STRAIGHTENING OUT FRENCH MEN: SHOES

Shoes - Gay or Straight?

Elle Woods once sang in the seminal Broadway classic, Legally Blonde.

“Is he gay? Of course, he’s gay or European?”

And truer words have never been sung. So true, that there is even a tshirt available…. 

We think coming from an Anglo-Saxon culture, European men can be a bit of an enigma. “Regular” characteristics that are used to identify gay and straight don’t apply here. We've had our fair share of moments where we've been unsure of someone’s persuasion, to find out late that they’re happily married… to a woman!

With a bit of time, it becomes easier to recognize the difference here. But as most of you might only be here for maybe a week or two, we thought we’d provide you with some of our hard earned knowledge so that you can make the most of your time in Paris and flirt with the Frenchmen that might appreciate it and flirt back. We’ll work our way from the bottom to the top over a series of posts to break down French gay style and characteristics.

Let's begin from the ground and work our way up: SHOES

The French are a stylish and chic bunch. A well-heeled man does not mean a gay man. You will see a lot of straight men in dressy leather shoes and they don’t have to be heading to the office. Pointy-toed, well-polished, and colorfully-laced shoes do not a gay man make. It's just important to have nice footwear. They also often wear variations of the loafer. Go figure. Shoes are rarely a giveaway for sexuality in the Parisians streets.

The gays sometimes give it away a little too easily. While Parisian gays wear their share of patent leather white shoes and sassy boots, they also embrace the Chuck Taylor (rarely tattered).Surprisingly, what you will see a lot of gay men wearing are, for lack of a better description, fashionable sports shoes. There's nothing fancy about them. Often they’ll be the high-top, chunky sneakers that you wouldn't pair with a stylish Parisian gay.

Channel a mix of Michael Jordan's sports sense, TLC's funk, and Rainbrow Brite's color palette and you've got the start of what's chic in gay men's footwear.

It all might sound a bit contradictory, but it’s France.