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.