After the superb selections of Benoît , David , Nicolò and Michel , the time has come to show you some nuggets from my bag.
A gem is of course the piece that gives you the big thrill, as Benoît would say. The one you don't need but that reminds you why you love clothes so much. Mouth agape, in front of the screen like a pointer dog in front of game. You've typed in your bank details without realizing it. The doorbell rings. It's the delivery man.
But the nugget can also be the piece that is missing from your wardrobe. More pragmatic but powerful too. The piece that meets a specific function, in the right cut, the right color and material, with the nice twist.
And sometimes it's even both. And that's wonderful. But it doesn't happen often.
So let's see these nuggets. I'll let you guess which category(ies) they belong to.
This henley from Hemen Biarritz
Henley Harri in Stone color.
Why Hemen Biarritz ?
For quite a few reasons.
"Hemen" means "here" in the Basque language. This shows the attachment of its three co-founders to Biarritz and its region, where they live and create. Two of them work full-time on the brand: Marie Guyot and Emmanuel Mouazan; the last partner being Vincent Lasserre, an expert in vintage pieces.
And I had the chance to meet Marie and understand the philosophy of the brand.
So I discovered his attachment to slow fashion which she sums up in this sentence: "making something beautiful out of something clean by offering quality products made to last."
And that, at BonneGueule, we particularly appreciate!
Hemen is a brand that values proximity:
- The one with the customer: it’s Marie who is behind the customer service of the online store.
- And the one with suppliers and manufacturers: Portugal being close to the Basque Country, it was the perfect place to have their collection produced. The knitting of the material, the making of the garment, everything is done there. And then, when it's close, you can get there more easily, it facilitates professional relations.
Finally, the brand only uses GOTS certified organic cotton and has the OEKO TEX label.
Hemen does things right.
Why this henley?
Zoom in on the pass.
First of all, I was looking for a henley. I was already convinced that such a piece would be good for my wardrobe, but it was not a priority. Only, when I wrote the article on how to choose and wear a henley , the impatience suddenly became too great. I needed one.
I wear a lot of t-shirts in summer. But white and mostly under light shirts, themselves tucked into the pants and open to the navel or the t-shirt under a workwear vest or a jacket. As the basis of a more elaborate outfit, therefore.
So, for winter, I needed the same thing but warmer. So yes, I have shirts that do the trick, but some days you feel more like a wild west rebel.
I didn't need a particularly expressive texture. I wanted something simple, well-cut, without excess material, but comfortable, with a bit of personality. That's exactly what I found in this henley (especially with this red border that makes you think of selvedge, bringing the piece even closer to its workwear universe).
For the color, an ecru seems more natural, more authentic, vintage than an immaculate white which goes better for a formal dress shirt, I find. And then, this broken color allows to make a softer bridge with olive and brown shades for example.
In short, an addictive piece.
A welcome well of light. A workwear spirit. The first button open so as not to look too tight.
These dress pants from Scavini
High-waisted herringbone pants in super 130s wool flannel from Tallia di Delfino.
Why Scavini ?
Pants that fit your body shape are hard to find. I recently wrote two articles about pants: the first on the right length to choose , and the second on how to position them on your waist .
Scavini is a renowned tailor in bespoke and semi-measure. He has chosen to use his expertise in developing a range of trousers. It piques curiosity, doesn't it? Because here, we are talking about ready-to-wear, but with the skill of a tailor, to reach a whole new clientele.
The main interest of this range of trousers is the diversity of cuts offered. Quentin Dupont-Rougier, who welcomed me, told me how some of his customers had become unconditional fans of one cut or another, while others could wear them all without distinction.
To answer the question "Why this brand?" in a pragmatic way, I would simply say: because I am demanding about the cut of my pants and Scavini offers different ones from what you can find in ready-to-wear, well-crafted and well-finished products. So I was sure to find what I was looking for.
Why these pants?
This is the S3 cut that I chose, the most "pittiesque" it must be said: darts, a little width in the legs and high waist. It is the high waist especially that I was looking for, because my legs are a little short and they need to be lengthened to give my silhouettes a little height. The waistband of these pants comes somewhere not far from the navel and that's what I needed.
Still with a concern for slimming the silhouette, I had it cut short.
Here you go. To appreciate the cut.
A pair of slate gray pants is useful in a wardrobe. It goes with all blues, even the darkest, with the black of some of my shoes, with other grays (light or dark), with browns too, all browns, especially camels!, and beige too, off-whites,... But I'll stop here because this gray goes with everything. Really everything.
Think of a color... Go for it... That's what I thought... it goes with it.
Zoom in on the material. You see this uneven aspect in an elegant slate gray. It's the kind of discreet, easy-to-wear pattern that I like.
The clips give the charm that I like, the slightly old-fashioned side which, if you wear it with a simple shirt, a round neck sweater or anything simple, invariably gives a little something extra, charm yes, that's it.
The hand then seduced me with its softness, it's as simple as that. Dressing in soft pants in the morning is still more pleasant for obvious reasons: feeling loved first, and then because you have to take care of your legs. As they say: "he who wants to travel far takes care of his mount".
And then, in addition to the softness, there is this luminous chevron as beautiful as a Parisian parquet floor, bringing relief to any outfit.
About the finishes, the belt under the hands is sturdy, no belt loops, but adjusters on the hips and then, buttons inside the belt for those who want to put on suspenders.
This vest from (L'Egoïste)
The Marius Patch Flannel vest
Why (The Egoist) ?
I went to see Jean-Bernardin Giacinti, in his boutique in Saint Germain, on the left bank in Paris. From the street, as I walk up, I see the intriguing window display. Jean welcomes me with simplicity and warmth. My eye is already skimming and lingering over all the clothes spread out on the walls, the wooden furniture, the shelves. Everywhere. It reminds me of a thrift store without the smell of old things, a cabinet of curiosities. In any case, it is a space in which one feels good and immediately.
We chat. Jean tells me about his personal journey: first a fashion photographer then manager of his multi-brand boutique. And then one day, he meets Stéphane Gaffino, discovers him (L'Egoïste) and naturally gets involved with him. Jean is passionate, he has just met another passionate, a gentle clothing fanatic that he does not want to lose sight of: the brand's clothes speak too much to Jean to let this opportunity slip away.
He therefore dedicates his store to the brand.
Jean explains to me that (L'Egoïste) has its roots in Biarritz, that the creator learned his trade at Façonnable and broke away from it to be able to achieve personal and professional fulfillment in an independent project that reflects him.
Photograph from the brand's Instagram account .
Stéphane's influences are Americana, vintage, military, workwear, the thuggish wardrobe of England with its heavy tweeds and flannels, but also the sea, the coast, the swell and the sun.
When I first knew (L'Egoïste), there were only a few pieces but they were already remarkable (I remember a matching vest and jacket in camouflage cotton). Today, it is a complete, atypical and beautiful wardrobe, and Stéphane does not intend to stop there.
With Jean, we talk about Instagram, brand development and changing times. He tells me that, concerning (L'Egoïste), they do not force destiny. They are concerned with designing beautiful products, in beautiful materials, in the kind of ones they would like to wear, and which are talked about by those who are, like them, sincere in their attachment to the brand and the product.
I was sensitive to the frank camaraderie that emerges from the brand's lookbooks, I know it from the way Jean talks to me about these shootings, moments when he can once again take out his camera.
A brand to watch closely.
Why this vest?
Photos taken in Jean's shop.
The more I browsed the brand's e-shop, the more I said to myself: "it's certain, they have it manufactured in Asia!"
Lost. It is in Portugal and Italy that the brand manufactures. Which makes me say, given the constructions, finishes and fabrics used that the brand does not have a high margin and that the prices are fair all year round .
The vest is emblematic of the spirit of the brand. It is not that common on the market. Wrongly so because it is a fun and practical piece for those who want to give it a chance. (L'Egoïste) has so many different vest models, it is Ali Baba's cave for those who like to wear them. Jean also warned me: "Be careful, it is highly addictive!"
The one I chose is made of flannel. It is a patchwork of shades of gray that seduced me with the controlled asymmetry it offers. It feels like a vest that has been patched together over time with different flannels. In fact, Jean showed me a vest that a customer wanted to customize with a typical Indian fabric (brought back from a trip). And this customer's desire seems legitimate and natural to me: we want to make these clothes our own, it's true. Without compromise.
A not unpleasant zoom.
The interior is clean.
And the cotton back. So it doesn't shine. With its martingale.
I hope you enjoyed these three gems. Next Sunday, it will be the turn of Christophe, our editor-in-chief, to select his gems and deliver them to you on the silver platter of his sharp writing.
