Film Noir Buff Style Forum / French Hip.

Terry Lean · 2007-07-17 03:22:39

Yes.
Minets/pussies/and even ruder words. The name was given to them they didn't pick it themselves.

The cult originally had no name - it was just kids who hung out at Le Drugstore. By the time their look had a name and shops were opening up all over to cater for them it was all over for the originators who moved on into the new French cut or burrowed ever deeper into English tailoring.

In a similar way when Modernists morphed into 'Mods!' it was all over with that scene too. The spirit carried on but changed its look to make clear that it wasn't much to do with places like Clacton.

Fair enough.

il vecchio · 2007-07-17 07:33:48

Re - Bande du drugstore look at this and read the buyer's comment:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286482/

Get Smart · 2007-08-27 17:19:56

Recently been listening to 60s popstar Nino Ferrer, the "French James Brown". Good stuff, real souful.....for a frenchman

The Style Council · 2007-08-28 05:14:01

Funny, I have just discovered Eddy Mitchell (Claude Moine) who appears to be the french Otis Redding!! He was more influenced by the Memphis soul sound.

http://browneyedhandsomeman.blogspot.com/2007/07/tricolore-soul-monsieur-eddy.html

Never heard of Nino Ferrer.. I'll check him out..

Viva La France!!

Last edited by The Style Council (2007-08-28 05:14:27)

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-28 05:42:10

I'll write more on French Minet style at some point now I know more (spent a week with one not too long ago).
I'm back in Paris for more of the same in October for half term hols...
I pour drinks & M. Reuben talks, but if there are any questions that any of my Modculture-esque brothers would like hitting then please ask.
I've got about 2 hours of him already on old style cassette tape.
There isn't an essay in this - just a thread I think. Getting photos is the toughie.

j.

Chris_H · 2007-08-29 04:57:50

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-29 05:54:09

Fascinating stuff Chris - Thanks.
I think there was a lot of cross-fertilisation of ideas between Paris's Minets and London's Modernists which might not have been noticed at the time (only a theory though). Until the Minets spoke you wouldn't always know that they were French.
Le Poubelle & Le Kilt were other Minet haunts in London, but looked down on by the real Minet 'faces' who'd rather mix with the English kids than their own kind.

Here's a link which talks about Ivy League clothes, French clubs in London & an underground sect of French kids in the capital:

http://www.djhistory.com/djhistory/archiveInterviewDisplay.php?interview_id=38

This is kinda the direction we European Ivy fans are all coming from.
GI inspired and into US imported sounds.
I'm more Jazz than RnB, but it's all the same idea.

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-29 06:15:41

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-29 06:27:56

"Lately, the Champs-Elysees from Le Drugstore to the Renault Pub looks like the campus of an American university... White socks, unlined madras jackets and American-cut slacks."

Adam. September 1964.

Chris_H · 2007-08-29 07:17:18

Just a further note, I've just been chatting to John Simons this lunchtime. The French suits I refered to above were made by Mayer.

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-29 07:25:23

I'd still love to know if Mr. Simons got the idea for 'The Squire Shop' in late '68 in London from 'Mayfair' on the Rue de la Pompe in '64 in Paris...

We really do need a book from the guy...

j.

Last edited by jack_sparrow (2007-08-29 07:29:27)

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-29 07:58:48

"Mayfair" was Jean Bouquin's shop. He had had a hand in launching 'Renoma' previously (see 'Parlez Vous Cool?' thread). 'Mayfair' was the second important Minet shop (after Renoma) on the Rue de la Pompe selling Ivy/Modernist style.
After 'Mayfair' Ivy/Minet exploded with 'Le Style Kennedy' in '65 and 'Harvard', 'Harrisson', 'Kerrington', & 'Princeton' (& others) opened up all selling a similar product:

"... Tassel loafers or overstitched Penny loafers (with a real US cent slipped in the window), white socks, light coloured cotton or corduroy jeans, Oxford shirts with button-down or snap collars, and lightly lined three-button jackets with small shoulders in seersucker or madras."

Suits were in "Mohair, Harris Tweed or Herringbone Cheviot (with an adjustment tab on the back of the pants)". Also popular were "Crested Blazers (here, however, crests were sold separately from a little basket...)"

Shetlands came in "Duck yellow, Candy Pink, Pale Blue, Mauve, and Off-White."

A lot of this French American clothing came in inspired via London and so there was some confusion as to what was English & what was American in all this - The clothes being the same but cut differently.

'Dean' was opened in '65 on Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle & was hardcore Ivy selling anything made in the US.

'Twenty' was on Rue Sambre et Meuse selling 'Westerway & Westerway' Shetlands via London.

... ... ... ... .. ...

And it all goes on & on & on...

We need a book on this too!

(Much of the above & the quotes are from Farid Chenoune, btw - I just ran it all past M. Reuben while he nodded.)

Jack.

Last edited by jack_sparrow (2007-08-29 08:20:03)

Get Smart · 2007-08-31 09:36:17

This is a pretty hip looking French couple. They reek of narcissism and arrogance.....GREAT!!

http://bp2.blogger.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/RtaqCf4lLZI/AAAAAAAAB-c/phY-4MANPeU/s1600/VParis.jpg

The Style Council · 2007-08-31 10:25:41

Hi... haven't been around for a while so I thought I'd type this up as the Squire shop has been mentioned.

There's loads going on in this little snippet!!!!

John Simon on the Squire Shop.

"We didn't bring in the Baracuta Harrington until 1967, exactly the same time as Payton Place was on TV. Harrington was the name of they wre known by over here, but they were always known as Baracutas in the United States. We noticed the character from Peyton Place, Rodney Harrington was wearing them and we started calling them the 'Rodney Harrington jacket' and that eventually got shortened to Harrington. Now it's become a generic name for that style, or even any zipper style of jacket.

We had the Squire shop in Brewer Street at that time. Stuart Malloy, the manager of Jones and Quincy's, a shop in Covent Garden, started with me as well. He was a mate from Bristol I met in the West End. He helped build the Squire Shop. It was an old butchers before we moved in. We created this kind of baronial hall with all these Ivy League clothes in there.

We sold Truval Korea Club shirts. Ben Sherman bought Korea Club shirts from us. I think that's how he started. He was an American who had a shirt factory in Brighton. We pre-dated him and what he was doing at the time.

We'd get a lot of black guy's coming to The Squire Shop. They were into button downs, brogues and plain caps. They called brogues and plaincaps 'blockbusters' and loafers were known as 'de canoes'.

There was quite a time when West Indian guys were into the Ivy look. They all queued up on Saturdays for brogues and if you didn't have their size, they'd take a different size!!

We kept with the Ivy League look. A Modern Jazz look. The customers were younger than us, what I would describe as Suedeheads. Wearing authentic button downs, short-ish college boy haircut, quite hard guys, but not really hard. They were smart though.

We were unique. No one had done what we had done. The look worked well. It could be manipulated to produce something else. I think it mutated into the Skinhead look.The early Skinheads were really smart. The ones who wore the cheaper end - the later Jaytex look - they weren't very smart.

I've never stocked or sold a Jaytex nor a Ben Sherman in my life. We only sold the authentic item.
The Squire Shop opened in '69. It closed about 1980 or sometime around then. I sold my interest in the shops, but I created them and opened them."

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-31 10:31:20

Top!

"The Influential Factor"? Too lazy to go check.

The Style Council · 2007-08-31 10:37:43

Hi Jack!!

People knock that book, but it has a lot of details that the 'Mods' book and Paolo Hewitts writings don't have. Essential.

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-31 10:38:45

Yup.

jack_sparrow · 2007-08-31 10:53:41

Get Smart · 2007-08-31 12:20:57

Style Council, thanks for that writeup. Great stuff!

Capt Jack....ah, that's just a recent pic from The Sartorialist of a french couple he photo'd

so you'd be right in thinking you saw some like them recently...with loads of Euros

jack_sparrow · 2007-09-01 01:36:02

Last edited by jack_sparrow (2007-09-01 02:18:34)

jack_sparrow · 2007-09-01 01:51:42

I just had a little dance to 'Carry go bring come' with my daughter & I think I have put my hip out.
Ska is for the young. Past 40 you can so easily do yourself a mischief...

jack_sparrow · 2007-09-01 03:55:24

Another goodie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eATaV2umnEs

A Smart Skin & Rude Boy fave which Stilman hasn't used yet...

The Clash covered this in Madison Sq Gardens wearing Baracuta Harringtons.

Everything is linked!

Last edited by jack_sparrow (2007-09-01 04:01:09)

jack_sparrow · 2007-09-01 04:03:12

Last edited by jack_sparrow (2007-09-01 04:18:05)

jack_sparrow · 2007-09-01 04:22:50

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOOUVH7oWcw

A gift for Mr. Horace.

Edit: I have a young-ish pic of JFK in a short sleeve OCBD with the sleeves rolled liked Terry does here.

Last edited by jack_sparrow (2007-09-01 04:27:59)

Horace · 2007-09-01 04:32:52

All very good postings on this thread. Thanks.

Esp. of interest is the Franco-American fusion. I wonder if one can't detect this in Jean Pierre Melville's films? At least this is what I argued on old Andy's site a few years ago, and was corrected by know-nothings who argued it was purely continental style.

#26 2007-07-17 03:22:39

Re: French Hip.

#27 2007-07-17 07:33:48

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#28 2007-08-27 17:19:56

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#29 2007-08-28 05:14:01

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