Both of us are HUGE fans of Alice and Olivia. Natasha had her first encounter with the brand in its Meatpacking District store in New York City and instantly fell in love with the whimsical yet practical designs, while Carmen’s first Alice and Olivia experience was in Hong Kong’s IFC Mall store.
We were both equally ecstatic when we found out Alice and Olivia opened up a shop in ION Orchard. We decided to get in touch with the brand’s Marketing and Communications team to see if we can take a few pictures of some of our favorite items in the shop and much to our delight, we got a very friendly and quick response! (Thank you Juliana and Elaine!)
Alice and Olivia is a New York contemporary clothing company with the uber talented yummy mummy Stacey Bendet at the helm. Having launched at Barneys in 2002, the brand is now sold in over fifty countries – now including Singapore! Yay!
This is the façade of the Alice and Olivia store on 3rd floor of ION Orchard. The visual is rather Alice in Wonderland, don’t you think? Especially with the gorgeous tall hats on the mannequins.
How awesome is this light fixture on the ceiling?! It reminds us of fireworks! it’s such a standout piece in the store that we just had to take a picture of it.
We were told that Stacey is very hands on when it comes to the design aspect of her stores worldwide, she personally picks out one piece of furniture to go into her store. For Singapore, she picked out this beautiful wooden, retro looking drawer, an original item from the 60s which has been given a second chance in life. We love how eclectic pieces are scattered around the boutique and they all seem to gel together! Oh and yes, that’s Dylan’s Candy Bar candies you’re seeing – Natasha is a big fan!
Stacey describes her brand as sophisticated with a playful sensibility – which we definitely think sums it up. She’s really into mix and match, which we totally love! We adore her ball gowns and also her office wear. It was really difficult to pick out our favorite pieces because they’re all oh-so-amazing, but after containing our excitement we finally decided on the stuff we want to try on. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. 🙂
We love the way the brand differentiates its collection through clever, quirky and witty labels like the ones below. The ’employed’ label is more for office wear, therefore more conservative and subdued – with a bit of fun infused into it.
The ‘air’ label is for the jetsetters in all of us. Yes, we agree comfort is key when you’re dashing from one airport to another, but one need not look so frumpy while doing it! Remember, you NEVER know who you might bump into at the airport or on the plane and a bit of effort goes a loooooong way.
We decided to try on a few key pieces from each label – and of course the Spring/Summer collection is so gorgeous. Below is Natasha’s pick:
Natasha is head over heels over the red lips dress and even dreamt about it several times. To buy or not to buy – that’s always a constant conundrum we both face. Sigh.
There’s a zipper on the back of the dress, another design feature in a lot of Alice and Olivia’s dresses – which is where practicality comes into play. Carmen opted for a tailored fit black pants with some killer heels and this beautiful shirt, perfect for work. The best part about Alice and Olivia is that there’s only a limited amount of pieces in each size, so if you see something you like you better grab it fast!
The ball gowns. Oh the ball gowns. We are in awe of every one of them. The one on the mannequin has got to be our favorite, which is why we decided to leave that one alone just in case we find it difficult to walk away from it.
Carmen chose this gorgeous lace dress in nude color, perfectly accented with the simple yet glamorous looking necklace. We love the fabric panels on the dress and it’s so demure and sexy at the same time. Natasha chose the ball gown skirt, paired with a cropped white polo shirt for a more preppy look. The skirt is amazing, it’s the perfect length and fit – the kinda skirt you would wear to the theater on a perfect crisp spring evening.
The beaded black and white dress below is very Great Gatsby don’t you think? Natasha is in love… yet again… It’s so classy and chic, and the length makes it a tad flirty without going overboard. Perfect for a cocktail party or even a spring wedding.
The Alice and Olivia beaded clutch is the perfect fit! Of course you can go a bit adventurous and pair it with a pop of color – yellow would work well. Or red! Loving the zebra pint carpet, too, by the way.
Speaking of yellow, check out the yellow pants worn below by Carmen! Such a cute, yet badass, combo with the black and white cami! And the peeptoe booties? Gorgeous! We have a closer snapshot of it further down in this blog post.
Natasha went straight to the beaded jacket when she was picking out her outfits. Not only IS the detailing is amazing, it’s also versatile and can be dressed up and down. Jeans and killer heels is always an option. But shorts will also make an awesome ensemble! Again, yellow is always a great ‘neutral’ color to make your outfit pop. The Alexander McQueen shoes below is perfect for this outfit!
Carmen totally rocked this ensemble, don’t you think? That bamboo print jacket is so damn nice and the pop of magenta really made the whole outfit much more interesting. And again, those peep toe booties won our vote!
How cute are the shoes below? That’s actually Stacey’s profile, with her famous sunnies and red lips embedded into these adorbs flats! 
How pretty are these lace shoes below? Make it less feminine by teaming it with a pair of leather pants or leather skirt! or keep it elegant and simple with dark denim and this season’s must-have, the crop top.
Below are the peep toe laser cut booties we mentioned earlier, the one that Carmen wore with the yellow pants. How adorable that they’re all cut out into tiny little hearts!
Carmen and Natasha totally dig this tote bag. Perfect for work and perfect for everyday use because of its tough leather. We think the color is so gorgeous and unusual.
Remember what we said earlier about Alice and Olivia’s clothes being practical? Well the photo below captures that aspect perfectly. Many of her skirts and dresses have elastic very subtly incorporated into the design. How genius is that? We’ve all had our ‘I feel fat today’ moments, and this is such a clever way to combat those days. You can still have the nice slim fitting without feeling like you can’t breathe or eat.
There you have it! Our review on Alice and Olivia in Singapore. Admittedly, her clothes are a bit on the expensive side compared to the prices in NYC. However, her design is so unique and the fabrics used are all so yummy that we think it’s worth the price you pay for. We’ll let you be the judge of that, next time you go to ION Orchard, pop by to the Alice and Olivia boutique on level 3!
And check these sandals below! Again – GORGEOUS!! And we think the gold tip is a nice touch as well, especially if you’re a klutzy girl like we are and trip over just about anything. The gold tip will protect your sandals from chipping (cringe-worthy trip moments are not meant to be shared in this forum. Yes, some of them were very embarrassing!).
Ahhh the Fiat Bambino, quintessentially Italian. This bag might be a bit tricky to carry, but it would make the cutest home decoration!
Loved these necklaces above that would look perfect with a simple white tank top and jeans. You can find them here:
Carmen and Natasha were lucky enough to be invited to Audi Star Creation showdown, which is part of the Audi Fashion Festival, a much anticipated fashion event of the year in Singapore! This year, Audi Star Creation featured 12 super talented designers from the region who battled it out to take home take home S$10,000 each, a one-year internship with leading fashion retailer F J Benjamin, and the opportunity to launch their maiden capsule collection next year.
carmen & natasha 
