to be or not to be

70s are still alive, especially in Amsterdam which counts a slew of second-hand shops.
But guess what? This vintage-inspired jacket is actually from H&M!
I guess his classic Dutch-boy haircut lead me astray...but I promise I'll find and show you true vintage looks soon.

pocahontas chic

Coat by Petit Bateau (2006-07 winter collection)

Another look with a Western feel.
I liked the blend of a classic coat with Indian style fringe boots.

strangers

This morning, I witnessed a singular scene: two cow-boys, father and son, keeping their eye on their goal with their hand on their gun.
Click here to get the full picture.
boomp3.com
music by Ennio Morricone

I'm still wondering if it was a nice coincidence that they were both looking up in the same direction dressed up like cow-boys (tank top with jeans & hat, for the boy ; western pattern shirt under leather jacket paired with jeans and boots, for the father).

3...D-91074

A young footballer was praticing this morning at Sarphatipark. He was obviously wearing the national red-white-blue colours, but not only in fact.
I indeed realised that he was also displaying quite a number of brands that I could easily identify by their recognisable logos: Nike swoosh on the ball, Puma swoosh on his shoes, Adidas 3 stripes on his short and jacquet as well as Adidas 3...D-91074 code, which I thought was just a random number.

But after googling it, I realised it was also a brand code standing for the following: the digit 3 is associated with the 3 stripes, the letter D stands for Adi Dassler -the Adidas founder, and the 91074 number is the zip code of the company in Germany. Surprising, isn't it?





















I couldn't identify what the red diamond logo on his socks stood for ; can you? (click the first picture to view it bigger).

a world without girls

This could have been the set-up of a movie about a gang of young bad boys, wishing for a world without girls (to quote one of them).
This was actually an everyday scene of brothers and friends, aged 4 to 10, of Dutch Spanish and Dutch Chilean nationalities, that I enjoyed shooting this afternoon: the scene of 4 boys chasing and fighting each other with big wooden sticks, by a falling giant tree in Vondelpark.

Have you also noticed that they were all dressed up in blue under the mud?
Pink for girls, blue for boys.

think pink

To close this pink section, I would like to thank Cyann, Josephine, Nina, Céleste, Sioban and Lilah who all passed their pink exam, helping me decode the colour pink.

Some think they can be princesses just by wearing pink,
Others argue that they would need ball dresses, earrings and high heeled shoes,
Some think pink tastes like strawberry,
Others argue that it can also taste as bad as “that dark pink cabbage”,
Some think pink is for girls only,
Others argue that it would be quite funny to see boys in pink.
All agree that they JUST like the colour pink.

You?
Are you as enthusiastic about pink as Maggie Prescott, the fashion magazine publisher in Funny Face?

ballet shoes

In my investigation to learn more about little girls wearing pink, I met Nina, an imaginative 6yo Dutch little girl. She told me a story about pink ballet shoes eating strawberry icecream. Nina:
Two ballet shoes meet on the grass. One says "hello, you're very beautiful and pink". The other one says "but you're pink too ; maybe we're sisters".
They then start walking together and get a pink strawberry ice cream.

french touch

Watteaustraat playground, Amsterdam.

I've never been a Burberry fan, but today I've been surprised when I saw this 6yo French little girl on the monkey bar.
The check pattern of her coat still screamed Burberry (which is what I usually don't like about this brand), but the coat was casually paired with red Converse shoes and light-blue jeans. All together, it turned out pretty nice.

And I also think that the floral lining was the very nice detail of the coat that would make you wear it wide open all day.

forever pink

Little girls, aged 3 to 7yo usually like everything in pink and would wear their princess dress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if they could.
But why this? Marketing gimmicks? Sex preference? Both?
I thought I should ask the little girls themselves.

This morning I had a long pink chat with Cyann, a 7yo French little girl living in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Flora is Cyann's favourite Winx character

So you like the colour pink?
Cyann: I've always loved pink. From the time I'm born.

So you are a princess then ?
C: Oh no, it’s too difficult to be a princess. Princesses must know everything about their country and receive more than 100 letters a day.
Oh really? And do they answer them all?
C: Only the most important ones.
Do all princesses wear pink dresses ?
C: No, Snow White has a yellow and blue dress and Cinderella wears blue.

Do you have favourite pink clothes ?
C: My favourite pants are khaki with pink glitter flowers.

Can you tell me a pink story ?
C: I love the WINX story. They are young girls with magical powers who fight their enemies. There is Bloom dressed up in blue, Stella in yellow, Tecna in purple, Musa in red, Leila in green and my favourite, Flora in pink.
And I love when they kiss their lovers on the lips.

Have you ever eaten anything pink? How does pink taste?
C: Yes, pink sweets. They taste like strawberry and raspberry.

What is your favourite pink thing?
The books. I love them. And this one in particular.
(she went and took a Princesses imaging book and showed it at the camera).

What are you wearing right now?
C: A pink and brown striped tee-shirt with pink heart buttons, under a pink cardigan.

Will you like the colour pink forever?
C: No, until the age of 7.
But you’re 7yo.
C: Yes, and now I start liking purple.

so british, so stylish

Hackett Autumn/Winter 07-08 collection

Winter is ending, spring approaches and this little boy looks Autumn-time perfect. So why am I sharing it with you now? Just because I found it oh-so-stylish that I couldn't wait until next season.
Don't you feel like packing up immediately for a week-end in the country?

afc

Sources of fashion influence are multiple and come from everywhere. This is why I have decided to widen the streetstyle looks section to uniforms, which I believe set styles in the fashion industry and have become a part of fashion itself.
The uniforms could be sport or school uniforms or else.

Today, I've photographed two 7yo young boys from the AFC (Amsterdam Football Club), who were playing over-time in their school playground.
They were proud of taking the pose for me in their black & red uniforms.

Montessori school, Amsterdam Oud Zuid

proudly showing their embroidered AFC logo on their long socks

retro elegance

Behind the curtain #2: conversation with Machteld van de Perre, founder and designer of Assemblé.

Favourite outfit of Machteld from the Autumn/Winter 08-09 collection
Photo: Anoek Luyten (also the business partner of Machteld)

Assemblé is a new Belgium name in European childrenswear. A small brand with a long story already that Machteld Van de Perre accepted to share with me.

It all started in the summer of 2006 when Machteld decided to give old clothes for adults a second life by recycling them into new fashions for kids. This idea sprung to her mind as she was working on traditional costumes for a music theater in Antwerp. This is how a woman skirt from the 60s & 70s got redesigned into a girl's dress or how a vintage blanket turned into a child's coat.

The brand is today sold in multibrands shops in Belgium and will probably soon make its way into the European childrenswear market.
Watch that brand carefully. It is just around the corner.

After 1 hour discussion with Machteld, it was crystal clear to me: Assemblé was Retro Elegance.
Let's go through the interview to understand who's hiding behind the curtain.

Why this brand name?
Machteld van de Perre: We wanted a name that speaks for itself. We first started with Atelier Assemblé. Atelier stood for the handmade part and Assemblé referred to the clothing reconstruction.
Our brand now consists of a main line for kids and a limited edition for adults. For the kids, we're using Assemblé and for the adults we kept the original name Atelier Assemblé as we're still producing the clothes ourselves and on demand, from the old fabrics that are not suitable for kids.

What is Assemblé style?
MvdP: It's retro but it should always be elegant.
As the fabrics strongly conveys its origin and history, I'm always searching for the right balance between the pattern, the fabric and the cut. Elegance is the key point.

What do you particularly hate in kids fashion?
MvdP: I hate all the girly pinky glittery clothes as well as everything adorned with big letters and numbers for boys.

Does your 6yo daughter influence your work?
MvdP: I'm afraid she loves everything pink, glitter and girly.

How and where do your ideas come from?
MvdP: A mix of things and places really: from fashion magazines from the 60s & 70s to films to photography and painting exhibitions.
I also often go to the fashion museum in Antwerp, the MoMu, which displays the best in Belgium design.
And I watch the streets, which is pretty inspiring.

How different is Belgium style in kids fashion from the rest of Europe?
MvdP: Belgium has a style of its own. Kids clothes could as well have been designed for adults.
The style is pretty eccentric but always refined. And Belgian designers know how to chose the right fabrics and patterns. And there's always a wide variety.

France? Beautiful but a bit boring.

Who are your favourite designers?
MvdP: Elsa Schiaparelli -she was Italian and one of the most influential clothing designers of her time. She used unusual textures and fabrics and has a very female approach to fashion design.
Martin Margiela -he is Belgian and participated to the concept of deconstruction, redesigning objects into garments. He also pays great attention to modelling.

What do you like doing when you're not working?
MvdP: I read books, go for long walks and also love to cook. But I must say I don't have that much free time these days.

What is your favourite bedtime story?
MvdP: Jonathan Franzen and Sandro Veronesi, for me.
For my daughter, I particularly like Annie M.G. Smit and Toon Tellegen.

you can fly

I stumbled upon this picture in a back issue of Milk Japon Magazine.
It beautifully brings to life childhood dreams of flying and unexpectedly shows a little girl wearing a woollen tank top with a white dress of tulle.
All together, the picture is really well thought out.

Photo by Osamu Yokonami

For the fun of imagining you too can lift off , here's the video of Peter Pan "You can fly" scene.

cruising

I would like to start this week with a new section in the same line as the streetstyle looks that I'm already doing on kids and teenagers, but this time with a focus on anything with wheels from simple bikes to cargobikes to pushchairs. I'll call it the cruising looks.
And as for the streetstyle, the same rules will apply: the pictures should always convey something special about the look and feel and attitude.

To open this section, let's go arrrrrrrr! with the pirate flag.
It seems quite commom here in Amsterdam to customize your bike, a clever way to make it stand out and spot it among the crowd of thousands other bikes.

Along Sarphatipark

This is for me the opportunity to tell you about a really inspiring streetstyle & bike advocacy blog, called Copenhagen Cycle Chic. It has been properly described as a "Social Documentary in High Heels".

animals friendly

Behind the curtain #1: conversation with Anne-Claire Petit.

Wallace and Gromit
Anne-Claire chose this picture to illustrate the interview.

I recently decided to open an interview section so as to know who's hiding behind the curtain. I'll mainly interview kids fashion designers in Europe and will try to run the interviews face-to-face as much as I can (could also be phone/email interviews when no other options).

I did my first interview with Anne-Claire Petit, which I hope to be the first in a long serie.

Anne-Claire Petit is a Dutch designer, althoug her name may sound French to some of you. Her great-grandfather comes from Belgium and her parents simply loved France.
ACP, if I may call her so, is the hand crochet expert and an animals lover. I would even say she is a technological rebellious, coming back to a simpler time and re-exposing children to wholesome and basic products.
Who said hand crochet was an old-fashioned craft?

I now hand over to ACP:
You come from the fashion industry. So why now the kids market and particularly the accessories/design focus?
ACP: After 4 years at an International fashion label, I felt like creating my own accessories label, aka ACP accessories. And after 10 years of fashion accessories, I thought it was the right time for me to focus on both kids and hand crochet. A quite logic step actually after designing crochet shawls.

What do you particularly hate in kids design/fashion?
ACP: I hate when people do not follow their own style and ideas.

Where do your ideas come from?
ACP: Everywhere really, from books to movies (particularly animation movies) and museums. I also take inspiration from old textile techniques.

Is there a new collection for every season? Anything new for this spring/summer?
ACP: A part of the collection does change but we also have a basics line all year round.
For this spring/summer, we'll welcome new comers like Miffy, the old famous bunny. The Rabbits, birds and bears will turn one single colour, namely black and off-white and you'll be discovering our new glove puppets with the original two fingers in the ears.

Kids fashion/design 10 years ago : how was it?
And in 10 years, how will it be like?
ACP: There is today a much larger variety in design and style than in the old days when it was either very classic or all colourful. The market is growing with, for instance, the introduction of new kids lines coming from adult brands.

Why did you keep your name as a brand name?
ACP: I felt it was the right name when we first launched the accessories line. And I couldn't be bothered searching for a new one.

Name of your favourite designer?
ACP: they are a few - Dries van Noten, apc, Bensimon. But also Aardman (Wallace and Gromit) and Pixar Animations for their unique style.

What do you like doing when you’re not working?
ACP: I go to second-hand markets but also love cooking for friends.

What’s your favourite bedtime story?
ACP: I love fairy tales.

petite

Valerie Anne Hash shrinked and became Mademoiselle.

I could not resist the opportunity to present this serie of photographs where a shrinked little girl is portrayed in a real life decor: a simple yet so clever idea to launch this first Autum/Winter 08-09 collection for little girls, aged 4 to 10.

You can see the attention to detail in each picture. As well as a poetic feel reflecting the romantic style of the collection.

Valérie Anne Hash Mademoiselle -Autum/Winter 08-09 collection
Photograph, Fabrice Laroche ; Artistic Director, Chikala Funada.

These photographs reminded me a street art project from a London artist who places figurines on the ground in everyday situation. This is alsways surprising and leaving a smile on your face.

you can click this picture to view it bigger and spot the kite
Little people, by Slinkachu.

the right mix

The cap first caught my eye. Then, I noticed splashes of yellow and green. And the orange glasses. This was an unexpected mix of style and colours that, all together, created an inspiring look.
This photo was taken on a beautiful springlike winter's day on Zandvoort beach.

Zandvoort beach

one for all, all for one

This photograph by Holly's brings me back to d'Artagnan Romances of Alexandre Dumas.

Besides, it's another example of how easy it can be to make your own costume with just a few items and a little imagination : go for the Holly's tee-shirt with the knight print, add a sword and feathers on a hat and your kid will immediately step into the shoes of d'Artagnan and the three Musketeers.

Holly's winter 07-08 collection (via Lillibulle)

Here's an extract of the Three Musketeers movie where d'Artagnan and his friends are cheerfully using their swords, again.

the slippers' effect

These silver ballerines are neither made of glass nor Cinderella's, but have the magic effect of turning a dark brown look into a delicate outfit.

Sarphatipark, Amsterdam

almost a cowboy

I couldn't not snap this little boy whose western style shirt and relaxed-fit corduroy pants caught my eye.
Take a step back, add plain brown boots, a simple leather belt with an oversize buckle and a hat for an even more western feel and this seem-to-be practising martial art boy will soon appear as a lonesome cowboy.

The Little Gym, Amsterdam south
(green shirt by Maan and corduroy pants by Petit Bateau)

WOWO wild west

With the WOWO Autumn/Winter 08-09 collection, we'll be time travelling back to the "Little house on the Prairie" days.
The little girls will seemingly be Prairie girls wearing bonnets with ties around the ears and dresses inspired by the Ingals Wilder daughters. Who knows whether the boys will be cow-boys on boots wearing jeans and plaid shirts?
I might know more about this Prairie-style theme by next week as I'll be interviewing the brand designer, Elizabeth Relin.
In the meantime and for a wild west breath, press the button below.
boomp3.com

WOWO Autumn/Winter 08-09 collection

memories

Here is another inspiring Belgium player on the kids clothing market: Assemblé (which in Flamant means 'put together').
Their idea was to use old fabrics and accessories from the years 50s to 80s to create their own very unique line of children’s clothing.

The looks for 08/09 winter includes, among others, top tanks with diamonds patterns, tight shirts in pop colours or trousers with sidealong vertical stripes (photos by Anoek Luyten)
(more info on Assemblé here)

This reminded me of a great video clip of Zero 7, called "In time". It's in fact a videomontage of several super 8 memories of a real canadian family.
It could as well be your own family film, don't you think?

Directed by Mat Burke.

blooming girls

There's definitely something special about Belgium clothing brands for kids. Their savoir-faire is such that they can use bright pop colours without being tawdry and they always select the patterns and fabriks with just the right touch of sophistication.
All in all, they definitely bring a breezy change in kids fashion.

Essentiel girls is one of those Belgium brands.
Their summer 08 collection is replete with fresh airy-light fabriks in pop colours, giving a glow of bright light to any outfit.

With these romantic and cheerful looks, the Essentiel little girls are blooming.

vermillion red

I was having lunch at de Bakkerswinkel with some friends when this little girl sat in front of us with her brother and mother.
She looked so pretty in her Chinese style outfit and her vermillion red velvet cape matching her pink candy lips.

mini "mother and daughter"

There was the "mother and daughter" looks by Comptoir des Cotonniers, now there is the "daughter and doll" looks by Adeline.
When she's not doing interior decorating for other people, Adeline sews for daughters and dolls.
She takes inspiration from Japanese sewing books for kids, adds her own touch to it and creates the "daughter+doll" look of the week, together with Jeanne and her two best friends -Caroline, the baby doll & Alexandra, the hairy one.

Looks from left to right: titi Parisian, tribute to Jane B., Parisian chic , Little Grey Ridding Hood

To get more information, you can contact Adeline via email.

the cape is in the air

I like capes very much. And this winter welcome them.

There is a cape for every little girl: the Romantic child, the 'elegant chic' Parisian kid, the mischievous Little one, or the knight of high adventure like D'Artagnan for both girls and boys.
Loose and cosy, the cape is the perfect choice to wrap up warm this winter or just warm up light dresses in spring. Plus, it will give your child a fashion-forward look whatever his outfit.

Clockwise from top-right: "Adelie" grey and tartan capes from Purée Jambon, grey woollen cape with hood by Adeline, "Mira" blue cape by BodeBo, red wollen cape by Jean-Michel Broc & white fake fur cape by Zôa (both pictures are from Milk dec07) and "Lélé" red wollen cape by Wowo.

manga

They look like manga characters. They took the pose spontaneously, which I think makes these looks all the more interesting.

This teenage girl looks good in her tight 70s red trench. And she has an attitude.

Before the Hilton Hotel, Amsterdam

I like their winter jacquet which looks like a vintage model with its coloured stripes.

AICS (Amsterdam International Community School)

If anyone knows why Japanese people do the V sign whilst posing, I'd be happy to know .