I've checked them out a couple times at my local Neiman's. They look like a good investment piece- Extremely high quality, and the shapes are simple and basic, so they'd probably never look dated at all.
I read somewhere that the leather bags are treated w/ a special repellant that allows them to withstand up to 20 minutes in the rain w/out being damaged (don't know if this includes the acid raid we have here in L.A., though!)