When bohemian meets bourgeois.

What does Bobo mean? The term is short for bourgeois and bohemian, two social castes no one ever expected to find mixed up together.

Bobo takes over where the old "gauche caviar," or caviar socialist, left off. Less political and more materialistic, French Bobos tend to design their lifestyles in a mix that includes the rarest luxuries, middle-class classics, senior citizen string-collecting strategies and student-style cheap n' chic. 

 

 

Just because Bobos are quite wealthy doesn't mean they have to wear cashmere. And when they haven't a fortune to spend, Bobos will invest in the very latest technology or an exotic trip and feel privileged despite a shoestring budget. Bobos basically have what money can not buy: almost total freedom of choice. 

Bobo sightings began in the French press in the early 00s, but almost all the reports failed to acknowledge that the term doesn't have its origins in France. It comes from a book by David Brooks called "Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There".

Brooks's definition of the group as "highly educated folk who have one foot in the bohemian world of creativity and another foot in the bourgeois realm of ambition and worldly success" outlines the happy state of contradiction Bobos enjoy on both sides of the Atlantic.

I personally consider Bobos as a 'godsend' for fashion. The French aren't technically the world's most dedicated consumers, but French Bobos seem more eager than most to pick up on the latest trends, be it the "trottinette" (scooter), cashmere teddy bears, Prada Sport sneakers or anything on the ground floor of Colette in Paris. 

Behind Paris's Bobo phenomenon is a long-standing desire by the French not to be pigeonholed as straightforward fashion consumers. It's intriguing to see that citizens of the country that serves as the platform for so much fashion innovation are so finicky when it comes to new trends. 

While Italians, Americans or Japanese are capable of putting themselves out head first into the fairly new, the French — and particularly 'Les parisiens' — prefer to wait securely in the lines that run around the Hermes store during its sales. There they are sure to find the clothes that give them that timeless look so celebrated all over the globe. 

French Bobos break the mold a little bit. Mixing old-school with the latest Fendi and perhaps something trendy from the up-to-the-minute and inexpensive Parisian label Paul & Joe, young Parisian women are looking fresher than ever before. But, rest assured, faithfully over their shoulder is an Hermes Birkin bag, or another equally timeless item.