Fashion: Anatomy of Country Clothes<

"There are more seasons!", they say, from the vines of the Côte Chalonnaise to the cereal fields of the region. Here, the summers stretch out, the delicious harvests get ahead. Under a blazing sun, the fields of lush grass turn golden too early for the cattle to taste it. We touch the hay reserves before the fall. What will winter say? Cycles change. We will adapt. In Rosey, a wine-growing village in Saône-et-Loire, life follows the rhythm of the seasons. By 35°C, Elise, on vacation with her grandmother, a goatherd, picks up bales of straw in shorts, T-shirts and well-tanned sneakers. Trinity-style goggles in the Matrix, a drawstring bob complete the picture. It's cool, of course, but above all it's practical. This morning, the student in agronomy chose among her clothes those in which she will be able to get on and off the tank, grab the boots that are handed to her.

Her accessories will protect her from the sun. "Here, we choose our clothes according to the seasons, comments the neighboring beekeeper, Michel. In summer, we need something very light, in which we feel comfortable. In autumn, we dress more comfortable and in winter even more comfortable." Functionality, that trait which Roland Barthes attributes, in The System of Fashion, to "facts of clothing" more than to "facts of costume", is very much alive in the countryside. Here, the garment fully fulfills its useful object dimension. Its use is governed by the logic of the chosen activity and the weather. You don't wear socks in your tap shoes in summer, or a cyclist in winter." Rural clothing has concrete practical purposes, analyzes Ginette Francequin in Workwear, a second skin, published in 2008 (Erès). At this image of protection and the search for comfortable clothing, language adds what rural people invest in their clothing: modesty and this hint of regret at not conforming to fashion."

Clichés of deep France

So, rednecks, country people? The cliché of the peasant in blue and the peasant woman in a blouse in their neon-lit kitchen has flourished in recent decades. Who thinks of the trio of hunters from Les Inconnus, who of the Vamps, who of the fictitious duo of farmers formed by Maria Bodin and her son Christian... These parodies of a "conservatory" rurality, of areas where Crocs would be the only symptom globalization, feed the archetype of deep France. "Fortunately there is a deep France to perpetuate traditions, roots, etc., but I see that this has not prevented anything at all", commented Cabu on July 25, 1980 on the set of Apostrophe, about his comic strip, Beauf. His character, inspired by a bistro owner from Châlons-en Champagne (formerly sur-Marne), embodies the peasantry's escape to a "concrete" world. Becomes a redneck who has failed in the preservation of rural heritage. "This deep France, it has adhered to the American model, it goes to supermarkets, it arranges its tables in the attics and buys Formica... These people could have been a bulwark against that, but no", Cabu added to the era.

“I am aware of preconceptions, says Alice, a business student in Chalon-sur-Saône. Good taste comes from Paris, the epicenter of fashion... But fashion, for me, is is everywhere. I meet very well-dressed girls on the Chalon-sur-Saône market as I might meet them in Paris. You have to stop with the cliché of 'In the countryside, people are badly dressed'." Ironically, fashion in recent years has borrowed heavily from the countryside wardrobe. In addition to the more or less archaic nods to the peasant woman of the Glorious Thirties, in an oilcloth apron over a dress with a peony print and rubber clogs, the emergence of "gorpcore" marks a real surge of the fashion family towards nature. in general. The phenomenon, theorized by the New York Times in 2017, is based on the use of outdoor clothing in the city. It takes its name from the "gorp", a mixture of dried fruits dear to customers of hiking tour operators. "That fashion is inspired by the countryside, it's in tune with the times, observes Anne-Cécile, winegrower. We are almost in the opposite excess of sophistication. It can be very hypocritical, too, to want be simpler, closer to 'pure' things..." Buckets, convertible shorts, fleeces and other shoes with shockproof soles on ribbed socks: take a look at Urban Outfitters on a Sunday afternoon: it's the way to Santiago de Compostela - Burgundy part - catapulted rue de Rivoli.

I've lost 15 pounds of muscle weight without my gym.Starting my 'rock gym' soon.This is my father at the top of… https://t.co/IljWbAzMez

— Alan Wittenberg: JARL KONUNGUR HAMMONDSON Mon Jul 27 20:03:28 +0000 2020

Voluntary simplicity

Elise, perched on her chariot, would tick all the boxes of gorpcore. Just like Alexis, a young farmer crossed in the adjoining village of Granges. For them, on this day in July 2019, clothing is part of working the land. What will remain of the past harvest? Beyond the agricultural sector alone, a new relationship to clothing is emerging here among the young generation. The phenomenon is more or less inspired by the ancestral consumption patterns of the countryside.

Focusing on quality over quantity, extending the life of clothing... "For me, the social and ecological cost of clothing is just mind-blowing", says Céline. This young psychomotrician who works in the Chalonnaise region emphasizes a double form of empathy towards her environment. It is not only a question of sticking to the seasons, to one's physical environment, but also of adopting altruistic modes of consumption. "I never buy new clothes. It happens, sometimes, that they offer me some. In general, the clothes I have, I keep them for a very long time, I sew them up... It's important for me that fashion is sustainable and is part of a more global approach of voluntary simplicity."

Life choices echo this. Thus, Céline is currently active in the creation of a grouped habitat (or cooperative of inhabitants) in the region of Couches. Anne-Cécile, she left Lyon, a career in physiotherapy, for Givry and the family winery, the Lumpp house: "My relationship with clothing has changed. To be in the vineyard, in the cellar, to do a lot of 'horse riding too, I had fewer opportunities to go out and I realized that I didn't attach more importance to it than that. I like nice jeans, a nice T-shirt and that' is all."

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