Amsterdam’s casual style resembles that of San Francisco. No elegant jackets with fur collars here. No Louboutin high heels. The Amsterdam look is pure raw urban street style which is the specialty of Dutch fashion company, G-Star Raw. The best clothes shopping for men in Amsterdam can be found at Diesel, G-Star Raw, and the boutiques in the Nine Streets (Negen Straatjes) neighborhood. For women’s clothing, you can go to agnes b., or if you want a sophisticated edgy look, go to Van Ravenstein.

Nine Streets Neighborhood

Donna Fiera: trendy young women’s clothing, mostly from Italy and Scandinavia; chic yet sporty.

Huidenstraat 18
1016 ES Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 428 9250
www.donnafiera.nl

Lock, Stock and Barrel: urban chic look for men and women; they carry Filippa K, my favorite Swedish brand, as well as accessories, bags and belts.

Hartenstraat 26
1016 CC Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 421 3348

Van Ravenstein: if you like Belgian designers such as Dries van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Martin Margiela, Veronique Branquinho and Ann Demeulemeester but have not time to shop in Antwerp, Van Ravenstein is the place to shop. It’s also one of the few places in the Netherlands where you can find Balenciaga and Givenchy. I like the shoes and bags at this store.

Keizersgracht 359
1016 EJ Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 639 0067
www.van-ravenstein.nl

Skins Cosmetics: the only place to find all of your favorite (but not mainstream) perfumes such as Creed, Diptyque, Coudray, Parfums Frederic Malle and beauty brands such as Laura Mercier, Nars, Nuxe, Ren, Aesop, Dr. Sebagh.

Runstraat 9
1016 GJ Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 528 6922
www.skins.nl

Cortina Paper: if you love high-quality paper goods such as leather-bound blank notebooks from Italy, stationery, writing paper, gift wrapping paper, note pads, Cortina Paper has them all. They also have beautiful pens and pencils from Germany and Japan. A must-see for the paper lover.

Reestraat 22
1016 DN Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 623 6676
www.cortinapaper.nl

Centrum (Rokin, Leidsestraat)

The center of Amsterdam is where you find the chain stores such as Zara and Mango, and the main department store, de Bijenkorf, which is not worth visiting. There is only one place I would recommend: the agnes b. store on the Rokin.

Agnes b.: classic yet modern French style for women and men; they also carry watches, bags, shoes and belts. This is my favorite place to shop for women’s clothes.

Rokin 126
1012 LC Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 627 1465
www.agnesb.com

Filippa K: menswear and womenswear by a Swedish firm that believes in minimalism and simplicity. They do the “basics” well: white shirts, lightweight wool trousers, jackets. The PC Hooftstraat store carries men’s and women’s clothing.

Leidsestraat 53 (women’s collection only)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 20 625 9006

PC Hooftstraat 129
Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 20 673 2343

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