Tetsuya Yamashita is a reader that Lucas knows rather than me. Back in the days when he ran the Drake’s pop-up in the old Beige shop in Paris, Tetsuya was a regular visitor, and is still a friend of Beige today. In fact we used their shop as a base, as we went out to shoot around the streets of St Sulpice.
Tetsuya is different from other readers we’ve covered in a few ways. He’s our first French entry, and he’s a waiter at the intellectually famous Café de Flore in Paris. It’s a place increasingly popular with tourists, but just about hanging onto its distinctive character – as we discuss.
Tetsuya also described himself as a French sartorialist, which to me means not just a fondness for Cifonelli, Charvet and Hermès, but also a tendency towards the dandy, the extra accessory and the brighter shoe. I had great fun exploring all these topics with him. As ever I hope you enjoy it too.
Outfit 1
- Jacket: Lorenzo Cifonelli for The Rake
- Shirt : Bryceland’s
- Pocket square: Simonnot-Godard
- Trousers: Rota (made-to-order)
- Socks: Bresciani, via Mes Chaussettes Rouges
- Shoes: John Lobb Paris (made to order)
So, Tetsuya, tell us what you do.
I’m a waiter – a garçon de café – at Café de Flore in Paris. I came to Paris from Japan to do this profession as a métier. I’ve been there 22 years now.
I guess you must be quite senior by now then?
Yes, I’m the third longest-serving garçon today at Flore – you do develop relationships with particular customers, who then want to be served by you when they come in. I’d say it’s my favourite aspect of the job, the friendships you establish.
Has that included anyone famous over the years?
Well, my favourite was Karl Lagerfeld. Karl and I had a nice relationship – he would come in regularly and ask where I was serving that day. He liked the consistency of it.
I remember the last time he came in before he died – he clearly wasn’t well, and when he said goodbye there was something different about him. I deliberately said to him, not goodbye, but ‘see you soon Karl’.
I’ve had breakfast at Café de Flore a few times and it does still have real character, despite the tourists. Lovely little egg cups, perfect bread and salted butter.
Yes, it has hung on to that. There is what we call the Golden Triangle of establishments in St Germain: Flore, Deux Magots, Brasserie Lipp. They’re still very genuine, very characteristic of the neighbourhood. But it’s been hard – Emily in Paris was huge for American visitors, and we were flooded.
Forgive me for asking, but how does a waiter afford clothes from Cifonelli and Hermès?
Well, I don’t spend much money on anything else! But I also save up a lot, often buying just one or two big items a year. The velvet jacket from Cifonelli here is a good example, but it was ready-to-wear – they just altered a few small things.
How would you describe this style?
For me it’s a mixed style, something quite Japanese but obviously very French too. It’s not common to wear black velvet during the daytime, but I love it with white pants, in fact I love white pants in general. In the winter I wear the jacket with ecru Fox flannel pants that my friend Kenjiro Suzuki made for me.
Outfit 2
- Blazer: Cifonelli (made-to-measure)
- Shirt: Charvet
- Tie: Drake’s
- Pocket square: Hermès
- Trousers: Bernard Zins
- Socks: Bresciani (via Mes Chaussettes Rouges)
- Shoes: John Lobb Paris (made to order)
How about this outfit? Rather French?
Yes I’d call it L’élégance Parisienne. Lots of details – the pocket square, the buttons. This blazer was Cifonelli made-to-measure and the buttons are their in-house ones, with their symbol.
The shirt is Charvet too – never anything but Charvet! Although I don’t wear Charvet for work, that’s simpler and very traditional – white shirt, bow tie, vest and apron.
Are those the shoes that L’Etiquette magazine did with John Lobb?
Yes, actually I saw these when they were first released back in the nineties, but couldn’t afford them. So when L’Etiquette brought the model back I didn’t miss the chance, and now I have a second pair – the suede ones shown above.
The style was originally called Delano, but L’Etiquette called it ‘Paris’. It was only on sale on their website initially, but now it’s available made-to-order from Lobb.
Have you always been into clothes?
Ever since I was a teenager. It wasn’t unusual to be into clothes back then, but most of my friends were into American clothing – casual clothing, what we call Amecaji. I was more into tailoring and English style.
I started going into Beams, then into United Arrows were I met [designer Yasuto] Kamoshita who taught me how to dress. And we’ve been friends ever since. Now every time he comes to Paris we go out – he’s like my older brother.
Was your father a good dresser?
Not really, he didn’t care about clothes. But he was a banker and wore a suit every day, so perhaps that was an influence. Also my family was very conservative, which meant English style. I still dream about having a bespoke suit made at Anderson & Sheppard.
I also wear quite a few English brands – I’ve been wearing Smedley knitwear since I was 20 years old.
Outfit 3
- Coat : Hermès
- Scarf: Charvet
- Knit: John Smedley
- Jeans: Levi’s 501
- Socks: DoreDore
- Shoes: John Lobb Paris (made to order)
OK, if we had names for the previous two looks, what would you call this one?
I would say it is my version of BCBG – Bon Chic Bon Genre.
That literally means good style and good type of person, right? The taste of the French upper classes, like the idea of Old Money or the English Country House Look.
Yes exactly, it’s very classic, very French. The knit is the Dorset style from Smedley that I said I’ve been wearing for many years. In the summer I wear Isis, the same model in Sea Island cotton. I have so many colours.
The shoes are unusual – is that the Lopez loafer?
It’s the Lopez, yes, but in a colourway I specially requested. Mr Kamoshita used to wear a pair of derby shoes from Lobb called the Barros, in a bi-colour design like this. He used to say it was very ‘French Ivy’.
You can’t get the Barros these days, even by request, so I made a pair of Lopez in the same colours.
How long have you had the coat? It looks pleasingly faded.
I’ve had it for 28 years – it’s particularly useful in Paris during the mid-seasons, in spring and in autumn. In Japan those seasons are very short – it goes from hot to cold too quickly to need something like this.
Actually there’s a bit of a story behind this coat. Hermès made it with Mackintosh, in their bonded cotton, but apparently there was an issue with one pocket so they had to recall them. The shop promised to replace mine but the original wasn’t available again, so they gave me this one. I think it’s unique – I haven’t seen it anywhere.
Those old Hermès pieces are so beautiful – I’ve picked up a few myself second hand. It’s such a shame they don’t do classic styles today.
I agree, it’s a real shame.
Where do you like to shop in Paris?
There isn’t much. Beige is obviously great, and there are the makers I’ve worn here – Cifonelli, Lobb, Charvet. But there isn’t a lot beyond that – I buy more when I go back to Japan twice a year.
I like your Charvet scarf. How do you tie it?
Always very simple – either twice round my neck and then in a knot, or making it into a loop and then putting the ends through.
I’ve always thought of scarves as a very Parisian thing – is that fair?
As a Japanese person I always thought the same, and I do think it’s true. I’m always watching what other people are wearing and you certainly see a lot more scarves here than in Japan.
Nice to know one cliché holds up. Thanks for taking the time to chat to us Tetsuya, see you later at the book launch.
See you there Simon.
Tetsuya is @yamashitatetsuya on Instagram
