The close-up

Jehn, musician
Jehn: monomaniac with shoes. Photograph: Eamonn McCabe Eamonn McCabe/Guardian

Why no surname?

I'm from a band called John and Jehn, so now my name is just Jehn. It's a stage name.

What are you wearing today?

I'm wearing my favourite shoes. They are Church's. I am monomaniac with shoes - it's a French phrase for when you fix on something and you don't do anything else. I won't wear any other shoes now for years until these wear out.

What about the rest of your outfit?

My tights are from a big shop that I don't want to advertise. I bought this velvet skirt from a charity shop a year ago, and the cardigan comes from the same shop. I always look in charity shops because I used to work in one with old ladies. I would make cakes for them. The top is from France, where I'm from. It's Comptoir des Cotonniers - it was so expensive, but I bought it in the sale. My tippet is from a 60s shop I really like in Muswell Hill, north London. Sometimes the things in there are so old that you think they are going to disintegrate. My friends say I am wearing my rabbit, but it is not real.

Describe your style.

Classic, and I guess I am quite French.

Do you always wear monochrome?

I didn't when I was younger: London did this to me when I moved there two years ago. I wore a lot of black and red when I was a teenager - always just two colours though.

Do you always wears sunglasses?

No, only when it's sunny. These are not real Wayfarers, they are fakes - they cost £10. I come from a very small town in France and when I was a teenager I wanted them but nowhere sold them. When I arrived in London I saw these in an antique shop. I was in competition with John [her bandmate and boyfriend] because he really wanted them too, but I won.

Do you have a stage outfit or do you perform in what you are wearing that day?

It depends. Usually I wear whatever I am wearing that day unless I take a shower in between. I just have to feel comfortable.

Tell me about your necklace.

It's a watch and it works. I found it in an antique shop. My sister asked me to look out for one for her. She lives in New York and she doesn't know I've found this yet. I'm cheeky.

Do you have any style icons?

I don't dress like her, but I really like the way [the Danish-born French film actor] Anna Karina looks. I love how Italian girls look in Fellini films. They just look really sexy and cool at the same time.

Do you always wear make-up?

Makeup is really recent for me: it's never been my friend before. A friend's girlfriend came to my house wearing a lot of makeup and I was like, "You have to teach me."

Do you ever wear your boyfriend's clothes?

Yes, I used to wear his trousers but he doesn't like it at all because I ruin clothes. I kill them. I've always borrowed clothes from people since I was a kid. I took clothes from my sister because I hated shopping. I just like things when they are old and you have to go and look for them.

Would you ever chuck something away if there was still life in it?

No. It's funny with clothes. One day you can think something is really ugly, then another day you can see some kind of life in it again.