15 January 2015 // Serena Asselman //Rotterdam
//DEARHUNTER
Dearhunter is definitely the best vintage clothing store we have in Rotterdam, it is this distinctive because of its beautiful collection of clothing that is selected by owner Hanneke van Leeuwen. In the company of some orange juice and fresh mint tea we spoke with her about the store she owns and the love for vintage.
Hanneke has been working in vintage stores for almost all of her career. Although she graduated from art school as an illustrator, vintage is what she really loves. At a time she got the chance to take over a store and concept, ‘it was a now or never moment and I decided to go for it’. The place the vintage store is in is being shared with “Die hard”, a hairdresser. “In the beginning the collection of vintage I selected for selling was very small and could be described as my personal taste. I like lots of prints and clothing with a funny twist, but the collection nowadays is much more divers. I try to buy more for archetypes. What I learned from all the years of selling vintage is that basics always sell very well, so I try to buy a good basic collection for my store that match with eye catchers. I keep trends in mind while buying. Now a 90’s trend is going that I like a lot, I look for nice items that match with this trend. What I’m also looking for are nice fabrics, nice shapes and silhouettes. It is hard to find nice 50’s or 60’s items because they have been popular for a long time now, they just run out. My focus is on clothes from the 80’s and 90’s. In the store I present the clothes by color and shape. Because of the diversity of the clothing, it is easier for the customer to shop and get a good overview.”
Hanneke mentions that her own closet is filled with extravagant vintage pieces. When she goes to buy for her store, she has a rule ‘only keep one piece for my own collection’. Hanneke likes clothing with a funny touch. Her favorite cities for vintage shopping are Paris and Antwerp, ‘I do this for fun but I always come back with something for the store, I recently bought a bigger car, so I can take more then a bag full of vintage pearls’. We end the conversation with a last question from our side; what will be the next step? Hanneke says she is actually thinking about what this next step will be, since business is going so well for her at the moment. “I have the tendency to think really small. It is not a fear of getting bigger, but more about things being easier and to achieve so that I don’t have to lose patience. Sometimes I think about a small clothing collection designed by myself that I can present and sell in the Dearhunter store. But I don’t really think further about production of selling it to other stores as well actually. I do have my own bag collection at the store right now, I make them myself when I am at home. Maybe that’s the start of my own collection.” When visiting Rotterdam we definitely advise you to pay a visit to DearHunter Vintage.
DEARHUNTER VINTAGE EENDRACHTSWEG 55A, ROTTERDAM
Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday 12.00-18.00 Friday / Saturday 11.00-18.00