Amsterdam and Beyond
The way people dressed felt so free, color and shape and strange combinations that somehow completely worked. It gave us permission to play with our Fall collection in the same way: plaids over stripes, unexpected colors, letting things be a little less perfect and a little more alive. We even had a local woman stop us in the street to compliment how we embraced color, an honor! Between the paintings at Museum Van Loon, vintage at Penny Lane and Carmen, and all the people we passed on the street, I came home with so many little ideas tucked away in my mind and my luggage.
Craving a slower pace, Fall I found us in the countryside, nestled just outside Amsterdam. It felt so good to feel the energetic shift from the hustle and bustle of the city to the tranquil country. We stayed at Fortuna Spinoza, a quaint little inn just outside Amsterdam run by a local couple and their ridiculously cute dogs (I will definitely be getting a poodle/pug mix in my future). It was here that I felt that true shift to Autumn. The fashion calendar rarely allows us to shoot within the season, but we got lucky with cool, damp autumn-feeling weather. It felt amazing to wear our Fall pieces in the season they were designed for.
Gardens grew right to the water’s edge. Hydrangeas everywhere. Lace curtains in windows, dogs in backyards, wooden boats, cows, and windmills turning in the distance- definitely not something you see in Santa Monica. There was a charm to it all that felt completely foreign to me. Everything felt new. Seeing how other people live is one of my favorite parts of traveling- the way homes are cared for, and the details that feel so ordinary to someone else and so inspiring to me. It wakes me up to the world again and reminds me how many beautiful ways there are to live. We learned that back in the day, the houses of commoners were painted a glossy green, while the less popular grey were that of wealthy individuals.
Our most memorable afternoon in the country was spent zipping around the waterlands in boats. The charm was off the charts as we wove through grassy wetlands and past neighboring homes. You couldn’t really rush on those little boats. Especially not mine, which I was captaining with great confidence despite moving at approximately the speed of a determined duck. So we floated and took it all in. That was another gift of the trip for me... realizing how much beauty becomes available when we leave enough time and space to notice it.
I always leave these shoots tired, but I came home from the Netherlands inspired by the way life seemed to move there. To slow down a little. Ride my bike more. Use my hands. Play with color and get dressed in ways that excite me. To choose the things that make me more curious, more playful, more engaged with the world around me.
I think that’s what I loved most about this adventure. It reminded me that being present is a gift, when you take the time to do so, it feels so good to participate in your own life.
