Q&A With Stacey Bendet
Known for her quirky sense of style and love of vintage, Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet has made quite a name for herself in the fashion world. I mean, c’mon, when you’ve got A-list stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Taylor Swift wearing your stuff on the reg, you’re definitely doing big things.
That’s why we just couldn’t resist the opportunity to pick the playful trendsetter’s mind. So we decided, what the heck? We might as well ask her 10 random style questions. Here goes!
SheKnows: What's the most outrageous piece of fashion advice you've ever received?
Bendet: Hmm, I don’t know… I think I’m always such a crazy dresser on my own. One of the funniest things though was when I wore this green and black striped suit to a movie premiere a couple of months ago and someone made a comment. I thought it was like one of my more conservative outfits because it was a suit. It always stuck in my mind because I was like, really? I thought I was dressed so preppy.
SheKnows: We adored your recent collaboration with Magnum Ice Cream. If you had to pick one comfort food and design an entire collection around it, what would it be and why? What would the clothes look like?
Bendet: I think it would be an ice cream sundae! I think even just collaborating with ice cream in general is so fun because there’s always, you know… there’s sort of a flirtatiousness to it and a sexiness to it. It’s exciting. My dream collaboration would be to design dresses based around an ultimate ice cream sundae. You know, with like super cool sequins as sprinkles.
SheKnows: You're stranded on a desert island and can only bring five things from your closet — what do you grab?
Bendet: High heels, a beaded kimono, some sort of long, flowy, goddess-y, shipwrecked dress [with a beaded waist], another pair of high heels and I guess a bathing suit.
SheKnows: Name one style rule you think all women should break.
Bendet: Whenever people say that you can’t wear white after Labor Day. I think women look like angels in white all year-round. That’s one rule I’m always kind of like, “No way!”
SheKnows: We know you love vintage shopping, so can you tell us a little about your all-time favorite find?
Bendet: My all-time favorite find? Oh my God, I have so many. It’s extremely hard for me to answer that question, but my all-time favorite store — which closed — for vintage was Karen Elson’s in Nashville. She had the most insane, amazing vintage store, Venus & Mars. I went there with my friends one weekend and got the craziest, coolest stuff. She has impeccable taste. Everything in there was like a treasure. Over the weekend though, I bought an amazing vintage, avant-garde, burnout, kind of velvety dress.
SheKnows: Do you have any fashion pet peeves?
Bendet: Yes, flat shoes and sweatpants. I think they should both be banned!
SheKnows: You mentioned in a recent interview with Lucky mag that you’re such a pants girl. Pants are also how you got your start with Alice + Olivia. So tell us, how many pairs of pants do you think you actually own?
Bendet: Oh God, I don’t even know…100?
SheKnows: If you could have any TV or movie character’s wardrobe, whose would you chose and why?
Bendet: Probably Auntie Mame. Oh my gosh, she had amazing faded kimonos and robes and gowns. They’re killer.
SheKnows: Any idea what you’re going to be for Halloween this year? Or what your daughters will dress up as?
Bendet: Eloise is going to be a fairy, Scarlet is going to be Mickey Mouse and I usually let them tell me what I’m going to be.
SheKnows: Speaking of your girls, what have they taught you about fashion?
Bendet: There’s kind of like, this freedom of spirit that you don’t really have past age 5, but when you watch a child dress themselves… it’s just like they put things together that you would never think to do, and I think you learn from that. So that’s one thing. The other thing is that sometimes watching a child — especially a little girl — pick out her favorite of something, in this odd way, it’s always a best seller. Their eyes go to what’s pretty, not what’s cool or in style. It’s just what’s pretty. So I always want to see what they like.
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