How to walk elegantly with heels, what cutlery to use at the table or how to successfully knot your tie? On TikTok and Instagram, some influencers have specialized in elegance. But if they claim that these advices are applicable to all, their contents prescribe the standards of a privileged social category, affirms a researcher.
What nail polish for an elegant woman ? Who should pay at the restaurant? How to climb stairs gracefully ?
If you’re browsing TikTok or Instagram, you may have come across these videos that provide advice on how to be as “elegant” as possible. Clothing, behavior, ways of expressing oneself. It would seem that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things, although it might seem quite cheesy.
A recent phenomenon in France
Elsewhere, and in particular across the Atlantic, this type of content is not new. Influencers like Caterina Valentino (United States), Jamila Musayeva (Azerbaijan) or Apwasiwine, a wine and cigar expert grandpa, have become stars by teaching respect for etiquette.
In France, the trend is more recent, but some accounts are a hit, such as that of Solène, alias Soneeeeeel, which peaks at 710,000 subscribers on TikTok or, on the men’s side, Emmanuelpcr and his 535,000 followers. We can also mention Celine.dby from the Elégance Féminine account, Strada_ry, Agathe (luxuryrevue) or Alex.Cormac, all followed by tens of thousands of curious people.
” In the case of elegance influencers, we also have very explicit content on the desire to prescribe standards: how to behave well, what is French elegance, chic, and show a lifestyle that is rather due to French conservative values notes sociologist Joseph Godefroy, who has worked on the subject of influence.
Emmanuelpcr, known for his pastilles where he offers to “dress together”, explains that he launched on TikTok and then on Instagram, after noting that there was very little content on elegance intended for men. ” These codes which belong to the high and the good society today tend to be democratized “, he concedes. ” Ultimately, if it works so well, it’s because there’s a need to reclaim a story, to be connected to the past. »
Bringing the codes of the past up to date
These accounts gladly assure that elegance is attainable by all. ” Elegance nowadays is rather the search for the beautiful, the pretty, and not necessarily following well-defined rules, strict codes, which cannot be shaken up or changed. “, assures Numerama Céline, alias Celine.dby, the second “influencer elegance” to have launched in France a year ago.
A statement that may seem paradoxical, given the rigid standards advocated. Some of these codes can sometimes seem obsolete, especially when we are told that a man should not raise his voice at the table, that he should position himself on the side of the road when he walks with a woman and that nothing replaces clothes made of noble materials.
To be a person interesting “, one of these influencers advises for example not to “ talk only about weather and the last show on M6 last night “, to learn to play music or even to read in the evening rather than hanging out on social networks. So many valid advices, but often transmitted and forged by a certain type of education and social environment.
It is precisely to propose the right references “to those who do not have the same as Emmanuelpcr, facing the camera, provides advice” to go to a job interview, know how to behave in front of a woman, or even what costume to wear depending on the moment “.
” For example, there is a question that I receive quite rarely but which comes up: the place of the man in front of the woman: can we invite a woman to dinner, should we keep her the door or not, who pays? “, he observes. ” These questions seem old-fashioned, from another time, but are topical. And men have no frame of reference. Many, especially the youngest, between 20 and 30, find themselves on their own. »
To reach a wider audience, he who exercises in parallel in communication, uses short formats that avoid his audience to ” read 15 pages on a very obscure blog, or stuff yourself with 15 books “.
For her part, Celine.dby first launched on TikTok out of passion – she also works in communication and loves the video format. But she also wanted to offer her audience – mostly young women between the ages of 16 and 35 – a role model they can identify with.
” I have the impression that people think that elegance is only made for a certain social class, the blue bloods, the old nobles, the bourgeois, when this is not really the case “, she insists.
You don’t have to be rich to be stylish, really?
In the comments, some Internet users complain, however, that they do not have the means to adopt this style.
” You don’t have to be rich to be stylish “, replies the influencer Solène in one of her videos. For her, the notion of elegance involves ” good behavior: politeness, good manners, codes at the table » (« that’s just education, no money “) or ” know how to speak well » ; but also ” dress elegance “, which consists in ” wear noble materials: wool, cotton, leather, cashmere, linen “.
This type of clothing incurs a significant cost. Nevertheless, ” even with a small budget, you can dress elegantly with very beautiful pieces “, in affordable shops or second-hand, even if it takes time to save, says the one who is also known under the pseudonym Soneeeeeel. Finally, elegance would also be a set of values: humility, curiosity, kindness, but also discipline that everyone could work on.
On the question of the cost of clothing, Emmanuelpcr believes that it is above all a question of “ consume less and of better quality “. ” Compared to the number of uses or the number of months, over fifteen years, a pair of Westons at 700 euros will cost you less – around 3.9 euros per month – than a pair of Minellis at 50 euros that you will change every three months if you wear them daily “, he insists.
He himself regularly promotes the second-hand resale site Vinted. However, it is impossible to deny that, as a general rule, fashion influencers have a more extensive wardrobe than the average, which they must renew regularly.
On the partnership side, perhaps more than other types of influencers, those who defend elegance seem to be confined to rather luxurious or high-quality brands. Emmanuelpcr indicates that he carefully selects the partners with whom he collaborates, accepting only about one out of thirty requests.
A discourse that can emanate from favored positions
For the sociologist Joseph Godefroy, this phenomenon of the influence of elegance ” testifies to the social positions that are present on digital platforms and networks, and here of some people who spread and defend a more conservative way of life “.
” The digital economy to which influencers belong is often presented as an Eldorado that would allow everyone to seize the internet to overthrow the social order, become a star, be their own boss. “, points out this researcher at the CENS laboratory in Nantes. But according to him, when we take a closer look at the people most visible on social networks, “ those who dictate the codes and standards often come from the most dominant factions: they reproduce here in a way the standards of the bourgeoisie 2.0. “.
In any case, this is what he observed in the case of fitness and culinary influencers during his thesis. These latter ” had a fairly high education, in disciplines related to commerce, marketing, communication, had parents with a high level of diplomas and exercised responsible jobs with significant remuneration “.
An elitist way of life?
Without assuming their social level, it is clear that the influencers of elegance do not hide their bourgeois and noble inspirations, regularly appealing to the aesthetic ” old money » or in style « sartorial which refers to clothes made by a tailor. Some stage themselves on vacation in ski resorts, castles or at social events such as horse races.
A few days before this article was published, Celine.dby went to the Prix de Diane, where she filmed some content. She explains that she came across a lot of people who were not necessarily from the upper classes “. The influencer acknowledges “ maybe » highlight « events that may seem a little more mundane, elitist “. But if so, it’s always out of passion “, she says. “ I think that [l’élégance] is no longer a question of money or social class “, she concludes.
And perhaps this is the main problem with these accounts: not the lifestyle they display or the conservative advice of decorum they advocate, each being free to follow them or not, but the fact that they often disconnect the concept of elegance from its history rooted in social division.
But on the audience side, adherence to this type of content is often not blind, moderates Joseph Godefroy. And to note: subscribers consult content that they find entertaining above all, even before adhering to all the prescriptions issued “.
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