What’s the Deal With This Floral Blazer?

Two people who operate in the relatively small world of women’s professional sports wearing the same Alice + Olivia floral blazer is nothing to bat an eye at. Accidental twinning happens as much in the work place as on the red carpet or among the street style set. We’re all influencing our own inner circles, right?

Three women—specifically women in sports—wearing a distinctive floral blazer is rare, but I’d still consider it a coincidence, a hazard of the online shopping era. Four women? Okay, sus. But five women in sports wearing the same bold blazer, with its shock of colorful screen-printed flowers and aggressive black trim? That’s a conspiracy, folks.

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This is the exact pickle we’ve found ourselves in after Rebel Wilson wore the Alice + Olivia Denny single-breasted blazer (currently on sale for $357) to Wimbledon on July 2. Though technically not a woman in sports, in this case, Wilson is a woman at sports, which was close enough to maintain my suspicion that something sponsored was afoot.

It all began on March 7, when the head coach of the University of Arizona’s women’s basketball team, Adia Barnes, wore a floral Alice + Olivia pantsuit while coaching the Wildcats as they were narrowly defeated by USC. (See Barnes in the full look here.)

Cathy Engelbert and Becky Hammon on May 14.

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Two months later, on May 14, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert wore the A+O blazer at the ring ceremony for the 2023 WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces. The event took place just before the home opener between the Aces and the Phoenix Mercury—and you’ll never guess what Aces head coach Becky Hammon was also wearing. Yep: The Denny single-breasted blazer.

According to sideline reporter Angel Gray, Hammon approached the scorers table ahead of the game to lament the coincidence. “I can’t believe the commissioner is wearing my coat,” she said, per Gray. “Of all the nights.”

A little over a month after the twinning moment between Engelbert and Hammon, Carli Lloyd brought the floral blazer across sports lines. The soccer star, who won the Olympic gold medal twice as a member of the U.S. women’s national team, wore the soon-to-be iconic floral blazer on-air alongside her fellow Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas on June 23.

Which brings us to today, July 2, and Wilson’s appearance at the premiere tennis tournament. Before we get too carried away, Glamour can confirm that the actor was dressed by the brand, which, to be honest, is to be expected. However, Alice + Olivia also confirmed that the four other women in sports—Barnes, Engelbert, Hammon, and Lloyd—each purchased the blazer independently. Which is…weird! But, I guess, not a conspiracy after all.

The Denny suit was released earlier this year as part of the brand’s spring/summer 2024 collection, and is available at retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdales—so it’s not exactly difficult to track down. Given that each of these women have public-facing jobs which require a professional wardrobe, I guess it’s not that crazy to imagine that they stumbled across the suit while looking for something more interesting that your average black, blue, or gray getup. This isn’t Wall Street (or the NBA), after all, so these women have a bit of room to play with pattern and color. And the floral number is an admittedly fun suit! As Stacey Bendet, creative director and founder of Alice + Olivia tells Glamour, “the Denny Blazer is a chic staple for all occasions!”