Dutch It Girl Charlotte Groeneveld is Balancing a New Apartment, Two Toddlers, and the Holidays in Style
Charlotte Groeneveld’s holiday plans are not yet final. “We might have to fly back last minute,” she said recently. Along with her husband Thomas and toddlers James, 4, and Stella, 3, Groeneveld may decide to hop on a plane and head back to their native Holland this week. “If we don’t have to go to The Netherlands last minute, we love St. Barths—it could be that we are go there for a little while. I was just looking into it as a back up plan!”
“No matter what, we will eat together,” she went on cheerily, betraying little of the season’s stress. “And we will sing Christmas songs and have a few presents under the tree.”
Hopping on a plane is quite a familiar practice for Groeneveld, who is often spotted at fashion weeks around the world and who chronicles her adventures on her website The Fashion Guitar. After a spell in New York, she and her family moved to Toronto; and just last week, they moved into a new apartment. Next year will be just as frenetic—in addition to settling into her new space, there’s couture week, and, as she said, “the kids are invited to the Bonpoint show in Paris.” Ahead of all that, the Dutch influencer shares her favorite everyday style secrets, as well as the one thing she’s lusting after this year. Are you listening, Santa?
Groeneveld in Paris during Couture, wearing Chanel and a Bonpoint boater.
Occupation: Founder and editor of the website The Fashion Guitar.
Describe your style: Luxury meets affordable, casual but with enough statement added to it.
Daily uniform: When not going to meetings/presentations/shows or anything that requires dressing up, I wear a hoodie. Living in my Champion one in dark green at the moment. Plus a pair of Frame jeans and boots.
Groeneveld in her daily uniform.
Favorite Stores: In Toronto I always shop online, or just never shop, because VAT is crazy high! In New York, it must be Bergdorf’s and Jeffrey’s. Of course, mostly online still. Convenience! I am from The Netherlands, but I haven’t lived there in about eight years. The shopping landscape changed so much over these years — so much luxury came which was not there when I lived in Amsterdam. But I’ve heard De Bijenkorf has all the brands we love right now, and De Negen Straatjes has the best boutiques.
Style Icon: There are so many, and I feel most of them are ’60s- and ’70s-inspired. So I feel that’s where I get a lot of inspiration from, always. Yet again, Balenciaga and Vetements… what’s not to love about that? Girls like Pernille Teisbaek wear that so well, that’s inspiring. Scandi girls in general are inspiring. Minimalist—maybe too minimalist for my taste—but still inspiring. I love me some over the top Dolce, too, every now and then!
Best recent discovery: My Champion hoodie. I wish I had saved the one I had in high school. Would have been even better.
Last purchase: An Alpha Industries bomber jacket, from the men’s department. Warm, light weight, and super on trend still.
Lusting after: Considering a Gucci tee, but the one with the flowers next to the logo. The one with only the logo is already everywhere!
One of Groeneveld’s colorful Chanel bags.
Something you always travel with: My own pillow cases. No matter how luxurious some hotels are, a pillow is a pillow and other people sleep on it. I like my head to rest on something of my own.
Something you’d never wear: Leggings.
Favorite accessory you own: Not a huge accessories girl, so bags are my accessories—and I love all of them!
Most prized possession in your closet: Five years ago I would have said my Givenchy boots, those over-the-knee one which are now only worn by the Kardashians. Nowadays, my Chanel shoes and bags. They are timeless—and I’m not even talking about black Chanel bags, they are almost all not black—and the quality is just it.
Music you’re listening to right now: Nothing, LOL. Spotify was somehow removed from my laptop, and we don’t have Sonos in our new apartment, so it’s quiet around me other than my daughter Stella’s chatting during the day—she’s at home with me—and her Peppa Pig cartoons.
Groeneveld cozy in an oversized knit on a rainy Paris day.
Cozy fire-side read: A magazine with good editorials. The New York Times.
Favorite film/recent film you loved Love Actually. Interstellar. I’m a geek.
Favorite gallery/museum or exhibit: Natural History Museum… best with kids.
What’s coming up next: Soon it will be time for haute couture, and for that I will be flying to Paris. Favorite shows are Chanel, Valentino, Elie Saab, and Dior. Also, this season, Valentino is holding a first ever pre-Fall runway show, before haute couture, and I will be going there as well. Looking forward to both big time. There there’re lots of finalizing of holiday collaborations right now, and new, long-term brand collaborations with a couple of brands starting in January.
