Beating Roodkapje with a burger in ROT(T)TERDAM

Our street style shoot didn’t go as planned… While walking through Rotterdam, on what might have been the coldest day of the year, we only encountered people wearing Uggs and fur-trimmed jackets. We’re blaming it on the cold right now, because it would be a bit disappointing if this was all the street style Rotterdam had to offer. Never the less, we met some nice people at the Meent! The old City office is being redeveloped, but to make sure the street will still be nice for shopping and wandering about, upcoming artists get a chance to show their work in the empty stores surrounding the old building. The initiative ROT(T)TERDAM was formed by Roodkapje, an art platform interested in new and exciting artists, willing to challenge and contribute to the social debate. The project uses about 700m2 and calls itself a cultural supermarket. Artists rotate in a small shop to show and sell their work, there are two galleries for workshops or temporary sales and a small burger shop for biological or vegetarian hamburgers. They show movies, curate events, parties and cd releases. If you’re looking for art and culture in a new and interesting way, you can definitely find it here.

Sander, de van der Poort in Duran//vanderpoort

Today we found a really cool art exhibition and store by Duran//vanderpoort called Enlightenment. They look for designers who take a lead in this new era of Intuition.

One of our favorite pieces was a light object called ‘Naked City Light’ made by architects Natascha Madeiski ( Italy) and Alexander Graef (U.K.).

Another great collection was by StudioRUIG, a clothing-label from Eindhoven that works with leather and soft jerseys resulting in sober fashion for wayward types (that’s us!) They also love moustaches, which we also do!

PIGBLACK, StudioRUIG

  
Also a designer based in Rotterdam is sold in the store: the young (only 21 years old!) and upcoming Ruby Verhoeven. 'The colour palette with an indispensable eye for detail, shows well thought combinations and the esthetic value of one-tone.' The details might not be seen on the first sight and you'll only see a simple dress, but as Ruby herself says: 'Take a closer look, and you might see what I see..'

Our next stop was a wintersale next to the beatburger organized by Zone 5300. They sell comics, art and other fun things. Angelika bought a really nice art print and Lotte was in love with a Superman Comic. The comics were sold by Comiquest, who is opening a comic bookstore in Rotterdam coming spring. He was nice enough to have his picture taken by us. Go see his store when it opens!

Comiquest

The nice people of Zone 5300

 We ended up eating a nice luch/dinner at the beatburger. They not only sell great biological burgers, but also make tasty pancakes, chestnuts and prosecco with a cherry. We’ll end with some pictures of our fancy feast!                          

Macarones and color coordinating

Today I had a nice discovery at my local supermarket. Christmas is almost upon us, which means nice food, glitter decoration and fuzzy feelings. My supermarket likes to get fancy during this time and stocks on elegant food like amuses, Belgian chocolate desserts and this year also Macarones! I got all excited about these delicious and colorful treats, so I bought them. I have to be honest here, I’ve never really eaten one before, but after seeing them in a ton of tv-shows, magazines and everywhere on the internet, I was pretty curious. These were filled with vanilla icecream, which is not the standard for macarones according to Wikipedia, but they are quite tasty! I’ve added a picture for your entertainment. I already ate two and decided to text my boyfriend about them enthusiastically, which made him want to eat them as well. Now I have to wait for him to come home, so we can share the rest.

They're just staring at me... Maybe I should just eat one more? 

These tasties made me think about how great arranging on color is. I love big color coordinated walls filled with books, clothing or more food. I’ve tried to do this with everything I own, but for some reason it never turns out as great as on the pictures. My books, dvd’s and even spices are just on alphabet, which is kind of boring, but it works. Arranging and organizing things makes me really excited, I can spend hours just rearranging things on made-up orders. I’m still hoping to get a job in a library so I can color coordinate the whole thing all day long.

Things I love Thursday

The next time I wake up, I want it to be to the sound of you making coffee, with the warm, salty sea; its waves crashing over me.

— Seabear

This Sunday Seabear played in Bitterzoet in Amsterdam. They were absolutely amazing. Seabear must be the cutest band on the planet. They seem to have a blast on stage and to be real good friends. Even though the singer  stays in grumpy character during the whole concert. But maybe that's good, because it would be enirely too sweet otherwise.

Esmée and I gushed over the two talented girls in the band. Sóley and Ingibjörg. Inga has mad style and is an amazing violinist. Sóley has her own CD too. It’s called Theater Island and you can listen to it here. The violin on the CD is played by Inga.  

Other pretty amazing things were:

Wishing for a bag of candy and finding it in my pocket, these blankets! by Vík Prjónsdóttir. An Icelandic collective of designers, inspired by myths and stories from the past. They share a fascination for nature, believe in the beyond and respect the hidden world. Photoshopping with Esmée, looking forward to our street style shoot next Sunday (which will be scary and fun) check back for this next week!, boutiques.com - which is too convenient and makes it easy for you to find everything you'll want to buy on the Internet.

Little April March

The 1960's: a time of hippies protesting, the countercultural- and social revolution and the rise of feminism. It's in my opinion an interesting decade, where a lot of popular culture finds their origin.
Lately I find myself prefering the avant-garde 60's culture coming from France. The music is shameless while still bubblegum poppy, the movies are a bit boring but show so much style and the style-icons themselves are still an inspiration for modernday fashion. That must be what April March thought when she made (toghether with France 60's icon Serge Gainsbourge) the album 'Paris in April'.


April March on the cover of 'Chick Habit'.



April March, lepop.de

 The album actually came out in 1996, but sounds exactly how it would sound if it was made and produced in France in the1960's. Following stints with several bands, Elinore Blake launched a solo career under the April March guise and recorded material throughout the '90s and early 2000s, which hark back to the pre-rock days of European pop and French yé-yé music. It fooled me and I didn't believe it when my boyfriend told me this girl was born in 1965 in the United States. The second picture is pretty obvious a recent one, but if you look at the video below you will know what I mean.

The English version of this song, called 'Chick Habit' was used as a soundtrack for the movies 'But I am a Cheerleader' and 'Death Proof', so that is why it might sound familiar.

The Fashion of Oscar Wilde

While writing my thesis about Modern Identity and Oscar Wilde, I got a little sidetracked. One of the articles I read was about his trials which made me appreciate him even more. Just for fun, I’ll give you a little background information. Oscar Wilde was an Irish writer and maybe the most known Dandy of our time. Living in a period where being gay wasn’t accepted, his life was a bit difficult. He was married to Constance Lloyd and had two kids, but was also seeing younger men on the side. Off course he never admitted to being gay or having anything but a student/teacher relationship with other men, he was still convicted. The main beneficiary in this trial was his last lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, nicknamed Bosie. My feelings for Bosie are well explained through the Hark a Vagrant comics, he was a real stinker (Oscar&Bosie1, Oscar&Bosie2).

Oscar Wilde and Bosie

But enough with the history lecture, let’s move on to fashion! Oscar Wilde wasn’t only a great writer, he was also a really cool fashion icon, not just for men, but also for women. He was an avid supporter of the Dress Reform Movement in the 19^th century which broadened a woman’s  closet with pants ( Say ‘thank you Oscar Wilde’, next time you wear those comfy boyfriend jeans). The dress Reform also worked the other way around for Oscar, clothes weren’t gender biased. Everyone should be able to wear anything they like. If you take a closer look at old portraits of Oscar Wilde, you’ll see that that is exactly what he did. Wearing a lot of velvet and silk in nice colors, he looked great, but kind of strange for his time. 

 

How great is his hair?

Just look at that cape!

I love his hats and capes and wavy hair and I think his sophisticated look still translates into contemporary fashion. A great example of this is the Japanese label LAD Musician. Their 2011 S/S collection is inspired by his most known novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and I think it translates the dandyism quite well. 

LAD Musician 2011 S/S

I’ll leave you with some pretty pictures and some new fashion options to mull over. I’m off buying a hat and a cape to go with my wavy hair.

Virgo's Galaxy Dress

This month's British Vogue has given me a new obsession. It contains a horoscope photo shoot showing all the star signs in great outfits. The shoot, created by set designer Shona Heath and photographed by Tim Gutt is not only pretty, it also shows really cool clothing!

Even though I’m not a Virgo myself, I just love that Christopher Kane dress. It’s so pretty and dreamy! The galaxy print is just great, especially with the really pretty pink and purples. If only I could afford it or put it on my Christmas list… 

British Vogue December 2010

Christopher Kane S/S 2011

Off course there is the option of making something similar myself.  If anyone knows where to find fabric like this, please leave a comment. I'll be so thankful!

Things I Love Thursday

Picture by Carly Hildebrant


It’s good for the soul to make a things I love list every single day. If you remind yourself of the pretty, delicious things is life, you will be happier. You will look for them when you are living day-to-day life and when reading them back, it’ll remind you of good times!
I’ll begin this Thing I love Tuesday with my inspiration for making this list: the amazing Gala Darling. On her website you can find 11 chapters of her book in writing and on audio. The subjects vary from manifesting yourself to being an International playgirl and starting your own business. I’ve ordered almost every single chapter. And it has cheered me up and inspired me so much. I feel like a totally different girl. 
So on with it!
Having the loveliest, kindest friend in the World. My fellow blogger Esmée brought me a box full of delicious cookies this Friday to cheer me up after I broke up with my boyfriend of 7 years. It feels so amazing to have someone around who is so considerate and sweet. 
Vanilla Rose tea from Dilmah. Lust Perfume form Lush with 'dirty jasmine' - rawr – Jasmine always inspires me and gives me pretty dreams, day dreaming about working in Canada for a year, seeing Seabear this weekend, Dust and Dessert zine, stars, deciding my style this year will be Space Cowboy!, seeing cozy couples – and old people holding hands, riding my bike to work, playing with my brother’s dog, Stereotypical Canadian Moose – because he is so .. Canadian, eh?



this video from Sarah Blasko - 'No Turning Back'
treehouses!, beautiful, magical pictures by (fashion) photographer Carlotta Manaigo, Matthew∙Lyons' Art, this house – it’s amazing! This would be my absolute dream home, The Sabbath Manifesto - try it! Slow down, high five trees.


It's almost weekend!
Love,
Lotte

The Dutchness

When I’m traveling around the globe and talking to people abroad the conversation mostly leads to one subject: each others home country. Asking other people about the country I live in (the Netherlands), the usual suspects always turn up: Pot, Amsterdam, Prostitutes and Clogs. A lot of people think Amsterdam is the weed-smoking prostitute capital of the world, where everyone is wild and free to do whatever they want and that is all there’s to the country. Well, some of those things are somewhat true of course, but a lot about the country is not at all that crazy and wild. When it comes down to the fashion-sense of an average Dutchman (or woman of course) they are pretty boring and not very noticeable. There is a commonly known saying: “Doe maar normaal, dan ben je al gek genoeg” meaning something like “Just act normal, ‘cause that’s crazy enough already”. If you would skim the streets for any glamorous people you would be better off in Milan or any other random Italian city, because here a t-shirt and jeans is everything you’ll need to be fashionable, that’s probably most practical riding our bikes.

Daphne, Trendstyle.net

                Yet, surprisingly the country also contains a lot of beauty. Dutch models are the most popular models (along with the eastern European) to use on a runway at the moment. Never in the history of the runway there were so many Dutch girls among the supermodels. To name a few big ones who are around for a little while now: Iekeliene Stange, Doutzen Kroes, Lara Stone, Kim Noorda and Bette Franken. But there is also a whole new generation coming up, among them Mirte Maas, Ymre Stiekema, Nimue Smit, Daphne Groeneveld, Bregje Heinen, Anna de Rijk and many many more. A lot of names for such a small county, but it’s no surprise considering we’re the tallest people in the world.


Not only the models are becoming more interesting for the international market, there is also some progressive fashion coming from the Netherlands too. Not the scream and shout fashion, with diamonds and glamour, but some real intelligent avant-garde pieces.

                G-star and Blue blood, two jeans brands with their own way of making rough jeans and the ecological jeans brand Kuyichi are international big names in the fashion-affordable-for normal-people industry. Nice clothing, but those brands might just keep up the jeans and t-shirt image of the Netherlands. More interesting to look at are the pieces of Dutch greatest: Viktor & Rolf, who are today’s most successful Dutch designers and who keep on making statue-like, intellectual and ironic haute-couture. They certainly didn't listen when their parents told them not to be crazy. The young and upcoming designer Iris van Herpen, about whom I would say creates the perfect crossover between fashion and art, uses the most bizarre figures and brings a whole new idea to the clothing. She uses handcrafted pieces combined with new innovative techniques. And then there is Bibi van der Velden, jewelry designer. On her website she calls her jewelery wearable pieces of art. These are a few among the great designers coming from the Netherlands, but I'll save the others for later. The greatness of Dutch clothing is not found in the streets, you have to look a bit further, but when you do, you’ll find great stuff.

Viktor & Rolf

refinery29.com

Iris van Herpen

trendland.net

ftape.com

dashempire.com

Bibi van der Velden

bibivandervelden.com

The Awesomeness that is November

We all know every month is special in their own way, but November seems to be even more awesome than all the other months. I recently found out that it is not only the month to write a book, but also to make your own album or to grow a moustache.

I first found out about NaNoWriMo last year, right at the end of October. The National Novel Writing Month is all about writing a book of at least 50.000 words in one month. As an aspiring writer I was immediately excited about the idea. I joined right away and started writing on the first of November, only with a vague idea of the story that was to grow. It took some long days of missing school and work, but I succeeded at the 31^st of November with 50.007 words. This crazy way of noveling started in July 1999 with just 21 people who had nothing better to do and thought writing a novel would get them dates. The satisfaction that was achieved at the first of August didn’t wear off and the year after they did it again. The number of participants grew every year and rules needed to be added. In 2010 NaNoWriMo is a huge happening on- and offline with 183.000 writers and counting. It has become a big operation within these 10 years. Famous novelists will write you peptalks, libraries and bookshops will host write-ins and every single person joining will learn the joy of finally sitting down and writing that novel.

As the above paragraph shows, I’m a big fan of NaNoWriMo. You can imagine how I felt when I found out there was more than just writing this month. Hometaping is a somewhat smaller organization run by four friends from London. The objective is to make an album of at least 20 minutes in one month. Hometaping is for everyone that loves music, not just professional artists. It’s okay to cover or sample songs, because it is not a competition, it is just a way to help people make music. Because it is a smaller organization, it is also more ‘hands-on’. There is a helpline number on their website for anyone who can’t handle the pressure and there will also be two get-togethers where the founders can help you smooth over any technical problems you might be having.

The reason I love these concepts is that they put some sweetness into making art. It’s no longer about the competition, selling your art and the public opinion. This month is just for you as an artist, it’s just about having fun with some creativity.

Movember is something completely different, but just as good for the soul. Mo is slang for Moustache, but don’t be scared by its masculine undertone. Movember challenges men to grow a moustache to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer. You start at the first of November clean shaven and just let it all grow throughout the month. As a global organization, they are active anywhere near you (Our local coffeeshop even named their monthly special after them). As a Mo Sista you can get off course also try to grow a moustache, but for most ladies who don’t have this option, it is also ok to donate, help organize of just show support and love for the Mo Bro’s.

All these events make November a lovely month. As the leaves are changing color and falling of trees, we are not left out in the cold. If you want to get involved with other creative people who care about others, just walk into a coffeehouse, bookshop or music store. Look out for the ones behind their laptop, actively typing away or the one bobbing his head to imaginary music and if you see a guy with a moustache, give him a smile. Although November has already started, it’s never too late to become creative. You can still join the fun.
Esmée

We are finally online!

It took some hard deliberation and lots and lots of coffee, tea and chocolaty goodness, but we are finally online. Yeah for us!

The idea to start a magazine/blog sprouted on a day in Amsterdam over Monki clothing and really cool zines. Inspired by fun and pretty things, we figured we could give it a try and here we are! Wayward is about things we like and things we think you’ll like as well, you maybe just don’t know it yet. We’ll talk about books, music, movies, art, fashion and everything else we are interested in at the moment.

Picking a name turned out to be our biggest challenge yet. We already had the whole magazine figured out, but we just couldn’t decide on the right name. They varied from crazy alliteration to words no one had ever heard of. After three weeks of list making, irritated Google Waves and some more coffee, we finally decided on Wayward and we’re very happy with it!

The current team consists of three friends, Angelika, Esmée and Lotte. All coming from different artistic backgrounds, we form a good team with our own expertise. Our first issue will be about our favorite TV-show Twin peaks, cutting off hair and the qualms of making a first issue of a magazine. This one will be all us, but we would love to work with other creative people for our following issues (if you are already interested, and how can you not be, please mail us and we’ll get back to you).

The coming weeks we’ll be working hard on our magazine and we really hope you will like it!
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