How I found my dream bag
In our Italian sojourn, Rome was the only touristy city that warranted shopping. It was the last leg of our journey, so we knew how much space our luggage had, and how much Euros our wallets had. Pretty good thing to do actually, to keep aside shopping for the last part of the journey, so that the trip is easy on the bag and back.
While all souvenirs were already bought from other cities, especially Venice, the bigger spend was still left for the famed Italian leather. Bags, shoes, jackets… I was looking forward to get anything that not just looked good, but felt good too. Because leather is my obsession. I can spend hours in a store selling leather products. And the right way to check the leather is to feel it. There are a lot of faux material floating around, especially in the mid-segment fashion brands, which I usually stay away from. A design itself cannot replicate leather’s longevity, texture, smell and feel. However good a design, I still detest fake (imitation, synthetic, polyurethane or leatherette) leather. And Rome had me drooling.
It was the last day, and Saloni and I were walking through all the markets in our quest for a good store. Though we did visit few stores but they were more fancy than we anticipated, boasting of having stolen popular designs by big brands like Gucci, Prada etc.
It was about 7:15pm. I had given up on my leather dream since the stores were closing down or had closed down already. It was winters, a low season anyway. We were walking along the market streets of Via Nazionale looking at cute stores, ice-cream parlors and curious shops, when suddenly my eyes met with a shop-display that had a rugged looking men’s bag. This store wasn’t fancy or upscale, but had such amazing products that it charmed my senses. The name of the store though defied the traditional feel – Rock n Blue!
The gentlemen manning the store were the owners, and it seemed to be their family business. They were dressed in 3 piece suit, looked dapper and charming. So charming that even in their broken English they could sell their products to us with so much conviction.
The designs were unique and leather was to die for! I took no time in selecting my bag, which I had already seen on window. It had such soft leather that one could just keep feeling it. The texture was rugged, making it look traditional yet not vintage, compact & stylish. A bag I can carry to work for years!
Saloni started off with a handbag, then liked couple of more, and we ended up purchasing 5 bags from them. And it was the quickest we’ve bought, since they had to close the store at 8pm. It was December 2015, and my bag is still as beautiful as ever.
Address: Rock n Blue,
Via Nazionale, 223, 00184 Roma RM, Italy.
https://www.facebook.com/rocknblueleatherrome/
