Meet Sydney Oliver of West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Oliver.

Hi Sydney, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m originally from NYC but now I am a Covid transplant here in sunny LA. I am still bi-coastal but love each city.
I guess you could say it was a comedy of errors on how I ended up starting my business. I have always been an entrepreneur. I worked for over 30 years in New York City, owning my own talent agency. I represented stylists, photographers, hair and makeup artists, along with other talent, always in fashion. My agency had to close during Covid, due to no productions being booked. I moved to California to an investment property I owned in Palm Springs. I sold that as soon as the real estate market was at a high and moved on to LA! I am a city girl after all. Always having a love for wardrobe and fashion, my own stylists I represented in NYC borrowed and rented from me for photo shoots. That became another business in and of itself for five years in New York, renting to Stylist throughout the city. I even rented for several films, including the movie Marry Me with J Lo. It gave me the idea to sell off my own collection here in LA. Once I started selling on line, I really got into it and was looking to find a brick and mortar store. Once I found a cute little spot for my store, which is also a long but funny story, it all began. The store is located on N La Cienega between Melrose and Melrose place, named “CROUTON”. From there I took on a few consignments, but basically I like to source everything myself. I’ve learned middle men only cause stress!
The world of sustainable fashion has changed so much and it’s very difficult to stay saavy and knowledgeable about all the technology to be able to work with so many new platforms and opportunities to sell. I love having a brick and mortar store to represent our brand, on top of having the online presence. Never thinking I would live on the West Coast, especially because I feel New York City is one of the fashion capitals of the world… I feel I’ve brought a little bit of New York and a pinch of Paris to West Hollywood!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a pretty smooth road (not considering working through Covid). I had a larger store at first, but it was in an odd location where no one could find us. I kept searching and eventually found my perfect tiny space. It’s more in an area where we are visible for shoppers and people walking by. Plus, I have a huge outdoor space, which triples my selling power and there’s no better weather than LA to do this. I won’t say there haven’t been struggles, the fires have taken its toll on LA, the movie industry is changing at a rapid pace due to streaming, immigration issues obviously affect so much too. LA is going through a lot. I feel more people are having trouble spending on luxury products, that’s also why I feel sustainable fashion is the way to go, not to mention it’s obviously so much better for the environment. I also like to not only have extremely high-end pieces but to dabble in mid level ready to wear, there’s always something for everyone, no matter the budget!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am not sure if this falls under artist, I don’t think so. We are indeed a solid brick and mortar business and online seller. We are a retail business, selling women’s designer, resale clothing, shoes, accessories, and designer vintage as well, at amazing prices. We are in a really fun environment and don’t take ourselves too serious. We’re always up to give a bargain and we love meeting new clients and having a laugh along the way. Plus we bundle, the more you buy the more you save.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
That’s a funny question. I’ve always been able to open businesses and find success.
That doesn’t always make you happy because it may not be what you love, but it pays the bills. I can tell you my true success comes from creating something from the ground up and then not having it feel like work. It stems from having a passion and seeing your vision and ideas come to life. Of course, making money is paramount since we all have to survive. At the end of the day, I get the utmost feeling of success from seeing my ideas and dreams come to reality. Feeling passionate about something you can also call your “work” is a huge success for me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shopcrouton.com
• Instagram: @shoppecrouton
• Facebook: Shoppecrouton/facebook
• Yelp: Crouton Designer Resale
• Other: Shoppecrouton on WhatNot app