Jason A. Smith | The Valdosta Daily TimesCiao Bella SC Boutique specializes in comfortable clothing for women. 

VALDOSTA — Before Valeka Carter opened a Ciao Bella SC Boutique, she spent her entire life in the world of fashion.

Carter’s mother was a fashion model in Miami, Carter said.

“I grew up watching my mother model in Miami,” she said. “I did a few photo shoots with her as well. The fashion industry has always been a part of my childhood.”

Like many children, Carter idolized her mother and learned about fashion from her.

“Seeing her put on clothes, and get pretty and take pictures, at my age — I was about 5 or 6 — that was, like, glamor,” she said. “That was a big time for me at that age. She always looked pretty wherever we want. She didn’t believe in going out with rollers in her hair or with her bedroom shoes on.”

Ciao Bella carries sizes small to 3X. It sells a few high-end pieces and a few consignment pieces as well.

“We are mainly focused on the woman being comfortable,” Carter said. “We may not have a lot of clothing that shows cleavage or is short up to the thigh.”

The business focuses on clothing for business women, church-going women and for women going out of town with their husband and need something to look “nice but sexy,” she said.

Ciao Bella carries clothing in the following styles: contemporary, the socialite look with sequins, church wear with suit jackets and business wear.

Carter separates the clothing by color and style.

“That way if a customer is looking for a certain style or color it is easy to find, or what we call: simple shopping,” she said.

Along with clothing Ciao Bella carries hats, purses, jewelry and jewelry ranging in event types from a night out to church wear, earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

Carter said she tries keeping her clothing prices reasonable, but does carry some high-end items.

“We aren’t here to break people,” she said.

Ciao Bella carries a few designer clothes, but Carter plans to carry more items as her business grows.

“We don’t carry designers you might hear of,” she said. “We will one day, and also, I am trying to get into designing my own clothes as well. Right now, we have several distributors from New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Miami that we order from.”

Carter admitted Valdosta wasn’t the first place she considered opening a store.

“We were originally headed to Atlanta Ga., but when we stopped through here we saw it was a goldmine to help grow the city of Valdosta,” she said. “And it would be something we could leave for our children. We saw the opportunity and we decided to stay here and build from here. … So after doing some research, we decided it would be more feasible to begin here.”

She said the cost of living in Valdosta is less expensive than it is in Miami or Atlanta, and the cost of owning a home and renting a building in Valdosta is more appealing than it is in a larger city.

“We saw Valdosta downtown as a place that (the city is) trying to build,” she said. “And after talking to other businesses they were trying to rebuild, we thought we could be a part of building Downtown Valdosta and it has been a huge success since we’ve opened.”

But the story doesn’t end with Carter. She is raising her daughter as her mother raised her.

“Watching my daughter grow up, it’s a part of her life,” Carter said. So, I decided to open a business and train her. She isn’t interested in doing it as a career, but teaching her the different qualities of clothing, when to buy in different seasons, what to wear in the different season … is something she can have under her belt if she ever decides to get into the industry.”

Ciao Bella SC Boutique, 103 S. Patterson St., Suite A., is open noon-7 p.m. Monday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; noon-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (229) 630-9468.

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1257.