Finding out about the age of a Parisian is easy.
All Parisians under 50 years old always wear jeans. All Parisians over 50 years old never wear jeans.
Jeans is the new Parisian uniform. Not wearing jeans in Paris is pure subversion.
Parisian men love their jeans, for they are a fantastic means to make a strong social statement. For those of them who wear suits at work, fun time is chilled time: weekend is therefore jeans time. Regular pants would remind them of work too much. Jeans really are about freedom. So is the weekend.
For all Parisian men who do not need to wear suits at work, jeans are a shouting way to stress it. I am no slave to the system: I work in jeans. These Parisians have managed to turn jean wearing into an act of pure arrogance. Parisians really are brilliant.
Women also wear jeans. Constantly. While Parisian men usually own 2 or 3 pairs, it is frequent for Parisian women to own up to 10 pairs of jeans. When it comes to choosing a pair of jeans, Parisian women only ask themselves one question: Est-ce qu’il me fait un gros cul? (yes Parisian women can be rude like that). While Parisian men tend to stick to blue jeans, Parisian women do not hesitate to broaden their horizons going black and occasionally grey. Style is about daring, isn’t it?
As with every uniform, wearing jeans comes with a few rules.
Rule number one is that jeans are never to be worn with sneakers in Paris. A person walking the streets of Paris wearing jeans and New Balance shoes is American. The only exception to that rule is Converse shoes. This exception works for both genders. Converse and jeans are ok in Paris. Rule number two of jeans wearing is what could be called the Diesel controversy. Wearing Diesel jeans sends out a message that the wearer is ok with spending 300 euros on a pair of jeans. And he’s happy to throw that piece of information in your face. Which of course will make him the target of much talking about. Diesel jeans wearers shall now be prepared.
In the end, tucking or not tucking becomes the final assertion of one’s personality. For men, collared shirts ought to be tucked. Always. T Shirts and polo shirts ought not to. Never. For women, tucking is always a bad idea.
In the end, in Paris, not wearing jeans is a bit like wearing short-sleeves shirts: simply a decision Parisians are not ready to make.
Useful tip: The cut of your pair of jeans will tell much about your sexual orientations and availability. Be cautious.
Sound like a Parisian: « Faut qu’j’m’achète un jean…»
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Tags: clothing · fashion · jeans · style13 Comments
13 responses so far ↓
I have followed Rule 1 for many years, even here in Canada. My jeans are NEVER seen with sneakers (we call them runners here). I don’t know about Rule 2, because I haven’t seen many people wearing Diesel - guess I’m looking in the wrong places! As for women tucking, I admit that I used to, in the 70’s and 80’s, but definitely not any more(I have better cut jeans now, too)!
Oh no, I wear jeans most of the time (following all of the rules of Paris). But I am turning 50 in March - I cannot give up my jeans!!
You could have gone into the different cut of jeans between the suburbs and central Paris … status and pretense also hide in the cut…
J’adore!! So funny and as usual so true… When I went to work in NYC in my skinny jeans, I raised a few eyebrows!! Now I am the girl who always wears jeans… Always with shoes, or… converse, never tucking anything in, and yes when I do buy a pair I do ask the true question…
I am a real Parisian cliche!! I love it!
I discovered your blog just several weeks ago, and “J’adore !!”
I am a New Yorker who has had the privilege of visiting your fair city many times…and like your blog , J’adore Paris (BEAUCOUP !) I not-so-secretly want to have a chance to live there one day… and you make it all the more inviting !
HAPPY NEW YEAR from NEW YORK CITY !!
Wishing you all the BEST in 2009 ~~!!
Pinklea… it seems like you’re ready to cross the Atlantic!
Pat… why would you?!!
Jacques… I could have indeed. Are you French Jacques?
DBSF… Thank you. It’s probably much easier to describe a cliché than to fit into one… So chapeau bas!
Christine… I make Paris inviting?!! Really?!! Anyhow, thank you for your kind words and wishes. Very much appreciated!!
May 2009 be a pretty year for each and everyone of you.
And let me take this oportunity to thank you all for your continuous support since the inception of this blog. I do very much appreciate your presence here. mre fun to come in 2009 hopefully!! O.
I have never seen so many jeans worn as I have in Paris…possibly more jeans worn than in all of the USA…I mean it. Contagion
..well.. jeans.. on fait, je prefere ecrire en francais meme avec des fautes:).. alors.. tout le monde porte ‘jeans’.. les americains, les francais, les espagnols, les polonais.. c’est pas la decouverte (je dis de mon commentaire) mais c’est interessant ca ce que je comprends en anglais:) vos postes sont.. normals, Olivier, c’est-a-dire de la vie quotidienne a Paris et bcp de personnes est interesses par cela - congratulations!! et salutations de Pologne..
Un jour, j’ai regarde un peu ce blog (c’est parce que je cherche des choses d’interessants) et j’ai decide de le lire mais aussi de creer qch comme ca en francais parce que j’ai un blog en polonais qui est tres belle langue mais malheureusement pas comprenee par tout le monde.. voila, c’est mon n’importe quel commentaire:D
ParisBreakfast… I know right?!!
JB… Merci pour ces commentaires. Et Merci de faire l’effort d’écrire en français. Cela fait plaisir de voir qu’elle est appréciée et défendue en Pologne. Bonne chance dans vos aventures, O.
It does make me laugh that such an American way of dressing - jeans and converse - is prevalent worldwide in cities. That is classic Americana.
In the US, it is really only (straight) men and women who gave up caring who wear regular sneakers with jeans.
I love that the French say ‘un jean’ not ‘jeans’ (though it makes much more sense. Why do we Anglos use the plural? What would ‘a jean’ be for us? A pair with one leg only?)
Susan… Yep, Parisians are not that different after all! I love your (straight) comment!!
Badaude… I know ‘a pair of jeans’ is a bit long don’t you think?!!
Off to buy more jeans.
Tell me more about the short sleeves - Parisians never wear them?