Tucked down a village street in Amsterdam, a stone's throw from the Flower Market, is this gem of a place.
SHIRT SHOP - because that's what it sells - shirts, teeshirts, even knits, but NO PANTS, NO JEANS. No girls' stuff, too - only stuff for GUYS... men... Grown-up Boys...

The city shirts are Cool - really SHARP - and as the Dutch would say, "echt VET!" ... Pop them over a pair of sleek jeans and boots, and you're ready to show off at the Supper Club, the Mansion or Jimmy Woo's. Or any cool spot from Ibiza to Stockholm.

Tee-shirts are hip, they're fun, their fashion message is spot-on. Nothing sloppy here - no hiphop or skateboard, we're talking Design Intelligence, Street Cred.

And the "fashion" stuff - fitted deep-V plunge polos, tight knits, stretch shirts - are straight out the Italian fashion pages, except at a fraction of the cost. In fact, virtually everything in the store is surprisingly lower-priced than you would expect...

What's the secret?

"Knowing the difference between BRANDING and DESIGN," says Shirtshop owner and buyer, Donald Woo.
"Fashion needn't be expensive, Branding IS. Fashion is about Fun, and about Looking Good - about being IN the Flow, not OUT of it. It's about looking Great, and not paying the Earth for it.

So, for Shirtshop , NO global brands, NO crazy-priced logos on teeshirts and polos, and definitely NO "same stuff as all the other shops"..... Instead, we travel extensively (all over Europe) and frequently (at least 15 times a year) to source directly from Italy, Denmark, London, Paris...which means much of our stuff isn't SEEN in other Amsterdam shops, and we don't have to cope with distributor margins or price controls.

So, we're simply Different... and come to think of it, we're actually quite Special..."

So who shops here? Any Celebs?

"Everybody shops here, actually. The guys who go on TV , singers, presenters, Pop Idol wanabees... DJs, Restaurant owners, their staff...the delivery guys, the cab-drivers, even the local firemen...so if you see a fire truck parked outside the shop, don't be alarmed - it's probably one of the local fireboys shopping, with his mates looking on...!

Footballers, models, hairdressers, dancers, dog-walkers... We even had our little brush with Hollywood, when the Oceans 12 team were filming here, and the wardrobe mistress was charging in and out choosing stuff for Brad, Mark, George, and the other boys...

But that's not what we're really about .... our best clients are our regulars, who come in once, twice, sometimes three times a month, to check out our latest arrivals....they know if they're not on the ball, the style might be sold out within a fortnight..."

Did you say Dog-walkers???

"Sure. Guys out walking their dogs. Sometimes the dogs even pull their owners in... like the time a bull terrier took a fancy to our pitbull teeshirt in the window, and refused to budge from the doorway. Needless to say, the owner stayed a while..."

You're on a gay street...does that mean most of your clientele is gay?

"Not quite... maybe 30% or so...mostly we get young, socially-mobile guys, lots of dating couples or young marrieds - our shop is quite pram-friendly, you know...and we're a hit with the Latino guys, because of our Italian fashion stuff which fits them so perfectly... And, of course, visitors from all over the world - Amsterdam is such a cool place to visit! Just today, besides our usual locals, we'd had visitors from Australia, South Africa, Estonia and even Malta!"

What's your most successful marketing technique?

"Word of mouth, actually. We don't advertise, we don't do websales (our stock changes too fast for that), we simply rely on friends telling friends, family, etc. This is always the best form of advertising a shop could have. And of course, our shop frontage. People passing every evening on their way to a bar or restaurant nearby, often peer into our windows, and drool at the goodies inside. Inevitably, they make their way back to the store during the day, to check it out."

Have you any favorite memories of customers?

"So many, it's hard to begin. .. Like recently, this glam blond mum who bought a pink "Disco Diva" teeshirt , sixe XL, for her teenage son, who's 6 ft tall....while mum's new young beau, who's Latino, gets a tee with large embroidered Mexican tacos on it.. I really like Cool mums like that! Or the time they let loose 9 screaming contestants from Mr Gay Netherlands for an hour in the store, to pick their show outfits...it was a boy-gazer's wet dream, though personally, I prefer my guys 20 years older.....!"

After 10 years as a unique single store, haven't you ever though of expanding, like to other cities in Holland, or outside?

"It's come up numerous times - and we've been asked to open in Madrid, or Melbourne, or San Francisco, even - but ultimately, we actually LIKE where we are, I don't REALLY want to create more work for myself, and it's really nice being UNIQUE - just one of us. So I guess we'll just stay that way, maybe another 10 years...?"

So, what can you say?

Walking into Shirtshop, for most guys, is like walking into a candy store - there's Fashion Cred AND Street Cred, lots of good advice on hand for the less experienced shopper, and joy of joys, it's easy on the pocket.

Little wonder they like to call themselves Amsterdam's most Unique fashion store for Men.