bluecollarwhitecollar: "It's all about life, passion, a shirt and a tee."

 

 

Some of my favourite buys come from niche boutiques, bluecollarwhitecollar being one of them. Today I got the opportunity to chat to Simone van Kraayenburg in Rosebank. She is the Regional Manager who delightfully told me the tale of the brand.

   Simone van Kraayenburg 

 

 

 

Bluecollarwhitecollar opened their first shop in Cape Town about 6 years ago, they also have a stall in the Neighbourgoods market in Cape Town, a store in Brooklyn Mall,  and they now have a store at The Zone in Rosebank. Simone mentioned that they have a few other stores too and are looking to expand the brand even further by opening, up to eight new stores this year; so be on the look out. She also said that in the near future they are looking to expand to London!

The creative minds behind the brand are Paul van der Spuy and Adrian Heneke who are both based in Cape Town. Their mantra goes "It's all about life, passion, a shirt and a tee," this is exactly what their store is in a nutshell. When walking into bluecollarwhitecollar you are always greeted with a warm smile. Dim lighting not only fills up the room with a retro and vintage flare but also the vinyl records and record player that are displayed around the store. The walls are filled with vintage frames and quirky finds that the designers find on their travels when sourcing material for the store.

 

They source material from overseas places like Thailand, India and Mauritius and then design the garments and have them made here in SA. They will be showcasing a collection at SA Fashion Week too that I'm pretty excited about -look out for retro, 40's, 50's and 60's themes. They do both men's and ladies shirts and they have retro men's tees too (which I'm loving at the moment) with symbols that both Paul and Adrian take a liking to, such as golf and motorbikes.

 

One of my weird and wonderful character traits is taking something that's menswear and turning it into something more feminine, that's exactly what I did with the mens tees I purchased from the store:

My look:

Tee: bluecollarwhitecollar

Heels: Forever New

Necklace: Lovisa

Sunglasses and wallet: Cotton On

Bag: Accessorize

Blazer: Zara

Make-up: Mac

Hat and pants: given to me as a gift

 

 

Another tee I purchased from the store recently: "PART WOLF."

 

 

Some food for thought: the store doesn't pay for advertising at all but often gets approached by magazines and media members for articles which gives them exposure. These are all on display in the change room of the Rosebank store.

This is my favourite in store poster:

 

By Paul van der Spuy

 

Lastly, this brand is definitely one of my go-to resources for quirky finds.