Effortless Style for Busy Women
You'll feel like yourself again.
Just more put together.
Shop Common Thread is a women's boutique built around effortless style for busy women. We choose elevated, everyday pieces that mix and match, so getting dressed takes five minutes instead of forty. We opened in Costa Mesa in 2006 as a maternity shop called Xpecting. Twenty years later we're two Orange County stores and a website that ships all over the country, and some of our first customers still shop with us. Our stylists build outfits with you, in the store, over text, and on Instagram. No appointment, no fee, no overthinking required.
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 Xpecting in 2006 and the rest followed from there.
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
Your week, styled
Five outfits covers most of a real week. Here's what we'd pull for you.
School pickup
Nine minutes in a parking lot with everyone you know. Swap the leggings for real denim and the sweatshirt for a knit. Same comfort, completely different read.
Read: 5 school pickup outfits ›
The Trader Joe's run
You're not dressing up for groceries. You're dressing so that running into someone is fine. One good top over what you already had on does it.
Shop tops and layers ›
Date night, the first one in a while
A dress you don't have to think about and flats you can actually walk in. You're out the door before he finds his keys.
Shop dresses ›
Saturday
Denim, a tee, something thrown over it. This is the outfit you'll wear four times before you notice you're wearing it.
Shop weekend ›
The thing you forgot about
A wedding, a birthday dinner, the school auction. One midi dress covers all three, and you already own the shoes.
Shop midi dresses ›
That's a week. Once you own the five, getting dressed stops being a decision and starts being a choice between things you already like. Nothing lands on our floor unless it works with something else on our floor.
How we shop with you
Every stylist in both stores trains to a five-day standard we call The Common Way.
What that looks like in practice 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'd rather have the racks to yourself, that's completely fine. We'll be nearby when you want us.
One thing happens either way. Something goes into your fitting room that you'd never have pulled for yourself. It's the piece women end up buying more than anything we plan.
Nothing is booked and nothing costs extra. It isn't a service with a fee attached, it's just how we shop. More about how our styling works ›
Shopping with us online
Roughly the same thing, on your phone, wherever you live. A good number of our regulars have never been inside either store.
Outfit edits. We build the outfits first, so you're choosing between finished looks instead of scrolling a wall of tops. See the outfit edits ›
Live try-ons. The girls try things on over on Instagram so you can see how a piece actually moves, where it hits, and what it looks like on a real body before you commit.
Text a stylist. Send a text to 949-524-5501. Same women, same honest opinions. Ask what goes with what, or send a photo of something already hanging in your closet and we'll tell you what it needs.
Shop with us over Zoom. One of our twenty-year customers moved out of California and still shops this way. Her stylist walks the floor with a phone.
A note in the box. Handwritten, every order. Free shipping over $99 and 30 days to change your mind.
Start with the Everyday Edit ›
Come see us
Costa Mesa
Our flagship since 2006. 2,400 square feet, over 80 brands.
369 E. 17th Street #20
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Mon to Sat, 10 to 6
Sunday, 10 to 4
Store line 949-574-2184
Call or text 949-524-5837
About this store ›
San Juan Capistrano
In River Street Marketplace, in the historic district.
31896 Paseo Adelanto #102
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Mon to Thu, 10 to 7
Fri and Sat, 10 to 8
Sunday, 10 to 6
Call or text 949-350-0106
About this store ›
Come in whenever. Someone will build outfits with you if you want the help, and leave you to it if you don't.
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. Somehow she always pulls the perfect pieces that make you feel confident, comfortable, and put together. 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
“The girls there have such a talent for helping put outfits together that make you feel confident and put-together without even trying.”
Jaqueline G.
“Common Thread has become my favorite place to shop online after finding them a year ago. The girls are so helpful with creating the perfect outfits and always go above and beyond to help me. They really make you feel special and like family while making you feel confident and stylish.”
Brooke G. · found us online last year
“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
Questions we get asked
How do you get dressed in five minutes?
Stop building an outfit from scratch every morning. Pick three to five formulas that work on your body, like jeans with a tee and a third piece, a one and done dress with flats, or wide-leg trousers with a knit. Then buy pieces that fit those formulas. You make the decision once instead of every day, and the morning gets a lot quieter.
What is the 3-3-3 rule for clothes?
Three tops, three bottoms and three pairs of shoes, worn for a set stretch of time to see how many outfits you can make. It's a wonderful diagnostic, because it shows you quickly which of your pieces actually go together. It works best as an experiment rather than a plan, since nine pieces only make lots of outfits if they were chosen to mix in the first place.
What do I do when I have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear?
You probably don't have a clothes problem, you have an outfit problem. Usually something small is missing between the things you already own, like a third piece, denim that fits the body you have now, or one neutral that pulls the rest together. Pull out the five things you truly reach for, lay them on the bed and look at the gaps. It's almost never as big a fix as it feels.
What does elevated everyday mean?
Pieces nice enough that you feel put together, easy enough that you'd wear them to school pickup. Better fabric, better fit, a simpler shape than a basic. Nothing precious and nothing dry clean only. The test we use is whether you'd reach for it on a Tuesday.
Is a personal stylist only for wealthy people?
Not at all, though the words make it sound that way. At Shop Common Thread, styling isn't a service with a fee attached. It's simply how we shop with you. There's nothing to book and nothing extra to pay, whether you're spending forty dollars or four hundred.
What should I wear for school pickup?
Something you'd be happy bumping into anyone in. One elevated piece changes the whole read, like real denim instead of leggings, or a knit instead of a sweatshirt. Same comfort and the same five minutes, you just feel more like yourself in the carpool line. Five outfits that work ›
Can you help me if I don't live in Orange County?
Yes, and plenty of our regulars have never set foot in either store. You can text a stylist on 949-524-5501, watch our live try-ons on Instagram to see how a piece really moves, or shop the outfit edits where we've already put the pieces together. Some customers shop with us over Zoom. Orders over $99 ship free, returns are open for 30 days, and there's a handwritten note in every box.
Where can I shop for this in person in Orange County?
Shop Common Thread has two stores, one in Costa Mesa on 17th Street and one in San Juan Capistrano at River Street Marketplace. Both are staffed by stylists trained in The Common Way. Come in whenever you like, with no appointment and no fee, and someone will build outfits with you if you want the help.
Do you carry plus sizes, activewear or menswear?
We carry straight sizes, and we'd rather tell you that up front than have you make the drive. We don't do activewear as a category and we don't do menswear. Our kids' selection is small and mostly giftable, there for the moms already shopping with us rather than as a kids' boutique.
You already own more outfits
than you think.
Come find them with us, in the store or from your couch.
Get DressedUpdated August 2026
