weekend in antwerp

[chad]

heading off to antwerp this weekend.

staying at a little boutique hotel called miauw designed by dutch designer analik. from a website blurb:

"Miauw is the new hotel project of Dutch fashion designer Analik, whose clothing and accessories collection for women are classy yet quirky. To welcome and acquaint clientele into her world and her sense of style, the concept of 'Analik' now extends beyond the successful independent fashion label, to a series of small boutique hotels (more like self sufficient luxury apartments).Miauw-Antwerp is located in the most remarkable part of the city, the south. Just behind the grand museum of art, the area possesses a wide-ranging variety of restaurants (haute to traditional cuisine), cocktail bars and fashion shops to pick from. The 3 story high hotel, overlooking a dramatic statue of Nemo, stands out with its 60's style design; the modern state of the art rooms are filled with lots of light. On the ground floor is a small intimate bar where guests can have breakfast in the morning or sip a Cosmopolitan with friends at night. The shop offers a selection of ANALIK womenswear as well as magazines, (art) books, accessories and products by other designers.The rooms are decorated in a modern way; yet retain a comfortable, warm feeling, highlighted and mixed in with stylish and vintage furniture."

superfuture's own andreas suggested these few places to see:

1. Extra City, a cool new art gallery.

2. Clinic, well-stocked concept store...the owner is a very savvy guy.

3. Ann Demeulemeester, aaaawesome store and merchandise (menswear is totally cool).

4. Mogador, hang-out of Antwerp's fashion clique.

5. Walter, just love the space and what they've got in store.

6. Coccodrillo, superselection of stylish shoes.

7. Lombardia, one funky diner

anyone else have any must-see's? little bars, gallery's, cafe's, or cute shops?

xx

chad

superfuture.com

[titus]

Excellent suggestions from Andreas.

I would add:

- Verso (the usual big designers + a few more exclusive like Haute or Les Hommes in a spectacular decor)

- Louis (Margiela, Balenciaga, Raf Simons... an institution in Antwerp)

- Modepaleis (the Dries Van Noten shop)

- Veronique Branquinho (nice building)

- Fragma (Hussein Chalayan, Marni, Rykiel...)

- Labels Inc (top designers second hand)

- Copyright (gorgeous bookstore next to the Fashion Museum)

- Fish & Chips (big streetwear shop)

Clubs:

- Café d'Anvers (house/techno)

- Red&Blue (gay)

For a quick bite:

- Wagamama (asian fast food)

[Tisswat]

Cafe d'Anvers is a nice venue, but the crowd is nothing special.

For vintage/second hand clothes, check out the area around Steenhouwersvest. You will also find some good ltd edition sneakers shops around the Kammenstraat.

Reporter: "What do you think about western civilization?"

Gandhi: "I think it would be a good idea."

Edited by Tisswat on Aug 12, 2005 at 05:35 AM

[faust]

Bump. Going there in two weeks. I know the major shopping scene well - looking for designer consignment stores and stores that have young designers. Also, any hotel recommendations for under $150 (or even $100) would be appreciated. I found this place, looks very quaint and cheap, and it's in Zuid, which works.

http://www.rubenshof.be/

[sufu1]

yep. stay at rubenshof and say hello to hans [one of the owners] from me. he helped to do many of the original superfuture antwerp reviews!

Bump. Going there in two weeks. I know the major shopping scene well - looking for designer consignment stores and stores that have young designers. Also, any hotel recommendations for under $150 (or even $100) would be appreciated. I found this place, looks very quaint and cheap, and it's in Zuid, which works.

http://www.rubenshof.be/

[faust]

yep. stay at rubenshof and say hello to hans [one of the owners] from me. he helped to do many of the original superfuture antwerp reviews!

Really? That's certainly great.

[readytoignite]

Bump. Going there in two weeks. I know the major shopping scene well - looking for designer consignment stores ...

i'm sure you know francis - there was also a nice one a few years back on Aalmoezenierstraat across the street and a block down from the record store called "vinyl" near nationalestr (great store btw), more likely than not that it's still there.

as a general note - coccodrillo is terrible now and louis less great than it used to be under its original owner. oh, and the most overlooked local treat is a bag of chokotof from the big grocery store at the end of the meir

[faust]

/\ Thank you! Why does Cocodrillos and Louis suck these days? Can you elaborate? I am all for striking things off the list (althoug it's hard to strike Louis off). I thought Louis is still the best place to get Margiela and Raf. Where else should I go?

So far on the list

Ann Demeulemeester store

Dries van Noten store

Walter

Louis

Veronique Branquinho store

I also would like to know who carries Stephen Schneider and A.F.Vandevorst (for the Mrs.). Thanks. EDIT: Found that Schneider has his own store - cool.

[Charlie Delta]

Stephan Schneider has his own boutique, just off Nationale straat if I'm not mistaken

[faust]

I would also appreciate any food/drink suggestions, from fries to restaurants, from bars to lounges/clubs.

[readytoignite]

/\ Thank you! Why does Cocodrillos and Louis suck these days? Can you elaborate? I am all for striking things off the list (althoug it's hard to strike Louis off). I thought Louis is still the best place to get Margiela and Raf. Where else should I go?

So far on the list

Ann Demeulemeester store

Dries van Noten store

Walter

Louis

Veronique Branquinho store

I also would like to know who carries Stephen Schneider and A.F.Vandevorst (for the Mrs.). Thanks. EDIT: Found that Schneider has his own store - cool.

cocodrillo - caveat - i was there in june (between seasons) but all the mens stuff was regular italian stuff (prada, d&g), no belgians

louis - you have to go (only place to get raf men's and margiela 10 in antwerp iirc) but it doesn't have the creativity/imagination of the previous owner. it was almost as if the men's line used to be stocked for women. nice selection of acne jeans tho. if you have a half day to spare you may want to train to brussels and go to both stijl shops (one is basically a margiela boutique).

veronique - essential, may be worth stopping first because nyc buyers drop the ball on this line so badly.

verso - should stop by as they carry dirk rtw (as opposed to the sporty stuff) which is quality. they also have kris van assche's line if you care. overall it's more "continental"

francis - a must, they always have steals there.

huis a boon - stop by for a pair of gloves, this place is bananas. it's a cpl blocks down from louis on the way to nationalestr. i just lost a pair of their gloves i've had for 6 years and it's like a piece of my body is missing.

foodwise i'm not too up on the scene anymore but try as much beer as you can. if you've never had a lambic from belgium (not counting that oversugared lindeman's crap they serve in the us) it's a must. i remember liking boon kriek. the grocery at the end of the meir is a good place to load up on 1-2 euros a bottle. similarly frietjes anywhere will be 10x better than what you've had elsewhere, frituur no. 1 is reliable - there is a spicy mayo topping they call "samourai" (or something like that) which you should try. if you're feeling flash, try de matelote or neuze neuze. also there's a good jenever joint across from the old school stoemp place which is pretty cool.

btw, re: restaurants, it's best to call ahead for reservations even if it's for that day since they don't reserve any tables for walk-ins. this is especially true for saturdays.

anyway, hope this helps and happy hunting

[faust]

/\ Thanks a lot - it confirms what I heard. Yes, I am striking Cocodrillo off the list (moreso that it's out of the way), and replacing with Elsa.

I made a Google map, check it out - it's pretty tight, the only place out of the way is the little beer store, but it's the best in Antwerp as far as I know (been there before myself). I love Belgian beer, so that's a definite.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&q=&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=106240897848407334090.0000011258a7deb68f2ac&ll=51.219519,4.401913&spn=0.026127,0.064974&z=14&om=1

[readytoignite]

cool, have a good time. i forgot to mention to be ready for serious sticker shock at the ann store, it was expensive even back when the euro was .80 to 1 usd. there maybe a tiny rack on sale upstairs though, the sales person will probably point it out.

you may know this place, but there's a bar called oud arsenaal off the wapper across the street and slightly down from the rubenshuis, it's more of a working class bar and was the only bar i found that had westvleteren (albeit before it became "the world's best beer). the jenever place i mentioned is called de vagant btw.

[faust]

Yea, I am not going with any expectations of finding some great bargains. You are right, even back than, Ann's was the only store where I did not buy anything but a belt. Unlike Dries and Louis, where I bought plenty. Still, it'll be fun - I haven't been in Antwerp in 4 years, I'm sure a lot has changed.

I'm also thinking of taking a video camera and making an Antwerp shopping guide video to put up on youtube.

[faust]

Leaving tomorrow, and I just realized that I don't know who carries Dirk Schonberger. Can anyone help? Thanks.

[andreas]

As for Dirk Schönberger, check out the store of Furniture + Clothing Selection on Steenhouwersvest 14 (downtown). I came a across a pristine selection of vintage Schönberger last time I was there...

[faust]

/\ That's on the list - thank you.

[faust]

I'm back - thanks for all your help. Cheers.