SOUTH COAST PLAZA GETS A PENTHOUSE

If you think shopping doesn’t get any more desire-worthy than Wilshire, Robertson and Melrose Place, drive an hour and a half south and check out South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa one Saturday afternoon, preferably when the sales are on. All under one roof are Nordstrom, Burberry, Valentino, Chanel, Bottega Veneta, MaxMara, Balenciaga, Barneyes Co Op, Hermes, Harry Winston, Marni, and even H&M. You feel like you’ve died and gone to fashion heaven – where you don’t need cars, subways, or even to deal with traffic lights.

On Tuesday night at the South Coast Plaza mall, the 1.5 billion dollar annual selling mall held a chic dinner – right in the center of its new wing, dubbed “The Penthouse.” Catered by the mall’s best restaurant, Marche Moderne, the 20,000 square foot wing is home to brand new stores by Oscar de la Renta, YSL, Canali, Christian Louboutin – who visited and christened the store on Tuesday all the way from Paris – and SoCa, the new less expensive but still chic concept from Orange County’s own St. John Knits. SoCa opened their first shop in The Penthouse, and plan to roll out at least 30 more across the world in the next few years.

The dinner was held for executives from Christian Louboutin, from South Coast Plaza, men’s store Canali, and for L.A. journalists from Angeleno Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily, InStyle Magazine, C Magazine, Los Angeles Magazine (Laurie Pike), The Los Angeles Times Magazine (Annie Gilbar), – and of course, Fashion Rules.. They were treated to visits to the new boutiques, all ooohing and ahhing over the fact that YSL has different handbags and shoes at South Coast’s Penthouse – that Louboutin actually stocks different shoes – and that Oscar de la Renta has dresses there we’ve never seen.

From autumn salad with pears to a fish course to beef and lobsters, to the outstanding crème brulee with Calvados and peanut brittle, everyone agreed that a trip to the OC can be very chic – and that you have to be ready to pound some serious – escalators. We’re thinking – Christmas at the Penthouse?? – Merle Ginsberg