About Shop Common Thread
Twenty years on 17th Street,
and we still know your name.
Shop Common Thread is a women's boutique in Orange County, California, and personal styling with us is always free. We opened in Costa Mesa in 2006 and added a second store at River Street Marketplace in San Juan Capistrano in 2025. We sell elevated, everyday pieces chosen to mix and match, so getting dressed takes five minutes instead of forty.
Every person on our floor is trained to style, not to sell. No appointment, no fee, no minimum spend. You can walk in with nothing planned and leave with three outfits you will actually wear.
We are a local shop with a national customer. We ship all over the country, and we still know our regulars by name, what they bought last spring, and what they will never wear again.
Why I opened, and what I see in the fitting room
I went to school for retail. It's a real degree, believe it or not. I ended up in public relations at Neiman Marcus and I loved it. Then I traded it for the escrow world, because it was half the hours and twice the money, and I was miserable. So I started asking myself what my dream actually was, and I already knew the answer. I'd known since my first college job that I wanted my own boutique. The market here was saturated at the time. Then my best friend got pregnant, and that was the opening. We opened as a maternity shop called Xpecting in 2006.
What happened next is the reason we are still here. The women who shopped with us for their first baby came back for their second, and then kept coming back long after they needed maternity clothes. So we changed what we carried and kept the part that mattered, which was knowing them.
Here's what I see now, twenty years in. A woman standing in the fitting room being her own worst critic, while I'm looking at someone beautiful who has put herself last for years. She's worth getting dressed for. Seven extra minutes in the morning and she stands taller and walks out ready for her day.
When you look great you feel great, and when you feel great you do great. That isn't a saying to me. I watch it happen in a fitting room every single week.
Stephani Clymer · founder, Shop Common Thread
How we shop with you
Every stylist in both stores trains to a five day standard we call The Common Way. It covers fit across body types, how to build an outfit from three pieces, how to work with what someone already owns, and when to tell a customer no.
In practice it is simple. If you want the help, someone is with you for the whole thing, pulling pieces, running sizes, telling you the truth about the fit. If you would rather have the racks to yourself, that is completely fine. We will be nearby when you want us.
One thing happens either way. Something goes into your fitting room that you would never have pulled for yourself. It is the piece women end up buying more than anything we plan.
Nothing is booked and nothing costs extra. More about how our styling works ›
Ask for someone by name
You do not have to. Whoever is on the floor is trained the same way. But most of our regulars have a person, and if you want one, these are the names to ask for.
Costa Mesa
Jenny. Some of her customers have shopped with her for the better part of twenty years. One moved out of California and still shops with her over Zoom, with Jenny walking the floor holding a phone.
Stacey. She will text you when the sweatshirt you love comes in a new color. Customers say she knows what will work on you before you have tried it on.
San Juan Capistrano
Victoria, Andrea and Cece. All three trained to The Common Way, the same five day standard as our Costa Mesa team. Ask for any of them at the front and they will start with what is already hanging in your closet.
Two stores
Costa Mesa
Our flagship since 2006. 2,400 square feet and over 80 brands. Ask for Jenny or Stacey.
369 E. 17th Street #20
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Mon to Sat 10 to 6, Sun 10 to 4
949-574-2184
About this store ›
San Juan Capistrano
Opened 2025, in River Street Marketplace in the historic district. Ask for Victoria, Andrea or Cece.
31896 Paseo Adelanto #102
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Mon to Thu 10 to 7, Fri and Sat 10 to 8, Sun 10 to 6
949-350-0106
About this store ›
Shopping with us from anywhere
A good number of our regulars have never been inside either store. The same women help you by text on 949-524-5501, on Instagram live try-ons, through outfit edits where the looks are already built, and over Zoom. One of our twenty year customers moved out of California and still shops that way, with her stylist walking the floor holding a phone.
Every order gets a handwritten note. Free shipping over $99 and 30 days to change your mind. Browse the outfit edits ›
What we do not do
We carry straight sizes, XS through L depending on the brand, and we would rather tell you that up front than have you make the drive. We do not do activewear as a category and we do not do menswear. Our kids selection is small and mostly giftable, there for the moms already shopping with us rather than as a kids boutique.
What she says
“I've been shopping at Common Thread since the early days when they were selling maternity clothes. She genuinely knows me. My size, what looks good on my body, what I already have, and what I'll actually wear. Even when I moved out of CA, Jenny would hop on Zoom and shop with me like I was still in the store. It's not just a boutique.”
Kristyn C. · shopping with us since 2006
“Stacey is absolutely incredible. She has this rare talent of knowing exactly what will look good on you before you even try it on. And Stephani, the owner, has created something truly special. You can feel the care, intention, and heart behind everything in the store.”
Nikki P. · Costa Mesa
“I've been shopping here for many years and was so happy when the River Street store opened.”
Tifani B. · San Juan Capistrano
“Shop Common is my favorite online place to shop. The other reason I am a loyal customer is the excellent customer service. I wish I lived closer to be able to visit the stores in person.”
Caroline F. · shops with us from out of state
