“Guys say it feels like butter,” she said.
Shoppers’ gift choices have been somewhat less exotic at Book Soup
at South Coast Plaza, store manager Michelle Choi said. Top sellers
there are the illustrated “The DaVinci Code” by Dan Brown, Bob
Dylan’s “Chronicles,” and the relationship book, “He’s Just Not That
Into You.”
Otherwise, Choi said, “We’re selling a lot of calendars.... It’s
been kind of predictable.”
Choi said she thinks South Coast Plaza hasn’t been as busy as
previous years, but she expected a rush of last-minute shoppers
through next weekend.
Billing had her hands full.
“We’ve been so busy that we’ve run out of [gift] boxes a couple
times,” Billing said.
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