During my studies, I went back and forth between Paris and Tours almost every week, not to mention the regular little getaways to small villages nearby. So I think I have an objective view between Parisian fashion and regional fashion, given that I had one foot between the two.
In addition to that, as a good little men's fashion blogger, I have always been extremely attentive to the way those around me dress wherever I go, whether in Tours, in the Basque Country, in Brittany or even in the south of France. Men's clothing, and more particularly going beyond the usual clichés, has always interested me.
So I'm sharing with you here the fruit of some of my thoughts on the subject, because I'm often a little annoyed to hear clichés that miss the point, whether from people in the Ile-de-France region or from people in the region (here's , It is said) :
The streets of a medium-sized town like Tours (135,00 inhabitants)
offer a very satisfactory choice of clothing.
“There is Paris, and the rest…”
Ah, this great classic that I regularly enjoy! I'd be lying if I said there was absolutely no difference between the two. But the mistake is to think that one city is better than the other, when in fact they are just different.
I would say that the fundamental difference between Paris and the region is the very conception of what we mean by “dressing well” .
In the region, I have the impression that "dressing well" means "dressing classy" (with all that is more or less happy behind the word "class"), that is that is, wear emblematic pieces of a men's wardrobe : nice shirts, nice shoes, a nice jacket... With these pieces, you will be told that you are "well dressed", even if in certain contexts, well s Dressing is already too much... including in Paris.
On the other hand, I'm not sure that wearing Rick Owens leather or CCP boots in the region will earn you compliments on being well dressed. You will be told that you have a style , that you embrace it, but very rarely that you are well dressed.
Gradient jacket from Rick Owens.
CCP boots for a sharp look that can sometimes be too sharp .
To anyone who doesn't live in Paris, ask your friends what a well-dressed man means to them, and you'll see.
In Paris, "dressing well" is something much broader, as there are different social backgrounds and cultures concentrated in a single city . On the one hand, there are prestigious tailors who are taking advantage of men's resurgence in sartorial art, but on the other hand you also have men who want to go beyond a simple jacket and turn to designers or much more specialized boutiques... when others reject high-end clothing altogether (and believe me, there are a lot of them)!
This, in my opinion, is the difference between Paris and the regions.
What people never tell you about Parisian fashion...
If you think there are strong divisions between Paris and the rest of France, let me tell you that where these differences are most marked are within... Paris itself.
There is such a variety of style, of different social backgrounds, that it is impossible to speak of a single Parisian fashion, where there is a multitude of them! And often with very stigmatized styles (the hipster/thrift store style which is so polarizing for example).
Sometimes, it's those who don't live in Paris who are the most corrosive towards what they call "Parisian style" (that is, what happens if you have the misfortune of putting on a scarf light with a nice jacket and nice shoes). So don't talk about just one Parisian fashion anymore, it's far too generic.
Second important point, the vast majority of Parisians do not dress any more differently than the average resident of the region . As soon as you leave the upscale/trendy/hyped neighborhoods, you meet lots of men in Celio, Zara, H&M, Jules, etc. Take all the men in a metro train and put them in a square in a city other than Paris and I assure you that the smart one will be the one who manages to say that they live in Paris...
I never dress like that, not even to go out.
We really need to stop with this myth that all Parisians have impeccable style (not to mention that I only know very few pure-bred Parisians, most of them came to Paris for their studies).
And you know what ? Most have sometimes never set foot in a boutique in the marshes! So no, not all Parisians wear APC, Renhsen, Rick Owens or Dior. And they don't go jogging in Lanvin sneakers.
One of the most cutting-edge boutiques in Paris is hidden behind this door.
Could you find it?
And what about access to high-end clothing in the region?
Believing that you can only find high-end clothing in Paris is a monumental error . I'm going to be very clear about this: there are high-end boutiques in every major city in France.
So of course, the selections are more or less successful, but there are still some.
You can definitely find Hermès or Commune de Paris in Tours, Dior Homme in Deauville, Rick Owens in Lille, Wooyoungmi in Toulouse or Faliero Sarti in Avignon. It goes without saying that this is even more true for mid-range brands!
You just need to know how to search, to look at the points of sale of the brands we talk about on the blog, and sometimes not hesitate to send an email to the brand to have the addresses of the points of sale.
I recommend a few simple techniques to find the best addresses in your city (readers of BonneGueule Book know them well): walk around the city center, go down a different street than usual, or ask shop assistants what their prices are. favorite boutiques, allow you to come across gems (and not just in men's fashion, but also places to listen to music or have a drink).
You just need to have your eyes wide open and be curious. On the other hand, if you have convinced yourself that there is nothing in your town, you literally put huge blinders on yourself: how can you notice the nice little designer boutique at the bend of a walk if you start from the basic postulate that it cannot exist?
And again, I have not spoken of the excellent tailors and bootmakers who are found outside Paris, and from whom you can learn a lot. In this regard, I strongly invite you to look at the " Tailors " and " Bootmakers " sections of the DePiedEnCap forum, you will realize that excellent craftsmen are everywhere, and that Paris is far from monopolizing talent.
So please, do me a favor, put in your mind that in your city there are still plenty of unknown gems just waiting to be discovered, and stop thinking that it's Paris or nothing. 'other ! Besides, if I come back to Tours every weekend, it’s not a coincidence 😉
Geoffrey's addition: Before thinking "region", think "social context"
To finish the article, don't forget that when we talk about dressing according to one's environment, it is both a question of "place" but also and above all of social context. If your friends have very "street" cultures and you do too, there is no point in trying to conform to a style that is not yours: you can be overdressed in Paris just as you can not be. be quite regional.
Just look around, use common sense, and you shouldn't be lost.
