Curated Couture in Beverly Hills

Fashionistas in the know aren’t traipsing down Rodeo Drive, Wilshire Boulevard or Melrose Place for the latest couture these days. Instead, they’re slipping off to a bijou boutique hideaway tucked inside two of the most iconic hotels in Beverly Hills.

Stroll into fashion veteran Cio Soler’s Sita 1910 at The Peninsula Beverly Hills (opened in 2022) and The Vault by Sita 1910, which opened in December at The Beverly Hills Hotel, and you’re instantly transported to a jewel box of tantalizing treasures. But don’t expect to discover the latest from Brunello Cucinelli, The Row and Celine here. Instead, Soler stocks her shelves primarily with clothing and accessories she sources from locally based artisans and emerging designers across the globe. You’ll also discover home decor, estate fine jewelry and premium vintage designer pieces, including Moschino designs once worn by Princess Diana and more than 3,000 mint-condition Vogue magazines. Other finds include a fine-tuned selection of swimwear, cashmere sweaters and ready-to-wear.

“The challenge with retail today is everything is abundant and there is no storytelling. People are disenchanted,” Soler tells The Hollywood Reporter. “When clients walk into Sita, we hear them exhale — they don’t know where they are — it’s like Fashion Narnia.”

While department stores and established retailers struggle to meet sales projections — with former behemoth Fred Segal permanently closing its doors in 2024 — Soler’s two “spaces,” as she prefers to call them (and private showroom headquarters available by appointment only), are making noise with deeply curated merchandise she refers to as “exquisite or essential.” Sita 1910’s success is surprising, given that she is not online, eschews social media, asks that visitors do not take photos or post anything without permission, refrains from offering sales or discounts, and refuses to let spreadsheets dictate her buying patterns.

“On paper, we shouldn’t survive. We’re surviving because we have a tight-knit community of designers,” says Soler, who began her career designing handmade greeting cards. “The thinking in retail is typically, how fast can you get it to me and how fast will it sell?” Instead, Soler is more concerned about nurturing long-term relationships with her creators and clients. “It’s not easy, but it’s a more powerful way of working with the retail formula,” she adds.

Soler, who’s of Peruvian descent, launched her business in 2021 and named the stores after her grandmother Rosita. It caters to everyone from influential women on Wall Street and Silicon Valley to stylists, interior designers, style enthusiasts and celebrities, many of whom come to quietly indulge in personal shopping for themselves or with their families in a private refuge that’s safe and familial. “Our guests and patrons already have it all, but it’s not about being rich — they’re evolved, unfussy and don’t believe in seasons or trends,” she adds. “The focus here is around personal style, not fashion trends.”

And this philosophy is evident in the creators and brands Soler collaborates with, the majority of which are hidden gems, including Letanne, a mother-daughter duo from Paris specializing in hand-knit pieces, and Tim Ryan, a London-based artist known for his one-of-a-kind, ready-to-wear fringe designs.

“The industry norms and demands that can weigh so heavily on small businesses [like ours] are not part of the picture [with Cio] at all,” says Ryan. “It’s all about her personal passion and her willingness to share that.”

This story appeared in the April 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.