Discover more from Articles Of Interest
Not to elect one Dutchman as the representative of an entire nation, but when my new friend Harald (host of the excellent Verwondering Podcast) told me that “Going Dutch” implies that the Dutch are cheap or ungenerous, I was like huh! I had never thought of the phrase that way. Truly, when someone proposes to split a bill, I take it as a sign of equity, candor, and practicality. And that strikes me as very Dutch indeed.
On Friday I just had the incredible honor of speaking at the Dutch Podcast Festival, where I gave a little sneak preview of episode one of Articles of Interest (while dressed like Richard E Grant in Spice World)
This was my first international trip in a very long time, and I have to say, Amsterdam was a very easy transition into Europe. I really felt how New York was once New Amsterdam: in both cities everyone wears black, and everyone is very brusk and direct (when I was interviewed for this Dutch magazine, I was like “sorry I’m rambling!” and the journalist was like “yes, you are, but we will edit it.”), and, famously, no one owns a car.
(Although, a quick aside on Amsterdam’s famous bike culture, a second-generation Dutchwoman pointedly asked me, “Have you noticed that all the white people in Amsterdam would rather ride bikes in the rain than be on the bus with all the brown people?” This transit dynamic is, of course, not unique to the Netherlands, but this question made me realize it’s all too easy to heap on extra virtue here)
Anyway, that’s all just to say, I felt incredibly welcome in Holland, and the trip made me excited to announce that the trailer for season 3 of Articles of Interest will be out in a week or two! And that will have more details about what’s in store. For now, I’m working hard to get the show ready, and I’ll send out these emails with news and updates, along with images and articles that will (hopefully!) put the show in context.
In the meantime, allow me to share some of the fantastic clothes I discovered just walking around Amsterdam:
Everyone was biking around with a bag from Rotterdam-based designer Susan Bijl. I just got some of her shopping bags that she designed in collaboration with HAY
Speaking of bags, Hester van Eeghen makes the most remarkable artful leather goods, and they’ve become a bit of a banner brand for the city- like you see them in a lot of “only in Amsterdam!” gift shops. But that shouldn’t take away from how fantastic they are. They’re hits for a reason!
I stumbled across the boutique for Rika Studios and had the luxury of being able to touch and caress their absolutely perfect t-shirts.
This is probably going to sound silly to any European reading this, but I had never heard of ARKET before. Turns out it’s sort of like COS, but Scandinavian. They have a pretty good sale right now (with this nice skirt that is sort of an Osei Duro knockoff!)- honestly, when it comes to these sorts of shops, I prefer to observe their wares more than I like to actually buy anything. You can tell you’re looking at the results of a lot of expensive research, because they do such a good job of accessing what is “cool” - like, it was interesting to note that faux-fur handbags and lilac-colored balaclavas were in the sale section (out!), with this trendy high-cut of ballet flat coming “in.”
This shop, however, was really more my speed. Gast! is more clothes-as-art. In the window they displayed a gown made of bright orange neoprene safety vests and like… what could be more fun than that!? Nothing! It’s so special that they have an online store. Go feast your eyes.
Ok, sorry, this is not a shop, but just general inspiration. Among all the incredible artifacts at the Rijksmuseum, I really fell for the work of Theo Colenbrander, who is known as the first Dutch industrial designer. What a brilliant use of color and form! Not-quite-Rorschach and not-quite-marbled! Sure it’s like “art deco” but it’s wilder than that:
Last word: On my first night in Amsterdam, I went to a lovely unassuming little restaurant. Everyone was so nice and the food was so good and reasonable that I went there again on the second night. I was a little embarrassed to just go to the same spots over and over (what a dumb American tourist!), but the barman told me I just needed to come back a third time because “driemaal is scheepsrecht” (which is hard to translate because its an old nautical term, but the spirit of it is kind of like “third time’s a charm”). And truly the Dutch love to do things in threes— like sneezing three times is lucky. I love that.
(Although I didn’t actually go back to the restaurant a third time, because then I really would have felt like an unadventurous American)
Yours,
Avery