For almost three years, every Sunday lunchtime you had an appointment with the Nuggets of the editorial team. Until the hundredths published by David at the beginning of February.
From now on, we'll be publishing a new nondescript format called "Carte Blanche" because we don't know what we're going to give you to read. It could be a particular point of view, a crush on a piece, a rant against a trend, an astonishing inspiration, a crazy idea...
The idea is to allow each editor in the editorial department to write on a subject that is close to their heart, with relatively few constraints. Even to the point of moving away from clothing. Everything is possible.
A form of carte blanche which is intended to surprise you, to be a bit of a Sunday surprise. Do not hesitate to share your comments and remarks. Good reading. Christopher.
Paris, back to school 2017. Two months later, my polka dot tie will be put away in the closet. It's a classic Monoprix brand tie, although let's be honest, a little ugly. I only wear it for work, and then only in the evening, for nights out.
At this time which seems strangely distant, without mask or Covid, I am as if cut in two. I have a work wardrobe close to the uniform and an ultra minimalist personal wardrobe: two pairs of shoes, two or three pairs of pants, a handful of tops, and one or two jackets .
Nothing that keeps you particularly warm by the way, as if you believe that the cold only begins to be felt with age. The two locker rooms have little in common, and to tell you the truth, it is even possible that this leads me to be not one but two people at the same time.
In a way, what will happen in the coming months is an important step in my journey towards style but at this point I still don't really know anything about it.
Besides this ugly tie, I also have a few other prettier models, more or less vintage, nothing extraordinary except that they are ties detached from any professional contingency. It's my little pleasure, you see? I think I got that from a few music groups that I loved then.
In my circle, no one really dressed formally. I have no memory attached to the tie when I was younger, apart from what I saw on television - it was the outfit of adults or serious people for the child that I was.
This is probably why I don't particularly connect the tie to the suit. Rather with a worn velvet blazer, vintage leather jackets or even a midnight blue denim jacket
In the meantime, coming back to fall 2017, the tie disappeared quite suddenly from my daily life, like almost everything else that year. This is ground zero of my new life.
The days, weeks and months pass. I no longer walk, I no longer really have the opportunity to dress myself, but I am however starting a large series of beneficial actions
In my locker room, there is not much left once I have passed the sorting test, in any case no more distinction between the uniform and the fun outfits. But the two people who dressed with it haven't quite made up yet. Patience.
One day, without really knowing why, I start dreaming about the collections of Drake's or Shibumi Firenze . I see it as a sort of call to become a collector: it probably has to do with the material, the textures or the colors, in any case it makes me want brushes and tubes of paint.
A few months later, here I am in possession of several ties from both brands - but not only that. These are sales or second-hand purchases, motivated solely by the beauty of the garment. There are patterns, stripes, classic colors and a little unexpected: blue, burgundy, gray, and also green . My favorite is a slightly old club tie from Drake's.
At this point, I'm even thinking of getting into costume. In any case, I am convinced that I will really wear these ties in my future outfits through soft tailoring, why not, or more simply through my little tips gleaned here and there from the covers of my favorite records.
You have probably already experienced this phenomenon: it is the story of a piece that we love to look at but which remains for x reasons in the back of the wardrobe. We all have at least one. For my part, I have several.
This is how once again: the days, weeks and months pass. The ties are there, neatly arranged, as if waiting for a sign from heaven. In the meantime, I made my debut at BonneGueule in November 2019, conversations in the editorial department arose happily and we broached the subject from time to time, for example through the V-neck sweater . Not yet the expected lightning bolt, but the idea is gradually starting to gain ground. So what ultimately happened?
From 2017 to 2021, we can say that I took the time to piece together my puzzle, to unify my wardrobe while diversifying it. I reinvented myself partly thanks to Proust
Hence perhaps my desire to step out of my comfort zone little by little, to look for color elsewhere than in painting . To try in short, probably more than I ever have before. This is how eventually, by dint of understanding new pieces or new styles, we end up finding ourselves.
After all, doesn’t research also lead to questioning one’s memory? So yes: I remember the ugly polka dot tie very well, and all the others too. They are part of my history with clothing. And it is precisely for this reason that I recently started wearing them again, without a suit or trumpet, but with more beautiful materials: to combine novelty with my past style.
What is fundamentally magical about all this is that the reconciliation announced in the title of this column does not stop at the tie . Through clothing, we can also reconcile with ourselves.
So of course, to return to wearing a tie, you need a little more than hindsight, films, books or psychology: you need to find your balance, put together outfits that make you feel good and acquire a few new pieces who will call who knows the return of the tie. It won't necessarily be the two or three piece suit .
For me, for example: an Officine Générale olive velvet blazer, a Schott Perfecto, a military-inspired khaki jacket from Engineered Garments and two or three Oxford or flannel shirts found at Drake's or Editions Mr.
As before, the tie returned to me through a door other than the formal world. With the circle now complete, rest assured: if this tie question ever bothers you, you too will find the key.
