Meet Ally Melideo | Owner & Designer, Sur La Côte

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ally Melideo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ally, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think being super authentic to my brand’s niche has really helped with our success. I’ll see some trends come and go, and of course it’s tempting to hop on to whatever is happening in fast fashion at the moment, but in the long run I just want to be true to myself and what the brand is really about. Having our main focus as resort wear while still being able to slowly branch out in other directions has really worked for us.

I also think being extremely hands on (almost to a fault sometimes) is an important factor behind our success. We have a really amazing returning customer rate which I’m so proud of. I think it’s mainly due to how detail oriented I am regarding fit, fabric, feel, and all design aspects. It has definitely been an option to either outsource some of that or have someone else handle parts of the design process, but I literally cannot let go. I need to know that when someone tries on any of our items that they are going to be impressed with the quality, feel, and fit.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I always knew I wanted to start my own business but I never would’ve guessed fashion! I think I got lucky with the timing because the industry has changed so much, even though it’s saturated it’s more approachable now than ever before. Social media has obviously had a huge impact on how people shop and so many consumer habits. I’m definitely not saying it’s easy, but the approach can be way less traditional than years ago when you needed to have large retail relationships, wholesale contacts, buyers, sales reps, etc. We started out a few years ago only selling these amazing lounge pants with custom textile designs & material. I learned so much from that first production run. Actually the entire first year felt like a business crash course. I made so many mistakes but it was the most amazing learning experience and I really wouldn’t take anything back because that’s not how life works! If I didn’t learn certain lessons years ago, I would be dealing with similar issues now. For anyone just starting out, I would definitely recommend keeping the collection small and focusing on DTC. Another huge lesson I learned is that a brand is truly an ecosystem. Every single aspect effects everything else. Your gorgeous images won’t make a difference if your ads aren’t running properly, an influencer post won’t create sales if your conversion rate is low, I could go on and on!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Of course it totally depends on the person but if one of my best friends was in town visiting LA our itinerary would look something like this: Morning hike at Will Rogers then lattes at Alfred’s in the Palisades Village. Then we could grab lobster rolls at Broad Street Oyster and walk across the street to my favorite beach in Malibu. For dinner we would go to Piccolo Venice on Abbot Kinney (get the fig tortelli) and then go to Desert 5 Spot for some country music and dancing. A perfect day! I’ve also been wanting to check out De La Nonna and Let’s Go Disco right next door. To show them around the east side, I would do a cozy lunch at Loupiotte then walk around Vermont Ave and go to Skylight Books. One day we would definitely have to shop around Melrose Place, lunch at Zinque or Cecconis, and then watch a movie at the Melrose Rooftop Theater. For a luxurious and cultured day, I would take them to the Getty Villa (beyond stunning) and then do a long gorgeous lunch at the Maybourne Hotel’s Terrace restaurant with lots of wine.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people & organizations that I’m grateful for! LA Fashion Source, my amazing manufacturing team that is so detail oriented and dedicated to providing high quality production. The talented influencers and content creators that we work with who understand we are a small brand that doesn’t have a huge budget! So many incredible photographers that take time to understand my vision and execute it to perfection: @stefaniemphoto, @averyswail, @hegoakproductions & @abigailtulenko just to name a few!

Website: https://shopsurlacote.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_surlacote/

Image Credits
Stefanie Marie Avery Swail Mason Rose Melanie Mauro Lex Pilato