Understated elegance of the French-president style - Jonas et Cie, Paris
- mymoderndarcy
- Mar 12
- 5 min read
Dear readers, since we were talking about understated elegance and presidential style in the past two blogs, let me throw another one related to those two elements, and, it’s also about refined menswear. For some reason, I have an obsession with the style and menswear ensemble of the current French president, Mr. Emmaneul Macron, for quite some time. Nothing political here, but solely about French menswear and men’s style in our time, and I am always curious to know which French tailoring house or menswear brand he picked as his work attire, the fact is, despite it might seem pretty ordinary from the photo, somehow there’s a certain kind of unspeakable and understated sophistication and luxury in it, the formality that looks simple, impeccable, whilst it possessed a certain authoritative charm, prestige, and modernity about classic French style that fascinates me very much. On a serendipitous occasion, I eventually found out which French menswear label this French president picked as his work clothes.
Jonas & Cie, the Parisian men’s tailoring brand, it might not be a name familiar to most people, especially to those who live outside France, compared with some of those mainstream so-called luxury French menswear labels, even to me, I have no idea about this Parisian men’s tailoring house only until my obsession about the suit style of President Macron! Founded in 1996, Jonas & Cie is a relatively humble and understated family-operated men’s tailoring brand, initially it was a small tailoring business established by Mr. Jean-Claude Touboul in the 80s, with his son, Laurent, who joined him in 1996, the company officially named as Jonas & Cie with their showroom boutique located on 19 Rue d’Aboukir in the 2nd arrondissement in Paris. Their tailoring menswear is mainly sought after by Parisian men who work in the office, as well as French politicians that looking for something understated, classic, simple yet modern, smart looking, well-tailored in good quality without a hefty price tag, at the same time, it embodies the quintessential style of a modern sophisticated Parisian man: contemporary classic, practical, smart-looking, and understated Parisian masculine sophistication. No wonder why President Macron picked their tailoring menswear as his “work wear” before he was elected, as well as his earlier days of his presidency.
The approach of Jonas & Cie in tailoring menswear is certainly not something extravagant, shiny nor showy like some other luxury French menswear labels did, tactics such as influencing the audience with the heritage of the fashion house, the romance of history about the brand, nor using any style icon to make themselves to be relevant or good enough to be in the marketplace, instead, they take pride on keeping their feet on the ground, focus on offering qualitative and practical classic Parisian menswear that are in a reasonable price that is desirable for every modern men, who appreciate timeless Parisian classic and understated elegance, to wear, no wonder why it became such a popular go-to menswear label for the local Parisian men, especially for those who work in the office such as finance, law, and political sector, their tailoring menswear also popular for those who are looking for formal attire for the wedding.
I still remember how exhilarating when I went to their showroom boutique on Rue d’Aboukir in Paris last year, as I thought it should be visible on the ground floor, on the contrary, it was located very discreetly on the 1/F floor inside a Parisian building! After passing through a narrow corridor with stacks of folded classic men’s dress shirts on one side, and a long upper and lower rack with dozens of classic suits hung there, I finally made my way access to the main salon of the showroom. Seeing all the classic, dark color of refined men’s suits around me, it could be relatively distracting as all their suits and jackets are all impeccably made! I managed to stay focused and look for the exact suit that President Macron got from here, and lucky enough, I got some help!
Michel from Jonas & Cie pulled out one set from the long rack of suits without spending much effort, he showed it right in front of me, and said that was the exact same suit that President Macron wore (during his earlier days of presidency)! To do you all a favor, let me “decode” the details of this particular suit ensemble here: a classic “l’heure bleu” color 2-button tailored fit jacket in super 110s fine wool, fabric #62 by the reputed Italian fine wool mill, Vitale Barberis Canonico, paired with the same fabric and color trousers in tapered classic Parisian cut, matching with the tailored fit white shirt in spread collar, made with slightly-glossy silk-effect cotton twill, and the understated yet smart-looking narrow mesh silk tie in ‘Président bleu’ color.
While Michel was encouraging me to also try on the wool cashmere black coat that President Macron wore as well, sadly the weather was just way too hot during my visit, and my clock was ticking while waiting for my suit trousers to be altered under a time crunch, I decided to pass his kind offer. But I do have a little advice here in case you are planning to visit this Parisian tailoring showroom boutique soon: first of all, make sure that you are laser-sharp focused to know what you are looking for, and ask for the exact thing that you need, be prepared that their team is extremely busy! Secondly, the number of fitting rooms in there is relatively limited, they require each customer to take their clothes and belongings back right after trying them on, so that they can offer the room instantly to the next customer for fitting (or changing back their clothes), as the result, please be patient and prepared that it might take you a while to change back your clothes.
Thirdly, while customer service is the key, this humble Parisian tailoring boutique is a relatively tight-knot family-operated business (as of now), with the popularity of their brand nowadays, be prepared to be patient when asking for something more detail with the staff as every single one of their team is stretching themselves so thin to assist and cater a large number of customers in the boutique the same time as you are visiting; in other words, be prepared your shopping time there might take a bit longer than the usual, give some time for their team to do a good job, and dress you the most impeccable possible before walking out from their boutique. Being an understandable, civilized, and well-mannered customer will always get you to a better place, it might be something extra even without you expecting it! If you are lucky enough, you might be able to meet Laurent, who has been the personal tailor for several French presidents in the past, and have him recommend some of the most desirable suits for you in the house, as well as take your measurements for alterations!
Photo: Francois Mori/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
If you are also obsessed with the current French president's style just like me, then please make sure to mark this address down to your to-do list when visiting Paris!
