AF's Cheeky Cousin

I'm a big fan of the t-shirts at Ruehl, the slightly higher end brand of Abercrombie and Fitch. The sizes run bigger, the jeans actually fit my butt, and they only pipe half as much cologne through the air conditioning vents. So, on average, I only throw up twice while walking through the shop. I was sad to hear that Ruehl will no longer exist, so we paid it one last visit while I was visiting my friend Rhonda in L.A. last week.

This news is not about Ruehl though, it's about Gilly Hicks, A&F's newest creation. This company is truly the Britney Spears of the retail business. They continue to invent new stores to attract the young teen, and I fall for it every time. I'm in the center of the ring just like a circus.

They play like they're from Sydney, and when you walk in the front door they say, "Welcome to Gilly Hicks, the cheeky cousin of A&F." As annoying as the 16-year old "cousins" are that work there, and as skimpy as their uniforms are (they make the girls wear navy and white combos of outfits that are as close to underwear as their underwear is), I have fallen hard for them.

The decor is amazing. It does resemble Ruehl in that it is very dimmly lit, with only spotlight lighting over the displays. Everything is dark wood in the likness of a British colonial manor house (part of their ficticious story), with incredible cabinet work, and wallpaper tiles that brighten up specialty rooms. The whole store is set-up in vignettes, much like Victoria's Secret was before they went main stream, switched to laquer displays, and started knocking off the
already offensive Juicy suit.

Most of the bras are the molded, padded ones, that are not really my thing. However, in one little spot they have what they call lingerie. The other sections all hold underwear. This is how they try to get away with selling underpinnings of this nature to tweens, who probably all have bigger boobs than I do anyway since they've been eating hormone milk, overfed chickens, and Beefaroni since birth.

The lingerie area is impressive. It's the fanciest part of the store, and the items are really beautiful. I have only paid for really nice underwear a few times, and garments equal that of La Perla and Agent Provacateur. All lace, with gorgeous hardware that is easy to slide on perfect cottony straps. I bought two bras, and two pairs of knickers. The bra and underwear set I bought lovely ties in front and in back, and make me feel like I could pose for Jacques Magazine (minus 40 pounds, with a nose job, and better hair of course). Unfortunately, the lingerie isn't terribly cheap, but it isn't terribly expensive either. The bras are about $38, and bottoms about $14-16. The underwear section is less expensive, but you need to pad it up if you buy in that area.

This place was actually so vast, (and dark), that I lost Rhonda. She has a similar condition to me, in that she is averse to cologney stores, so she was dashing through the middle perfume section to get away from it (at a rather high speed I should add), and I was busy getting glamoured by the place, and we split. I searched for about 20 minutes for her, and had all the school girls in the place helping me. I finally left hoping she went outside, and sure enough she was out there leaving me a message. It really put a spell on me.

As a side note, the perfume at this place is different than its woodsy cousin. I can't say I enjoy it any more though. It is very feminine, but it reminds me of the smell I have when I feel like I might stink, and decide to put deoderant on. Or, when someone else smells, and they try to mask it with perfume. If you enjoy the scent of slightly smelly pits, covered by honeysuckle, this is the fragrance for you.

There are not too many of the stores, but they do sell online, so you can buy there, and I do recommend the lingerie section of the site where the fancies are (ladies, your men will thank you).