The girls’ trip has grown up. We still want the laughs, the late dinners and the excuse to escape with friends, but increasingly, we want a little more from the weekend than three nights revolving around cocktails and a headache on the journey home.
Imagine instead a few days spent rifling through rails of vintage fashion, discovering independent designers, wandering through antiques markets and locally owned boutiques, then settling in somewhere atmospheric for dinner. The long lunches, drinks and uninterrupted conversations are still firmly on the itinerary, but so too is the chance to discover something new and return home with a unique vintage jacket nobody else will be wearing. That was the premise of my trip through Eindhoven and The Hague, two Dutch cities connected by circular fashion, second-hand shopping, upcycling and independent design.
The journey is easy, beginning in central London and continuing by rail into the Netherlands. Eurostar travels directly from St Pancras to Rotterdam in around three hours and 13 minutes, with Standard fares from around £39 each way when purchased as part of a return journey, (subject to availability). From Rotterdam, the Dutch rail network takes you onwards to Eindhoven.
This is much more fun than racing through Europe ticking off a prescribed list of sights. The pleasure is in having time to browse, talk and see what you stumble across. Here, the retail scene becomes part of the cultural experience of the city.
EINDHOVEN: THE CITY WHERE VINTAGE GETS INTERESTING
Eindhoven may still be known internationally for Philips and its industrial heritage, but the city has put that history to creative use. Former factories and manufacturing sites now house restaurants, studios, workshops, shops and cultural spaces, particularly around Strijp-S. Design is embedded in the character of the city, and its approach to vintage feels part of the same conversation.
YATVA VINTAGE
Yatva Vintage is the antithesis of the pristine boutique where every hanger appears to have been positioned with a ruler. Owner Yetunde Olusanya has created a store packed with retro fashion, accessories, furniture and unexpected pieces.
Yetunde, who is originally from Britain, still sources much of her vintage in London, giving the Eindhoven store an unmistakable cross-channel character. Among my favourite finds were some original vintage Adidas bowling bags. She also spoke to me about how AI is helping with the less visible side of running an independent business. Listing one-off pieces online can consume hours, from researching labels to writing individual descriptions, and AI now helps streamline some of that work and can support her with authentication research.
At a time when discussion around artificial intelligence often centres on its threat to creativity, Yetunde’s experience was a reminder of its practical value. For a small owner-run business, time saved on administration is time returned to sourcing, selling and speaking to customers.
THE VINTAGE TRAIL
The following morning was devoted to Eindhoven’s second-hand stores, each offering a different interpretation of vintage.
NineLives is compact and carefully edited, and was also the scene of one of my best bargains of the trip: a vintage black-and-gold beaded cape that will work equally well for Christmas and the festival season. I had been eyeing similar pieces on Vinted, where they were selling for around six times what I paid here.
All Vintage, founded by Willeke and Hanneke after the pair worked together at Dutch department store De Bijenkorf, carries genuine pre-2000 vintage alongside leather, denim, shoes and accessories. Here I found a butter-soft blue leather jacket that has barely been off my back since: distinctive, beautifully made and already earning its place in my wardrobe as I wear it on repeat.
At ReShare Store, circular fashion has a broader social purpose. Part of the Salvation Army’s Dutch network,it sells donated second-hand and vintage clothing while supporting employment and volunteering opportunities. Its Eindhoven branch also has an in-house sewing studio where garments can be repaired and kept in circulation.
Then came Leverage, an elder-millennial fever dream in the best possible way. For those of us raised on Paris Hilton, logo-heavy handbags and an era when a Von Dutch cap felt like the height of sophistication, there is nostalgia on almost every rail. Think Dior saddle bags, Louis Vuitton monograms, Fendi baguettes, Juicy Couture velour and Diesel denim: the Y2K pieces we once wore completely unironically, only to find ourselves hunting them down again two decades later. So fun!
Even the This is Eindhoven Store joins the conversation, stocking products by local makers alongside pieces from THE VIBE, the city’s own fashion label.
What becomes clear is that second-hand here is not treated as a poor relation to contemporary fashion. It is simply another part of the city’s design culture.
PIET HEIN EEK: DESIGN ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE
If one place sums up Eindhoven’s relationship with design, industry and reuse, it is Piet Hein Eek.
His enormous complex at Strijp-R resists easy definition. Showroom, workshop, hotel, restaurant, production facility and exhibition space occupy a former industrial site where furniture, art and objects spill through a succession of vast rooms.
Eek built his reputation in the 1990s with furniture made from reclaimed timber, taking material that might otherwise have been discarded and making its previous life visible. Scratches, colour variations and inconsistencies became part of the design rather than something to conceal.
We also met one of Piet Hein Eek’s twin daughters, who co-founded jewellery label Tweek-Eek with her sister in 2019. Roos and Geertje Eek combine backgrounds in metalwork and product design, using industrial machinery more commonly associated with furniture and high-tech manufacturing, to create jewellery. It is an intriguing meeting point between engineering and adornment and is entirely at home in Eindhoven.
MORE VINTAGE AT STRIIJP-S
Back at Strijp-S, three further stores showed how broad the definition of second-hand fashion has become.
Luna & Lore places upcycling at its heart. Owner Luna Hartogs combines vintage with handmade and reworked pieces, from customised blazers to redesigned shirts and accessories, while workshops invite customers to try the process themselves.
Frankie’s Favorites takes a more polished, designer-led approach, with premium labels, shoes, bags and sunglasses from names such as Isabel Marant, Anine Bing and Golden Goose.
Nearby, Vintage Vêtements presents vintage clothing, shoes and bags in a clean, contemporary setting, another example of how comfortably old and new coexist within Eindhoven’s fashion landscape.
NEW ORDER OF FASHION: MAKING ROOM FOR WHAT COMES NEXT
If the vintage stores explore how clothing can be given another life, New Order of Fashion looks at what comes next. Based at Strijp-S, the platform supports sustainable fashion through experimentation, education, research and opportunities for emerging designers.
As an ex-fashion designer myself, and someone who once ran a platform championing independent UK fashion designers, this was a particularly interesting stop. I know how difficult it can be for emerging creatives to move from education into an industry where talent alone is rarely enough. Access to workspace, equipment, networks and mentoring can determine whether an idea remains in a graduate portfolio or develops into a viable business.
That is what makes New Order of Fashion valuable. It gives emerging designers room to experiment and begin building the practical foundations of a career. If fashion is going to become more inventive and resource-conscious, the people entering the industry need somewhere to test new approaches.
WHERE TO STAY: HOTEL MARIËNHAGE
Our Eindhoven base, Hotel Mariënhage, continues the city’s habit of finding new purposes for historic buildings.
The boutique hotel forms part of DOMUSDELA, a former monastery complex where contemporary art and design sit alongside centuries-old architecture. Eindhoven’s oldest surviving wall has been incorporated into the development, while a light installation by Dutch design duo Studio Drift provides a distinctly modern intervention.
A monastery garden and wellness facilities add to the appeal, but it is the dialogue between the old building and contemporary design that gives the hotel its identity.
WHERE TO EAT IN EINDHOVEN
Radio Royaal, housed in a former Philips machine room at Strijp-S, retains the imposing scale and rawness of its industrial setting, with soaring ceilings, exposed surfaces and a menu influenced by French and German cooking.
Fifth NRE, set within Eindhoven’s former gasworks, brings restaurant, bar, music and cultural spaces together within another piece of the city’s industrial heritage.
And lunch at Piet Hein Eek is worth folding into a visit to the complex, allowing you to remain within that world of design, manufacturing and reclaimed materials a little longer.
THE HAGUE: A DIFFERENT KIND OF TREASURE HUNT
The train from Eindhoven to The Hague brings a noticeable change of character. The Hague is grander and more polished, with broad streets and handsome architecture, but the thread running through the trip remains intact: independent shopping here rewards curiosity.
THE ANTIQUE AND BOOK MARKET
The Hague’s Antique and Book Market feels like a brief step backwards in time. During the warmer months, stalls line Lange Voorhout with books, prints, paintings, jewellery, postcards and curiosities carrying decades, sometimes centuries, of history.
The market rewards close attention… One stall might hold original folio books opened to reveal beautifully hand-illustrated pages; another, silver pieces personally sourced by dealers from Egypt and further afield. Elsewhere are trays of jewellery, old postcards and unusual collectibles whose provenance is as interesting as their design.
The Stall holders – many of them have been trading there for 20 years or more, and it’s fascinating to chat with them about how they source their pieces and their most interesting finds.
DE PLESMAN: AVIATION HISTORY, REWORKED
From the market we headed to De Plesman, occupying the former headquarters of KLM and named after the airline’s founder, Albert Plesman.
Its aviation history remains visible throughout the transformation into a hotel. Monumental proportions and original architectural details sit alongside contemporary interiors, and the property has since been awarded one MICHELIN Key, the Michelin Guide’s distinction for outstanding hotels. We had lunch in one of the private dining areas before the director showed us through some of the newer rooms and spaces.
Among the most distinctive is the Plesman Suite, created within Albert Plesman’s former office and retaining its original wood panelling. That history gives the hotel a character that could never have been created from scratch.
ZEEHELDENKWARTIER: A NEIGHBOURHOOD MADE FOR BROWSING
Zeeheldenkwartier brought another cluster of independents to explore.
At Little Green Shop, plants, vintage pots, old prints, curiosities and sustainable homewares fill a small, characterful space.
Nearby, SWAPS lets customers bring in clothing in exchange for discount vouchers towards something new-to-them. Quality and longevity sit at the centre of the concept, with the store deliberately avoiding ultra-fast-fashion brands.
Appel & Ei specialises in carefully selected second-hand clothing, shoes, bags and accessories, while Cross & Woods takes the fashion thread in another direction entirely.
Its rows of yarn, wool and crafting supplies were particularly nostalgic for me. My mum used to own a local shop called Pam’s Wool & Wear, so shelves filled with colour and texture instantly took me back.
Cross & Woods also runs regular craft evenings, continuing that longstanding connection between making things and bringing people together.
At Op z’n Kop, crockery, vintage accessories, brocante furniture, colourful objects and gifts compete for attention, giving the shop the layered appeal of a well-travelled collector’s home.
KUNSTMUSEUM DEN HAAG: FASHION AS CULTURAL HISTORY
No trip centred around fashion would be complete without a museum visit, and Kunstmuseum Den Haag gives the subject the space it deserves.
The museum is celebrating 75 years of its fashion collection with Reflections on Fashion, running until 3 January 2027. What began as the Dutch Costume Museum has grown into the largest fashion and costume collection in the Netherlands, containing more than 50,000 garments and accessories.
As a former fashion designer, I found parts of it unexpectedly emotional.
Standing inches away from original designer pieces and being able to examine the construction, proportion, fabric and detail is entirely different from seeing them on a screen. I was close to tears at points. Fashion, at its best, is craft, cultural history, identity and a record of how people wanted to present themselves at a particular moment in time.
The exhibition also adds another layer to the conversation around longevity. Garments created decades ago can still feel arresting and relevant. The idea that clothes become disposable simply because a season has changed feels especially hollow when confronted with pieces that have endured for generations.
WHERE TO STAY: THE ALD
Our base in The Hague was The ALD Boutique Hotel, housed inside the former National Government Printing Office.
High ceilings, architectural details and contemporary interiors acknowledge the building’s history, while its central location makes it a convenient base for exploring the city on foot.
THE GIRLS’ TRIP, RECONSIDERED
The most persuasive thing about the trip was just how FUN it was exploring these local gems.
We shopped, tried on so much fashion, ate amazingly well. I loved speaking with the designers and shop owners, handling old books, discovering new makers and found pieces with stories attached to them. There were dinners, drinks and plenty of laughter, but they were part of the trip rather than its sole purpose.
Sustainability is at its most persuasive when it enhances the experience rather than becoming the experience. Here, it sits naturally alongside considered design, memorable shopping, excellent food and the pleasure of discovering somewhere new.
The traditional girls’ weekend is not going anywhere, nor should it. There will always be room for cocktails, late nights and slightly chaotic group photographs on everyone’s camera roll the morning after. But there is space for another version too.
One where the journey begins by train, independent shops replace the familiar high-street circuit, vintage becomes a route into the culture of a city and the things you bring home have stories attached to them. The girls’ trip has grown up. And this version may have far more staying power…
Why not plan your own slower shopping trip?
For more ideas on vintage shopping, sustainable fashion and slower city breaks across the Netherlands, visit:
H&N TRAVEL FILE
Prices, opening times and availability can change, so check directly before travelling.
GETTING THERE
EINDHOVEN
Eurostar: London St Pancras to Rotterdam Centraal
Direct journey from around 3 hours 13 minutes. Standard fares are advertised from £39 each way when purchased as part of a return journey, subject to availability.
www.eurostar.com/uk-en/train/london-to-rotterdam
From Rotterdam Centraal, continue by NS train to Eindhoven. Eindhoven and The Hague are also easily connected by rail.
SHOP & VISIT
Yatva Vintage
Kleine Berg 7, 5611 JS Eindhoven
Retro and vintage fashion, accessories and interiors, with much of the stock sourced in London.
NineLives
Hertogstraat 2.06, 5611 PB Eindhoven
A compact, carefully curated selection of second-hand and vintage fashion.
www.thisiseindhoven.com/en/locations/nine-lives
All Vintage
Bergstraat 36, Eindhoven
Pre-2000 vintage, leather, denim, accessories and one-off fashion finds.
ReShare Store Eindhoven
Vrijstraat 21, 5611 AT Eindhoven
Second-hand and vintage fashion with a social purpose, plus an in-house repair studio.
www.reshare.nl/store/reshare-store-eindhoven
Leverage
Heuvelgalerie 126, 5611 DK Eindhoven
Designer vintage, sportswear and Y2K fashion, from logo bags to trainers.
Instagram: @leverage.vintage
This is Eindhoven Store
Heuvel 126, 5611 DK Eindhoven
Local design, gifts and pieces from Eindhoven fashion label THE VIBE.
www.thisiseindhoven.com/en/locations/this-is-eindhoven-store
Piet Hein Eek
Halvemaanstraat 30, 5651 BP Eindhoven
The vast design complex combines workshops, showrooms, exhibitions, hospitality and Piet Hein Eek’s celebrated furniture.
Tweek-Eek
Jewellery label founded by Piet Hein Eek’s daughters Roos and Geertje, using industrial manufacturing techniques and reused materials.
Luna & Lore
Torenallee 571, 5617 BS Eindhoven
Vintage, handmade and reworked clothing, plus creative upcycling workshops.
Frankie’s Favorites
Torenallee 40-10, 5617 BD Eindhoven
Preloved premium and designer fashion, shoes, bags and accessories.
Vintage Vêtements
Leidingstraat 43, 5617 AJ Eindhoven
Contemporary vintage clothing, shoes and accessories at Strijp-S.
www.thisiseindhoven.com/en/locations/vintage-vetements
New Order of Fashion
Torenallee 22-06, 5617 BD Eindhoven
A sustainable fashion platform supporting experimentation, education and emerging design talent.
STAY
Hotel Mariënhage
Kanaalstraat 4, 5611 CT Eindhoven
A contemporary boutique hotel within the historic DOMUSDELA monastery complex.
Selected offers have been advertised from around €55 per person per night based on two sharing, meaning a two-night stay for two can start from approximately €220, before taxes and extras and subject to availability.
EAT
Radio Royaal
Ketelhuisplein 10, 5617 AE Eindhoven
Atmospheric French and German-influenced dining inside a huge former Philips machine room.
Fifth NRE
Gasfabriek 5, Eindhoven
Restaurant, bar, music and cultural spaces within Eindhoven’s historic former gasworks.
Piet Hein Eek Grand Café / Restaurant
Halvemaanstraat 28 / Beeldbuisring 201, Eindhoven
An easy lunch stop to combine with a visit to the design complex.
THE HAGUE: SHOP, SEE & VISIT
Antique and Book Market
Lange Voorhout, The Hague
Seasonal market filled with antique books, prints, silver, jewellery, collectibles and curiosities.
www.denhaag.com/en/antique-and-book-market
De Plesman
Plesmanweg 607, 2597 JG The Hague
The former KLM headquarters transformed into a contemporary hotel, now awarded one MICHELIN Key. Restaurant Suus, private dining spaces and the historic Plesman Suite are all housed within the building.
Little Green Shop
Prins Hendrikstraat 103, 2518 HM The Hague
Plants, vintage pots, old prints, curiosities and sustainable homewares.
SWAPS
The Hague
Circular fashion store where customers can trade selected clothing for credit towards another preloved piece.
Appel & Ei
Papestraat 17, The Hague
Carefully selected second-hand clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.
Cross & Woods
Westeinde 73a, 2512 GV The Hague
Yarn, wool, patterns and craft supplies, alongside workshops and regular creative evenings.
Op z’n Kop
Prinsestraat 112, The Hague
Vintage interiors, crockery, accessories, brocante furniture and unusual gifts.
Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Stadhouderslaan 41, 2517 HV The Hague
Home to the Netherlands’ largest fashion and costume collection. Reflections on Fashion runs until 3 January 2027.
www.kunstmuseum.nl/en/exhibitions/reflections-fashion
STAY
The ALD Boutique Hotel
Fluwelen Burgwal 42, 2511 CJ The Hague
A design-led boutique hotel inside the former National Government Printing Office, within easy walking distance of Den Haag Centraal.
Selected city-break rates have been advertised from around €120 per night, making a two-night stay from approximately €240, subject to dates and availability.
EAT
Luden
Plein 6-7, 2511 CR The Hague
A lively central restaurant with an international menu and large terrace, particularly well suited to groups.
Restaurant 6&24
Nobelstraat 13, 2513 BC The Hague
Refined, creative cooking with a strong emphasis on Dutch ingredients, from a team with Michelin-starred restaurant experience.
Review and images by Victoria Reddington @vic_reddington
