On a recent shopping trip with my daughter, we discovered a darling little boutique by the name of Olive Ole. Located in the new Virginia Peninsula Town Center in Hampton, Virginia, the cute shop may be small but it is packed with a few good values.
Personally, I had a hard time getting beyond the accessory sections. They had the cutest shoes I’d ever seen and at prices even I could afford. Of course, at 60, most of them were not appropriate for me. However, I could picture them looking adorable on either my daughter or daughter-in-law.
The belt section of this little store is utterly amazing. Name a color. They’ve got it. Name a style. They’ve got it. Name a width. They’ve got that too. You don’t often see so many cute belts under one roof. And those I can definitely wear.
Of course, I lingered over the jewelry counter. They had boxes and boxes of the cutest over-the-top cocktail rings. Had I the money I surely would have bought one in every style. However, being on a budget, I settled on a turquoise colored rose that was just too cute to pass up.
My daughter, who is a very picky shopper, found a lot of items in the store that she wanted to try on. She settled on a few cute dresses.
While they all looked adorable on her tiny little figure, in the end she didn’t make a purchase. It seemed they all had one major flaw – – a lack of material.
Every dress she tried on was runway chic. There were colorful prints, beautiful solids and trendy color blocks. The issue we had with them all is that they ended just below the derriere; barely covering those all important (and private) nether regions. The two of us were in agreement that such dresses were not appropriate for a mother of 36, no matter how cute her figure.
Consequently, other than my ring purchase, we walked out of the boutique without any bags. What a shame!
Maybe Olive Ole is meant for petite women or maybe taller women could risk wearing their dresses as tops. Maybe those under the age of 20, who don’t mind looking of questionable character, can wear the shop’s lovely little numbers. The one thing I can say for certain is that this shop probably isn’t for anyone over the age of 21 unless all you want is a few accessories.
Here is my summary review:
Quality of merchandise: 3 stars. This category is hard to rate. When it comes to style, this store’s merchandise has it in spades. However, when it comes to “wearability,” then it is somewhat limiting. Some of the fabrics are inordinately thin and won’t hold up after a few washings. On the other hand, that is a trend across the board today so one can’t fault this store alone. In the accessory department, on the other hand, this store is amazing.
Quantity of merchandise: 5 stars. Olive Ole is packed with clothing. So much so, in fact, that it can be difficult to actually view everything. I don’t like that myself but it doesn’t seem to bother the very young.
Prices: 4 stars. Both my daughter and I found the store’s prices to be quite good. Affordability isn’t the issue here.
Variety: 5 stars. The store is small so obviously it doesn’t have the variety of other, larger stores and there are several big ones to choose from in the same town center. Still, for its size, Olive Ole does a decent job of offering a variety of different colors, styles, and types of garments.
Store layout: 2 stars. I’m not a fan of packed stores and this one is packed to the gills. Plus, there doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to the layout. It’s a bit confusing.
Fitting areas: 5 stars. I didn’t try anything on but my daughter did. She had to wait awhile to get a booth because they don’t have many. Then again, the store is tiny so they couldn’t afford to waste the space on many more. Anyway, she reported the booths were roomy and clean. That’s something.
Neatness and cleanliness: 4 stars. The store is definitely well dept. It’s just over crowded.
Displays: 3 stars. I honestly don’t remember the displays. That is never a good sign!
Staff: 2 stars. They staff weren’t rude but neither were they helpful. They were just there, sort of.
Check out time: 3 stars. There is a central check out area with a single register I believe. There weren’t many people in the store the day I went so I checked out quickly. However, I can’t imagine the mess there must be when people have to line up. There won’t even be a place to stand with the clothing racks backed up to the register. This could prove to be a problem for the store.
Final rating: 3.6 stars out of five.
5 stars: Outstanding. The place to shop!
4 stars: Very good. It is worth the time and effort.
3 stars: Average. It depends on whether you want to try something new or go to your own favorite store.
2 stars: Below average. You might find something; but then again, you might not. Enter at your own risk.
1 star: Not worth the trip. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
