Nordstrom opening tomorrow at Westfield Topanga Mall

Finishing touches are being ap- plied to the new Nordstrom in Canoga Park, store officials said last week.

The high-end retail and fash- ion store has been rebuilt on the east side of Westfield Topanga Mall, around the corner from its old site. The new, larger store will open at 10 a.m. on Fri., Oct. 6.

The more than 200,000- square-foot space will be stocked with the company's most extensivemost extensive designer collection in the country, said Pete Nordstrom, president of merchan- dising.

"Our customers have re- sponded exceptionally well to the best product the market has to of- fer," Nordstrom said. "We are ea- ger to unveil our strongest com- prehensive collection of designer merchandise . . . at Nordstrom Topanga."

The store will house four bou- tiques: Chanel, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. The new Nordstrom will also feature collec- tions from Azzaro, Badgley Mischka, Blumarine, Chloé, Calvin Klein, Derek Lam, Lanvin, Marni, Proenza Schouler, Roberto Cavalli, Vera Wang and Zac Posen.

A cosmetics tailgate party at 8 a.m. will show off top picks from Nordstrom beauty representatives for early shopping before the doors officially open.

An area of pride for the store is a new design concept for the Kids' Wear and Kids' Shoes departments, which will have a 200- gallon fish tank and "The Crib," a d r e s s i n g room where children can play video games and enjoy themselves while trying on clothes.

Other new areas include a fresh look for the t.b.d. department, a lounge furnished with oversized ottomans and pillows and a denim bar, with jeans from AG Jeans, Chip and Pepper, Citizens of Humanity, J & Company, J Brand, Hudson and Paige Premium Denim.

The new store will also house a Nordstrom Café Bistro and the Los Angeles area's first Nordstrom Spa Escape.

The new Nordstrom store at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks is expected to open in 2008.

--Joann Groff