Boutiques

Location: 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, at the 405 Freeway and Bristol Street. Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sat.; 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sun. Known for: The largest shopping center in California, South Coast Plaza is the Rodeo Drive of the O.C., with nearly every luxury brand in the universe under one roof. The mall has 250 boutiques and 30 restaurants. What you'll find: Almost everything you could ever want or need. Anchor stores are Bloomingdale's (the best one in Southern California)

Since Morgan Spurlock is known for fully immersing himself in his movies - famously subsisting onMcDonald's menu items for "Super Size Me" and pounding the pavement for every last product placement dollar in "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" - it seemed only appropriate to ask the man behind"Mansome" about his go-to grooming products and tools, most of which happen to come from boutique shaving brand the Art of Shaving, which signed on to sponsor the...

Since Morgan Spurlock is known for fully immersing himself in his movies - famously subsisting onMcDonald's menu items for "Super Size Me" and pounding the pavement for every last product placement dollar in "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" - it seemed only appropriate to ask the man behind"Mansome" about his go-to grooming products and tools, most of which happen to come from boutique shaving brand the Art of Shaving, which signed on to sponsor the...

Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are jacked up as they talk about the handmade fabrics in their fall-winter 2012 runway collection, with its urban-warrior-trekking-the-Himalayas vibe. And why not? It's pretty unusual stuff. Embroidery that is a takeoff on ancient Buddhist symbols is "sick. " Colorful leather biker jackets woven using a technique inspired by baskets they discovered on vacation in Bhutan are "killer. " And the tiny plastic beads, which they had to develop their own molds to make, strung together to create a chain-mail effect on tunics?

For years, Old Town Newhall in Santa Clarita has been wrangling with an identity crisis. Its history is entwined in the Wild West -- oil, gold and ranching -- but the city of Santa Clarita is redeveloping, encouraging the proliferation of new bicycle shops and boutiques on Main Street (also known as San Fernando Road) and hoping to turn the area into an arts and entertainment district. Just a few weeks back, Santa Clarita's Festival of Arts ( www.streetartfest.com) took over the area, strong evidence of a new direction.

Spain has a post-holiday tradition that goes way beyond Black Friday. Each year the country conducts an entire month of January sales, or rebajas , that make winter a good time to visit. Illinois-based Tourcrafters offers a four-night Madrid shopping trip through the end of the month that starts at $485 per person. On this tour, bargain hunters have free time to check out the Mercado de San Miguel food market, the Rastro antique flea market and El Corte Ingles department store while enjoying tapas and wine-tastings along the way. Dates: The five day/four-night tour is offered for travel through Jan. 31. Price: $485 per person, based on double occupancy (this tour is offered in February and March for a higher price)

Struggling Barnes & Noble Inc., in its latest attempt to draw shoppers into bricks-and-mortar stores, is adding 25 in-store boutiques that sell products from Penguin publishing house, a report said. These boutiques, which have already been tested in 10 Barnes & Noble stores, are stocked with books published by Penguin and other gift-type items such as mugs and totes, the Wall Street Journal reported. Each one occupies about 200 square feet. The test boutiques have proved successful thus far, and Barnes & Noble decided to expand the concept into more than two dozen other stores, said Patricia Bostelman, a vice president of marketing for the bookseller.

Toys R Us Inc. will open FAO Schwarz boutiques in 585 of the retailing giant's stores in time for the holidays. The company, which bought FAO Schwarz in May, also is relaunching the high-end brand's website. FAO Schwarz has two stand-alone stores, one each in New York and Las Vegas. The boutiques, which are to open starting Sunday, will offer toys ranging in price from $2.99 to $64.99, including FAO Schwarz's annual holiday ornament and collectible stuffed teddy bear. Privately held Toys R Us also is publishing FAO Schwarz's holiday catalog, featuring such exclusive toys as a Steiff Karl Lagerfeld Teddy Bear, which wears designer clothing, for $1,499.

H&M and other big-box retailers are obvious go-tos for fast fashion. But they aren't the only stores in town for shoppers seeking that little black dress in lace or a cashmere sweater that won't break the bank. Many of L.A.'s independent boutiques offer a curated selection of dresses, sweaters, pants and accessories in a more intimate environment with attentive service. Below we look at five of those boutiques, with current styles and prices that frequently average less than $100.

Brussels is one of Europe's best-kept secrets. The Belgian capital doesn't seem to attract the jet-setting glitterati who attract publicity. But the town does cater to the exceedingly comfortable life style of highly paid diplomats posted to the European Parliament, European Economic Commission or NATO, all headquartered there.

It was a tense negotiation. Fox Sports and ESPN were paying about $54 million a year for the TV rights to Pac-12 Conference games. The Pac-12 guys wanted five times that. And a 12-year commitment. The networks were so taken aback that a top executive sarcastically asked if the Pac-12 was smoking something, according to people who witnessed the exchange but spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the deal. But in the end, the two sides agreed to the biggest TV rights contract in college sports history — a 12-year, $3-billion deal, which works out to a per-year average of $250 million.

Struggling Barnes & Noble Inc., in its latest attempt to draw shoppers into bricks-and-mortar stores, is adding 25 in-store boutiques that sell products from Penguin publishing house, a report said. These boutiques, which have already been tested in 10 Barnes & Noble stores, are stocked with books published by Penguin and other gift-type items such as mugs and totes, the Wall Street Journal reported. Each one occupies about 200 square feet. The test boutiques have proved successful thus far, and Barnes & Noble decided to expand the concept into more than two dozen other stores, said Patricia Bostelman, a vice president of marketing for the bookseller.

Over the last year and a half, a stretch of South La Brea Avenue has become home to a cluster of men's boutiques that are tapping into the vibe of American heritage, military surplus and nostalgia, a vibe that continues to resonate with consumers. The 100 block was already home to Stussy (street wear), Union (sneakers) and American Rag Cie and its World Denim Bar. Now the troika of Feal Mor, General Quarters and Shelter Half, with their rough-hewn wood, brick walls, weathered flags and canvas tents, have made the area a kind of mecca for the manly man and a true "guy's gulch.

The most surprising thing about West Hollywood's Gray Gallery isn't that in the 13 months since opening its doors the combination interior-design studio and jewelry boutique has emerged as a key resource for stylists looking to borrow unique jewelry to accessorize their celebrity clients. The surprise is how much of that red-carpet clientele is male. Pieces from Gray's collection of vintage cuff links, watches and rings have appeared on A-list actors including Johnny Depp, Jeremy Renner, David Boreanz and Ryan Gosling.

The Hotel Normandie, a mid-Los Angeles inn with a checkered past, is on the way to becoming respectable again as its new owners labor to restore its Jazz Age charms. It's a testament to how fortunes have improved in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods that investors are eager to spend millions of dollars restoring a beaten down building with a modest pedigree. The squat brick structure at Normandie Avenue and 6th Street drew attention in 2010 when its then-owner vowed to turn it into a "pot-tel" catering to medical marijuana smokers.

Spain has a post-holiday tradition that goes way beyond Black Friday. Each year the country conducts an entire month of January sales, or rebajas , that make winter a good time to visit. Illinois-based Tourcrafters offers a four-night Madrid shopping trip through the end of the month that starts at $485 per person. On this tour, bargain hunters have free time to check out the Mercado de San Miguel food market, the Rastro antique flea market and El Corte Ingles department store while enjoying tapas and wine-tastings along the way. Dates: The five day/four-night tour is offered for travel through Jan. 31. Price: $485 per person, based on double occupancy (this tour is offered in February and March for a higher price)

When Giorgio Beverly Hills was in its heyday, from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, Rodeo Drive was not lined with the kind of marquee designer flagships that are located there today. There was no Prada Epicenter, with its arty open facade, or faux Italianate Via Rodeo shopping complex (that was a parking lot). And there certainly was nothing like today's Bebe and Guess stores, which would seem better suited to a suburban shopping mall than a billionaire's boulevard. Back then, Rodeo Drive was a destination for locally owned independent boutiques, both hip and luxe, including Theodore, where retailer Herb Fink sold the Brigitte Bardot-St.

London is swinging again thanks to bride and princess-to-be Kate Middleton. Millions are hanging on her every move — where she shops, where she primps, what she eats and drinks. Although the couple live (part of the time) in a rented farmhouse in North Wales, Middleton and Prince William will likely move to London's Kensington Palace at some point in the future. And Middleton certainly spends a lot of time in London — especially now that the wedding is a month away — mostly in the swish neighborhoods of South Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge and Mayfair, all of which are in close proximity to Hyde Park and the Buckingham and Kensington palaces.

Despite the tanking of the housing market, posh new realty offices have continued to open their doors, particularly in upper-priced Los Angeles-area communities where agents need only a few sales a year to make a living. "The high-end market is less sensitive to a downturn in the economy," said Stefan Swanepoel, who publishes the annual Swanepoel Trends Report analyzing changes in residential real estate. "That part of the market is less likely to require a loan for purchase. So there is still a lot of activity.

H&M and other big-box retailers are obvious go-tos for fast fashion. But they aren't the only stores in town for shoppers seeking that little black dress in lace or a cashmere sweater that won't break the bank. Many of L.A.'s independent boutiques offer a curated selection of dresses, sweaters, pants and accessories in a more intimate environment with attentive service. Below we look at five of those boutiques, with current styles and prices that frequently average less than $100.