Retro With A Twist
LR X TV: SO WHO ARE OUR WONDERFUL DUTCH COLLABORATORS?
Lola Ramona and Top Vintage have collaborated together for many years now to bring you the most gorgeous vintage inspired shoes and bags. It is fair for us to say that these collections are often some of our most popular and we see them fly off the shelves almost as soon as they have been put up. but who are Top Vintage and where did they come from?
We sat down to have a chat with Angelique, the founder of Top Vintage:
HOW IT ALL STARTED..
Top Vintage Boutique
From a career that wasn’t inspiring to me anymore and as a partial result of a chronic repetitive strain injury and later a burnout, I decided, after the encouragement of my fantastic husband Jack, to do finally something where my heart lies.
Some years before, I discovered on a Dutch online market place just like Ebay that I seem to have a talent for online business. I became passionate about it. I started offering exclusive vintage designer boots because I'm totally crazy about shoes for as long as I can remember. After several months of preparation, Top Vintage officially started on April 1, 2008 in our living room with a starting capital of 1000 euros. First as an exclusive vintage web shop and gradually blossomed to one of the leading online retro boutiques in Europe.
Top Vintage Boutique
This I had never dared dreaming of! Although, I must confess I dream a lot, but it's amazing when dreams really come true! What a wealth to enjoy 'work' every day and what makes it even better: people love what you do and feel feminine and beautiful in our clothes! How cool is that? One of the highlights of TopVintage- winning the title of the Best Dutch Webshop Ladies Fashion 2011 and in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016! - has been one of my hearts desires from the start in 2008! In 2013 we also won a price for best starting company from the Rabo Banking Group, we are also very proud of that. And we are very excited about our title Best Fashion Webshop NL 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, rewarded by the 'Website of the Year' awards.
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG
Top Vintage Boutique
It soon became clear that I couldn’t handle it all alone anymore and since 2010 my husband Jack is full time working in the business after fulfilling retail management positions successfully for years. He is the one dealing with the 'serious' stuff such as sales, finance and marketing. I can go wild on my constant search for the hottest feminine collections and must haves! Jack has a lot of guts together with a strong sense for commerce combined with passion and vision. Besides the fact that we are crazy in love since 21 years, we are a fierce team in all respects. Inevitable when you're both quite temperamental and clearly know what you want, but it is always fun, very special working together as a couple and it's certainly never boring! (At least so we think :-D)
Also, I am very pleased with the enthusiastic team that we have, I would not know what to do without our team and I also really love you: our wonderful customers who share all those parties, weddings, holidays with us through the most amazing photos, emails, and super nice comments on Facebook and on our website. Please keep on doing this, we enjoy making you happy, in fact: that is all what we are here for!
Lola Ramona X Top Vintage AW22
Check out this years collections right HERE!
If you are lucky enough to be in the Netherlands you can visit the
Top Vintage store:
Wiebachstraat 9
6466 NG Kerkrade
The Netherlands
Find them also on social media HERE!
Lola Ramona X Top Vintage: So who are our wonderful Dutch collaborators?
Lola Ramona and Top Vintage have collaborated together for many years now to bring you the most gorgeous vintage inspired shoes and bags. It is fair for us to say that these collections are often some of our most popular and we see them scoot off the shelves almost as soon as they have been put up. but who are top vintage and where did they come from?
We sat down to have a chat with Angelique, the founder of Top Vintage:
How it all started
Top Vintage Boutique
From a career that wasn’t inspiring to me anymore and as a partial result of a chronic repetitive strain injury and later a burnout, I decided, after the encouragement of my fantastic husband Jack, to do finally something where my heart lies.
Some years before, I discovered on a Dutch online market place just like Ebay that I seem to have a talent for online business. I became passionate about it. I started offering exclusive vintage designer boots because I'm totally crazy about shoes for as long as I can remember. After several months of preparation, TopVintage officially started on April 1, 2008 in our living room with a starting capital of 1000 euros. First as an exclusive vintage web shop and gradually blossomed to one of the leading online retro boutiques in Europe.
This I had never dared dreaming of! Although, I must confess I dream a lot, but it's amazing when dreams really come true! What a wealth to enjoy 'work' every day and what makes it even better: people love what you do and feel feminine and beautiful in our clothes! How cool is that? One of the highlights of TopVintage- winning the title of the Best Dutch Webshop Ladies Fashion 2011 and in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016! - has been one of my hearts desires from the start in 2008! In 2013 we also won a price for best starting company from the Rabo Banking Group, we are also very proud of that. And we are very excited about our title Best Fashion Webshop NL 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, rewarded by the 'Website of the Year' awards.
Together we are strong
It soon became clear that I couldn’t handle it all alone anymore and since 2010 my husband Jack is full time working in the business after fulfilling retail management positions successfully for years. He is the one dealing with the 'serious' stuff such as sales, finance and marketing. I can go wild on my constant search for the hottest feminine collections and must haves! Jack has a lot of guts together with a strong sense for commerce combined with passion and vision. Besides the fact that we are crazy in love since 21 years, we are a fierce team in all respects. Inevitable when you're both quite temperamental and clearly know what you want, but it is always fun, very special working together as a couple and it's certainly never boring! (At least so we think :-D)Also, I am very pleased with the enthusiastic team that we have, I would not know what to do without our team and I also really love you: our wonderful customers who share all those parties, weddings, holidays with us through the most amazing photos, emails, and super nice comments on Facebook and on our website. Please keep on doing this, we enjoy making you happy, in fact: that is all what we are here for!
Autumn Winter 2020
This Season Lola Ramona and Top Vintage will bring a beautiful new collection full of warm reds, oranges, and browns as well as a splash of teal for good measure. This gorgeous collection follow on from a fabulously successful summer selection that just disappeared from our shelves.
Top Vintage x Lola Ramona AW20
Check out this years collections right HERE! You can also visit Top Vintage at ther webshop HERE or if you are lucky enough to be in the Netherlands you can visit their store:
Wiebachstraat 96466 NG KerkradeThe Netherlands
Find them also on social media HERE!
Estefi - Motherhood in style
Earlier during the worldwide lockdown we connected with this wonderful Mumma who is finding fun and creative ways to bring retro and pin up styling to the streets and screens of South America!
We asked her some questions to try to understand a bit more about her inspirations and how she came across Lola Ramona half-way around the globe!..
What do you do and where are you from?
I'm from Santiago de Chile, and I'm a content creator on social media.
I sometimes appear on tv and radio to speak about clothing, style and motherhood.
Estefi in our Ava Vermilion style.
What drew you to retro style?
It was a long transition until I could "name" the style that I felt represented by. I guess watching Grease as a child, and as a designer I really loved pin-up illustrations and it all started from there I guess.
I don't consider myself a proper "pin up girl" because I have a very creative and more loose style, but retro it's definitely my go to style when I shop.
Estefi in our Ava Vermilion style.
What do you love about the style?
I love vintage style!
I've been collecting pieces and building a closet for many years now.
I really love colours, mix patterns, polka dots, everything! I love to wear costumes and fun clothes that put a smile on my face.
We are here to have fun!
How did you find Lola Ramona and why do you love the shoes?
I found them on Instagram.
I don't remember if it was someone who wore them or advertising, but the first time I saw the Instagram feed I was hooked!
Everything I've ever wanted was there. I LOVE stripes, polka dots and mixing colors and patterns.
It really was like somebody got into my head and made those shoes.
After I bought my first pair, I couldn't believe how comfy they were.
Everytime I wear my Lola Ramona shoes I get a lot of compliments and I feel amazing.
You can check out more of Estefi on her instagram feed
Fiore Vanil - A Retro Lady in a Modern World
We love retro and vintage, so we always love to collaborate with people who really know how to make that style come alive. No one does it better that Julie Fiore, so earlier this month we had a chat with her to find out what makes her tick!
Julie wearing June Mesh
LR: Hi Julie. So tell us a little about yourself.
JF: By education I am a medical psychologist and psychotherapist. I am also blogger on instagram, where I share the life of a retro lady in the modern world. Outside of that I am also working as a vintage model and I have a YouTube channel with a lot of Retro Hairstyle Tutorials.
Through these channels I am able to spread my passion to the world. My search for my own style has always been super important to me. By finding this inner style it allows us to show our inner world to those around us.
My nickname on social media is FioreVanil
LR: What are your inspirations?JF: I am so inspired by movies and the wonderful Hollywood actresses of the past; my favourites are, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich
Another great inspiration of course is Dita Von Teese! I also just love the other Retro divas on Instagram and they really inspire me in what I am doing!
Julie with Mindy Mine
LR: What got you into retro?
JF: The fact that you can dress every day like you are in a black and white movie! I understood when I saw Dita von Teese for the first time, it was in 2007, and it was an arrow in my heart. I Knew there and then that when I grow up and turn into a young elegant woman, I will definitely dress like this.
Julie in Audrey Morticia
LR:Why do you love Lola Ramona?
JF: I love Lola Ramona because of great designs, for courage and brightness, and (when I was receive my first shoes and bag) I was so happy with the quality, with all details; the box, the little messages in the pocket, and the incredible magic bags, that all took so small and dainty, but can contain a lot of things!!! It's really magic!
You can get to see more of Julie on her socials:
Instagram
Youtube
June Mesh
Life according to a vintage blonde - Kirstine Ploug
Some keywords for me are aesthetics, experiences, joy -all of which I apply to my everyday life. At home and in my business as a photographer.
Inspiration for work is drawn from travel and experiencing our beautiful world. From the smallest art museums in southern France, to eating the perfect pasta in a restaurant kitchen in Rome, to driving without destination into obscure parts of the USA. These are all experiences that fuel my everyday life. The beauty of the world, talking to people living very different lives from my own and taking in the wonders of nature and the arts and lives of our ancestors.
Surrounding myself with beautiful things inspires me, I have always been drawn to mid-century aesthetics, from the beautiful Danish furniture of those times to Dior’s New Look campaign.
It’s a love of the style of the 30’s-60’s and probably nostalgia for a more beautiful world; when fashion was elegant and dressing up was not a faux-pas.
My obsession with various decades changes, I love the strong 40’s silhouette of wartime women’s wear with the sculptural hats and hairdos. I also enjoy just as much the fitted pencil skirts of the 50’s with a tailored jacket, something that is so timeless and perfect for wearing everyday even to this day. Once in a while I really enjoy the glittery lurex, big hair and go-go boots of the late 60’s; what a playful and fun fashion. For all three decades the common theme for me is anything western-style, shirts, jewellery and fringe jackets!
Living in our place in time it’s a privilege to be able to pick and choose the style that will make me happy on any particular day. I like to dress for work in way that makes me feel powerful as woman. I believe that we as women have the luxury to be able to dress in a way that complements our bodies. I feel we have an obligation to do exactly this and not to dress like versions of men. We are lucky to enjoy the privileges of being more equal to men than maybe ever in history and we should celebrate this by highlighting our differences. For me that means dressing in a very feminine way and not being scared that it calls attention to me. I am not afraid of the red lipstick!
The ultimate success of women’s liberation means that as a woman today I can dress 1950’s but have all the freedoms and powers of 2020.
Kirstine has been a friend of Lola Ramona for many years and is absolutely in love with our brand new range of Teal Shoes. The beautiful Ava's and Dakotas that are new to our site this month.
Ava Retro feeling, Ava Quickstep, Dakota Jolly