South Coast Plaza

It's Day 3 of his four-day visit, and, of course, Yuki Izuka - for the third time - is back at South Coast Plaza. Sporting black slacks, leather tote, a pinstripe jacket and crisp tie, the pharmacist from Gunma, Japan, heads straight for the most glittering of shops: Tiffany. He's on a mission to find a ring for his wife. "It is very expensive - but even more expensive in my home," he says. "Better if I can get something here. " Skipping tariffs and taxes, foreign shoppers flush with cash fill their Southern California trips with shopping sprees at places like South Coast Plaza, and increasingly, employees at the luxury shopping center are taking extraordinary steps to host them, trained to fulfill the tiniest of needs.

Brittany, on the Atlantic coast of France, is famous for its shellfish. The most prized oysters come from Cancale, and the bouchot mussels, just an inch or so long, are tender and sweet. One bowl of those dainty mussels steamed in white wine and shallots turned me into a lifetime mussel lover. Here, Carlsbad Aquafarm in San Diego County sells bags of mussels grown off the California coast at the Hollywood and Santa Monica farmers markets. You can also find some wonderful mussel dishes at restaurants.

About 1,000 guests kicked in $30 each Wednesday evening to nosh and listen to music while ogling fine furnishings at the grand opening of Crate & Barrel's new digs at South Coast Plaza. The event was a benefit for Friends of Mission San Juan Capistrano, a support group that raises funds for the historic mission.

It's Day 3 of his four-day visit, and, of course, Yuki Izuka - for the third time - is back at South Coast Plaza. Sporting black slacks, leather tote, a pinstripe jacket and crisp tie, the pharmacist from Gunma, Japan, heads straight for the most glittering of shops: Tiffany. He's on a mission to find a ring for his wife. "It is very expensive - but even more expensive in my home," he says. "Better if I can get something here. " Skipping tariffs and taxes, foreign shoppers flush with cash fill their Southern California trips with shopping sprees at places like South Coast Plaza, and increasingly, employees at the luxury shopping center are taking extraordinary steps to host them, trained to fulfill the tiniest of needs.

In the decades she spent honing her craft, Doris Payne employed classic elegance, refined taste, Southern charm and a sleight of hand that could earn the envy of a talented magician. Like the best illusionists, she had a knack for making things disappear. Payne's life as an international jewel thief is the subject of an upcoming movie, "Who Is Doris Payne?" starring Halle Berry. But given the latest events in Orange County, the filmmakers may want to consider a new ending.

Your recent editorial "South Coast Plaza Turns 20" is right on the money. As a male teen-ager, I hate to go shopping. But if I have to, I will go to South Coast Plaza. It has stores and boutiques providing almost everything. Its location and many shops make shopping fun and easy. It is no surprise that shoppers from San Francisco or San Diego once in a while want to make a trip to Costa Mesa just to check out South Coast Plaza. This makes little Orange County very big. THI PHAM Huntington Beach

South Coast Plaza has published a drawing showing how a long-awaited pedestrian bridge will sweep over Bear Street to connect the former Crystal Court with the plaza itself. The 611-foot bridge will stretch from South Coast Plaza's second level near Macy's main store westward over the parking structure to near the center of what's been known as Crystal Court.

They are the most renowned shopping destinations in the nation: Madison Avenue, Rodeo Drive, Palm Beach and . . . Costa Mesa? You bet, Costa Mesa--home to South Coast Plaza, one of the most successful shopping malls in the country. Starting next month, the retail center will be one of eight shopping meccas featured in a national advertising campaign by Visa USA.

Gucci, one of the biggest names in designer retailing, is finally coming to Orange County. About 33 years after entering the U.S. market, Gucci Shops Inc. of New York is scheduled to open a full-line store at South Coast Plaza on Nov. 1--a prelude to the peak Christmas shopping season. The flashy, high-fashion accessory store will be about half the size of Gucci's Rodeo Drive shop but will carry virtually the same merchandise, from leather handbags to designer sunglasses.

Tiffany & Co., seeking to expand its presence in Orange County, has filed a lawsuit against South Coast Plaza, claiming the mall prevented the tony New York jeweler from opening a store at Mission Viejo Mall, which is undergoing a $150-million renovation in a move to position itself as an upscale shopping center in the burgeoning southern part of the county.

Rag & Bone , the men's and women's fashion line created by British CFDA-winners David Neville and Marcus Wainwright, opened its first Los Angeles-area flagship last week. The two-story, approximately 9,000-square-foot space is at 8533 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. EVENTS Fashion designer John Varvatos is scheduled to make an appearance at 6 p.m. Thursday to celebrate the opening of his shop-in-shop at Bloomingdale's Century City.

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)

Actress Eva Mendes, clad in lavender Dior, lingered after the ribbon-snipping ceremony at the newly renovated Christian Dior boutique in South Coast Plaza, chatting with guests at the cocktail reception Sept. 1 about, among other things, her admiration for Dior designer John Galliano. "It's the age of stylists, when nobody wants to take risks," Mendes said. "Galliano is out of the box. The difficulty for me is narrowing down the selections to choose what I want to wear. " Top company executives traveled from Paris and New York for the store-opening celebration and included Sidney Toledano, president and chief executive of Christian Dior Couture; and Pamela Baxter, president of Christian Dior Inc. They welcomed more than 150 party-goers who came to show their support for the Dream Guild of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation , which received a portion of sales related to the opening.

L.A.'s Festival of New American Musicals closed its third season Aug. 21 with a tuneful fundraiser, billed as a birthday party for Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown, of "Parade," "13," "Songs for a New World" and "Last Five Years. " "For what it's worth, my birthday was in June," he said, declaring it a gift to be able to play favorites from his own musicals, which he did in the backyard garden of Noelle and Tom Hicks' Brentwood home. Joining him to perform were Adam Pascal of "Rent," Lara Pulver of "True Blood," Nita Whitaker of "Star Search," Graham Phillips of "The Good Wife" and "The Theater Geeks of America," a collection of teenagers who perform gratis for charitable causes.

In the decades she spent honing her craft, Doris Payne employed classic elegance, refined taste, Southern charm and a sleight of hand that could earn the envy of a talented magician. Like the best illusionists, she had a knack for making things disappear. Payne's life as an international jewel thief is the subject of an upcoming movie, "Who Is Doris Payne?" starring Halle Berry. But given the latest events in Orange County, the filmmakers may want to consider a new ending.

In Henri Bendel's new accessory collection, the pièce de résistance is a travel tote dubbed disturbed stripe. The name could be a metaphor for the iconic New York store's recent campaign to increase relevance through reinvention. Accented with snakeskin-embossed Italian leather, the "disturbed" pattern shatters Bendel's familiar brown stripes (seen on hatboxes and shopping bags) like so many Humpty Dumptys and then fits the pieces haphazardly back together again. Traditionalists may view "corrupting" this classic as blasphemy akin to adorning Tiffany's eggshell blue with pink polka dots.

South Coast Plaza was rezoned Monday to give the City Council greater authority in approving future projects at the county's most popular shopping center. Zoning for the plaza was established in 1963 and allows Planning Commission approval for many additions and changes. The updated zoning ordinance, which matches regulations at the newer Metro Pointe, Crystal Court and South Coast Metro Center, requires City Council approval for changes.

They came already shod in Christian Louboutin. At home, they have dozens, even 100 pairs of the French designer's shoes, some encased in special walls in their closets. They are connoisseurs of his style quirks -- the voluptuous hidden platform, the signature red sole, the vertiginous heel. Few of his devotees wear them at less than 4 or 5 inches.

Yvonne Dutton's life was saved by a department store. When she was raising eight children on a meager budget supplemented by food stamps, the Huntington Beach woman didn't have the time or money to shop at Nordstrom. And things got even worse when her 37-year marriage ended in divorce. It was a time when most of her peers were contemplating their leisure years, yet Dutton found herself looking for a new career at age 60. It wasn't long before she found Nordstrom.