Coffee and denim, that is what consumed my recent Sunday afternoon in Amsterdam – not a bad way to spend a weekend. I’m in town for a quick trip and a few meetings, and one of the stores I absolutely had to check out was the denim-centric shop Tenue de Nîmes. It stocks a great mix of brands, classic jeans companies like Lee (which is actually Lee Europe which is head and shoulders better than Lee in the States), Iron Heart, LVC, Atelier Ladurance (among many more) and other good stuff like Nigel Cabourn, The Hill-Side, etc. I really enjoyed the shop’s product mix, between hardcore Japanese brands and more contemporary lines. I don’t think there is a store in NYC that is even doing it the way Tenue de Nîmes is. Maybe Blue in Green or Self Edge, but both of those are more Japan focused – not that that is bad, just different. Plus, neither of those stores can’t lay claim to such a nice collection of Buddy Lee dolls.
Tenue de Nîmes was opened in November 2008 by Menno van Meurs and Rene Strolenberg who first met at the age of 15. Additionally, Joachim Baan is responsible for all of the art direction for the shop, including their beautifully done newspaper-like journal which you can see after the images below. All in all, the shop is excellent and worth a stop if you find yourself in the Netherlands.
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Tenue de N̨mes РElandsgracht 60, Amsterdam +3120 3204012
Thanks a lot for this. I’ll be sure to check it out when I’m there next weekend. Any other recommendations??
yyler
this post is pretty cool. i am from the netherlands and for the first time i know the stores your talking about haha.
@tyler
episode is pretty good for vintage stuff and skins cosmetics is a great place to get perfume. bellerose (utrechtste straat) is pretty cool. have a good trip!
Great post ALC! I used to work with one of the owners, and it’s awesome to see him move on to this great project,.. and to be doing it with his friends, how much better can it get!!
What is really interesting is that some of the most exciting new denim shops in the world, Tenue de Nimes in Amsterdam, Burg & Schild (www.burgundschild.com) in Berlin, and That Store (http://www.thatstore.com.au) in Australia were all started by former colleagues who worked for the same international denim brand…
Thanks for giving the new guys on the block some ALC love!!
Thanks for posting this!! I will probably be in Amsterdam in April, and will add it to my list which already includes the Anne Frank house, the canals, fries with mayo, and the…cafes.
Good find, A Lean Continuous!
It’s been years since I’ve been to Amsterdam. This just makes me want to go back even more!
Thank you so much for this post Michael. I’m really honored to see our little boutique getting featured by ACL!
I thought ALD went out of business over one season ago?
The ironic thing about Lee is the marketing of the jeans here in the states..Anyone ever see that shitty television commercial that states “Why pay $100, $75, $50….for a pair of jeans??”
Yea, well the Lee stores in Europe sell ALL premium jeans and cuts and you cant even get them for less than $100 – Its bizarro!
please tell me you brought back home some cabourn. Cameraman jacket anyone? So sick.
Michael,
Great call on Tenue de Nîmes! It’s a fantastic store, that is helping to put Amsterdam on the European Menswear map, but I have discovered that it’s only one of a growing number.
I moved here from Dublin on 30.Dec.2009 to make the most of the fact that I was able to work from home 75 per cent of the time. I was keen to embrace what Sam refers to above… “the canals, fries with mayo, and the…cafes” (though I think he meant coffeeshops – which is not my thing).
I was lucky enough to fall across a basement store just 200 metres from my new home – a real aladin’s cave: Edwin, Porter, SNS Herring, Our Legacy, APC, Rouleur Magazine, Nike, Levi’s, Hudsalva…the list goes on! Next time you are over you check it out http://www.290sqm.com/
Get in touch with me and I’ll even by you a beer and some fries at the “Lunch Café Waterlooplein” around the corner where are the Waterlooplein Flea Market traders eat and drink year ’round.
Definitely one of the best!! If I’m going to have a shop one day, I want it to be like Menno and Rene’s…