Tan France Wants You To Shop Smarter

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There’s nobody in reality television quite like Tan France. The fashion advisor on Netflix’s Queer Eye is always on the go as a doting husband and father—plus the host of three reality programs, a YouTube series, and head of his own media company! However, this busy bee is always shopping, which just got more streamlined from a new partnership with Citi Shop—the new Citi browser extension that scans over 5,000 sites to find the best deals on the web. And we made sure to ask Tan his top tips, as both a savvy online shopper and working parent. As spring begins, Tan sat down to chat all things fashion, filming in Las Vegas, Queer Eye’s legacy, and how he stays balanced as one of the busiest gents in reality television. Get ready to French tuck your shirts—and toss those early 2000’s capri pants.

You’ve had a busy year so far! What are you up to, and how are you feeling about 2024?
I feel so good about 2024. It’s been a lovely start to the year. I’ve been busy recently shooting Queer Eye. I’ve got a day off, so I’m in my home in Salt Lake, but I go right back to Vegas tonight—so that’s incredible, so happy. Then working up my production company, which is great. And then a parent, raising my children—a lot. It’s a lot!

Tan France (Courtesy of Tan France)

You’re a new ambassador for Citi’s shopping browser extension, Citi Shop. Why did this partnership appeal to you?
Easy, actually! The way this works is it all goes through a team of people, my agents. We found out that they were interested, and I wanted to know what the information about [Citi Shop] was. As soon as they explained what this was to me, it was a very easy “Yes.” It speaks to everything that I do and get excited about. I’m a very keen online shopper. I love to online shop for anything, but mostly home and fashion. And I’m very South Asian, which means I love a deal. I love a discount on anything—even if it is only a percent, I’ll take it! No matter how much a discount [is], I want a discount. The Citi Shop browser extension means that whenever I’m shopping online, which is mostly daily, I don’t have to hunt around for a deal or savings—it just populates on my browser. I can use it on my mobile, I can use it on my desktop, and I know that I’m getting the best deal possible. It’s a dream. There’s 5,000 merchants on there, it’s all of the places I already shop—so to know that I’m getting that at a discount makes all the difference.

Citi Shop scans over 5,000 sites to find the highest discounts online—that’s a lot! How has it made online shopping easier for you?
A lot of the work that I do is shop for other people. I always want to make sure I’m getting them the best deal possible, so they know they’re not overspent. Ordinarily, before this…let’s say I found the perfect pair of jeans. I would then go and look for other versions of that jean to see if I could get a better price. Now, I don’t have to. Citi Shop tells me what the best deal is. I know that that’s the best deal that I can get on this. So, that little moment of thinking, I don’t need to scan ten more shops, I know that this is the best one for me. That makes a difference to my life. It saves me time, it saves me money, and it saves my clients money.

Tan France (Courtesy of Tan France)

What are you shopping for this spring? Are there any specific fashion or home pieces you’re looking for?
I’m always shopping for clothes because I am on-camera most days, so right now I’m shopping for accessories. The way I work on Queer Eye is I buy most of my clothing before the season starts, and then I will add accessories along the way. Right now, I’m hunting for an oversized bag, I’m looking for new belts, I’m looking for new shoes. For home, it’s usually kitchen gadgets. I’m obsessed with cooking, I’m obsessed with baking, and so it’s kitchen stuff that I’m usually shopping for. I have a lot of gadgets that I love very much, but it’s probably a kitchen thing that’s next on the list. However, I’m not really home more than two days a week, three days, maybe—so I don’t need anything right now for my home. It’s when I get back at the end of May, start of June that I’ll really start getting back into home stuff.

You’re also a dad. How have your shopping habits changed since becoming a parent?
Well, everything’s slightly looser! I used to love a [makes inhaling noise] snatched something, but now I need to be able to get on the floor regularly to get either of my children. So, that’s changed my spending when it comes to what clothes I put on my body. I just think, well, I’m not going to invest in this thing that’s…shucking out my money for a pant that I can only wear on a night out. I want something that I can also wear at home to be around my kids. Elasticated stuff—you’ll see! When you see this season of Queer Eye, I’ve got a lot of elasticated waist pants, and just roomier, boxier clothing up top. That has been the biggest change.

What are some of your favorite—or least favorite—spring fashion trends right now?
I’ll start with my least—capri pants. I know that every major brand is trying to bring them back. I don’t care! Don’t like them! Don’t think they look great on anyone, especially capri jeans. A lot of the time when I have such distaste for a trend, it’s because I lived it. I’m now 40—if I lived the trend, I’ve already been there, and I’ve learned from my mistakes. I don’t want to go there again. The things I do love…I love an oversized suit moment. I think it’s so chic and sophisticated. I love a wide, pleated pant—I think it’s beautiful with just a T-shirt, or a little leather jacket. I love white linen, whether it’s a mini summer dress, a maxi skirt, a suit that’s white and linen, an oversized, boxy shirt that’s not a corporate shirt. I’m loving the injection of a lot of white clothing for spring, and then neon for summer, also.

You wear lots of suits—and lots of guys are wearing suits with sheer shirts, sparkly shirts, or no shirt right now. What are your thoughts?
I love it! Any way that somebody can incorporate what they think is stylish to them, I will take that. Now, do I think that it’s a little overdone? I do. If you are constantly seeing it, and then you embrace it, I think maybe come up with a version of that that works for you. The ones who are adding a mesh or a sheer shirt underneath, I just think that’s at least changing it up from the shirtless. The shirtless thing has been going on for a few years now, and so to find the next step in that process is wise. If men are embracing that, wonderful! I’d just say let’s find a way to make it our own as opposed to moving with the crowd.

Tan France (BFA)

Season 8 of Queer Eye just debuted this year. That’s a lot of episodes! How have you seen the show grow from its start to where it is today?
It’s shocking to see how far it’s come. We are one of very, very, very few shows that gets 8 seasons—so to even get that far was wild. [In 2022], we made history at the Emmys by winning more Emmys than any other unscripted show. That blew my mind, because we are a queer show—we’re not just four queer people, but we are a queer show. That was monumental for all of us, and now we get to shoot season 9. Did I ever see any of this coming? No. I thought we would do one season, 10 gays would watch—maybe a few women—and that’s it, we’d never get a season 2. To be in a position where we are still one of the biggest shows on the planet is still wild to me.

Queer Eye just started shooting season 9 in Las Vegas. How’s it been going so far? Any hints about what to expect this season?
This season’s different from any other. We’re shooting very differently. We’ve never shot the way we are shooting the show. It’s always been the most unscripted show you will ever have seen. If you’ve ever watched a reality show, that’s not a reality show. Even though it’s called “reality,” it’s produced—there are a bunch of producers who make sure you’re saying a certain thing, this person’s saying a certain thing, they’re fighting in the right way. For us, it’s a case of, we’re never going to re-shoot anything. If you’ve said something and we didn’t catch it, we didn’t catch it—it is what it is, let’s move on. It truly is unscripted, and the most real version of a reality show. We’ve still got that, but now we’re showing even more of what it looks like to shoot a reality show. We are doing something called “breaking the fourth wall” a lot more—we seldom do it. Me and Jonathan [van Ness] have maybe done it five times in 70 episodes, where we’ll turn to the camera and make it very clear: Yes, audience, we know what’s happening here. We’re doing that a heck of a lot more, where we’re inviting the audience in to say, Yeah, this is how we do this. This is what this looks like behind the scenes. I love that! And we have a new cast member, Jeremiah Brent, I think that’s the greatest shift that you’ll see—that physical change in the show is that there is a new cast member, and he’s wonderful. His aesthetic is so different. There’s loads of newness on this season.

In addition to Queer Eye, you also host Netflix’s Next In Fashion, Say Yes To The Dress UK, and Architectural Digest’s YouTube series Home at Last—and run a production company, French Tuck Media. How do you find balance and calm with such a full schedule?
I am a very regimented person—I’m the most Type A person you will probably ever meet! My day is set from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I know the times that my kids will go to sleep, so I know when I can do my work. Then we put them to bed at 7PM every day, so I can work from 7 until 10 before I go to bed. It really is all about making sure that you have a plan for every day, week, and month. I have an incredible team behind me. I have two assistants who are incredible, my agents are incredible. I just means that I get to do the job, and all the logistical stuff is managed by other people. That’s the only way it’s possible! I’m a very active participant in the work that I do, and very hands-on with everyone at my job—you have to be, if you want to be successful in entertainment. But then I’m also a very active parent. I want to make sure that I am taking care of [my kids] regularly. When I’m not working, I want them to know that I’m the parent to come to, also—not just their dad [husband Rob France]. It’s balancing act, but it’s absolutely possible.

Before you go, any fun summer plans in the works? Where can we see you out and about?
Gosh! Nothing exciting, other than continuing on with my business, and then hopefully continuing to shoot my other projects. So, that’s it! There’s nothing that’s unexpected that’s happening this year, so far. But who knows? Maybe I’ll get the shock of my life. Right now, the plan is to go from Queer Eye to working from home for a month or so whilst I decompress before my next job onscreen.

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