In April of this year cultural anthropologist and graphic design historian Jim Heimann, together with his regular collaborator; editor and archivist Ryan Mungia, presented one of our favorite printed projects which were released in 2016. The incredible 'Shore Leave' is the first photobook to capture Honolulu during the Second World War through a remarkably curated collection of vintage photographs, a lot of them found in personal scrapbooks of veterans, which were collected by Heimann over years and now made public through Mungia's Boyo Press.

It portrays the thousands of US sailors bound for the Pacific during the early 1940's, in a period when the Hawaiian Islands were the staging ground for an unknown fate. Their perception of Honolulu as a tropical paradise quickly deflated upon their arrival. The anticipation of a moonlit Diamond Head, available hula girls and free-flowing and affordable rum quickly materialized into crowded streets, beaches cordoned off with barbed wire and endless lines to nowhere. Still, as with many ports of call, diversions were plentiful, and set against the warm trade winds, sailors took advantage of them on their last stop to hell. A totally unique place and time, which shows throughout the images selected by Mungia and Heimann.

Binding all these insightful photographs together in the book creates a truly unique insight, elegantly designed moreover, 'Shore Leave' is one of the most captivating books we have discovered this year.
It is a one-of-a-kind visual document of a port that, for many sailors who passed through, was their initiation into manhood. [ Continue reading ]

With the official team presentations, which will take place this evening, the Tour de France fever in our hometown Utrecht is slowly reaching a highpoint (with the tropical temperatures of recent days also playing a significant role in this development). Although the little brother of Amsterdam has gained significantly growing international attention in recent years, because of its beautiful canals and historical city center with a more laidback and less touristic atmosphere - for many people the host of the Grand Départ is still unknown territory. As we have been happily living in Utrecht for quite some years now, we teamed up with Rapha to introduce our city properly and created a little map with all of our favorite destinations when it comes to Food & Drinks, Art & Culture, Antiques & Obsessions, Fashion & Design, Markets & Flowers and Hideouts & Escapes, which we named Utrecht's Finest. For those first getting to know Utrecht, or those who are curious what it is what makes the city special for us. [ Continue reading ]

When we visited New York this October I did my homework beforehand. I tried to source new and unknown places, new retail concepts, the best restaurants, the galleries we could not miss - the usual. But I did not find that much. Just more of the same. Don’t get me wrong, that was still super good because we’re in New York, but I wasn’t blown away.
Until, between two appointments, after a quick espresso at La Colombe and a spare five minutes, I was making my way down Bond Street and stopped as soon as I saw a shop window. It wasn’t even particularly fancy but it did catch my eye for some reason: it was a nice little shop front with some old ceramic bowls on display and a huge old 'Black Cat' ad behind the window, yet it didn’t feel like any other vintage or antique store.

— As published in Journal de Nîmes No 9 — [ Continue reading ]

We have been a fan of the German-made Kaweco Pens and started collecting these lovely vintage pens and pouches for many years now. For our current Curated we are super happy to send out a special matte black pen case with two pen's: The Kaweco Classic Sport ball pen and the Classic Sport clutch pencil, both in black.
When digging the history you'll find this rich heritage that goes back to the late 19th century in South-Western Germany. [ Continue reading ]

During our trip to New York City last month we visited this amazing Brooklyn-based store called Darr. The spot on combination and great curation of vintage and new objects, clothing and accessories amazed us profoundly. Co-owners Hicham Benmira, a Casablanca-born former Takashimaya personal shopper, and former video editor Brian Cousins excel in collecting products out of the broadest of spectrums. They cull objects industrial and romantic, rustic and sophisticated, ancient and modern, yet everything fits together perfectly. [ Continue reading ]

Port Magazine made a lovely video featuring The Vintage Showroom, a company formed in 2007 to house an ever growing archive of vintage showroom and accessories collected by Douglas Gunn and Roy Luckett. In the following years the company has become one of the leading resources for vintage menswear in the UK, with their archive covering the early mid 20th century and specializing in international work, military and sports clothing, classic English tailoring and country wear. Douglas and Roy have divided their business in two particular ends. On the one side there is the appointment only showroom/studio mainly used by designers and stylists which is situated near London’s Notting Hill. On the other end there is the, open for everyone, retail outlet located on Earlham Street in Covent Garden’ Seven Dials. [ Continue reading ]

Later this week Partners & Spade will host a lovely exhibition of children’s chairs from the collection of Patrick Parrish of Mondo Cane. Over 50 colorful chairs made between 1890 and 1990 will be on view at Partners and Spade starting May 17th till June 10th. [ Continue reading ]

We’ve just fell in love with Field Notes’ “National Crop Edition”, their 14th seasonal limited edition set of notebooks inspired on their own collection of vintage note books and promotional memo books. Drawer after drawer, filled with an incredible amount of these little books! Field Notes in… [ Continue reading ]

I just found this amazing watch, a Tudor Prince Oyster from around the 1950s. The silver dial with beautiful patina, applied gold arabic even numerals and dot markers, the gold needle hands, and a lovely brown suede strap… Dear beauty… Buy before I do! (Available at Park & Bond)… [ Continue reading ]

Hell’s Kitchen & Leonard Vintage store are glad to announce the second edition of “Le Bazar des Poilus”, a pop up store of tightly-curated vintage (new and old) clothing, shoes and accessories… If you are in Paris between the 20th and 22nd of January make sure… [ Continue reading ]

Last week Style Ledger came up with two really nice video features. The last one was a look at American manufacturing, with a focus on the Martin Greenfield factory in Brooklyn. The first one is this feature on one of the top new stores in the… [ Continue reading ]

Last week I came across this amazing watch. A 1950’s Rolex SS Datejust with an antique white dial is one of the early models with a calibre 745 movement with sweep seconds and red and black date wheel. The baton indexes are gold applied and the hands are… [ Continue reading ]

1. Daido Moriyama – ’71-NY 2. Old letterset  from flea market in Antwerp 3. Text010 – Burial + Fourtet + Thom Yorke 4. Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma Gold Edition 5. 90’s Mickey Mouse Soap 6. Vintage Pen Case (an… [ Continue reading ]

1. Diner Journal 2. Karl Lagerfeld – Metamorphoses of an American 3. Vintage soda water bottle 4. Vintage Kaweco Pen set 5. Kusmi Tea from The Village 6. Vintage coin holder 7. Vintage denim… [ Continue reading ]

Last weeks I started following A Noble Savage, a blog by marketing and styling studio/showroom. They started collecting and sharing beautiful vintage items, photographing them in neat compositions all available for rent or purchase. ‘The studio is a unique space doubling as a showroom for a constantly… [ Continue reading ]

New brands and new styles hit the online Tenue de Nîmes store the coming weeks and today we did the first photoshoot of the new year. To share a little bit already we hereby show you our buddy Mitch wearing a vintage denim apron full of… [ Continue reading ]

A few weeks ago Fred Bschaden pointed me on this fabulous B7 Parka from the Steward Archives. I instantly fell in love with it! Unfortunately it’s an extremely hard to find piece, there are some Japanese companies who make replica’s of this model, but… [ Continue reading ]

Sam Gold, the man behind Key City Vintage and Vintage Ralph Lauren, started selling Polo Ralph Lauren items which were not in his size. It morphed into two blogs where he shares mostly mid 90’s golden era Snapbacks, Vintage RL Polo pieces and hats,… [ Continue reading ]

Frenchman Olivier Abry started a workshop to assemble, create and restore vintage furniture and objects. He gave us a peak in his studio, packed with beautiful handmade lamps. Some of the materials are coming from the US and are assembled, recreated into new 'one off' vintage pieces in his workshop in Lyon. Be sure you'll visit his site and his inspirational image blog. Continue for more images > [ Continue reading ]

I think we’re all fascinated about these used pieces of luggage. Louis Vuitton together with Abrams will publish ‘100 Legendary Trunks’ this december. A book showcasing the most beautiful creations of the House. ‘Authors Pierre Léonforte and Éric Pujalet-Plaà curate 100 of the finest trunks the… [ Continue reading ]

I love people sending me stuff they love. Fred is one of them. Sometimes theres a mail in my inbox with just some pictures, no words, just pictures… They’re from Fred Bschaden, German agent for Red Wing Shoes (a.o.). This time with some proper… [ Continue reading ]

We were quite impressed and inspired by the archives of Nigel Cabourn when we brought him a visit for the Journal de Nîmes last june, but seeing a glimpse of the archives of the Italian leather brand Stewart online I definitely want… [ Continue reading ]

As Menno mentioned in a previous post we love the personal stories vintage watches are telling us. After a few weeks looking for these engravings on the back of a vintage watch I found a few to share. (And I’m happy to say one of… [ Continue reading ]

Like Menno mentioned I’ve become a little addicted to vintage (in general) after working on the Red Wing Shoes store in Amsterdam. Jared and Sam, the duo behind Topsy, a blog/shop/site that launched a few months back packed with beautiful… [ Continue reading ]