Pre-owned Drôle de Monsieur: How to Buy Wisely
A Not From Paris Madame T-shirt, a slogan hoodie, a cap: Drôle de Monsieur is one of the French brands most widely traded pre-owned. Good news for buyers, provided you know what to check: the brand is copied, its cuts have evolved, and a piece described as 'as new' is not always so. Here is how to buy pre-owned Drôle de Monsieur without making a mistake.
Why Drôle de Monsieur is a good pre-owned buy
Founded in Dijon in 2014, the brand builds its collections around pieces that come back every season: the slogan T-shirt and hoodie, the sweatshirt with an embroidered logo, the cap. A Not From Paris Madame T-shirt from 2022 wears exactly like the one from the current collection. The result: the pre-owned discount is real, but the piece does not 'date'. To understand what the brand is worth and what you are paying for, read our Drôle de Monsieur review: quality, price.
The pieces you can buy with your eyes closed
The slogan T-shirt. Heavyweight jersey, dense screen print: it ages well. Check the neckline (no gaping) and the sharpness of the print, which should be uniform, with no cracking. Its story is told in our article on the Not From Paris Madame T-shirt.
The hoodie and the logo sweatshirt. Heavy fleece, embroidery or screen print. Look inside: flattened or pilled fleece betrays hot washes, and the piece has probably lost half a size.
The cap. Often the best pre-owned deal: little wear, low price. Check the embroidery and the inside label — our guide to the Drôle de Monsieur cap details the models.
The three checks before you pay
1. Authenticity. Copies focus on the slogan T-shirts and hoodies. Woven labels, composition label, quality of the screen print and the fleece: the full method is in our guide to recognising a genuine Drôle de Monsieur piece. A seller who refuses to send photos of the labels is a seller to avoid.
2. Size. The cuts are relaxed and have changed from season to season: two T-shirts in size M can fit differently. Ask for the flat measurements, and check our guide Does Drôle de Monsieur run large or small?
3. Actual condition. Armpits, inside of the collar, cuffs and the print itself: these are the areas that betray wear. 'Very good condition' means nothing without a photo.
What is best avoided
White T-shirts with no photo of the collar and armpits, 'new without tags' hoodies at knock-down prices, and rare collaborations sold well below their market value (they are the most copied). To spot the genuine collaborations, see all the Drôle de Monsieur collaborations.
New or pre-owned at NB08
In our boutique in Ajaccio, the two sit side by side: T-shirts, sweatshirts and caps from the current collection, new, and authenticated pre-owned pieces. Each pre-owned piece is checked before going on sale, its actual condition is photographed and the original retail price is displayed next to ours. Our most frequent advice: new for light-coloured T-shirts, pre-owned for hoodies and dark colourways, where the price difference is most worthwhile for an identical piece. To find out where to get the brand, our article where to buy Drôle de Monsieur compares the options.
In summary
- Slogan basics never go out of fashion: buying pre-owned makes sense
- Safe bets: slogan T-shirt, logo hoodie, cap
- Three checks: authenticity, flat measurements, condition shown in photos
- To avoid: cut-price 'new without tags', rare collabs that are too cheap
The available pieces are in our Drôle de Monsieur collection, in our boutique at 52 Cours Napoléon in Ajaccio and online. To put them together, see how to wear Drôle de Monsieur.
