Salut et bienvenue! My name is Anton and It’s been a while since I wanted to start this project. A project that would serve as an outlet for me and my partners to express our opinions on fashion, discover best ways to travel and experience new cultures.
This site’s purpose is to help me share the lifestyle and its philosophy across continents with the help of likeminded individuals who also have their own stories to tell. I’ve been writing about fashion, culture and travel for many years, but always had to conform to a set of limits and, as a result, I have not been able to share most of what I experienced. I needed to have an outlet where I would be able to decide when and what to discuss. So, I chose to start Je suis bobo, which is French for “I am bobo”.
First of all, what is bobo? A contraction of “bourgeois” and “bohême”, the term “bobo” first appeared in 2001 in David Brooks book, “Bobos in Paradise”. The word quickly entered the Oxford and Larousse dictionaries and became an integral part of everyday language in European, particularly French, society.
Bobo is frequently used, however, its meaning is often seen as generic, unclear and fuzzy. Nevertheless, shopping at the latest vegan store or having aperos in the 10th arrondissement of Paris are some of the usual bobo things to do.
“There is a certain skill involved in spending on finer things without looking like a prude”
In general, bobos are seen as educated, successful people with enough income to afford living in centres of big cities; this is the part where the “bourgeois” term applies. The “bohême” part of bobo applies when these same individuals look down at useless splurging and flaunting one’s wealth for image; in other words, spending is acceptable, but only with value and a long-term purpose. After all, there is a certain skill involved in spending on finer things without looking like a prude.
So why would I choose bobo? Since my arrival to Paris, I have been often called “bobo” without knowing what the word meant. Eating at a restaurant I liked or discussing fashion and animal welfare often involved my friends naming my points of view as “bobo”; the word followed me everywhere, so I chose to embrace it and share my understanding of bobo with the world.
“I think education and exploration are the driving force of civilisation; while gratitude and kindness are the key to a long and prosperous life”
Bobo to me is loving fashion, but refusing to wear fur; believing in travel without borders and seeing the world as one big country; convincing a friend to adopt instead of buying a pet; and choosing to eat and consume responsibly for the better of the planet.
I care for beauty as much as I care for culture, animals and well-being of our planet. And, I think education and exploration are the driving force of civilisation; while gratitude and kindness are the key to a long and prosperous life.
Je suis bobo, and I invite you discover the world with me; from my base in Paris to my partners in Dubai, Beirut, Istanbul and Moscow, we welcome you. In this world, fashion can change the minds of millions overnight; travel is more accessible and diverse than ever before; and the definition of culture has reinvented itself and gave birth to the new and the different. Welcome to the world of fashion, travel and culture; where I will be connecting with like-minded people from Middle East and Asia.
Bienvenue sur “Je suis bobo”.
by Anton Rodionov