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

Hi Xtal, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’m a big believer that fashion is an important part of lifestyle. Even thought my background was in the finance, I’ve always had interest in the fashion industry. I wanted to find an area that I’m passionate about and can also make an impact. I started with daily lookbook on social media and it started to build a following that loved how I incorporated fashion with my trips and daily lifestyles. My personal brand CEClosest was launched as a women’s boutique, I created a fashion line that had my unique personal style. However, my ultimate goal is to create a lifestyle shop, with the pandemic and also my pregnancy, I decided to change CECloset to a family concept shop. One of my favorite items is hats, my lookbook with hats are the most popular. Our exclusive hat collection for both women and children was launched in 2021; along with our own children’s clothing. Our boutique has also started to work with a lot of well-known lifestyle brands around the world. Our items come together to tell the lifestyle story that I want to tell.

My other brand was launched early this year, called Otelier. I have worked on the concept of clean and minimalist skincare for two + years, my vision got more clear throughout the pandemic as well. What people (especially busy moms and entrepreneurs) really want is a simple yet effective routine that they can follow easily on consistent basis.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My background is in Finance and Client building. Even thought that and fashion sound completely opposite but one of my strongest trait is relationship building. I believe in being empathetic and always communicate with individuals with the way I would want to be reached. That has helped in so much in building my own businesses, where I talk to customers, vendors all over the world, and other businesses on daily basis. Over the years, we have built a lot of friendships with our customers and vendors! Sometimes, “brand loyalties” and “brand-stickiness” comes from good taste, a good eye in trends and the connection people build with the creators.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a big foodie and so are a lot of my close friends. Every city has many local spots and “hole-in-the-walls” that i would take my friends to when they come visit. I would probably take them to have brunch on Melrose, one of my favorite areas in the city. Full of unique characters! I love Repulique, we can grab their ube coconut cake there along with the mushroom toast. After lunch we will go thrifting in Wasteland, where I always can find really interesting vintage pieces. I just love that every vintage items come with unique stories behind it and they are truly one of a kind. For dinner we will go Kang Ho Dong in Ktown, still the best korean bbq shops for me. After dinner, we can go grab an old-fashion in Wolf & Crane in Little Tokyo. Oh! I have fell in love with the Silver Lake Pool and Spa, we did a couple weekend gateways with our daughter Emma. It’s great for family trips, and I love all their tropical plants (been obsessed with large plants lately too!)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my family and especially my husband, John, for giving me the opportunity to build my brands without any outside pressure. Both of my businesses are built towards my ultimate goal – a true lifestyle platform that has an unique style and can an impact. They allow me to test with different concepts and ideas for both businesses. My husband has a background in product strategy, we brainstorm on new ideas all the time over late night chats. Also. my daughter has inspired me so much! We do a lot of fun mom/daughter matches in our designs. I feel like my lifestyle brand is not just a business it’s our story together.

Website: www.CECloset.com www.Otelierskin.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/Xtalgra55

Image Credits: Both hats and outfits by CECloset label

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