'Champagne first, decisions later.' It is Nora's favourite rule for an evening, and so far it has never failed her. She delivers it with a raised glass and an entirely serious expression, and then she laughs.
She is 26, athletic at 166 cm, with long honey blonde hair and hazel eyes, and she is spirited in a way that makes a room feel slightly more awake. Her style is sun-kissed resort glamour, restrained for Amsterdam: an ivory trouser suit, bare ankles, a single gold cuff, the colour of summer carried quietly into autumn. It is tailoring for someone who walks fast and smiles often.
Fashion design is where her mind lives. She sketches constantly, notices construction before colour, and can tell you exactly why one jacket on the rail works while its neighbour does not. Mornings, when she can manage them, begin among the flowers. The Bloemenmarkt on the Singel is a short walk from her home in Amsterdam Centrum, and she rarely leaves without an armful of whatever is in season. Peonies in spring, dahlias in late summer. She has a tailor's respect for proportion and a stylist's instinct for the one accent that finishes a look.
Adventurous and warm, Nora is happy to explore a new restaurant, a new bar or an unfamiliar corner of the city, and she speaks English with easy enthusiasm. Tina in the Jordaan shares her love of fashion design, and Tiffany, also in the old centre, never refuses a glass of something sparkling. Hazel eyes follow the conversation wherever it goes, and it tends to go somewhere lively. She is especially good company for travellers who want to see a side of the city beyond the guidebook.
She is an ideal companion for a celebration, a gallery opening or a dinner where the first toast sets the tone for everything that follows. Her warmth is the kind that lingers after the glasses are cleared.
