Eloise Grows Up At Alice + Olivia

Presented in the grand entrance of the storied Plaza Hotel, Alice + Olivia harkened back to the Jazz Age for fall '11. To be sure, designer Stacey Bendet's super-modern flourishes, from body-clinging sequins to high-waisted, full-bodied skirts, have no interest in looking backwards in time for inspiration, but the Gatsby era suited Bendet just right. While onlookers sipped champagne and nibbled V-Day cupcakes, Burlesque dancer Hazel Honeysuckle took A+O's sky-high platforms out for a shimmy (Our prediction: Chunky, striped heels will storm stores in 2011). And while Bendet introduced more separates into her collection, her true talent is the girly-but-not-saccharine dresses, where lace, feathers and embroidery abound. As Bendet, heavily pregnant with a baby girl, worked the room, Alice + Olivia mainstays like Johnny Weir, Becka Diamond, Kelly Rutherford, and Gabe Saporta rubbed shoulders (even Vanessa Hudgens made a frenzied appearance). The flirty, flapper-inspired collection featured Alice + Olivia at its best, and in the Plaza, no less. Eloise would have been proud.