RETAIL ROUNDUP:Shoe debut at Allen Edmonds

The Allen Edmonds shoe store at South Coast Plaza contains a special brand of footwear not available anywhere else.

It’s called the Allen Edmonds Seven, and it contains nine types of shoes.

Why the discrepancy? It turns out that the “seven” in the title refers not to different shoes, but to different attributes of the Allen Edmonds brand in general. In no particular order, those qualities are hand-selected leather, hand-stitching, hand-shaping, hand-finishing, hand-crafting, natural materials and European-American styling.

An eighth quality, at least for now, is novelty. The South Coast Plaza store, which opened July 19, is the first Allen Edmonds location in America to feature the new line.

“Seven is explained and defined by the unique attributes that make up the collection,” said Kim Kuczynski, Allen Edmonds’ director of marketing. “We’ve introduced the line with nine styles, and over the years it will expand in scope and size.”

The South Coast Plaza location, which will have its grand opening Sept. 19, is the third Allen Edmonds store in California.

The Costa Mesa stop also features another nationwide first for the chain: a rack of half-pant legs on wooden rods that customers can use to match with the shoes they’re trying on.

Zanotti has half-price sale through August

Shoe shoppers can make an additional stop at South Coast Plaza over the next few weeks, as the Giuseppe Zanotti boutique is having a special sale now through the end of August.

During that time, customers can buy women’s footwear, handbags and accessories from the designer’s 2007 spring-summer collection at 50% off.

Zanotti, an Italian designer, operates boutiques in Las Vegas, Miami and New York, with the South Coast Plaza store the only California location. Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé are among the celebrities who have worn his products.

Swimwear store for men, boys to open

Vilebrequin, an international men’s and boys’ swimwear retailer, plans to open its first Orange County store at Fashion Island this fall.

The boutique will open next to Anthropologie and Bloomingdale’s in the shopping center.

The store offers swim trunks for men, with prices ranging from $135 to $210. Children’s sizes are between $85 and $115.

In addition, Vilebrequin carries linen shirts and pants, T-shirts, sweaters, towels and other items.