I have never really thought of
Ruehl as a place to shop, but became intrigued by their fairly classy bag collection whilst browsing their site.
So, I decided to test-drive the
Ruehl Lane Satchel in Cream for a few days.
Pros: Sturdy construction with great materials (the washed Italian leather is beautiful), nice attention to detail (twisty leather zipper pulls, the o-rings have sections overlayed with a brass-tone metal), easy organization, great style.
Cons: $188 price tag is steep for a mostly fabric bag, looks very casual, still smelled heavily like the store (a.k.a. pre-pubescent boy wearing too much cologne) after a week.
In the end, the bag wasn't quite big enough for what I needed it for. The twill fabric body also made it too casual for my liking - I would have preferred it if it were an all-leather bag. Sadly, the
all-leather version doesn't come with the contrasting trim and retails for $328 (way too much for me to spend at the overpriced
A&F).
The store itself feels like a dark, brooding teenager and just as complicated. The maze of rooms is disorienting (have I been in this one yet?) and it's hard to check stuff out in the dim lighting. I realize this makes me sound like an old fogey, but I thought
Ruehl was supposed to cater to a slightly older crowd than
A&F, not
A&F-ers who happen to have richer parents. Most of the store associates looked way younger than their target demographic of 22-30 year-olds which probably makes anyone in that age range feel out of place when entering the store.
On the plus side, the store did have a few items on major sale (pretty floral camis for $12, marked down from $48) so maybe once in a blue moon, I will stop by to see if I can score some steals.
