S8 Ep4 FRENCH WORKWEAR COMPANY: owner, Marie Remy - on growing up in rural France, moving to Paris, and selling French ‘bleu’ workwear jackets (plus other European workwear classics!)

Pre-Loved Podcast is a weekly vintage fashion interview show, with guests you’ll want to go thrifting with! For more Pre-Loved Podcast, subscribe to our Patreon!

On today’s show, we’re chatting with Marie Remy, who is the founder & owner of The French Workwear Company.

Marie grew up in the 1970s and 80s in rural Eastern France, where her dad had a mechanic’s garage.  She always dreamed of moving to Paris, which she did as a student and soaked up all the indie music gigs, record stores, vintage fashion and flea markets every weekend.

On this episode, Marie shares the stories that lead to her launching a French workwear vintage business, after several years in the music industry and settling in London. Like many of us, she first started selling her “surplus,” as she and her musician husband were both vintage lovers, but would continue to go back to France to source workwear, particularly the ‘bleus’ which were a quintessential part of her upbringing.

Tune in for Marie’s fab stories, plus a fascinating amount of social and fashion history – this episode is a really fun deep dive, so let’s get right into it!

DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:

• [4:01] Growing up as a teenager in rural France in the 1980s, loving indie music and vintage fashion.
• [5:37] On Marie’s first trip to Paris she saw Azzedine Alaïa while out and about.
• [7:12] Thrifting in Paris in the late 1980s at the Guerrisol.
• [11:33] On shopping at the iconic Parisian flea markets.
• [16:23] She first started selling her “surplus,” as she and her musician husband were both vintage lovers.
• [19:36] The history and aesthetics that drew Marie to vintage workwear.
• [39:53] French workwear is meant to last a long time, and some pieces have beautiful mending.
• [51:59] The pieces in her vintage collection that Marie finds especially unique. 

EPISODE MENTIONS: 

• @frenchworkwearco
• The French Workwear Company
• The Face magazine
• Black Spot on Netflix
• Yves Klein Blue or 1920s Bugatti blue car
• @little_moth_mends
• @the_elephant_in_my_wardrobe
• @stewarteaston
• Thomas Turner - fashion historian
• @fash_rev

LET’S CONNECT: 

• 📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
• 🐦Twitter: @emilymstochl
• 🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
• 📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/ 
• 🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod 

SPECIAL THANKS: 

A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!

• Patty Weber
• Beverley Docherty of Wolfe Pack Vintage
• Danny of Galaxy Live
• Kathy Brand
• Lucero Buendia
• Tricia Zelazny
• Leslie V.
• Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
• Lucille of Galipette Vintage
• KT 
• Lydia Welp
• Anastacia Banicke of Goods & Provisions
• Michael A.