MEET STACEY BENDET

Stacey Bendet, a New York native, always loved pants—from the skinny and slim to the belled and bell bottomed. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, she garnered herself quite a collection of denim. To quote Stacey, "stacks and stacks of it." And after years of vintage shopping, tweaking, tailoring, snipping and sewing, she set out to make her own pants. Something unique. Something different. Something Stacey.

And with that, alice + olivia was born. alice + olivia launched in 2002 at Barneys NY and was an instant success—everyone wanted Stacey's perfect pants. "Stacey Pants," as her friends still call them, became an overnight phenomenon. In 2003, Stacey added a cashmere sweater collection as the perfect complement to her pants. And the following year, she launched a line of well-received swimwear, and a menswear line called anthony + mo.

Less than two years later, alice + olivia expanded into seasonal collections in popular retailers worldwide and launched its first-ever boutique, which opened in East Hampton to rave reviews. In April 2006, the first alice + olivia Los Angeles boutique opened on trendy Robertson Boulevard, followed by a flagship store in New York's Bryant Park. There are now five alice + olivia stores.

Payless ShoeSource approached Stacey to create an exclusive line of super chic shoes to debut at New York Fashion Week's Spring 08 event. A forthcoming alice + olivia for Payless Collection will be available at select Payless stores and online at www.payless.com this fall.