III.5.4. "LOOKS," AN AMIABLE ART

Menu: 3.5.4. "Looks." an amiable art

APPEARANCE, SELF-EXPRESSION IN A HARMONIOUS COMMUNITY

A philosophy of African immigrants

Barbershop sign bought at Abidjan's Treichville market in 1973

Fred, mens' wear vendor in La Goutte d'Or

In brief

• Making oneself a composition

• Detour: immigrants' descendants alone stand out

• Exuberant hair, beards and moustaches

• How those styles began

• Coiffeurs everywhere

• Hairdressers' salons' good humor

• Shops that continue the emphasis

• Africans' humanistic advertisements

• Detour: reinventing dandies

• Detour: politicizing Black men's fashion

*     *     *

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

# # #

Girls too

*     *     *

Next,

Detour: 

Immigrants' descendants alone stand out

DETOUR: IMMIGRANTS' DESCENDANTS ALONE STAND OUT

IN THE DIVERSE 13TH, ORIGINAL APPEARANCE ALMOST ALWAYS COMES FROM THEM 

Our conversation led to attending an event I could not have imagined...

"It's not keeping tradition as it is,

it's interpreting it as hommage,"

this Maghrebin uber driver said.

*     *     *

Next,

Exuberant hair, beards and moustaches

EXUBERANT HAIR, BEARDS AND MOUSTACHES

EXPRESSIONS OF CONFIDENCE AND OPTIMISM

We're used to young women experimenting with their hair...

At a festival, 2025

But for boys, styles date from the World Cup of 2014. The next page explains. 

Grocery cashier, 2000

                     Café waiter, 2021                                       In the métro, 2022

Security guard and bakery vendor, 2025 

       Barman, 2025                               Notions' vendor, 2025

Festival and trade show participants, 2025

# # #

 

White — middle or upper class —  hair styles are similar and clothing is somber:

        

The New York Times (cropped)

Zoom

J.D. Vance, Vice-President of the United States and Zohan Mandani, Mayor, New York City  (both photos, 2025) 

Rue de Rennes, 7e

 Rue de Babylone, 7e

"Unique like you:" Nuances of black and slightly longer hair

contrast with immigrants' genuine originality.

# # #

Movie: The man with a short coiffure and no facial hair is unsure of himself and does not want to be noticed, in contrast to the self-confident figure he admires.

 

"Friendship," 2024 by Andrew DeYoung with Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. Image cut to emphasize figures / zoom

Black styles show confidence and individuality: 

For youths who work more on the street

than in offices? 

*    *     *

Next,

How those styles began

HOW THOSE STYLES BEGAN

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

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

...and athletes in the 2014 World Cup wanted coiffures that would identify them 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 remembered the haircut posters of their neighborhoods that come from African market signs: examples here (please scroll down), here and here.

In 2013

Cuts for whites are more sober, but the origin is the same:

A barber in Ménilmontant, a neighborhood that is trendy and white

                      La Soupape Ailéé

A boy in Bobo Dioulasso

 

The coiffures are universal.

*     *     *

Next,

Coiffeurs everywhere