The International Engineer

April 2^nd, 2023

I’ve never paid that much attention to my attire, though I was forced to at least consider it after moving to NYC. Interestingly enough, NYC seems to draw its fashion culture from, you guessed it, France! (Paris specifically). And although I’m not staying at the fashion hub Paris, I still very much feel the influence of French fashion culture sitting here in Grenoble. Today in my culture class we were discussing how Americans can get away with wearing sweatpants everywhere, and some students even wear pajama pants to college morning classes! In sharp contrast, French students are usually well dressed (even for an 8am class). Clothes are an indicator of social status and also seem to be how people form their first opinions of you.

I have black leggings with a big tear at the knee, and I occasionally wear them when I’m in a rush and don’t want to find a better pair of pants. In France, I can feel the eyes of people around me. They first glance straight to at my knee, and the judgement is unspoken but crystal clear. Another experience I had was walking into Galleries Lafayette and Sephora just yesterday. Even without ripped and worn clothes, I felt out of place compared to the other customers in the stores. They had posh manteaus with stylish purses and I had a hoodie with jeans (an otherwise perfectly acceptable outfit in US high-end stores).

So, I decided to conduct a little experiment and dressed up a little before heading to Galleries Lafayette. I exchanged jeans for black pants and my sweater for a blouse. And just as I predicted, I walked into Galleries with no stares. I walked to all 5 floors without so much as a look my way. I was completely invisible.

Of course, I could unconsciously be influencing my “experiment” with a sample size of 1. Perhaps I tried to be less noticeable by keeping to myself and not letting myself stare at other people too much. But all things considered, I thought my experiences were interesting at the very least.

There’re other subtle differences I’ve noticed with regards to fashion. Because I’ve been biking and running here, I’ve been wearing my Adidas leggings and sports jacket to cafes and the grocery store. And after all the looks and realizing that I’m the only one dressed like that, I took to the internet to see why. And sure enough, all articles comparing American and French fashion mentioned that athletic wear was not worn in France as it is in the US. Yoga pants stay in the house here, not to be seen by anyone! And ironically, I stay in Grenoble, one of the most sporty-athletics-boasting cities in France that was home to the 1968 Winter Olympics. So if people here don’t wear their track pants outside the house, then I don’t think the track pants stand much of a chance elsewhere in France.

And finally, my last observation was confirmed by a New York Times article published a little less than a year ago. When Americans visit France, they typically stick out like sore thumbs. Why? It’s the “loud” colors, the neon ones especially but in general American clothes are more vibrant than the French equivalents. Here muted, neutral, and nude colors are popular and when looking into the displays at stores I see mannequins wearing combinations of white, light pink, blue, brown, and a dull green. Luckily for me, I’ve always been a fan of more neutral and dull shades, and this is one part of my wardrobe that doesn’t draw as much attention as the above things I mentioned.

Oh, and one more thing! Nobody wears bérets here, which is disappointing because I was looking forward to wearing a new one with a scarf and croissant to top-off the outfit. But alas, that idea of French fashion is stereotypically American and wrong…and if I did dress like that, I think I’d attract more looks than I do with my torn pair of pants.