French Bobo Fashions for Fall: A New Look from Long Ago

There’s a dress shop in the village square of my adopted home in France (Uzès) where finding what’s new in fall fashions takes you back a century or two. A visit to the store reminds you of rummaging through your grandmother’s closet, or uncovering an old trunk that’s filled with brown tweed jackets and checkered woolen blankets from somebody’s past.

You walk through the front door of  L’Atelier des Ours and hear bells jingle behind you. When you look down at the sand covered, tile floor, it’s hard to know exactly why you’re there. Yet you have to take only a few steps to feel there’s something special in this tiny place, waiting to be discovered.

L’Atelier des Ours, translated “the teddy bear’s workshop”, caters to a unique clientele of European women, mostly from France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. The style of clothing, shoes and accessories they purchase in the shop can be called “bobo“,”bourgeois bohème“, or “bohème chic“.

The look isn’t for everyone, but for those who define themselves by these flash-back fashions, it is irresistible.

David Brooks, The New York Times columnist, identified and named “bobos” in his book, “Bobos in Paradise,” published in the year 2000. Quoting from his review of his own book, Brooks says about bobos: “These are highly educated folk who have one foot in the bohemian world of creativity and another foot in the bourgeois realm of ambition and worldly success. The members of the new information age elite are bourgeois bohemian. Or, to take the first two letters of each word, they are bobos.”

According to Brooks, bobos are identified by having “rebel attitudes and social-climbing attitudes all scrambled together.”

Helen Bonham Carter, actress and wife of Tim Burton, is the poster child for extreme “bobo” dressing with her unconventional style. The Olsen twins’ non-conformist, bohème fashions could be considered “bobo” — somber colored, layered, and heavily laden with scarves.

For the bobo chic who shop at L’Atelier des Ours — in the store and online — the style is neither “hippy”, gypsy nor make-believe. It is elegant, eccentric, and smart. In fact it is so “smart” that it takes an understanding of each piece of clothing to put together the perfect outfit.

Start with a ruffled organza petticoat

 

A multi-ruffled organza petticoat is the basic element of “bobo chic” for daytime. Add a tee-shirt that’s delicately fringed around the top and cover it with a dotted swiss tunic. Wrap it all in a soft pewter sweater and shawl; pull on cotton stockings and mary jane shoes; and voilà!

A simple little dress and scarf

 

Grab one of the dresses with tiny stripes or granny checks off the rack. Slip on an crinkled organdy petticoat underneath (not to be confused with “organza” which is netting). Swirl a matching scarf around your neck; a floppy handbag over your shoulder; and there, you have a dashing afternoon ensemble.

Smocks, frocks and pantaloons

 

Heavy cotton smocks and baggy linen pantaloons are the mainstays of a “bobo” wardrobe for all types of occasions. Worn with a woolen shawl and crocheted beret you’re off to market. Add a long, flannel, three-button jacket with knee-high, black boots and you’re ready for cold weather.

Poplin dresses and taffeta skirts

 

When visiting L’Atelier des Ours, I can never leave without trying on one of the “fantasy” dresses and ruffled skirts.

Picture a very pale gray, ankle-length, crushed poplin dress with a scooped neckline and long crinkled sleeves. Below the hemline of the dress are layers and layers of off-white ruffles showing off from the taffeta skirts worn underneath. To complete the fairy-tale costume, a lusciously soft scarf is tied loosely around the neck and shoulders.

I feel like a princess.

 

Another place and time

 

Around my little village the “bobo chic” ladies are easy to sight. Occasionally, I put on my checkered frock, tee-shirt and pantaloons and join them among the crowd of towns people and tourists. No one stops and stares.

Fall and winter 2014 bobo style is neither glitzy nor glamourous. It’s more like comfort food and a warm fireplace. A  new look from long ago. A different attitude. A way of life.

Fashion elements for “bobo chic”

 

A short list of the items that “bobos” stock in their wardrobe doesn’t vary much by season, just by color and weight.

Loose, layered clothing made of natural fabrics

Smocks, tunics, loose trousers, pantaloons

Ruffles, organdy and lace petticoats

Shoes with straps,  boots and sandals

Mixing patterns of prints and flowers, checks and stripes

Simple or no jewelry

Basic-colored scarves in a variety of soft fabrics

Lacy bloomers

Simple tee-shirts, long and short sleeved

Sweaters, wraps, jackets and long coats

For a virtual visit of L’Atelier des Ours, tour the website and catalogue. Better yet, treat yourself to a stop at the store in Uzès, France.

The Barefoot Blogger, aka Deborah Bine, loves to share tales of her solo life in France as an American expat who speaks no French. Retired from a career in advertising and marketing communications, and divorced after a 40-year marriage with children, Deborah left Beaufort, South Carolina and all of her belongings last year to move to the south of France. Now that she has found her “bliss,” her passion is to encourage others to break away from whatever is holding them back and to go after their dreams. “We’re on life’s journey alone. Be certain you love where you are.”