*By Kate Gill*
Handbag heaven is real ー and affordable.
At the very least, consignment brand the RealReal has built a prototype for retail paradise in West Hollywood, Calif., for its new brick-and-mortar location.
Cheddar's own Alyssa Julya Smith took a tour of the sprawling store, lined wall-to-wall with luxury handbags, clothing, and accessories.
The RealReal, which began online, functions as a resale vendor for worn, high-end designer duds. According to the brand's chief authenticator, Graham Wetzbarger, the new location is "all about discovery."
"It has a tactile sensation ー people can come and touch, talk to our experts, and really explore," Wetzbarger said.
But make no mistake, presentational as the store may be, "it's not a museum," Wetzbarger said. "It's not an art gallery. I want you to come in and touch and play, feel the quality of the leather, the quality of the cashmere."
In a sense, Wetzbarger's team has fashioned a classroom that customers can actually afford to experience.
In addition to the RealReal's West Coast store, the brand has a second brick-and-mortar location in New York City's SoHo neighborhood.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-realreals-chief-authenticator-teaches-us-how-to-evaluate-designer-products).
Widespread flash flooding hit New York City on Friday and city residents were dealing with financial losses and molding in the aftermath. Cheddar News took a deep dive into what to do to when dealing with storm cleanup.
A federal agency has sued the restaurant chain Chipotle, accusing it of religious harassment and retaliation after a manager at a Kansas location forcibly removed an employee's hijab, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women.
In a statement Sunday, the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund said it would comply with the order but remained confident of prevailing in the lawsuit, which was brought by conservative activist Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights.
The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.