II.3.5.e. "LOOKS," A SOCIABLE ART THAT IMMIGRANTS INVENT

MENU: 2.3.5.e. "Looks:" a sociable art  

APPEARANCE, A WAY TO COMMUNICATE

          Fred, vendor of  men's clothes 

In brief

• Making oneself a composition

• Beauty salons' good humor  

• Coiffures and beards that have became universal

• Barbershops and neighborhoods  

• Africans' humanistic advertising

• Reinventing dandies

• Politicizing Black men's fashion

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Next,

Making oneself a composition

MAKING ONESELF A COMPOSITION

SEEN IN LA GOUTTE D'OR

The first poster of the Institute of Islamic Cultures

# # #

Dressing to fit surroundings

» 

# # #

A contrast in the upscale 7th...

"Unique like you" —  so long as you wear black.

...and the mixed 13th :

Most of the people

who express themselves through "looks" 

are immigrants' offspring.

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Next,

Beauty salons' good humor

BEAUTY SALONS' GOOD HUMOR

CONVIVIAL PLACES THAT OCCUPY WHOLE STREETS

The young man in the background chats with the friend having the haircut.

Since immigrants often lack residence papers, taking pictures is delicate. But this owner was so cordial that I asked. 

Her answer:

Lys Coiffure

2 rue du Panama

One feels the goodwill,
as when young men 

who see me careless with my phone

gently warn me to be careful.

*      *      *

 Next,
Coiffures and beards that have become universal

COIFFURES AND BEARDS THAT HAVE BECOME UNIVERSAL

TOURNAMENT CONTENDERS WORE HELMETS TO BE IDENTIFIED FROM THE BLEACHERS... 

Book of Tournaments of René d'Anjou, 15th century

...and athletes in the 2014 World Cup chose coiffures to be identified on television :

The Best and Worst of the Haircuts at this World Cup by hairdresser Franck Provost (in French with pictures), Huff Post, 2014

# # #

They turned to styles they had grown up with, which began with signs in African markets that barbers in Black neighborhoods had adopted:

Wood panel at Abidjan's Treichville market in 1973: Notice the "Kennedy" cut. 

Near the Château d'Eau métro, 10th, in 2013

Immediately omnipresent...

Performance at the Fondation Cartier, 2015

Grocery cashier, 2000

Café waiter, 2021

In the métro, 2022

The beards and mustaches that replaced them are part of the same creativity :

City Hall employee, 2023

Buono Coiffure

51 rue de la Goutte d'Or

# # #

Looks that for young men became global...

Kim Jong Un, President of North Korea

...come from Blacks via posters, soccer and neighborhoods.

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Next,

Barbershops and neighborhoods

BARBERSHOPS AND NEIGHBORHOODS

IN MAINLY GAUL AREAS BARBERSHOPS ARE RELATIVELY RARE AND PROPOSE A DOZEN STYLES AT MOST...

In trendy Ménilmontant and the lower-middle-class 13th, coiffeurs are far apart... 

• These propose seven styles:

Rue de Ménilmontant, 20th

Avenue d'Ivry, 13th

• This one, exceptionally, 12 :

Rue de Tolbiac, 13th

...but in La Goutte d'Or, barbershops and beauty salons cluster on numerous streets and offer a multitude of styles: 

• Between Boulevard Barbès and rue Doudeauville

• At the Château Rouge métro stop

In October 2023

• Facing each other on rue de la Goutte d'Or

Zee Coiffure Mixte 

(for men and women)

42 rue de la Goutte d'Or

Buono Coiffure

51 rue de la Goutte d'Or

The salon shown above functions non-stop

from 11 in the morning to 11 at night.

The neighbor around the corner 

closed early on this night, at 10.

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Next,

Africans' humanistic advertising