A quick trip to Orange County's upscale mecca of materialism, also known as South Coast Plaza, was just what I needed to get inspired by summer fashion trends this past weekend. When the stores in my hometown begin to look stale in terms of trends, South Coast Plaza never lets me down. Since my last excursion to South Coast Plaza, a Bloomingdales has opened, and I'm pleased to report that Balenciaga will be opening soon. While I didn't do much shopping because my time was limited, I did hit up my main targets: H&M, Zara, Wet Seal, and the Apple Store. As luck would have it, there are two H&M stores at the shopping center. One has men's, children's and Divided, the youthful trend-driven line. The other has mostly women's basics and accessories. Overall, I was disapointed by both of South Coast's H&M stores, as I think the Westfield Topanga store that I often visit carries more trend-driven items, such as balloon trousers, maxi dresses, tie-neck blouses, neon tees, and the gladiator sandals that I saw there recently. Or perhaps those trendy Orange County gals scoop up all the good stuff.
At Zara, I admired some ankle cuff thong sandals in black leather and some beige studded gladiators for close to $100. I also saw some interesting drop-crotch, cropped, faded denim trousers for $60. I still haven't seen anyone wearing them, but they intrigue me nonetheless. At Wet Seal, zebra prints, bold graphic tees, neon pumps, and yellow jersey tops dominated the racks. I bought some fushia acid-washed skinnies, a floral tunic, a leopard graphic tee with a gold foil print, and a blue zebra print tee. It looks like the fascination with the '80s is sticking around this season. I actually broke my promise to never wear acid-washed jeans!
Above and below, neon-themed window displays at Diesel
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