Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has opened, and there are plenty of reasons to praise the performances of Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgard and Rooney Mara…but the stand out of the cast is really the city of Stockholm — and the Swedish style in particular. It’s the dead of winter in Sweden and whole cast is obviously freezing all the time — but they look so good in their cold weather clothes. No hideous Patagonia shells or marshmallow down puffy jackets. It’s all sleek wool top coats, tasteful tweeds, simple wool dresses, some fantastic shapeless leather get ups for Mara and a very good corduroy blazer on a very bad man. So where do you go to get that Millennium series chic winter look? If you’re not interested in sifting through H&M’s new “Dragon Tattoo Collection” it’s time for your very own Stockholm style pilgrimage.
First stop, a quick nip at the bar in the middle of the recently opened achingly cool Nobis Hotel at the edge of Bibliotekstan (aka the central pedestrian zone), where the manager of their soaring Goldbar, Robby Radovic, makes his award winning “Que tal” with Bacardi Superior, lime juice, simple syrup and a touch of saffron. Knock one of those back, admire the scenery (everyone in Stockholm is hot, which sinks in even more once you hit the sauce) and get ready to drop some Kroner on some slick new duds.
Just outside the hotel sits the bank where the term Stockholm Syndrome comes from — apparently some lonely Swedish nutjob (pre-Patty Hearst) fell in love with her captor during a bank heist. I know, yadda yadda history. Here’s what you need to know: it’s now Acne’s global HQ. The mother-lode for those who want to try on every style of their chic skinny jeans (all of which are kept in the bank’s vault area) or the browse the rest of their latest collection up front. But the real Acne aficionados will want to hop a cab and head out to Vasastaden for the Acne Archive, where they sell discontinued and one-off pieces for up to 70% off.
Back in Ostermalm, check out of Acne and head past Marimekko on the corner (there’s one in NY, and it’s Finnish anyway) for Filippa K. Don’t know her, well you should. Already know her, well then get inside. Her simple modern clothes are beautifully made and have a timeless feeling to them. Nothing is cheap, but her clothes last a while, so they’re a great investment. I’m betting some of the dresses Robin Wright wore in the film were from this shop — if not, they could have been. Her men’s fashion is also worthy of note like this long pea coat on the right.
Other clothing shops worthy of a shout out in this upscale hood are Whyred and Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair. The latter is really the height of absurdly cool, upmarket Swedish fashion — and clearly an inspiration for Trish Summerville, the costume designer for David Fincher’s Dragon Tattoo. The FASR women’s line has some of the most interesting shapes in Stockholm — none of the lines match up, but the clothes all hang beautifully. If you want to get one piece that’s going to stand out, this might be the place to pick that up. Their men’s line is less daring, but beautifully made — with a slick Swedish fit that’s probably only flattering on a tall lean guy.
Last couple of spots not to miss in this ‘hood are the famed Swedish perfume shop started by the ridiculously hot Ben Gorham, Byredo whose store is very Indian Subcontinent meets starkly cool Swedish — it’s a must to see and smell that store. Then just down the block, don’t miss the hottest jewelry design duo in town, David and Martin. David Andersson and Martin Lasson met while studying at school in Stockholm and initially they began creating a collection of furniture. It’s their “Chicken feet” collection that’s catapulted them to the top ranks of the jewelry design world, though, and it was inspired by a beautiful girl on a Shanghai subway munching deep fried chicken feet and simultaneously flicking through French Vogue.
No style tour of Stockholm would be complete, however, without a jaunt across one of the many bodies of water that criss cross this town (it’s on 14 islands…or that’s what everyone keeps saying) to the local Brooklyn, Sodermalm. A bohemian/trendy part of town that also happens to be where Stieg Larsson lived and where most of the Millennium action takes place. This is where you can find the real hipster chic Stockholm style that inspired the clothes Rooney Mara wore in the film. The stores in this SoFo (south of Folkunggatan) area are smaller and mostly independent — in other words you won’t find any of this at a shop in LA or NY. Spots to check out include Tjallamalla, Kinglilly, Grandpa and The Local Firm.
Lastly…if you end up empty at all these spots or it’s just INSANELY freezing and you would rather just see some of the best of Swedish fashion — but all under one roof, just head to NK, aka Nordiska Kompaniet. It’s somewhere between Barney’s and Bloomingdale’s. Not as hellishly overpriced as the former and not as tacky and overrun with tourists as the latter. Most of the top Swedish designers are somewhere in this high end department store in the middle of town — it’s not small though, so be prepared to ask someone if you can’t find something. And the good thing is when you’re totally pooped from all the shopping (or discouraged because the exchange rate’s not all that great for Americans), there’s a rrrreal pleasant cafe on the top floor that serves plenty of booze along with hearty Swedish fare.
