First thing I’d do in the morning: getting a haircut by Fred (I mean: what's the use of being a millionaire if you look shit?), the best you can get in Brussels. His "salon" – the word saloon makes me think about cowboys a little too much – Cut Me is located in Rue des Riches Claires (but the man is moving to Rue Léon Lepage at the end of this month ladies & gentlemen!). You won’t find much mirrors in his interior – just one, and you only get to see yourself in it when the job’s done – and there isn’t too much fancy, colourful furniture. Instead you get to watch a couple of old televisions or you can play Pong on a prehistorical console while sitting in a very comfortable but old black and white hairdressers’ chair. Very often, the place turns into a small gallery, exposing drawings or paintings by people Fred likes, and occasionally he organises a small-scale party in his salon. The soundtrack to your haircut timemachines you (yeah, that’s a verb!) straight into New York anno 1981 since Fred’s quite possibly the biggest
ESG-lover I know. If you ask very gently, he might sing along! Contact: 02/5035951
Just across the street you’ll find Foxhole Two, the second vintage shop by Fab & Fab (yeah, brothers in arms). They’re selling second hand clothes, shoes and accessories (sunglasses! Bags! Scarfs! Etcetera!) from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, but they also have old dead stocks, as new as they were back in the days. You’re looking for those perfect boots?
That leather jacket that should make you look like Michael Jackson when Thriller hit MTV? Old Sneakers (the real deal, not some overdone expensive reissue)? They’ve got everything and they’ve got it cheap (8 euro for a blouse is hardly expensive, is it? And 40 euro for a brand new pair of vintage Italian shoes isn’t expensive neither…), so get your asses over there boys’n’girls! Foxhole One is located in Rue Renard, next to Vossenplein /Place du Jeu de Balle, so it’s a perfect combo for your free mornings/weekends!
Foxhole One: Vossenstraat 6, Rue Renard
Foxhole Two: Rijke Klarenstraat 4, Rue des Riches Claires
All that walking makes you want to relax in your sofa while sipping a beer, reading an interesting book & listening to some very fine music? Then you should drop by
Le Bonheur first. You won’t find any beer here, but you will find awesome books and tons of great cd’s and vinyl. Thierry, the owner of the shop, is a man on a mission (wiping out all that’s
dull and commercial (mind the “and” before you start whining about how great Kylie is, will you?)), and he will gently guide you through the maze of obscure pop music, Belgian undercurrent music and blistering noise, whilst pointing you the most beautiful photo and art books you might find in this small country. There’s also a small amount of amazing t-shirts & DIY-dolls. Whenever you can, you should try to make it to an exposition or one of the In-Store concerts.
Le Bonheur, Epicerie Audiovisuelle: Rue Antoine Dansaert 196
Sitting in the sofa while reading books is nice, but hey, when the night time (the right time !) comes around, you might want to dance to pounding electronic music or to some dancey warehousehouse (yeah, that’s a new genre that’ll be around here in no time!) If there’s no good party in town – Oscillations isn’t organised frequently enough yet, we know – you should go and get your own discs at
Doctor Vinyl. The shop is located on Place St. Gery and they’ve got a wide assortment of the best dance stuff around, from cosmic disco over pounding acid to übersexy house. Don’t hesitate to share your preferences with the keepers, because they’ll stun you with some awesome recommendations! And yes, it’s vinyl only, but hey, I’ve read in the newspaper that those things are getting back in vogue!
Doctor Vinyl: Place St-Gery
Sure thing is: next morning you’re waking up next to your girlfriend, who’s very frustrated she didn’t get the attention she’d wanted due to abundance of alcoholic liquids on that marvellous soirée you went to. Fortunately, there’s that
one address you can go to if you want to make her melt again (and we wouldn’t be men, if there wasn’t a good outcome for us too): Underwear. You’ll find it in the very centre of downtown Brussels, halfway Rue Antoine Dansaert, and once you drop by, you won’t be able to stop doing so. You’ll notice la patronne is leading her skilled and competent team through the wild woods of sophisticated and aesthetic quality underwear, with an overwhelming atmosphere of pure sexiness all over the place. Petticoats, amazing swimwear, bras (you should try a Fifi Chachnil) and the most turn-on panties ever, you’ll find something that suits you just fine (oh yeah, there’s stuff for Men too!). And, dear friends, you should also be aware of the fact that every single piece of underwear in the shop’s been made in fair-trade circumstances!
Underwear: Rue Antoine Dansaert 47
This is a shortlist of the shops that support us, and you should do the same with them 'cause they rock.
