No Boys Allowed in this NBA

by Lori Lobenstine

Only one person IN THE WORLD is now running a sneaker boutique exclusively for females. Guys tried it in the heart of New York City (Laces) and LA (Kendo-LA), and sadly, couldn’t quite keep them open. Can a female sneaker fiend in the Hague succeed where others failed? To find out, we caught up with Cim Froeling, the one-of-a-kind owner of No Boys Allowed.

What are you wearing right now? White Nike Air Force mid What was the first sneaker you fell in love with?  Nike Dunk When did you start loving kicks?  Young, I think round 10... How many do you have now? I think around 70-80 pairs Do you have a current holy grail? Asics Gel Lyte Speed Delta Favorite basketball shoes: Jordan 1-3-4-5 (especially 5) and Air Forces, Delta Forces, Flights, Trainers... Eeehm... Many.. Fondest memory of setting up the store:  [Being] with two friends and my boyfriend painting all the cupboards and walls while drinking and eating pancakes and singing out loud. It was fun! Biggest fear: My worst fear is failing... I'm a bit of a control freak and I like to do anything with perfection. So I'm pretty hard on myself and that causes some sleepless nights… Most rewarding in-store moment: Rewarding is that every time a guy comes in the store or walks by and looks with big eyes at the collection and then the pissed off look when they see the name!! Hahahah… Can't get enough of that!  Not that I want to hurt them or anything, but sometimes it's good that they know what it's like, to find the freshest sneakers, but not in your size.. hahahahha!!

On being a woman in the sneaker industry: As a female in this industry (or in any other) people tend to take you less seriously. But now, it's fine. People see the store and that speaks for itself.

Almost every sneaker lover dreams of running a sneaker store. How long has it been a dream for you, and what’s it like as a reality?
It took a year before I tied the knot and went for it.  In the start up process everything went step by step. I had no idea what came next, and I only thought a week further. And every time when a new period started, it was always like that. Before the opening I couldn't believe that I would be in the shop working the next day. Hahaha!!

What things surprised you in the start up process? 
What surprised me the most was that I was asked to be on sneakerfreaker in the first two weeks... I always thought, well if I'm on sneakerfreaker in about two years, I've done a great job.  And then in two weeks time… CRAZY!!! So I'm really, really proud...  (Gotta give our friends at Sneakerfreaker some love, they gave FSF early ink too!)

What’s the most important decision you made and stuck to in the process?
The name and the look of the store... I made moodboards and styles, and if you see the end result, you can see we stuck to it... We didn't have a big budget so you have to be creative and then you'll find so many possibilities...

What’s a day in the life of Cim the Store Owner?
Eehm.. I get up rather late; I'm not a morning person. Then I rush to the store. Everyday is different.  Sometimes sales reps come by, or a new collection comes in. [I] photograph it, photoshop it and then put it on the website. Change the store a bit. Friends come by, drinking coffee. This place is a bit of a hang out for people, so that's nice. And on the busy days and the shop evenings my colleague is here. And the most important thing of course, help the customers.  I'm a lot on the internet as well. Looking for new things, reading blogs etc. Then I go home and cook dinner… Hahaha!!

How is your location going?
The Hague is well known for their beach, not for the shopping, but more and more great stores are coming in. And especially this street is coming up real quick. Holland is small, so you can easy go from city to city. And we have our webshop online as well.

What are your dreams for the store (or beyond the walls) in the years to come?
First of all I want to make this store a success. Just focus on the here and now. If you lose your focus you're screwed. Of course I have dreams of making my own shoe and everything, or for starters a collabo... But we'll see!!

What’s your take on the women’s sneaker scene in general? Who’s “getting it” as far as the brands are concerned? What would you like to see more (or less!) of?
Some brands are going very well, such as Nike, Asics and for us a great newcomer is Supra. I think brands have to stop making everything "feminine", stop making torsions with flowers. And sleek this and that... They already have the great perfect shoe, they just have to make it smaller!! I think Nike did a great job on the skinny dunk though. First I thought no way, but this one is still in proportion. I like it a lot! Brands are making more unisex now, so that's great!

Anything else you’d like female sneaker fiends to know?
Spread the word, we're not alone!! hahaha

Thanks for taking the time Cim! Can't wait to get over there and see the store...

Readers, go check out No Boys Allowed if you're anywhere near the Hague:

No Boys Allowed
Prinsestraat 104
Den Haag
Netherlands
+31 (0)70 7802310

Or check them out online@
www.noboysallowed.nl