ENVIE DE POIS
03-07 Ion Orchard, tel: 6732-8395, daily, 10am to 9pm

If you have cash to splash, then multi-label evening wear boutique Pois is the place.

With over 70 brands at its three boutiques - Envie de Pois at Ion Orchard and Pois and Petite Pois at Paragon - you are sure to find the dress of your dreams.

But if only the best of the best will do, then make an appointment to visit Pois' private VIP salons, which were started in 2002. They house one-of-a-kind couture pieces from the best gown designers in the world, including Lebanese Elie Saab and Frenchman Herve L. Leroux.

The VIP rooms at Envie de Pois and Pois carry a different range of gowns from different designers, but arrangements can be made to transport the gowns to one location, says Sharon Ngan (Picture 3), 32, head of operations for the Pois Group.

"These are gowns that need to be housed properly. Having private rooms gives us the space to display them appropriately and create a private viewing environment for the most beautiful pieces in the store," says Ngan, of these exquisitely constructed and intricately beaded confections.

"Our clients, who include royalty and celebrities, also love the fact that they can shop privately and do not have to walk around."

The setting: The private 450 sq ft salon within Envie de Pois houses up to 30 one-of-a-kind gowns at any one time.

With spacious floor-to-ceiling mirrored dressing rooms, lush carpets and soft ambient light, this is a salon fit for a queen.

The experience: When you make an appointment to shop in the VIP room, it comes complete with a personal shopping service. The boutique's buyers or store manager will also bring in pieces from the entire store for your consideration.

Pois can also custom order, fit and do minor alterations, at no additional charge.

When the team goes on buying trips overseas, they often purchase gowns with specific customers in mind.

Also, you never have to worry about running into another woman wearing a similar gown at an event.

Ngan makes it a point to find out which event customers are attending to ensure there are no overlaps.

While such overlaps rarely happen, they do occur, especially for black tie gala events with a theme and everybody is looking for a gown to fit the theme, she says.

When such occasions occur, she will let the customer know if someone else has already bought a similar dress.

She says: "Can you imagine if two clients wore similar gowns, they would both be terribly upset. We have declined to sell gowns to prevent two women from wearing similar designs to the same place."

The merchandise: Exquisite couture-quality evening gowns from designers including Leroux, Saab, Reem Acra and Zuhair Murad, who are both Lebanese. Prices are from $5,000 to over $30,000.

The customers: Besides the stalwarts on the local socialite scene such as aesthetics doctor Georgia Lee, members of royal families of Middle Eastern and regional countries are customers as well.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.