Sylvia Helton isn’t shy about admitting that she loves to shop.

Fortunately, shopping for the latest fashions for women, accessories, gift items and bath and body products is part of the job of being a successful boutique owner.

Celebrating 23 years in business on Main Street in Downtown Grapevine, Helton’s Ooh la la! Smart & Sassy Fashion has thrived as one of the longest-operating clothing boutiques on Main Street in Historic Downtown Grapevine while other independently owned shops and businesses have come and gone.

Helton brings business acumen that she says helped her shop survive.

Despite her love of beautiful and unique clothing, particularly with eye-catching prints, Helton never envisioned herself as a small business owner. 

Helton was born to Jewish parents who had settled in Cuba after fleeing persecution in Europe. Her mother’s family was from Poland and her father moved to Cuba from Belgium. 

After her father’s untimely death from an illness when she was only 1 year old, Helton and her mother immigrated to Miami, where she grew up.

“My mother taught Spanish and French to support us,” she says.

From an early age, Helton showed aptitude for math. After earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Tulane University in New Orleans, she went on to earn her MBA at the University of Texas.

She launched her career in the corporate world with a lucrative job at a big accounting firm in New York City. In 1984, she moved to Dallas to work for an international oil company. The company closed several years later, and Helton took a job in 1990 as a systems analyst for American Airlines, a position that involved working on capacity, route and crew planning.

“I loved everything about that job,” she says. “I loved working for the airline.” 

Nevertheless, when American Airlines offered a buyout to reduce staffing, Helton took the package. That led her to try business ownership as a franchisee for a company that taught computer classes to children in daycare centers and private schools.

After marrying her husband, Ed, in 1993, having a baby a few years later and moving to Southlake, she returned to the corporate world in 1997 with an analyst job at the airline reservation system, Sabre, which was located a few miles from her home. A few years later, she went back to American Airlines.

But the timing was unfortunate. The 9/11 terrorist attack occurred a few months after she returned. She was laid off as air travel fell off due to the tragedy.

Needing an income, she decided to try entrepreneurship again. This time she chose to make and sell beaded jewelry.

While making frequent visits to a bead shop in downtown Grapevine, she walked past Timeless Boutique, a clothing shop with items in the window that caught her eye.

“I told myself that I am not going in there because I don’t have a job and don’t need clothes,” she says.

But then she got the idea to walk into the shop and ask the owner if she would sell her beaded jewelry in the shop. Not only did Helton score a sale, but she ended up buying the business. Fortuitously, the owner was planning to close.

“It was the tiniest space,” she says. It was also divided between the boutique and an attorney’s office, who was also the landlord. She made it work and opened Ooh la la! as a clothing shop in 2002.

Before long, the attorney-landlord decided to move out so Helton broke down the dividing wall and rented the rest of the space.

A few years later, she learned the Rick Rack Market about a block away was closing its doors. She pounced on the opportunity to expand into a 2,400-square-foot space.

Rick Rack Market sold tableware, food and coffee. As part of the deal to acquire the space, Helton had to buy the inventory.

“I moved it all to the Timeless location down the street,” she says. Soon afterward, she sold that business to Holy Grounds, a shop specializing in Christian books, religious gifts and flavored coffee.

In her new space, Helton began expanding her inventory beyond clothing. She added gift items, shoes, handbags, jewelry and tiny Bluetooth speakers, which have become one of her best sellers.

She bought large vintage-looking display cabinets that complement the historic building, which houses the business. Built in 1890, the building served as the Grapevine post office from 1945 to 1960. It was also a florist and tailor shop and a variety store.

Now as one of the older businesses on Main Street, Helton has hit her stride with a loyal customer base and a steady stream of visitors to Grapevine for festivals and weekend outings.

Over the years, she has also offered special events such as holiday shopping, Galentine celebrations, fashion shows and Botox parties.

While she has more competition these days from other clothing stores, Helton sets her business apart by specializing in clothing that stands out with sequins, appliques and embellishment.

“That’s a lot of what my customers like,” she says.

Although her career took a drastic turn, she is pleased with how it all turned out.

“I have the best location, the best customers and the best landlord,” she says. “And, I get to shop all the time.”