Parisian Style and Social Status👛

Salut !

Last week I delved into a couple of things that came to my mind during my visit to the Musée des Arts décoratifs, but I feel that there's still something more to the idea of the "Parisienne" that we can expand on and explore. To refresh our memory, here's a part of the quote again that I treated the last time:

"Advertising posters promoted the representation of 'La Parisienne', the constructed incarnation of the elegant; independent woman and fashion ambassador. On posters, she was an objectified projection of fantasies: 'La Parisienne started trends and, in a context of industrial production based on mass reproduction, established presonal taste, based on imitation and variation. She embodied the femininity of Paris, the city of entertainment, with which she shared the desire to seduce, and to delight.'"

(The citation in the last part of the text was taken out of a book called La Parisienne du Second Empire aux Années folles (2020, Paris: Honoré Champion) written by A-S and P-J Duffief.)

The citation accentuates the fact that thanks to the democratization of fashion (made possible by the proliferation of mass reproduction), in theory everyone is able to buy and develop the look of a 'Parisienne', regardless of their background. It was the case already in the early 20th century, and now we see that it has slowly lead to the dethrowning of a strict social hierarchy. 

I had an interesting conversation recently concerning this very fact, that nowadays anyone can buy the clothes and accessories of a person that belongs to a certain class or social status, and in consequence these social structures have lost much of their meaning. Before, the class or status you were born to determined the style of clothing you could and should wear. But now it is easier than ever to change your social status and also to look like a person from another status than your own. The class barriers have dissolved, or at least become more vague.

This phenomenon has made possible for example Inès de la Fressange's variation of the style of a 'Parisienne'. One of the key ideas of her style is notably to mix items from different social classes and to not be attached to buying clothes from only certain brands or a certain price range. According to her (and me), a stylish person knows how to pick out great items from whichever brand and mix them creatively.🪢

In practice this means that you may put together an outfit like this for example: a pair of blue jeans, an inexpensive white t-shirt, a blazer, good-quality leather shoes that you've found in a little shop on a vacation, a high-end luxury handbag and a pair of earrings passed down by your grandmother. Even though this can be considered quite a normal outfit now, it wasn't that long ago that this sort of an outfit couldn't have been possible, or it would've been at least very weird to make such combinations. Jeans come from the style universe of farmers' workwear, whereas t-shirts was originally a US soldier's undergarment; blazers originate especially from English men's suits in the early 19th century, and possessing high-quality leather goods and shoes can be seen as more of a privilege of the higher classes; yet now these items can exist in perfect harmony in anyone's outfit. Put this way, such an outfit is actually a very interesting mosaic of influences from different eras of the history of clothing.

This is also exactly what Ralph Lauren celebrates with his life and his brand. Like Inès de la Fressange, Ralph Lauren thrives on finding and wearing cool combinations of clothes and accessories from different origins. He has become famous for combining for example a black tuxedo and a bowtie with blue jeans, and looking great while wearing it.👖 Of course, judging by the global success of his business, this idea of mixing influences resonates with a lot of people at this point in history.

Personally, I love the creative freedom and variety this brings to us, and I appreciate it even more now that I realize that things have not always been this way. Putting together outfits has become an art in the context of fashion, as well as a means for self-expression in our everyday lives. Of course this is not a first necessity in life. We can just wear whatever clothes that we find and that work in our lifestyle, but for people like me that are interested in this topic, it's a great time to be alive!🕶️

Have a stylish week!

Bisous,

Elle

❣️Recent delights

• Last Saturday, I had the chance to go to see the gardens of the Versailles Palace for the first time after 18 years! I was there the last time when I was 7 years old, so I was happy to be there again to see what I'd forgotten since that time.😜 I went there with a couple of friends at nighttime to see this cool event called "Les Grands Eaux Nocturnes", so literally "The Great/Grand Nocturnal Waters". The beautiful fountains in the gardens had been decorated with light installations and their movements were synchronized with Jean-Baptiste Lully's music of the court of Louis XIV. I guess it's a bit similar than the fountain shows that are organized in Las Vegas, but just with a French twist. It was a very fun experience; we walked great distances as the gardens are ginormous, but quite majestic, and the soirée ended with impressive fireworks.🎇