KNOTS & BUNS: FRENCH FASHION FAUX PAS?

When it comes to fashion, Paris is on the map. Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton are among the names that come to mind. It’s classy, it’s elegant, it’s just so, Parisian.

But the French fashion industry doesn’t stray from the classic without some effort. Bad boy Jean-Paul Gaultier raised eyebrows, as usual, when he put a tacky French reality star on his runway in 2013 – and she has since stabbed her boyfriend in the throat and done jail time for it. Class act. But people in France just couldn't get why he would choose her over a professional model. Why couldn't he stick to tradition?

But he’s the exception, not the rule in France.

So when we started seeing the infamous “top knot” hair style appear in Paris a year or two ago, we wondered how much of a fashion statement it was. Rising from the hipster classes, it was clear that this was not the knot of 2003’s David Beckham. It was a statement, something grungy, something to prove that you were different. Or maybe you were just too lazy to cut or wash your hair. 

In any case, it has since been embraced by the general population, evolving into the larger “boy bun” fad, the likes of which we only used to see on martial arts masters. 

But the knot and bun are here in force in Paris, a trend that has yet to run its course (we didn't struggle too much for those photos!). The simple knot isn’t too bad. The messy bun is a bit of a disaster at times, while more organized buns can be oddly attractive. In Paris, more and more we’ve spotted them paired with the undershave, giving it a more drastic look that some younger guys pull off surprisingly well.

Some men make it work, it’s true. But in the end, we think the knots and buns can move on, allowing Parisians to settle back into the classy-chic look that they do best – trimmed beards, coiffed or meticulously-messed hair, and no extra bulges atop their heads. We're all for innovation and trying new things, but when the traditional looks so good...

Leave your knots and buns at home please, unless you’re organizing a taekwondo seminar in Paris. Then it’s totally cool.