Tech Exec Turned Fashion Designer Brings Her Cool Boutique to Texas: Clothes for Real Women Matter

Sacrificing comfort for style was never an option for Ruti Zisser. So, after years as an executive in the tech industry, Zisser decided to launch a clothing line that honored both. The Israeli American designer’s namesake label, Ruti, follows three simple rules: It must be cool, it must be flattering, and it must be practical. It’s a recipe for effortlessly edgy clothing, a natural fit for California, where the brand launched in 2009 and now has five boutiques.

This winter, Ruti ventured beyond the Golden State to open its first store in Texas at Dallas’ NorthPark Center.

The boutique, located directly across the hall from Louis Vuitton, shares the cool vibe of the clothing. There are racks of billowy shirt dresses, unusual trousers and draped tunics in every shade of neutral; an edited selection of chic jewels, shoes, and bags from Israeli designers; and modern, less-is-more decor.

The designs aren’t anything groundbreaking, but they offer a new kind of practical clothing – something comfortable and easy, yet unexpected.

“I’m visiting a lot of stores and when I design the clothing I really have a few of the customers on my mind,” Zisser says. “My biggest inspiration is people, like real people.”

Zisser designs with a variety of body shapes and ages in mind. Some of the clothing works for both plus and straight size women, and everything is made to “flatter a woman over the age of 35 without making her look like she’s trying too hard.”

The opening of the NorthPark boutique marks the first time that Texans will be able to shop Ruti in person, as the brand only sells through its own stores and website.

“We wanted to keep it very boutiquey as much as we can,” Zisser says. “So we’re not going to do any wholesale although we get a lot of requests from companies, we wanted to keep it in our store so we can keep our aesthetics and the price.

“We want to keep everything the way we want it.”