Celebrities and Fashion

Fred got us tickets to Amsterdam International Fashion Week. His niece, Simone, works for a PR agency and she invited Fred (and me) because he is (as we were told by her boss) her favorite uncle, and probably because of where he works. It was held at the Westergasfabriek, which is a renovated gas factory. I passed by it for months riding to a lesson on the far side of Amsterdam. I had no idea what it was. Now I do. We'd seen Scissor Sister there last year. Again, I had no idea I'd been there. (Maybe that's why so many things are new to me all the time.)

When we were getting dressed, I asked, "Is it okay if I wear jeans and my red sweater with a white shirt underneath?" He was wearing the same basic outfit, but with a gray sweater, so it was okay. We were like wall paper. Or maybe we stuck out because we were the only ones not wearing Fashion with a capital F.

I've always maintained that there's no need to "guild the lily," so I dress rather traditionally. But it also stems from my desire to just stick to the basics. I can't see buying something that I couldn't wear next year - and for years after that. Suffice it to say that we were not the most fabulously dressed.

We really never do things like this. Fred works in fashion, but he never gets tickets to fashion shows. It's a completely different world than I'm used to. The lounge area was filled with people and loud music. There were a number of disco balls and people were drinking champagne, special little Heineken beers in special little bottles and some kind of wine that came with a little tulip that you attach to the top to drink out of. It had the word "flow.er" on the bottle. There was some very fancy drinking going on. We stuck with Cola Lite - Diet Coke in the US. (We're in the middle of four weeks of not drinking. Don't ask.)

Were there celebrities, you ask? Well, it was a virtual Who's Who of....Who? They were Dutch celebrities. And if you don't know Dutch celebrities, you wouldn't know who they were. But do you think that's going to stop me from listing them off? Heck no!

Fortunately, we watch a lot of crap TV, which avails us of the type of Dutch celebrity that goes to events like this. My first sighting was of Ruud van der Peijl. We recognized him from Project Catwalk - the Dutch Project Runway. He was wearing a green boa. He's very tall. Put those together and you get a recognizable guy. The second was Philip Riches. He's an Australian photographer who lives here. He was a judge on Holland's Next Top Model.

I know. You're probably saying, "Who cares?" But it's not over yet! We initially got spaces in the nose bleed section. I believe it's called Standing Room Only and then Simone came and rescued us and gave us seats on the second row where we actually got a goody bag. Unfortunately, there weren't that many goodies in the bag. Mine had been gone through.

Right across from me was this woman.
I didn't recognize her. I was just trying to get some pictures of people in the low light to see how they came out. Turns out it was Yfke Sturm. She was the host of Holland's Next Top Model for the first season before they replaced her for being boring. By the looks of the picture, someone finds her interesting.
Then right across from me was Janice from Project Catwalk. He didn't make it very far in the show, but he's recognizable and he sat still, which I appreciated.

Then there was Victor Reinier, who used to be Baantjer's assistant on Baantjer. He's in full daddy mode and was there with a couple of girls, one of whom was apparently his daughter.

The show was focused on sunglasses and new designers. It was interesting and didn't last that long. Getting in and out was infinitely longer. The atmosphere was totally different from anything I usually do. Much more flashy than my real life. Lots of people who dress, whereas I just dress. As blazé and catty about it as we were during after the show, we both agreed that we would love to go again in the summer. It's such a strange peek into a different world.

When it was over, we went to a birthday party for my knitting friend, Cassandra. (Follow the link and you can find a picture of Fred and me.) She and her boyfriend, Marco, were hosting their party and he was playing (loudly) in a band. It was fun. (Alex wrote about it very well.) I'm glad we were late. It was loud. It was so loud that they have ear plugs behind the bar to hand out if you need them.

Fred, who doesn't wear a hat in this frigid weather also passed on the earplugs. I'm glad he's got good health insurance.

That was my evening. And it was a Sunday. Can you believe that?