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STYLE INVASION recently had the pleasure of meeting with three of Antwerp’s budding street style bloggers – sisters Helen and Tine, and their friend Lara – who helm Antwerpen Street Style. The blog was originally started by Helen in 2009, when she was 16. “My parents gave me a camera, so I thought, ‘I have to do something with the camera,’” says Helen. “I started the blog because I love fashion and I love my city.”
The blog features street style pictures, shop information, interviews, and event listings – something to definitely check out if you’re planning a visit to Antwerp. After enjoying a drink inside one of the city’s trendy cafes, we hit the streets for a quick photo shoot.
Check out Antwerpen Street Style!
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STYLE INVASION was recently in Antwerp, which is widely regarded as Belgium’s fashion capital. Time was tight, but we still managed to hit the streets and get some street style pictures for you to check out. Thanks to everyone who kindly agreed to be photographed!
Nathalie #1
Nathalie #2
Ken #1
Ken #2
Mickey #1
Mickey #2
Eric #1
Eric #2
Joachim #1
Joachim #2
Jiliane & Sebastien #1
Jiliane & Sebastien #2
Tiziana #1
Tiziana #2
Sven #1
Sven #2
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Nigel Hamid is the editor and photographer of TorontoVerve, a street style blog he started in 2010 after being inspired by The Sartorialist. Nigel makes his living in the financial industry, but spends much of his spare time snapping pictures of Toronto’s most fashionable, interesting, and vibrant people. He also tackles occasional film reviews, special event coverage, and creative photo shoots. Nigel was kind enough to grant Style Invasion an interview and behind-the-scenes look at what he does.
What captures your eye when you’re out hunting for street style?
What captures my eye, usually, is colour, boldness, an attitude, or an activity that someone’s doing. It could be as little as someone who’s texting, someone who’s on the phone, someone who’s sitting and waiting for traffic to go by, or someone who’s hailing a cab.
Do you have any rituals or particular preparation you do before heading out to shoot street style?
I’ve never been so consumed with weather. Now, I’m always checking the forecast – will it be sunny, cloudy, rainy? How cold will it be? Because, weather always dictates what people wear.
How does weather affect your street style photography?
The winter months are the most challenging. Sometimes I can hardly hold my camera because it’s so cold, but I’m committed to having new street style (on the blog) every day, so it’s something I endure. The warmer months are definitely a street style blogger’s dream.
When do you shoot street style?
I shoot most of my street style on weekends, so I don’t generally leave the house until the afternoon, when I know there’s the most traffic. I prefer daylight photos, so now that the days are longer, I don’t feel like I’m under pressure anymore, because I can shoot until 8pm and still have a lot of light. Mostly, I prefer shooting street style when it’s unplanned.
Whenever I leave the house now, I always carry my camera, because you never know when you’ll see great street style. It’s better to have a camera and not need one, than to need a camera and not have one.
Quite often, a lot of the more interesting street style that I capture is on the way to the gym, or walking the dogs.
What was it like the first time you hit the streets with your camera?
The first day I went out for street photography, I brought my partner, just because I didn’t have the courage to approach people. Sure, it was a great concept, I’ll just approach people on the street and photograph their fashion, their style, and showcase Toronto, but that’s easier said than done.
I remember the first person I approached, I was just tongue-tied and I was so nervous that I had my partner approach the first few times, and she was gracious enough to do so. But later, she said, “You know, it’s your website and you’re going to have to do this sometime or another,” so I started asking people. And the more and more I asked people, the more comfortable it was. Right now, I have a tough skin and I can handle the rejection. More often than not, people accept the invitation for a street style photograph. I’ve been very fortunate.
What exactly do you bring with you?
Very little. My camera bag holds just my Nikon D7000, flash and my business cards.
Do you walk, drive, or take public transit to your shooting destination?
In the winter, I’ll drive to several different locations because I don’t want a week’s worth of photos in one location. But I’ll admit it’s hard to drive and look for street style at the same time. It’s even harder to park and catch up to someone. In the warmer months, I ride my bike to several locations. Once, a stylish person jetted passed me on their moped and I was determined to catch up to them on my bike, and I did. It turned out to be a lucky break, because the person was CBC’s Mary Wiens, who was impressed with what I did and had me appear on her Metro Morning radio show.
How long are you usually out for?
Looking for street style is my least favourite thing to do in this whole process, so I don’t spend as much time as I used to. If I feel I’m on a roll, I’ll stay out longer, but if I go without finding street style in an hour, I’ll call it a day. I remember once looking for street style at Dundas Square for two hours and not finding a thing. It was such a disappointing day and a lesson I learned to never do again.
Do you cruise the streets or just stay in one spot?
I prefer moving around because I don’t want to have too much of one location at a time. Multiple locations guarantee a variety of styles.
Do you take breaks for food, water, etc?
In the past, I was so focused on looking and shooting street style, I would forget to eat, drink or even take a washroom break, but now I’m more relaxed about it and take regular breaks.
Do you edit your pictures right away?
Shooting and editing are my most favourite things in this process. If I’m excited about what I’ve shot, I’ll start editing the same night.
What are your favourite things about Toronto?
Its multi-culturalism and diverse neighbourhoods.
Where are your favourite places to shoot in Toronto?
The hot spots to shoot in Toronto are still Yorkville, Queen Street West, Bloor, and Kensington Market.
You have a full-time job, yet you still manage to post new content on TorontoVerve on a daily basis. How do you do it?
I feel if you’re going to have a street style blog, you must be committed to it. I know one of the more disappointing things for people who are devoted to a blog is to visit it, let’s say three days later, and there hasn’t been a new post. So, I want to try to avoid that disappointment and try to get as much content as possible on the blog. So, what that means for me is a commitment to go out every weekend, for instance (and shoot street style).
Why are you so passionate about street style photography?
I do it because I love meeting people, I love the spontaneity, I love creating something artistic, and more importantly, I love showcasing the city to the world.
What are your other interests and hobbies?
I’m a big movie fan. I see about 30 movies during the film festival and go regularly throughout the year. That’s why you’ll find movie reviews and celebrity photos on the site.
Favourite reading material?
Right now I’m reading Steve Jobs’ biography and Stephen King’s 11/22/63.
Favourite websites?
Of course, I’m always looking at street style blogs, such as The Sartorialist, Stockholm Street Style and Easy Fashion. I’m inspired by those blogs and I try to avoid looking like them.
Favourite places to shop?
Since I’ve started the blog, I’m very interested in colour. So I’ll shop at a variety of locations: Banana Republic, Club Monaco and The Gap.
What kind of music are you into?
I’m all over the board: from classic rock, new wave, R&B and soul. It’s what I listen to on my iPhone when I look for street style.
Do you have any tips for aspiring street style photographers?
1) Always look presentable, because you want people to feel comfortable in your presence.
2) Have professional business cards made, just so people can trust you and know that you’re serious about what you’re doing.
3) Get to know your camera, because when people are on the go, they’re not going to wait for you to figure out how to use your camera.
Check out Nigel’s street style photography at TorontoVerve.
*Street style photos courtesy of Nigel Hamid
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DRAW and BASS 2.0 is an art show/zine launch/dance party that was held on Saturday Nov. 5 at Studio 561. A co-production of Retinal Magazine and Artistic Anarchy, the event was rife with drawing, drinking and booty shaking. Check out the photos:
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Steven Tanaka may be one of the most insanely passionate fans of Japanese indie/underground music you’ll ever meet. The Vancouver-born Tanaka has a Japanese CD collection numbering in the thousands, and has attended more than 500 live shows in Japan in just the last five years. To top it off, in May of 2010 he started a cross-Canada tour called Next Music From Tokyo (NMFT), which saw a handful of Japan’s most intense and energetic live bands launch a sonic assault on the people of Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto.
Now in its third installment, the twice-yearly NMFT tour will once again be hitting the Great White North, October 13-18. I sat down with Tanaka in Toronto to find out what drives his musical fervor, how he’s able to almost single-handedly organize a national tour while working a full-time job as an anesthesiologist, and what motivates him to take on the mammoth financial demands of running NMFT.
How did you first get interested in Japanese indie/underground music?
Most of my life, I hadn’t listened to Japanese music because my impression was that in Japan, the indie/underground scene wasn’t too prevalent, and it was mostly stereotypical stuff like J-pop, enka and visual kei, so I always thought that there wasn’t much that would interest me if I were to listen to local bands from Japan.
But there was this one band called Chatmonchy that became probably my absolute favorite band for a while. I’d go to Japan just to watch them play. They started off as an indie band, but then they got signed to Sony and they progressively became more and more sort of pop and more focused on selling CDs, as opposed to making music that they really wanted to – at least, that was my opinion.
As they became more mainstream, I got more interested in other bands. So, I’d go to Japan to watch Chatmonchy, they’d play with another band that I might like, so I’d follow that band, and they’d be playing other shows with other bands, and that sort of ballooned into a huge list of bands that I became interested in.
What do you think makes the Japanese indie/underground music scene so great?
I see shows in Canada, and I just feel it’s a bit homogeneous in that a lot of the bands tend to sound similar, and there isn’t as much diversity in sound. A lot of bands in North America are excellent in terms of creating great studio works, but when it comes to watching them live, how they sound on stage isn’t too different from the way they sound on CD. In Japan, the focus is almost completely on the live performance. So, if you listen to (a Japanese band’s) CD, you might not be too impressed, but if you were to watch the same band play live, they would just blow your mind, because they play with so much more passion and intensity.
How often do you go to Japan to watch shows?
Before I started this tour, I tried to go to Japan as many times as possible in a year. My record is eight times in one year. But I only go for one week or two weeks max at a time. My record for shortest visit was when I went to watch Chatmonchy’s bass player (do a DJ gig). I went to Japan on a Thursday, arrived on Friday, and then flew back on Sunday. I was just there for basically two days.
So, I watched that show in Tokyo, where the bass player from Chatmonchy DJ’ed, and then I went all the way to Kyoto to watch one of my favorite bands – Viridian – play, and then I went back home. When I go to Japan, I usually see a show almost every night, and sometimes I might see three or four shows in a day, because compared to Canada, shows tend to start earlier. Most shows start at 6pm or 7pm, and a lot of times they even have shows during the day.
What were your goals when you decided to put together the Next Music From Tokyo tour?
In terms of why I wanted to do this tour, I thought of three main goals I wanted to achieve. One was just giving the bands – bands that I love – an opportunity to come and perform in another country since most of those bands haven’t had that opportunity in the past, so I wanted to be able to provide that for them.
And two, I wanted people in Canada who are already fans of Japanese music to have an opportunity to see bands perform live, because it would be really expensive for them to fly all the way to Japan to see bands play. I wanted to do something for people who are already pre-existing fans of Japanese music.
But probably the biggest reason that I wanted to do it was to help cultivate an interest in Japanese music here in Canada, because, for me – I go to Japan a lot, I love the food and I think the girls are awesome – but for me, the best part of Japan is its live music scene, and because it’s so under-recognized, I really wanted to do something to give it some more recognition.
How did you come up with the name of the tour?
I didn’t coin the name of the tour. I was struggling to come up with a title on my own, but the bands did their own brainstorming and came up with Next Music From Tokyo. For me, I thought it was a little bit problematic, because it was not my intention to limit the tour to bands from Tokyo alone, because there are a lot of bands in Fukuoka and Osaka that I liked as well that I also intended on bringing in the future. But it had a nice ring to it, and I couldn’t think of anything better, so I decided to leave it at that, knowing full well that I would probably be inviting bands from other cities in the future.
You spend an insane amount of money putting these tours together. At what point did you know this wasn’t going to be cheap?
Oh, I knew off the bat I was going to lose anywhere from 30- to 40-thousand dollars. Paying for airfare makes up about 80% to 90% of the cost of the tour. Even if I didn’t pay for the flights, I’d probably still lose money. Now, with the cost of fuel skyrocketing, it’s ridiculous how expensive flights are from Canada to Japan.
For the first tour, there were 18 band members. I spent about 20-thousand dollars on airfare, and I also paid for a hotel in each city, so about a thousand dollars a night, and this was for about 10 nights. So, 10-thousand dollars in hotel, 20-thousand dollars in airfare, and I also bought food for them, there were expenses in terms of renting the venues, and then buying ads promoting the tour, so in total, it was probably at least 35-thousand dollars. And that was the cheapest one, for sure.
As someone who had no prior experience organizing a tour, what did you learn from putting together NMFT Vol. 1?
What I learned was that it’s actually doable, because in the process of organizing the first tour, with the roadblocks of finding venues and securing work visas, I seriously thought that the tour might not be able to go through, just because of all the red tape. Logistically, with four or five bands, having so many people and having to sort of babysit them myself across Canada, I was afraid that, you know, “Would I be able to take care of them properly over the course of ten days?”
I realized that it was doable, that if you put your mind to it, it’s achievable. And that it was worth doing, because even though I knew I was going to lose a ton of money no matter what, the amount of fun that I had and the memories that I’ll take with me for the rest of my life, it was worth it.
How do you balance a full-time job with organizing a tour?
I have to make sure that the tour doesn’t compromise my ability to practice medicine. A lot of times, I do stay up late at night, long hours, to do a lot of the organizational stuff for the tour, and that can impact how vigilant I am during the day. But work, in general, is pretty regular. I do eight-hour shifts at the hospital, and occasionally I have to work a 24-hour shift on-call, but it is pretty predictable.
Your many tour responsibilities include booking and renting venues, designing posters, writing press releases, securing instruments and backline, chaperoning the bands, emceeing the shows, and even acting as doorperson at the clubs. Has anyone stepped up to give you a hand with things?
For this tour, I specifically emailed the bands that I was a little bit unimpressed with the bands on the second tour, because they left a lot of the organizational stuff and promotion to me. So, I let them know that I really wanted their help in terms of, at the very least, giving me band photos and helping create a promotional video to get the word out for the tour. And they all said that, oh yeah, they’ll definitely help in that regard, but I find once again that it’s just sort of me and my friends doing most of the work.
So, from an organizational standpoint, it has been a lot of work, but what has helped quite a bit is a lot of my friends and a lot of fans in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, are now starting to help a lot more in terms of helping design and distribute posters.
Are there any plans for U.S. tour dates?
What I’m doing, as it is, is too much of a financial and logistical burden. To actually bring it to the U.S., in terms of the work visa issues – if you think Canada’s bad, the U.S. is even worse. So, the red tape would be the biggest roadblock to being able to bring it to the States. Initially, when I pitched this whole idea to the bands, it was that we were supposed to do Canada and the U.S., and they were heartbroken when they found out that we wouldn’t be able to go to the U.S., but it would just be too much of a hassle.
Where do you see NMFT heading in the future?
In terms of the future of this tour, I don’t really necessarily need it to grow more than this. I’d love to get a little bit more media coverage, just so that the Japanese music scene gets a little bit more recognition, but I don’t want to be doing shows at large venues.
The Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver is probably the largest venue the bands play at, and that holds about 400 or 450 people, and I think that’s more than enough. The whole point of this tour is to have bands play at sort of an intimate setting, and with a lot of energy in the crowd, and I find that if you get too large of a venue then it sort of becomes a little bit more impersonal.
Basically, the most important thing for me is seeing how happy the bands are, coming to Canada. It might be the only opportunity they ever get to perform in another country, and I’m just really happy I was able to do that for them.
Can you talk a bit about the bands appearing on Vol. 3, and what can people expect to see at the shows?
NATSUMEN is the marquee band on this tour. They’re an eight-member instrumental super-group who play a blend of experimental jazz and powerful hardcore with timeless melodies and boundless energy. Picture Miles Davis jamming with Jimi Hendrix and At The Drive In.
Chiina is composed of three females on piano/vocals, violin and contrabass, and two males on guitar and drums. They play orchestral indie pop mixed with jazz, folk, and post-rock, and the singer has a sublimely beautiful voice. They’re all classically trained and incredibly skilled.
Hyacca are from the southwestern tropical city of Fukuoka and play lightning speed punk colored by mathy riffs, krautrock rhythms and shoegaze soundscapes. They have dual male-female vocals, occasionally with guttural screaming, and play to an incredibly catchy new wave beat that the crowd can’t help but dance and mosh to.
Akai Ko-en are four girls aged 18-19 who play melodic emo-hardcore with a level of intensity and passion that must be seen to be believed. They keep all of their music and video footage off the internet so you don’t know what to expect and are completely blown away.
Merpeoples will only play with us in Toronto. They’re four girls who play indie new-wave pop-punk oozing with sex appeal and charm.
People can expect to see bands performing heartfelt music with skill of the highest caliber. Even if you don’t understand a word of Japanese, you can still enjoy the show thoroughly because the passion, energy and talent with which the bands play, transcends any language barrier. NMFT Vol. 2 was named best show of 2010 in Montreal by multiple journalists in the year-end issue of the Montreal Mirror. So, if you’re not allergic to fun or good music, you should definitely come out.
Find out more about the tour at nextmusicfromtokyo.com
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As a companion piece to our post on the 25 best street fashion blogs, we take a look at the folks that bring us into their world via their outfits, insights, and experiences in the realm of personal style and fashion. Whether it’s France, China, Canada, the U.S.A., or elsewhere, these personal style bloggers are dedicated to strutting their stuff and spreading loads of style inspiration to the masses. Here is the complete list of the 25 personal style blogs that Style Invasion is loving the most in 2011:
#25 Phi Style
Tramanh Phi is an attorney with superb style. She’s also a fantastic writer. Her posts burst with colour and personality, and she blogs about much more than just pretty clothes. Prepare to get hooked.
#24 The Style Tribe
Five girls. Five styles. Five days a week. That’s all you really need to know.
#23 Jennifhsieh
Jennifer Hsieh is a college student on a budget, but she still manages to look like a million bucks while she (literally) prances around for the camera.
#22 Come Over To The Dark Side We Have Candy (COTTDS)
You should check out this delicious slice of personal style for the mere fact it’s got the greatest blog name in the history of blog names. Plus, they have candy.
#21 Monochroma.chic
According to her profile, this Toronto blogger can be won over with pretty shoes or spicy food. But it’s her delightfully dainty style that will have you tumbling head over heels.
#20 Bleed For Fashion
The girl behind this standout effort was recently dubbed “Canada’s Style Sweetheart”. By us. Just now.
#19 Fashionista Talk
Lida Mankovski is a fashion-obsessed Torontonian that’s currently attending law school in California. Whether she’s studying diligently by the pool or taking a summer trek across Asia, it seems she always finds time to blog about her personal adventures and her stunningly beautiful fashion choices.
#18 The Style Manual
Blake Jacobsen is a dapper, brooding, breakout star of the Lookbook generation. Go see what all the hype is about.
#17 I Am Style-ish
Dazzling personal style, an impressive shoe collection, meticulous fashion details, thoughtful videos, and even adorable dachshunds are on the menu of this Seattle-based blog.
#16 Extra Petite
It ain’t easy being petite. Learn all about the experiences and challenges this petite fashion lover faces while trying to build a wardrobe of pieces that fit and flatter.
#15 Girl & Closet
If you’ve ever dreamt of living in a quaint ocean-side town with your significant other, your beloved dog and your chubby orange cat, blogging about personal style and sharing bits of your life, then you’ll most certainly love this blog.
#14 Karla’s Closet
It’s fitting that Karla Deras is a former girl group member, seeing as how she has basically achieved pop star status with her blog, Karla’s Closet. You may as well join the adoring throngs and head on over there right now (if you haven’t already).
#13 This Time Tomorrow
Krystal Bick’s elegant, mature, and sophisticated style is on display at This Time Tomorrow, with her current shopping cravings and general musings about fashion thrown in for good measure.
#12 Blue Paper Lanterns
Check out this Seattle blogger’s site and witness what wonders can be done with an annual clothing budget of $600.
#11 Glisters And Blisters
One visit to Glisters and Blisters and you’ll get sucked in by the “eclectic and mood-based” style of this fashion-savvy girl from Jakarta, Indonesia.
#10 Fashiontoast
Fashiontoast’s Rumi Neely is the Oprah of personal style bloggers. Do not cross her. She will crush you. Seriously.
#9 The Cherry Blossom Girl
Surely you’ve heard of the Cherry Blossom Girl! Everything about this blog and its Paris-based hostess is exquisite. In other words, cherry blossoms + girl = winning combination.
#8 Song Of Style
Aimee Song’s stylishly smart wardrobe choices and undeniable allure will have you wishing they all could be California girls.
#7 9to5Chic
This goal-oriented, career-driven, fashion-minded blogger from San Francisco may be a “closet wannabe Martha Stewart”, but Martha’s got nothing on this girl when it comes to personal style.
#6 Her Waise Choice
Vancouver’s Jen Tam chooses to be stylish without being superficial, on trend without being a slave to fashion, and look good without looking down on others. Wise choice, indeed.
#5 Cheyenne Meets Chanel
The fashion diary of Shea Marie, a sultry, sexy, spicy, ultra stylish small town girl now living in Hollywood, California. Let the drooling begin!
#4 Le Blog De Betty
Betty Autier is a Paris-based style maven whose online logbook has been around since 2008 and has garnered quite a following. Ooh la la!
#3 The Sea Of Fertility
Xiaoxi (Nancy) Zhang is an illustrator/designer from China, currently living in Berlin. Her quirky style is often juxtaposed with her wonderfully whimsical fashion illustrations, making The Sea Of Fertility a true breath of fresh air.
#2 Fated To Be Hated
If you crave generous helpings of sassy and spunky style, then this blog by Bebe Zeva is for you!
#1 Style Scrapbook
Great style, great pictures, great design, and a ridiculously frequent stream of updates elevates this blog to superstar standing. Thank goodness for Mexican freelance stylists blogging from Amsterdam!
And don’t forget to check out our NEW list of the best personal style blogs of 2013!
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