Why Are Parisians Still Smitten With Brooklyn?
Fact: American girls can’t shut up about French girls’ style. There’s nothing new about this phenomenon. We’ve been yearning for Brigitte Bardot’s smoky sexpot eyes, tousled hair, and barefoot allure since she shimmied and writhed around St. Tropez in 1956’s And God Created Woman. We’ve attempted to channel the impeccably coiffed beauty of Catherine Deneuve since she played a bourgeois, Yves Saint Laurent-clad housewife with sadomasochistic fantasies in 1967’s Belle de Jour. More recently, we’ve coveted the succulent red pout of socialite Jeanne Damas; the shaggy bangs of music producer and Chanel muse Caroline de Maigret; the, well, shaggy bangs of singer Lou Doillon; and the casual gumption of her sister, actress Charlotte Gainsbourg who can seemingly wear a rumpled white T-shirt to any high-profile event and make it look more than acceptable.
Popular fashion blog Who What Wear has seven articles on the specific topic of mastering French girl style. They’ve also featured an insipid quiz entitled “How French Is Your Style?” (I received a score of “Absolument: Mostly French” and was assured, “You’re well on your way to achieving that elusive Parisian chic style,” suggesting I pick up Chloé’s signature Eau de Parfum in order to up my “French style game.”) Apparently, they wear Breton striped tops to the airport, smoking jackets everywhere, prefer flats over heels, and veer on the minimal side when it comes to accessories. Whatever. I’m not into gross generalizations.
French fashion designer Isabel Marant perhaps summed it up best when she explained to Glamour magazine, "When people ask me what the [style] difference is between French girls and American girls, it's mainly that French girls pass a lot of time pretending like they're not paying attention, while they're doing just that.” Apparently, one of the things they, along with their male counterparts, are paying a whole lot of attention to these days is Brooklyn. And they’re not even trying to pretend they’re not. The grass is always greener on the other side of the pond – and on the other lawn’s Left Bank. Peruse the streets of Paris, and you might very well swear you’re waiting for a table outside Five Leaves or loitering in front of the Commodore. Plaid flannel shirts. Week-old stubble. Lumberjack-level beards. Skinny jeans. Beanies. Bedhead. Sneakers for all occasions. Stylized coffee shops. Oh, and artisanal bagels, beet- and squid ink-flavored, to be specific. Not that we even have those here, but it all abounds in the City of Lights.
Several weeks ago, Carine Roitfeld, longtime Tom Ford collaborator and the former editor of Vogue Paris, posted a picture of herself on Instagram, sporting a leopard coat and leaning against a Toyota pickup truck on the North Side of Brooklyn. The shot is succinctly captioned, “Williamsburg!” It has well over five thousand likes. Speaking of Vogue Paris, I recall first becoming aware of this transcontinental love affair when I caught sight of one of their covers a couple years ago. Much to my bemusement, the issue headlined something to the effect of – and I misquote, “Williamsburg, Brooklyn est un quarter super cool.” I snickered. What nonsense!
That was around the same time VICE published an article on this very topic, calling the crush a “Wes Anderson-meets-Woody Allen fever dream.” Indeed, it seems the fever has only risen and the dream has gotten more vivid in the past few years.Brooklyn Brewery’s sales in France doubled this past year, and it definitely has more to do with an affinity for the name than the taste of the beer. Then there’s Le Bon Marché, the high-end department store that proudly devoted a six-week showcase this past fall to goods imported straight from Brooklyn, along with a pop-up tattoo parlor and barber shop. The event was entitled “Brooklyn Left Bank.” Billboards to advertise were plastered all over Paris; they featured the phrase “Brooklyn Mania,” accompanied by the image of a dude with a handlebar mustache and tattoos. People on Le Bon Marché’s team even went so far as to turn the word Brooklyn into a French verb, coining “Brooklyniser” to refer to the store’s transformation. Then there’s this unfortunate song by French electro-pop artist Lorène Aldabra, entitled “Brooklyn Glory,” released in October. Not to mention a diner chain named after Bedford Avenue and Park Slope Rock School, which offers Brooklyn-inspired band classes. New York’s borough isn’t a place as much as it a brand.
So why? Much like Isabel Marant’s explanation of the French girl’s aesthetic allure, it’s all about the perception of effortlessness. It projects a sense of new bohemia. Ironically, my Williamsburg neighborhood is far from bohemian, to say the least, what with Ralph Lauren on North 3rd Street, the sleek blow dry bar that just opened, countless high-end barre and Pilates studios, and the monumental Whole Foods slated to open right smack on Bedford Avenue this spring. Not to mention the walking tours that take place every weekend day throughout the summer. I’ll glance out my window to see nondescript men with megaphones and wads of cash in hand pointing out the artisanal ice cream shop across the street and its neighboring construction site like they’re bona fide tourist attractions. But hey, what do I know? Maybe they are. Regardless, is my hood gritty? Not so much. Countercultural? No more. But after inquiring with a couple of real-life, genuine French people on the appeal of the borough, I began to get it. It’s not so much about the often misguided perception of “coolness” as it is the inherently lower-pressure way of life, at least relatively speaking.
My friend Camille, who works in the film industry and has lived in Brooklyn for several years, says, “There’s comfort in Brooklyn and theres a lifestyle that reminds you of Paris. It’s that sense of comfort and routine you get from going to your favorite coffee shop or restaurant. Whereas in Manhattan, you work, you go out, you’re constantly running around. In Brooklyn you can create your own little universe, which is very much how French people like to live.”A Manhattan native-turned-Brooklyn local myself, I identify with Camille’s take on the change of pace. “There’s a sense of leisure and an appreciation of time. Usually on Sunday, my friends and I will get groceries and a bottle of wine, cook, and play cards like idiots. In Manhattan, people would want to know why you’re staying home and not out networking.” She notes Cobble Hill’s Smith Street for its particularly French-seasoned vibe. The bars over there are “a little bougie,” but worth going to on say, Bastille Day, when you’d want to embrace that kind of mood. It’s also where “all the Frenchies go during the World Cup.”
Max Layn, of the Brooklyn-based agency AMG Brothers, explains: “Why Brooklyn? We love Brooklyn because it feels like Paris, and its truer and truer every day! We can find the same hipsters blended with chai lattes and kale salads. Despite the ‘nightmare’ it can sometimes be to feel like we’re back in France, all the other aspects of being in Brooklyn (the fact that it’s a melting pot, the colors, the flavors) will keep us strongly fixed to this little part of NewYork we call home.”
It’s no surprise many young chefs who’ve moved from Paris opened restaurants in Brooklyn. Affordability was the original motivating factor, but that’s not what’s keeping them here. (Check out The Antagonist, aka L’Antagoniste, for great, unpretentious, Frenchie-approved food in Bed-Stuy.) What is, though, is similar to what keeps us American girls enamored with French style: It’s accessible yet glamorous in its ease, it’s still a touch exotic no matter how familiar it feels, and it’s often more magnetically intriguing than traditionally pretty, which is, no doubt, a good thing.