II.4.4.e. "LOOKS," A SOCIABLE ART THAT IMMIGRANTS INVENT

MENU: 2.4.4.e. "Looks:" a sociable art  

APPEARANCE, A WAY TO COMMUNICATE

          Fred, vendor of  men's clothes 

Appearance as philosophy

• 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

» 

 

In the mixed 13th:

# # #

In the upscale 7th: Unique comme vous ("Unique like you"), on condition of wearing black. 

« Unique comme vous », 
at the Sèvres-Babylone crossroad

At rue de Rennes 

Most of the people

who express themselves through "looks" 

that are genuinely original

are immigrants' offspring.

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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.

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 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

# # #

Brian Taylor Cohen, American podcaster

Looks that have become global

come from Blacks

via posters, soccer and neighborhoods.

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Next,

Barbershops and neighborhoods

BARBERSHOPS AND NEIGHBORHOODS

THE STYLE-SETTERS CLUSTER IN THE BLACK NEIHBORHOODS 

At La Goutte d'Or, barbers and beauty salons dot the streets and the styles are endless:

• Between boulevard Barbès and rue Doudeauville...

• At métro Château Rouge

• At rue de la Goutte d'Or, barbershops are on opposite sides of the street:

Zee Coiffure Mixte 

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.

Another neighbor is around the corner.

On this night it closed early — at 10.

# # #

At trendy Ménilmontant and the lower-middle-class 13th, the rare barbers propose only a few styles: 

 

Rue Ménilmontant, 20th

Avenue d'Ivry, 13th

Rue de Tolbiac, 13th

 The contrast shows 

where the style began and flourishes:

Everyone else copies.

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Next,

Africans' humanistic advertising