Chanel Throws Open the Doors in San Diego, Sunshine Included

The house of Chanel has a new address in San Diego, and the architect on the job is Peter Marino. His design keeps the line between inside and out deliberately soft, a sensible instinct in a city where the weather seldom gives anyone a reason to close a window. Under one roof the boutique gathers the ready-to-wear with timepieces, fine jewelry, scent and makeup, so a visit covers the full range of what the house makes. Marino's rooms are meant to read two ways at once: unmistakably Chanel in their bones, and unmistakably coastal California in their light. For a stretch of the Pacific more often pictured in surf than in tweed, it is a considered arrival, and a handsome one.

With reporting from WWD.