Last weekend I spent 4 days in London interviewing for jobs, meeting up with old friends and restoring balance to my soul. The last 6 months in Holland have been the toughest personal journey I've ever been on, even topping my breakup from a 4-year-long relationship with an emotionally damaged recently-turned vegetarian boyfriend when I was 22 and still quite impressionable. I spent a Christmas fighting depression, and came round to the realisation that although I wanted it to work, Holland just wasn't for me. A bit like said relationship actually.
So off I jetted to London, something I had been meaning to do since my arrival in Europe in September, to visit my cousins, see her newborn baby, catch up with friends. Being the schemer I am, I had also allowed Friday and Monday in London JUST IN CASE I would be looking for jobs and JUST IN CASE I got any interviews. All plans laid and hatched, I arrived with a 4-day schedule jam-packed full of productivity.
What struck me most of all, almost like a slap in the face: London got STYLE! I didn't realise how fashion-starved I'd been in Holland. My (not-so) sub-conscious defense mechanisms prevented me from reading Dutch fashion magazines, actually from engaging in any Dutch material at all, perhaps in an attempt to reject the culture that had rejected me. Whatever the motivation, when coupled with a strict budget that prevented me from buying the cute jacket from H&M and anything else pretty, I'd been retreating further and further into myself and burying all outward self-expression.
Individualistic style is exploding from every street corner in London, from the 15-year-old raiding mum's 80's earring collection to career women rocking blazers and harem pants, Londoners are not afraid to take chances when it comes to fashion. Especially the boys! Even though I'm personally not a fan of the skinny-jeans-and-Ray-Bans combo that they think is so cool (it's unmanly. don't do it.), you have to give them credit for rocking it. Vintage is well and truly alive, something we in NZ call op-shopping and Dutch people generally turn up their noses at. I spent 4 days gawking my eyes out at the visual feast that London laid so deliciously before me, picked up a copy of ELLE on the way home and returned to the land of cheese with a new lease on life.
So it's with a fresh slick of red lippie, a spring in my step and a newfound sense of inspiration that I walk (cycle) the streets of Alkmaar. Oh, and did I mention I got offered a job not even 12 hours after my interview?
London, this is gonna be the start of something beautiful xx
So off I jetted to London, something I had been meaning to do since my arrival in Europe in September, to visit my cousins, see her newborn baby, catch up with friends. Being the schemer I am, I had also allowed Friday and Monday in London JUST IN CASE I would be looking for jobs and JUST IN CASE I got any interviews. All plans laid and hatched, I arrived with a 4-day schedule jam-packed full of productivity.
What struck me most of all, almost like a slap in the face: London got STYLE! I didn't realise how fashion-starved I'd been in Holland. My (not-so) sub-conscious defense mechanisms prevented me from reading Dutch fashion magazines, actually from engaging in any Dutch material at all, perhaps in an attempt to reject the culture that had rejected me. Whatever the motivation, when coupled with a strict budget that prevented me from buying the cute jacket from H&M and anything else pretty, I'd been retreating further and further into myself and burying all outward self-expression.
Individualistic style is exploding from every street corner in London, from the 15-year-old raiding mum's 80's earring collection to career women rocking blazers and harem pants, Londoners are not afraid to take chances when it comes to fashion. Especially the boys! Even though I'm personally not a fan of the skinny-jeans-and-Ray-Bans combo that they think is so cool (it's unmanly. don't do it.), you have to give them credit for rocking it. Vintage is well and truly alive, something we in NZ call op-shopping and Dutch people generally turn up their noses at. I spent 4 days gawking my eyes out at the visual feast that London laid so deliciously before me, picked up a copy of ELLE on the way home and returned to the land of cheese with a new lease on life.
So it's with a fresh slick of red lippie, a spring in my step and a newfound sense of inspiration that I walk (cycle) the streets of Alkmaar. Oh, and did I mention I got offered a job not even 12 hours after my interview?
London, this is gonna be the start of something beautiful xx
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Wow, i have to be honest; i do so not recognize myself in the comments you make about Holland. Let my second hand All Stars be the evidence of not all dutchies being snobs.....nevertheless, all the best in London (which is almost incomparable to amsterdam anyway...)
ReplyDeleteTake care! x Julian
Yay London town! Such a shame that Dutchland didn't love you enough. Looking forward to catching up.
ReplyDeleteOh May Lee, this one is a classic. I'm sorry Holland didn't meet those big dreams you had but then thats the experience of life that makes you a better person...or at least know what you want. :) Bring on London, i am sure you will love it. Ira.
ReplyDeleteWow wat goed dat je een job offer hebt gekregen! Gefeliciteerd! Is dat ook bij het interview waar je zo'n goed gevoel bij had? Wanneer ga je beginnen?
ReplyDeleteWat kun jij leuk schrijven zeg, ik kijk nu al uit naar je volgende blog! Ik ga morgen even kijken hoe het met de fashion in NYC is!!
London looks forward to your arrival! x
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to read that you did not make the "touch" with Holland.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it's fair if you comparing staying in London with a fairly short stay in a quite village in NL. Maybe you had better stay in Amsterdam/Utrecht/Rotterdam for a while first before making these kind of comparisons.
Nico