Scenes from a wedding with Janice and Andy
Janice (38) and Andy Bosmans (46) got along so well that the couple moved in together within a few weeks. That was already ten years ago. Since then, the fashion men have been building their marriage and their successful fashion empire: women’s fashion brand JANICE.
Scene 1
November 2013, Vught
Months after their first meeting, Andy and Janice meet again online. Just when Janice flops on the couch in her pajamas, Andy thinks it’s high time for the first date.
J: ‘Six months before our first date, I happened to walk into Andy’s shop in Sittard. He immediately started chatting, but I didn’t feel like it at that moment. I was irritated by another store owner who had changed our sales appointment for my new collection last minute. After exchanging just a few words with Andy, I left.’
A: ‘The moment Janice walked into my store, I immediately thought: isn’t he from that one program… Project catwalk or something? It dried up nicely! I later sent him a private message via Facebook, but it apparently ended up in his spam, because I never received a response.’
J: ‘Until I suddenly came across Andy on Instagram in October 2013 and was immediately impressed. Funnily enough, I didn’t even realize that he was the same man I had met a few months earlier in his shop in Sittard. I hadn’t made that link at all. Then I sent a message, and soon we couldn’t stop talking. At that time, he had been working in fashion with his parents for almost thirty years and together they ran several clothing stores. Of course, I have also been in fashion almost all my life, so that shared passion immediately created a real connection. We have both dated guys who don’t know the industry, which is really different. We immediately noticed: fashion is our love language.’
A: ‘After days of telephone contact, I texted: ‘I’m coming to visit you. I’m going to exercise soon and then I’ll come to you.’
J: ‘I responded with, ‘Well, I’m already sitting on the couch in my pajamas.’ None of that mattered. And a little later we collapsed on my couch together. I’m in pajamas, he’s in a sports outfit. We also had that special click that we had over the phone during this first date.’
A: ‘It immediately felt familiar. The funny thing is that from the beginning we regularly hear that people think we are brothers. Yes, we are both big men with beards, but otherwise we don’t look anything alike. If one is very busy, the other is calm, and vice versa. We are also very different because we were raised completely differently. My parents previously said: “You can’t do that or you don’t understand that yet.” Then I thought: I’m going to show you that I can do it. And with Janice it was right: “You can do it! I’m proud of you!” Then his parents stood like cheerleaders along the line: “Yes, you can do that!” Even when things went wrong they were still clapping.’
J: ‘I immediately noticed in our early days that Andy – if he has a passion for something – also goes for it with confidence. Very nice. I’m a little more anxious sometimes. As a result, we complement each other well and it worked well straight away.’
Scene 2
December 2013. Vught
A few weeks after the first date, Andy and Janice move in together. Because why wait when something feels good?
J: ‘It didn’t feel strange at all that Andy moved in with me almost immediately, it was actually very nice. I already lived with my sister at the time, so I was used to the fun and hustle and bustle around me. A month later we found a rental house nearby for the two of us. Since it was rental, I didn’t think much about whether it would be too soon. If we had bought a house right away, I might not have thought about it so lightly and felt more pressure. I had never been in a long-term relationship before, but Andy had. They had already lived together once and bought a house.’
A: ‘For me, living with Janice felt like a very logical step. We entered each other’s world, through which fashion runs like a common thread. So you actually already know that world. That immediately felt very familiar. Then I came home after almost a two-hour drive from my store in Sittard, Janice had purchased new fabrics and was working on new designs for his collection. And it went from: what do you think about this? And do you take that into account? Very nice to help and inspire each other like this.’
J: ‘Friends and family were also immediately enthusiastic: you have to keep this! I thought: we’re having a lot of fun and we’ll see it all. That light-hearted approach has proven successful.’
Scene 3
June 2014. The Iron Man in Vught
On the spot that Janice’s great-grandfather once built, Andy not only celebrates his 37th birthday, but surprises friends and family by asking his boyfriend to marry him.
J: ‘The morning before the party we were getting ready at home and out of the blue I said to Andy: ‘It’s also funny when you consider that there have been several times when you have crossed my path. Actually, our relationship is written in the stars. The universe just wanted us to come together.” As if I somehow sensed that he was going to ask me to marry him that afternoon, but I really had no idea at all. In fact, I was shocked!’
A: ‘He was also a bit of a sheep, because why else would I invite twenty-five of my closest friends and twenty-five of his closest friends and family. And that at De IJzeren Man in Vught, a special place: once built by his grandmother’s father.’
J: ‘My great-grandfather had sold his shoe factory, which left some money and at that time sand was needed to build the A2 near Den Bosch. Then he had this puddle dug. Then someone said, “That is not dug by men, but by an iron man.” Thus the name was born. There was also a hotel on it, where my grandmother met my grandfather. After their death we scattered them over the lake. So the Iron Man has always played a role in my life. And then Andy decided to ask me to marry him there too.’
A: ‘Janice wasn’t the only one who didn’t realize anything. Nobody saw it coming. I really had to persuade his sister to pick up their mother from home, who was not feeling well due to the chemo and was not there. I said, ‘My best friends are best friends, so what do you think is going to happen? Your mother must be there!’ She immediately went to get my mother-in-law and was the first to know.’
J: ‘He surprised me so much, I immediately felt nauseous from nerves and turned white. Of course I said yes: I love Andy more than anything in the world, and he is the love of my life. But getting married isn’t necessarily necessary for me. So I had to get used to the idea, no matter how sweet and fun I thought it was. It ended up being a great engagement party.”
A: ‘It was also a very nice party. My father-in-law thought it was fantastic, he was immediately looking forward to the wedding. He could already see it all in his mind. Unfortunately he was not able to experience it, he passed away before our wedding. That turned our lives upside down.’
J: ‘When we heard, shortly after my father’s death seven years ago, that my mother had completed her treatment and would only live for a few weeks, Andy asked me to marry him again in the presence of my mother. Very beautiful and emotional. Within two weeks we moved and moved in with my mother to care for her with my sister until her last day. And in that same short period we arranged our wedding, so that she could still experience it.’
You can read the entire interview in the new Elegance that is now in stores. You will also find the biggest catwalk trends for spring, read an interview with Jodie Foster, we travel to a Greek dream resort and much more.
Photography: Nine IJf | Make-up: Maaike Beijer | Styling: Renske van der Ploeg, Maartje van den Broek
