France is a country that jealously guards its traditions of stylishness, elegance and general good sartorial taste in all walks of life – even its football shirts. There’s prima facie evidence that supports and contradicts this viewpoint and we’ll be representing both viewpoints over successive posts this week on BTLM,

In this first one we offer up a gallery featuring a selection of classically elegant French professional club shirts from the 1960s, the last decade before the commercial age arrived and besmirched jerseys forever. These 60s shirts are wonderfully simple and utterly timeless and stand in sharp relief with what succeeded them aesthetically just a few short years later.

Bordeaux 1972 OGC Nice 1965 Monaco 1963 Sedan 1961 Montpellier 1960 AC Ajaccio 1967 Rennes 1970 Valenciennes 1962 Saint Etienne 1962 Cannes 1969 Red Star Paris 1966 Lorient 1967 SC Toulon 1965 Stade Francais 1962