Pursuit of purses
If you want to get your hands on a luxury resale handbag or you’re aching for accessories — and you happen to be in central or south San Diego County — opportunity may strike in July.
Fashionphile, the second-hand couture handbag and accessory seller based in Carlsbad, is coming to the Hotel Del Coronado from July 3 through July 29.
“The immersive luxury pop-up experience will showcase curated ultra-luxury handbags and accessories inspired by The Del’s 130+ years of history as a Hollywood hotspot — from the likes of Marilyn Monroe to Liberace and beyond,” a representative for the store wrote in an emailed news release.
A glance at Fashionphile’s website suggests the store has something for everyone (with cash to spare).
For the skater girl making an entrance: a Judith Leiber Swarovski crystal roller skate clutch for $3,525. (Half off the estimated retail full price.)
For the fur parent with classic taste: a Hermès doggie treat pouch that costs roughly a fifth of the price of a designer Labradoodle, or $510.
For anyone interested in resistance walking workouts or subverting the dominant paradigm: kiwi green and black lugg ankle boots from Bottega Veneta. Price: $375.
The stars, they’re just like us
They also get their ears pierced and get excited about cute earrings!
This week, Studs, an ear piercer and seller of earrings, opened its first San Diego studio at Westfield UTC. The company’s jewelry is said to be admired by Emma Chamberlain, Renee Rapp, Dixie D’Amelio and Rosalía. (Respectively: a social media creator / creation, a Gen Z singer and actor, a singer / TikTok performer and a genre twisting Flamenco-pop singer.)
The company offers something called “Earscaping,” which it describe as the “art and science of personalized ear piercings and earring stacking, resulting in a form of unique self-expression.” One more way Studs says it is different: It uses needles, not guns, to pierce ears.
This opening is part of an expansion push by the brand, which was founded in 2019 and now has more than 20 stores. It plans to open 10 stores in 2024, according to Retail Dive.
At UTC, the shop is near Aritzia and Ba&sh and Shake Shack. Piercing customers must be age 13 or older.
A croissant a day
For months, a coming soon sign promised carb laden delights at a La Jolla shopping center just south of Nobel Drive in a space that used to house a California Pizza Kitchen. The new cafe, bakery and cake shop, called Tous Les Jours, opened this weekend.
A reconnaissance mission to the new establishment yielded the following insights: indoor and shaded outdoor seating, where people this weekend were either working individually on laptops or sitting in groups and eating while socializing. Inside there is a grab and go section with baskets of cookies ($5), various buns and baguettes ($3.50). One glass case has savory and sweet pastries (French and continental classics, including croissants and Danishes), and another has cakes (sample flavors: green tea cream, chocolate cloud, strawberry cloud). Sandwiches and lunch items are on refrigerated shelves.
The menu has a French and Korean influence, with Korean style buttercream bread, red bean buns, mochi pancakes and other treats balancing out the croissants.
Along with espresso mainstays, the cafe serves a shaken tea latte, a shekerato (shaken espresso) and fruity “breeze” drinks.
The research mission would have been inconclusive without a sample of the products. To that end, a pain au chocolat, strawberry cream croissant, spinach feta pastry, almond croissant and a latte were secured and distributed to a test crew. This investigator’s review: Tous Les Jours, which means “every day” in French, could be habit forming.
Huggable critters, half off
Some are animals, some are food, some (depending on who you ask) are both. All are cute.
All are now half off.
Squishable, a store at Westfield UTC that sells soft critters made for hugging (and collecting), is closing its doors.
To help clear shelves, it is running a buy one get one free promotion through July 7, an employee at the store said.
Items range from keychains to stuffies roughly the size of a gallon of milk for $15 to $20 to gargantuan mushrooms and owls that cost $250.
The lease is up, and the company is looking for another location within the mall. Its Fashion Valley location also closed due to an expired lease, the employee said. The Union-Tribune was not able to independently verify this.
If this location shuts down permanently, the nearest Squishable shop will be in Temecula.
Along with the promo price, some seasonal items are on clearance. So for anyone looking for something to hug or shopping for the holidays, this is a good chance to grab a relative bargain.
Do you know any stores or eateries that are opening or closing? Do you have a tip about San Diego shopping deals or news? Send me the scoop: roxana.popescu@sduniontribune.com.
