How my perception of clothing has changed over 10 years

I have always had a passion for clothing.

I have never dressed badly. Or rather, never neglected.

Although it may seem superficial, I have always valued my appearance . I have always taken care of my skin and being well dressed, even in a simple way.

Clothes are a way to give me confidence in others . But more simply, it's because I like it.

I also think it runs in the family: even if today they can afford it less, my parents loved beautiful clothes. It seems that I get this love of beautiful things from my father.

This is why, just like David in 2018 who spoke to you about his six years of stylistic development , I wanted to share with you my experience and my relationship with clothing for a little over 10 years.

The race for the brand

I started to be interested in clothes quite early, from the middle of my middle school years, in 2010. A time when Justin Bieber had the same haircut as me.

Like everyone (or almost everyone), I went through these stages which build us socially and individually. I quickly wanted to no longer let my parents dictate what I should wear , even though I was still dependent on their wallet.

And like everyone else, it started by acquiring designer clothes , just to pretend I knew something about fashion.

On the other hand, without any pretension, I have never really been influenced by this race for the brand. I didn't follow what was in fashion at the time, other than Converse and skinny jeans maybe.

I remember one time my mother bought me a black Adidas hoodie from Decathlon. So of course, it was a period when inflation had not yet arrived, but it already seemed expensive to me for the time. Around fifty euros, for a piece that was made of cotton and polyester, with a large logo in the style of a tag.

This first big purchase for a hoodie made me realize two things:

• Clothes are expensive. I sent away the first one who had fun pulling on this famous hoodie.
• We pay to do free advertising for these brands, and we like it.

I also remember a period when I felt this need to stand out from others by wearing clothes with more or less funny messages.

This kind of t-shirt or sweater, with skinny jeans and my hair in my eyes, I felt like a real rebel.

Besides, speaking of skinny, I realize that I was looking for a clothing choice that would follow me for the next 10 years...

Well (too) fitted clothes

Outside of this pseudo-rebellious period, I had a classic conception of fashion where I only wore what suited me : a V-neck sweater or a zipped hoodie, with a t-shirt (logoed or not) or even a shirt, blue or black jeans, and Converse (or Van's depending on the era). With all that, I felt at the top level. Besides, as with sweaters, I had a strong preference for t-shirts with a V-neck.

And to accompany this casual style, what could be better than wearing tight clothes.

I was always thin, with broad shoulders (I did a lot of competitive swimming), and I lived with the belief that to be stylish, you had to dress well . Who knows why.

So I had this fixation on tight clothing, to avoid having the impression of being drowned by my clothes. Even if it means always taking a size smaller, and therefore seeing myself stop wearing this or that piece prematurely.

It started with “slim” jeans, but they didn’t follow the curve of my legs well enough in my opinion. And it took me several years to finally realize that what I was looking for was 510 style skinnies from Levi's.

After a few wanderings at Complice Eagle and Teddy Smith, I set my sights on Levi's, which I considered to be a high-end jeans brand. This is not completely false, given the prices charged in France.

They were black jeans, a 510 found in a Macy's in Fort Lauderdale (Florida) for around thirty dollars. This marked the beginning of an unconditional love for the brand , where I decided to only wear that.

I also had another fixation with my pants that stuck with me for many years: each leg had to fall just over my sneakers. I didn't leave room for the hems, or even the bottom of the legs which were really too accordion-shaped. No, it only had to be slightly “broken” at the shoe level for me to consider the length good. I forgot to mention that I have long legs, in American size it corresponds to a 34.

I assure you, I still ended up adopting hemlines after several years. My life and my style improved from then on .

Drop the logos

It was from 2013 that I began to put aside the brands that make us billboards on legs, in favor of more sober and timeless clothing.

I gradually overhauled my wardrobe, focusing on basic pieces that I would pick up at Levi's outlets (because they were more affordable), the classics Jules , Célio , Devred and even Bonobo . With sometimes a few splurges by buying from Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger , which I considered “high-end”.

Again, I will say that I was relatively simple in the way I dressed. And always fitted, of course. I refused to wear clothes that didn't show off my little arms, even if the armhole was clearly just right. I had basics, which were unpretentious: cotton or mixed with synthetic materials, nothing extravagant.

2014 - 2018: a difficult quest for renewal

It was in 2014 that I discovered a medium that talked about men's fashion. Maybe you've already heard of it? It's called BonneGueule. One of the very first guides I read discussed the concept of “ good and bad brands ”.

Despite my surprise to see that some brands I cherished were considered very average, this guide opened my eyes and helped me change my mindset a little about my clothing consumption.

Thanks to this medium, I discovered a whole side of men's fashion that I didn't know about, and which immediately made me dream. It was also that same year that they began offering their own clothing lines. Over this same period, a myriad of brands offering projects, each one more cool than the next, appeared. You know them as well as I do: Le Slip Français, 1083, Faguo…

Alas, it all seemed inaccessible to me.

Despite everything, I couldn't help but acquire clothes from brands like Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger, cheaper and available on sale, and whose image is still strong in my mind. Well, having entered college at that time, the image of the “American student” reflected by these brands was more appropriate to me. And more than ever, the little V-neck sweater and shirt were essential.

All in all, I was somewhat paradoxical at that time: there was a difference between what I thought and what I did. Rather than starting to invest piece by piece, in good clothes from perhaps less well-known but more qualitative brands, I frantically swallow up my few pennies in mainstream brands. I believe in any case that I was looking for myself, and did so according to my little knowledge on the subject.

It was only a few years later, between 2017 and 2018, that I acquired my first real timeless and durable pieces, with my own hard-earned money! The most striking piece was a wool sweater from a collaboration between Saint-James and Le Slip Français .

It was at that moment that I decided to take a real step forward. Consume more responsibly, buying only what I needed.

A completely renewed wardrobe

One of my biggest turning points in my relationship with clothing took place in Australia .

November 2019. After a year spent in Melbourne, including several months spent working on a dairy farm to renew my PVT , I have the opportunity to work as a sales consultant at Levi's in Eastland Shopping Center, Melbourne.

To prepare for my interview, I found as much information as possible on the internet. And it turns out that one site was a gold mine on the history of jeans and Levi's: BonneGueule. A certain Luca talked about it a lot on the BG Youtube channel as well as his own channel.

For the record, I got this job. A consecration for me at the time.

It was during this rediscovery of the media that I began to really educate myself on men's fashion , starting with the famous word “selvedge” associated with jeans; or how good the Japanese are at making denim.

I also looked with envy at all the brands that BG praised ( Atelier Tuffery and Septième Largeur to name a few), vowing to get this or that piece as soon as possible upon my return to France.

I can never thank Luca, Jordan, David, Michel and Benoit enough for putting me back on the right path of sapification.

When I returned in August 2020, and therefore 2 years of living upside down with almost the same things, I decided to do a major cleaning of my wardrobe. I got rid of all my clothes that no longer met my criteria. Gone are the Jules and Célio , Devred and Bonobo clothes that I haven't worn for ages and which had been neglected all this time in my wardrobe.

I gave as much as I could to my friends, and sold the rest. On the other hand, I humbly admit to having kept a few pieces from dear Ralph Lau and Tommy. The complete separation from them is still difficult for me, I still appreciate the image they project.

From December 2020, I received my first real beautiful piece.

A Japanese cotton t-shirt from BG. The Bertrand , in ecru.

The starting point of a complete renewal of my wardrobe, where I decided to completely ditch mainstream brands. Merino t-shirts from Seagale, pants from LePantalon, sneakers from National Standard… quickly joined the party .

From now on, the brands that matter to me are those that really bring something to fashion, have an eye for detail and want to be ethical.

I (finally) reconnect with my size and volumes

In addition to these changes in my purchasing behavior, I have begun a big transition in the size of my clothes. I was tired of feeling tight in my clothes on top, and having that “small legs, big feet” effect on the bottom. Likewise, realizing after several wears that yes, this sweater/t-shirt armhole raises my shoulders way too much.

I not only stopped wearing Medium for the benefit of the Large . Moreover ! I broke away from skinny pants. We're going little by little, not too many changes at once, please.

From skinny to straight-fitted to tapered. If you want an equivalence of my progress with Levi's jeans , let's say I went from 510 to 512, and I discovered the 501 which I had been ignoring until then.

And today, I can actually wear straight jeans. But I will tell you about this in more detail soon!

An improved casual style

I told you all along that I dressed in a “classic” or “simple” way. I ultimately think that the term “casual” is the most appropriate. I've never really been into extravagance, but there was still something chic about it.

Even if my outfits are not extravagant, the pieces worn are never chosen at random. I accessorize and play more with textures and materials, as well as colors. As such, I have eliminated the color black from my wardrobe, except for shoes.

I also have more reasoned consumption, where I do not hesitate to invest a certain amount in a piece, telling myself that the cost will be amortized over the years.

But in the long term, I still want to go even further…

A definite orientation towards “soft-tailoring”

My clothing objective is the suit style, which can be adapted into casual chic. I find myself most in the Ivy League or Preppy style. Having a very well dressed side with a touch of casualness, I find it perfect for all moments of life.

At the moment, I'm only inspired by it because I'm missing certain elements to achieve it, like moccasins. But it's only a matter of time. Otherwise, I just bought my first tailored pants from Berg & Berg, and I can't wait to continue this momentum to finally be the best version of myself.

Besides, if you're interested, I'll tell you about it in a little more detail in my good stylistic resolutions for 2024 . ;)