M N Vogue vol 3

[shopafrolic]

A continuation of style chat for anyone wanting to talk fashion, new purchases etc.....

Hope you find your way back to us Dona!

Hello all. The Reiss dusky pink knit is a winner. I wore it today for lunch with friends. We took DS to see the Christmas lights in a huge shopping centre - he was fascinated!
An eventful night last night. I was woken by the sound of our dogs barking n their kennels and opened the window to look out. Was confronted by a 6ft+ man in our garden. V scary. We had to call the police. I was so terrified as we have been burgled before. Turned out he had got not a fight in the pub, was very drunk and had for some reason clambered over our fence! Ordeal over now but I'm still feeling very on edge.
I'm loving the tales of 'toys' for the men in your lives. My DH has a Stressless chair which is very much HIS. No-one else is allowed to sit there!
The advent calendar is up and our nativity scene is on display. DS is fascinated by the wooden cows and keeps shouting MOOOOOOOO every time he trundles past!

I think I need to start putting up Christmas decorations - there is a distinct lack of seasonal cheer in our household! DD has a beautiful Austrian advent calendar and her dolls' house has a fab tree, presents and mini-Stollen but that's it as far as manifestations of Christmas get!

This year's scarf styling tips from Liberty
www.liberty.co.uk/liberty-tv-vofw-scarf-styling-1/article/fcp-content?&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=laurannescarf1_031212
Not sure about this first one?!

Bonsoir- I have last year's Max Mara Weekend full length down coat in black which looks good, is eminently practical, and very cozy. Am wearing lots with skinny cords (in various shades), and cashmere tunic/oversized sweaters (Whistles/old Jigsaw/N Peal), and R and B neat suede chelsea boots.

I adore Advent. My children have renewed my love of Christmas many times over. We have a tradition of getting The Tree from a local farm and coming home to spiced warm apple juice for them, and mulled spiced cider for us....and decorating to all the classic christmas tunes....notably Bing...and yes, without exception, there are 'choice' words from Daddy (who happens to be allergic to pine sap); squabbles when the littlest and eldest fight over the vast boxes of decorations; shouts when the lights fail, and a few surreptitious tears from me when The Tree is complete, looks perfect and I am enveloped in a fig of love and contentment (for five minutes!). Aaaah!! Don't you just love it?!

What's everyone planning to wear for the Christmas festivities?

Sounds divine Dauphin!

I have been wearing an understated black Lanvin dress with jewelled belt and pleats to parties, or a black Ce Me. I have four more to go and may mix it up a bit.

I still have my eye on black Proenza skinnies (but need to find right size).

Shop how frightening! I remember walking in on a 6ft + man in old house share, luckily for us he scampered.

Love the Christmas vibe. Bought some gorgeous panettone and shortbread gifts for nursery from deli. Slowly ticking things off list.

In s&b stuff is depressing I agree, hope you have swiped from memory Bonsoir. Yes to closeness to the school, sounds good.

That should be un

Mignonette how are you?

Hello everyone...That must have been terribly frightening Shop. I felt chills when I read your post.

Watched the Liberty scarf tutorials. Great link! Wasn't that Meg Matthews scarf such a 'tribute' to McQueen's skull print? I liked the oversize Etro scarf style best, the one with a thread through a neck loop. Not sure I could cope with the Bow Tie-I hate wearing anything tight around my throat now although I used to love wearing thin silk scarves wound around my neck.

Am trying to manage with this rubbish laptop until after Xmas when I'll buy a new one so can't pin anything as the pin it button is buried under the exploded pixels on the lower screen!

My DD dropped a bombshell by asking to move back home. She's living with her BF but he now wants to move back to his home town. Says he wants to save on bills etc and continue relationship that way but think this will be relationship deathknell. DD fairly sanguine about the situation. I am not happy at a) having to spend our precious Christmas holidays helping her move back and b) having to empty our her bedroom which we had turned into a dressing room....That little luxury didn't last long. Still It'll be good to have my chicks under one roof again and he wasn't right for her and she wasn't right for him.

Have been buying Christmas gifts. I bought these Wang shoes here because Monk style Fugly shoes are going to be all over the place next season.

I also ordered these Margiela booties here to see what they look like. They are a great price.

I bought this Jonathan Saunders scarf for DD

www.theoutnet.com/product/250470

and I love this YSL scarf here

Posted too soon.....

We are picking up the tree tonight. We always buy a real one as huge and tall as possible. With our high ceilings we can go 10-12 feet tall as long as the tree isn't too wide at base. We'll probably leave it outside for a few more days but have to get it quick as the good ones sell early.

I have 'made' DH an Advent Beer 'calendar'! It is basically a decorated box filled with 24 bottles of beer and cider. Each one has a decorated Kraft tag tied around the neck with a date on. Not terribly spiritual I know but he doesn't eat chocolate....

We made Christmas puddings for friends and people we are grateful for such as our favourite Fruit&Vegetable stallholders on our market. They get one every year. Times are so tough economically for them yet how impoverished would our lives be without our local markets. I do try to encourage folks to not buy fruit/Veg from supermarkets if they have a local market or greengrocers. I haven't made a Christmas Cake yet and must do so. However we have 500g of Gorgonzola-The King of Cheeses in the fridge, newly bought today! So will have that with Walnut bread tonight wearing my red& white marl striped long john style PJ pants, a faded pale blue marl sweatshirt style woollen sweater from John Lewis and White Company socklets-a BD gift from DD last year.

Am disinclined to wear 'outdoor' clothing at all this time of year when home.

Lastly I can highly recommend The Tines Whisky Club set up by the eponymous paper. I ordered the Buffalo Trace Bourbon as a gift for DS and it looks great. Lots of more unusual brands for anybody with a whisky lover in the family.

Dauphin - I have worn my new navy down coat, with skinnies and boots, every day. It is freezing and wet in Paris and generally horrible, but at least I am warm and reasonably glam!

Marsha - tbh, the un S&B weekend events put a big dampener on the beginning of the week! I ought to be more disciplined about wiping the slate clean... I think that a variety of Paris niggles has been building up. General inefficiency/shambolic "management" (the bane of life in France) has been too apparent. Grrrr.

Went to a ladies' pot luck dinner last night, which was fun. Good food (I took roast beef, which I got my butcher to cook in his rôtisserie so super easy and so much nicer than when it's cooked in a home oven) and good company. Writing this I am reminded of a few follow-up emails I must make on conversations had last night.

mignonette - I'm sure that your DD coming home for a bit will be for the best for her. She will be able to reflect on her relationship from the comforts of her family and hopefully live and learn and make a better choice next time!

Hi all - just catching up - busy weeks, 2 weeks of non-stop guests and outings plus the biggest party of the year last night (wore my Lanvin - snap Marsha - loved how the ivory/cream color was easy to spot in the mainly black crowd). Have discovered quite a few excellent restaurants. During the days, have worn pretty boring outfits, mainly oversized sweaters (the two Filippa Ks are in heavy rotation). It's 3C right now with the sun shining - that's really chilly for Rome

Gave myself a Christmas gift - a taupe Miss Dior. Have thought about a neutral bag for many months now, so this is it. Got invited to the Dior christmas lunch . There are so many parties right now...

Saw the most beautiful long-sleeved black dress at the Celine window yesterday - seriously worth thinking about come sales time, would be both comfy and stylish for the chilly winter parties. Also saw a lovely Swarowski crystal brooch at Marni next door. (Will wait until the sales.)

I haven't bought anything else, except for a pair of chestnut pair of boots (bespoke again). They are so comfy on, I can walk in them for the entire day. Am tired of shoes that hurt - feet crippled again after wearing high heels last night.

Sorry to hear about Bonsoir's awful lunch and Mig's DD. (There was a column about boomerang children in NY Times last week, it's happening all the time everywhere in the current economic climate, you might want to read it). Shop you are really making the most of your new clothes, am so happy that so many of them have worked out! Dauphin I have some things from MM Weekend and like their good quality and effortlessness.

I'm turning Italian... Dressed in neutrals... . There are a few clothes shops on my street and the colors to be seen in are camel and taupe and gray. You wouldn't believe the array of taupe suede boots available here...

Bonsoir living close to the school is great if you live in a congested city - we are very fortunate, both DH's work and DD's school are walking distance from us. With frequent public transport strikes and a recent +50% increase on taxi fares that really is great.

We have a lot of advent calendars but I've forgotten to supervise opening them (DC too small to remember without being prompted). Am no good at that sort of thing...

Dona great to see you. Love your cream Lanvin. And swoon at Celine and the new Dior bag and all your parties. There are so many lovely things in Liberty (looking for a gift for my mother for a big birthday just after Christmas, one of the reasons why we are all going back at the same time) but definitely sale items.

Amazing bright super bubble gum pink for next season and fresh new colours, which caught my eye.

Bonsoir I know. I go to lunch with dh once a week at our favourite place. Broccoli soup, lamb and champagne today. And it is something wipes the slate clean, but if something bugs me on a Sunday then I have to wait until Thursday for inner zen. It's so lovely and indulgent, really nice to do.

Love your recent purchases Mignonette, your dd will love the Saunders scarf!

I bought some skinny cords, but not sure if they are me. And another Marni tshirt. Should be here tomorrow will report back.

I love my skinny J Brand cords, Marsha - so warm! Last winter I lived in over the knee boots with skirts/shorts and cashmere/cotton Falke tights, which was warm too, but I'm bored with that look for now and my skinny cords are protecting me from the Paris chill.

We are close to school now, Dona - DD comes home for lunch most days - so I am used to the über convenience (plus we have door-to-door bus as well as walking option). Do your DCs go to an expat/international school or to a local school?

Yes j brand ones!

Warm sounds good. I still have the physical bit of looking after a toddler (the odd lift and carry) so muddy shoes have a habit of making contact. I don't fancy going through loads of tights, especially if they are wolford. I wore so many more dresses last year and one before. I might get back into them, and skirts, in the summer.

I wore trousers all the time when DD was little. So much more practical with little ones. I went through a serious skirt phase as soon as it was reasonable to do so!

I can't wait, this summer may be it.

Madness, Preen Line.

Not sure about green back... or sleeves... and too short. But well it would be different.

Marsha. Not for me, I'm afraid!

Ha!

It is a bit fug.

Am looking for a present for ma mère. Not that obviously.

So hard, feel limited to knitwear as easiest to get the right size.

I'm too old too (would have been interested in my 20s - I love that silhouette, it works on me as legs are my best feature, but the limey green would drain me).

I've always been small-breasted but middle age is catching up on me - the other day I was wearing something vaguely flapperish (dropped waist) and was thinking that I might need a flattening bra. Mind-boggling...

No fashion news - wearing the oatmeal Filippa K tunic long sweater. I'm expecting an airport taxi to pick up my parents soon - after that, looking forward to a quiet weekend of doing (almost) nothing...

Yes me too. Back in 20s I could have worn that. The green is too much but that waist and skirt shape was a good one.

I feel at a lull fashion-wise. And wardrobe is not that exciting, which is a bit dangerous.

Quite like black floral skinnies.

I don't usually go for Max Mara but with black tshirt, and silver heels/flats if I had them.

Marsha, I'm giving myself a midwinter fashion hibernation break - weather is not exciting and my winter clothes are not very exciting. And at 3C, how adventurous can you get with your choice of clothes and not catch pneumonia.

Sometimes I have to envy you who are UK-based - crazy fashion choices are allowed and encouraged. In Italy, you are supposed to wear certain things in certain situations, and breaking the rules is not encouraged. I intentionally broke a small rule the other day and immediately got friendly but stern and quick feedback from an Italian lady.

Am breaking in my bespoke brown boots. They are very snug at calves and need to be worn around the house for a bit before venturing out to iron out a small spot in the left foot heel area that chafes a bit. Am very happy about having a good brown pair - won't wear Uggs outdoors this winter. The tall flat boots are much comfier than my cowboy-heel ankle boots.