By Alex Davidson
The co-owner of a new high-end fashion store on Bayside’s Bell Boulevard said it was his interest in clothes that led him to open a showroom with his fiancée three months ago.
“I have always liked nice things and I knew where to go with it,” Rinato Peros said of his store, Stilo NYC, during a phone interview last Thursday. “We are going to be here for awhile.”
At 43-17 Bell Blvd., Stilo carries high-end fashion lines from Los Angeles, New York and London, Peros said. The co-owner said the store’s target customers are between the ages of 21 and 35, although customers outside of those age ranges have been coming to the venue.
“It (the store) is really very trendy. It is like a SOHO-type store,” Peros said. He said a majority of the clothing at Stilo is priced between $89 and $300.
With the help of a longtime friend in Los Angeles, Peros was able to open the Bayside store that has both men’s and women’s lines. He said the West Coast friend provided him and his fiancée with background on how to open a store and stock emerging fashion labels.
In addition to clothes, Stilo sells accessories such as sunglasses and costume jewelry, Peros said.
Some of the clothing and accessory lines Stilo carries include designs from Prada, Diane Von Furstenberg, Chip-Pepper, Rock & Republic, Jesse Della Femina, Iceberg, Dolce & Gabbana, Ted Baker and Ben Sherman.
Peros said business during the last three months has been very good and that the clothing showroom is performing well for a new store. He said he and his fiancée plan to introduce men’s and women’s lines of shoes in the spring.
“There is nothing remotely close to us that deals with stuff like this,” Peros said of his competitors along Bell and Northern boulevards. “The clothing we have is for people who know about fashion.”
But Peros also said that new customers are able to learn about their fashion lines by interacting with the sales staff at Stilo. He said people have been becoming more familiar with clothing at the store by looking at and then researching some of the labels on sale at the Bayside store.
As for the future, Peros said he and his partners plan to open another location either in Malibu or on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. He said that customers should be on the lookout during the next few months at the store, as it continues to expand its inventory during the spring and summer seasons.
Reach reporter Alex Davidson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
