Bulletin Board 33

We talk to one of France’s coolest designers, dispute the style "rules" we resent, and go deep on tennis sweaters

YOU SHOULD MEET

We’re excited to debut this new column, and introduce you, if you don’t already know him, to Pierre Mahéo. Mahéo is the moving force behind Officine Générale, which since 2012 has served as the ideal embodiment of French cool-kid minimalism. Follow along below for Mahéo’s thoughts on everything from the enduring influence of French New Wave to waiting long enough to make a Range Rover your first car. -Eric Twardzik.

Tell us about what you do and how you got started?

I am founder, Creative Designer and CEO of Officine Générale, a brand based in Paris. I started in 2012. My first job was with French tailor Michel Barnes. He taught me a lot, from the construction of a jacket, the volume of a pants, to quality with a “Q.” I didn’t go to any particular design school, I wanted to learn by doing things, and was a bit done with the theoretical part of studies. After working for a different maison, I decided to start my own brand, with a focus on quality and long lasting creative vision, where continuity is key. 

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Vannes, a city on the west coast. My father was an oyster producer and my grandfather was a tailor. They both had very distinctive ways of dressing and thinking. Without knowing it at that time, they both shaped my vision and my aesthetic. They were the inspiration behind Officine Générale. Tailoring in a dressed-down way. I left the region when I was 12 years old to move to Paris. Paris is and will always be my forever city, but I can't live without the sea, so a part of me is still there.

First car?

I have always been a fan of cars. I got my driver’s license and first car pretty late, maybe because I could not afford the car I really wanted to drive. So my first car was a Range Rover. 

What book or movie has most shaped your perspective?

I would not point out a movie in particular, more of an era, La Nouvelle Vague, the way they were dressing, the kind of irreverent nonchalance they exuded. It was and still is a source of inspiration.

A piece of advice that changed your life?

“If you are not sure about what you want, be clear on what you really don’t want.” I still use it on a daily basis.

I would never sell my?

Soul, for sure, everything else is highly material. The most important thing when you wake up in the morning is to be motivated by what you do and how you do it. Keep your principles and your DNA. 

Morning routine?

Shower as soon as I wake up, Earl Grey tea and fresh fruits and then a few double espressos sitting outside on a terrace so I can smoke, as early as possible. I love to be awake early; it feels like days are extra-long.

A small habit that’s made a big difference in your life?

Thinking positive, it is so easy to get dragged down or look at things negatively. And live in the moment, we are always in projection, next collection, next travel, next dinner etc … so it’s important to be able to be in the “now”.

Who’s your hero?

My wife without any doubt, she saved me in many ways. She is my biggest support and my endless source of motivation. She is one of the strongest and most positive people I know.

Daily uniform?

A white tee, a navy merino wool crew neck sweater, fresco wool navy jacket, fresco wool gray pleated pants, and Asahi white deck shoes. I only wear navy, gray, vintage denim, and military jackets.

A chance meeting that changed your life?

Meeting my wife, she was not living in Paris at the time, and was not supposed to go out, and neither was I… we had one chance in our life to meet and we did .

What advice would you give your younger self?

Do not compromise, be empathetic, learn to listen, be loyal. 

RULE BREAKERS

Men, by nature, like to make rules. At no time is this more apparent than the period after Labor Day, when we are informed that the date’s passage magically sweeps seersucker, shorts, and somehow the entire color white from men’s wardrobes everywhere.

Which is why we’re taking a moment now to say… says who?—and earnestly making the case for each below.

White Denim

Matt lives in these Ralph jeans

Of all the rules referenced above, “No white after Labor Day” is by far the most commanding. And yet, what does it gain us, other than the supposed benefit of banishing one of the most essential shades out there—white—for the majority of the year?

Matt in particular, is a devotee of white jeans, which he wears year-round. I similarly endorse staying in optic white well after the leaves have changed, but also prescribe the slightly more season-less off-white jean—whether you want to call that stone, ecru or canvas as the aforementioned examples from Sid Mashburn, Drake’s and Todd Snyder are dubbed. 

Deviating from picket-fence white makes it that much more interesting—and most vitally—clears the way for it to be paired to all multitude of sweaters and shirt jacket shades come real fall.

Seersucker 

Jake Mueser wearing J. Mueser, and Darryl Lesure wearing Sid Mashburn

Sure, seersucker in its traditional, candy-striped form is pure Southern garden party. But something happens, as we’ve seen increasingly of late, when a seersucker suit is made tonal instead, particularly in four-season navy. J. Mueser is a particular champion of the look, and a worthy route should you go the custom route. Meanwhile, Sid Mashburn can be relied on to carry it off the peg each season. 

What’s more, we’re even seeing seersuckers made from wool, which considerably expands the fabric’s range. For fall and beyond, a few of our favorite examples are coming from Todd Snyder and Dunhill. 

Shorts

Donning shorts in summertime is controversial enough—with rulemakers banning them after 5pm or in the city, etc., etc.—but they remain a supremely utilitarian garment: a way to ventilate the legs when it’s cooking out.

And as our summers seem to get ever longer and autumnal chills are delayed, there’s a reasonable case that shorts season should be extended with them. So here’s a better rule: if it’s hot, wear shorts, whether that’s mid-July or the last gasp of summer weather in early October. - ET

OBSESSIONS

For most of us, wearing a tennis sweater is just an expression of personal style. But it means something different to my friend Trevor Jones, an English teacher and big-time racquet enthusiast living just outside of Boston (he’s also got a great eye for vintage, which he regularly flips on eBay). When I learned that he’d racked up quite a collection of genuine tennis sweaters belonging to specific court tennis clubs, I asked him to share about their acquisition—and the archaic sport they represent—below. - ET

Think of “preppy” culture and likely one of the quintessential items that comes to mind is the tennis sweater. Perhaps you’re having flashbacks to the stereotypical ‘80s preppy villain rocking Wayfarers with his cream cable-knit sweater tied nonchalantly around his shoulders. You would not be the only one. 

The tennis sweater has its roots in the strict decorum and tradition of cricket, which is why it is still known as a cricket jumper in the UK. It was pushed into mainstream popularity, however, thanks to the tennis stars of yesteryear who would don one for their warmups. Nowadays, the tennis sweater -- or cricket jumper, if you are so inclined -- would be viewed as an antiquated relic if you were to wear one on the cement of your town courts or the grass field of your local park. But there is one sport where the tennis sweater is still part of everyday life: court tennis. 

Court tennis—also known as real tennis in the UK, royal tennis in Australia, and jeu de paume in France—is the original racquet sport, from which the modern tennis we watch on TV (and all other racquet sports) descend from. Its roots go back to 14th century French monasteries where monks, tired of smacking balls with their hands, decided to try using a racquet to do it instead. 

Court tennis was hugely popular with Medieval and Renaissance royalty, both in Europe and further afield. King Henry VIII was an avid player, and the sport even gets multiple mentions throughout Shakespeare’s oeuvre. At its peak, there were thousands of courts scattered throughout the world (there were reportedly over 1,000 courts in Paris alone before the French Revolution; where do you think the Tennis Court Oath, or Serment du Jeu de Paume, took place?). The game was again in vogue during the Victorian era, but the newly invented game of lawn tennis (the modern version of what you and I call tennis today) quickly put an end to that. 

Today, there are around 50 courts left in the world, spread out across just four countries. The game is stringently orthodox: the asymmetrical racquets are still wooden and hand-strung, the balls are still made by hand by the pro at each club, and the courts are spottily heated, if at all. But what to wear for a warm-up layer in this purist’s passion? Surely a hoodie won’t do! Enter the tennis sweater. 

The tennis sweaters worn by court tennis players today are in the same style as true British cricket jumpers. Club colors are piped around the neck, waist and sleeves, and the club logo embroidered at the center of the chest. While some are vests and some are sleeved, they are all ivory or cream in color (being made from natural, undyed wool), and the vast majority are made by specialty companies in England. There are a handful of court tennis clubs in the UK that have their club sweaters regularly in stock, while most do special orders of them once they have a critical mass of members looking to purchase one. Similarly to the second option, most clubs in the US don’t have sweaters ready-made, but might do a special order if they get enough members interested. Some clubs, like Lord’s in London, have firm rules that only members may purchase a sweater. 

For clubs that allow guests to purchase a sweater, they can be a great way to commemorate a trip to a different court, acting almost as a living souvenir, like club ties or cufflinks. Many enthusiasts have miniature collections of sweaters they have picked up while traveling to different clubs. In this vein, I have amassed a small collection of sweaters of my own, pictured below. 

The first one is the club sweater for the Royal Tennis Court, which is the real tennis club at Hampton Court Palace (King Henry VIII’s home base). It’s the oldest court in continuous use in the world, and one of the busiest; this was my home court when I lived in London. Next is the club sweater for Moreton Morrell Tennis Court Club, a court I visited while living in England. The second to last sweater is the team sweater for the Cambridge University Real Tennis Club which I picked up when I played in the Inter-Universities Tournament hosted there.

Finally, the sweater that holds the most special place in my heart. It is a custom sweater designed for the Salve Regina University Court Tennis Club, which is the collegiate team that I founded as a student at Salve Regina. The team is one of only two collegiate-affiliated clubs in the country, and one of less than 40 worldwide. We had a very generous gift from a donor who purchased a sweater for each of the members on the team the year that we were officially founded. 

While you might be hard-pressed to find one of these sweaters worn by the weekend warrior at your local lawn tennis club, and it may no longer be commonplace to see the popular jerk sporting one around his shoulders, the tennis sweater lives on in one of the more niche corners of the sporting world. -Trevor Jones

As for acquiring a tennis/cricket sweater of your own, they’re reliably stocked each season by retailers like J. Press, Ralph Lauren and The Merchant Fox (and if you’re going vintage, Wooden Sleepers is a good bet).