Ruehl No.925 - Stores

Stores

The floor layout

A typical Ruehl No.925 was structured as three, two-floored or single floored brownstones. Artificial windows contained flower boxes, and a black awning on the 3rd facade read "RUEHL." Surrounding the facades were wrought iron fences. Resembling a home off of Greenwich Street, concrete walkways lined in front of the store, leading to the two entrances. Inside, the store was walled off into about more than ten rooms. Entering the main entrance, one entered the leather shop which contained high shelves of leather hand bags before treading down a large corridor, the gallery, which divided the men and women departments. The flooring was of dark wood. To emphasize a Greenwich home, the women's side of the store contained the rooms of a normal home. This included a family room surrounded by couches and chairs with Ruehl merchandise displayed. There was also a dimly lit bedroom which could be led to the back of the women's side of the store containing one more room known as the mud room. The mud room was filled with women's apparel with a crystal chandelier hanging low from the ceiling. The men's side of the store contained a large room holding Ruehl denim across the wall. This room was located on the first floor and could be overseen from a bedroom containing a balcony. The men's side of the store had the secondary rooms of a Greenwich home. Men's merchandise were located in three bedrooms and overflowed into the Garage. At the end of the hallway separating the women's and men's side, was a divan surrounded with books and modern art - the room was known as the conservatory. Art and marketing photography were displayed as if in an art gallery. Merchandise was found on actual bookshelves and tables and highlighted with spot lighting and lamps. Located in the back corner of the store was the cashwrap, also known as the Garage, and was designed to have brick walls, dim/flickering lighting, and windows to represent the outside using intelligent lighting techniques. CDs were available for purchase and some stores had a burning fireplace.

The atmosphere

The atmosphere was to make the shopper feel in a unique place, a "private home." The music mixed for the brand attempted to employ soft modern house/lounge/downtempo tunes with jazzy beats to personify the jazz-influenced musical heritage of the Village. The modern art displayed instore was nostalgic to modern artists living in the early-20th century Village. The dim lighting projected an upscale image, and so did the lingering opulent scent of Signature. In A&F's words, "The classic décor and opulent ambience create a luxurious lifestyle inside this romantically lit West Village brownstone."