Ted Baker Hits the OC

Fashion boutiques with a Euro pedigree are taking a bow at South Coast Plaza.

United Kingdom–based fashion house Ted Baker London opened its secondlargest American store May 18 at the high-end shopping center in Orange County, Calif.

The 3,895-square-foot boutique carries Ted Baker’s full collection for guys and girls, along with a neon-lit British whimsy.

Baker’s interior decorator filled the store with Anglophile ephemera, from a Queen Victoria bust to a wall covered with a tightly wound guitar string. The opening party featured models in bowler hats and look-alikes of prominent Brits such as Queen Elizabeth and Paul McCartney.

South Coast Plaza offered another European treat for its luxury shoppers: the May 20 opening of the MNG By Mango store. The 5,700-square-foot store is reportedly the first of several locations for the American franchise of the Barcelona, Spain–based retailer. The franchiser intends to build more than 200 MNG By Mango stores.

On May 25, New York–based Theory launched at South Coast Plaza with a soft opening.

Orange County continues to fascinate Europeans. L’uomo Vogue magazine held a launch party for the 2006 edition of its Vogue Shops Guide at fashion boutique Meeschka in Laguna Beach, Calif. Vogue Editor Alessandro Cremona sipped Roberto Cavalli Vodka at the event and kibitzed with Meeschka co-owner James “Munky” Shaffer, guitarist for multi-gold-record-selling rock band Korn. —Andrew Asch