Russell & Bromley

Went on Friday afternoon with the intention of buying one or two pairs of the Chelsea Boots after seeing them in a magazine (£215 each). Walked in and was looked at like something the woman had stood on. Gave her the shoes. She stood in the middle of the store for about 90 seconds with them in her hand then put them back. I sat for about 5 minutes unsure whether she had actually done anything with them then thought «What am I doing?» and went somewhere where someone cared about what I bought. GRIM. Won’t visit again. Nice to see that everyone is treated badly here though. I won’t take it personally!

Never again… I am very picky when it comes to shoes and being in London — England is a privilege in this sense. I thought to try R&B and bought a loafer. At the same price I can point other outlets in the UK. Long story short, the sole damaged in less than 9 months… when emailed them they did not apologised for their bad manufacture instead they said we can advise you with best way to repair and cost. Will be happy if they just admitted that this shoe was a failure. as I said never again.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I actually spent money at the store, but as with the previous reviewer, have roughly the same view of it.
I was looking for boots for a friend. I was on vacation, she took care of the rest of my family and house while I was gone (2 cats and a fish)… and had done so on lesser occasions as well, so I was looking for a fitting gift (regardless of the fact that she doesn’t have anything else to wear with it).
A pair of boots, conservative, black, and much cheaper that I imagine I would have had to pay if I got it at Harrod’s.
I walked in, obviously looked like a tourist as the bitchy lady that was standing at the desk didn’t bat an eye at me or think I was going to be doing any real shopping… so I once my wife and I had made up our minds, I had to stand in front of her and ask her if she worked there, and got a rude response.
Undeterred by stupidity, rudeness or whatever else I might say about her, I was on a quest to get an important gift, and for Russell and Bromley’s sake, that outweighed almost everything else.
After ordering an apparent stock girl to track down what I was looking for, the goods were placed in a nice box, in a nice bag, and I was on my way.
My friend took the time to take care of my beloved family and house, I can tolerate some snooty retail wage cougar… after all, I KNOW there is Unilocal in London, and I get the last laugh.

Try as I might I don’t think I’ll ever understand Russell & Bromley. Understandable perhaps given that it’s a shoe store whose product is undeniably aimed at those more well heeled than I.
Nevertheless, I ventured into the New Bond Street store earlier today in search of the unlikely grail, sandals in the middle of winter, and left, as I always do, dejected and confused.
This is a label which charges up to £400 for a pair of leather ankle boots and yet feels like somewhere your nana would shop. I’m afraid if I had £400 to spend on shoes I’d hit Louboutin or Blahnik not granny friendly Russell and Bromley.
Some of the designs are quite fashion forward, said ankle boots being surprisingly directional and clearly very well made. Russell and Bromley is just not my style. Maybe in thirty years or so.