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!

How intriguing Dona! What was the rule? What did she say?

I'm not very out there, I tend to put a lot of trust into a few tried and tested designers. And I know that some are very rarely a good choice for me (eg I don't really do Ghost, Tucker, others I can't remember. But I know Marant, Celine, Stella, Lanvin will be ok and I won't get too tired with them).

I mean I like loads more than that but it's a handy shortcut.

And yes it's freezing. Tg for big warm scarves.

I went to a party where there was a separate dressing room / cloakroom. After the party I used the fancy armchair there to take off my heels and to slip on jeweled flats in the same colorway (=matched my dress and looked smart) to take the few steps across a wet pavement to the taxi. All Italian women witnessing this were horrified - apparently taking your shoes off in public is just not done

The ladies (one of them in really painful-looking Loubs) said in hushed tones that in fact they all do take off their shoes too - but you have to wait until you are in the car...

dona The Italians would have been horrified with me on Saturday then. We had DH's birthday party and I greeted some of our best friends at the venue in bare feet as I was mid-change from biker boots to stiletto heels. Was just so excited to see them. And I had a nice pedicure done. Think I couldn't live in France or Italy where there are so many unwritten rules.

American women in Paris do that shoe-changing thing, too. You meet them in the hall of the apartment buildings while waiting for the lift, changing their shoes.

French women have their husbands drop them by car at the door - the men go off to park separately, and also collect the car and drive round to collect their wives after the soirée. I have happily managed to adapt to the custom

I'm from very far north where the very inelegant shoe/boot/coat shuffle always takes place before and after every party/concert/theater or opera night (because it's considered very impolite to wear shoes worn outdoors indoors and, gasp, leave muddy footprints; and because you ruin your shoes and crack your spine taking those few steps across the icy puddles). This party venue was surrounded by a garden but had no driveway facing the entrance - hence a puddle-skipping 10 meter walk was required.

I generally enjoy the carefree Italian style - no coat or shoe changes required, and often there is no space for that either - but when the weather turns wintry, cultures collide. I guess this is another thing where there is a sharp North/South divide... Luckily I look like a Barbarian from the North (tall, blond, perma-pale), so Italians just gently scold me

There is a chance of snow in Rome over the weekend. Not very likely, but possible, given subzero night temperatures... Proper winter here is an experience. Traffic grinds to a halt and people try to melt ice on the street with water from the mocha pan. I see a lot of fur coats on the streets - women my age wear sporty cropped mink coats and Moncler with jeans.

London is taxis. A taxi up to the door and some waiting when you leave. Although it's on a pavement so much easier than a muddy garden.

London taxis are so comfortable and civilised!

Restaurants in Paris mostly have voituriers (valet parking) so there is no problem there. It's going to people's homes in apartment blocks that requires husbands to play chauffeur (unless, of course, you are lucky enough to have a chauffeur - one day...).

Ha yes one day.

I always notice and love seeing black taxis in London (and the red buses) when returning from a holiday.

I am meant to be going out for drinks tonight and have a party tomorrow. Am looking forward to the party but the weather is making me want to skip tonight. Ah

I'd love a chauffeur. I wish DP would get promoted and then he'd have a chauffeur and I'd hog him in the day time!

I found by accident this online stylist site which is quite good -
www.joyofclothes.com/
Not that any of you ladies need it - but they do have a good algorithm. Somehow they correctly diagnosed my body shape (The site says I should not wear tunics. That is very true.) There is also lot of useful info on things like calf and leg length proportions.

Oh that sounds good Bonsoir and quite possible!

Will check it out Dona thanks. I don't think I could do one either, all wrong for me.

Have to get ready for a party tonight. Kind of need a night at home with dh. But it should be a good one so looking forward to it.

Interesting site Dona although some of the illustrations make the celebs look awful! But it picked up on my colours and body type so I'll play around some more with it.
My sister in law called last night from the Netherlands to tell me about her latest shoe purchases. She bought these snow boots as it is already -15C in some parts of the country
pinterest.com/pin/122230577358302418/
and is going to pick some up for me as they are only £68!! Not the most glamorous of things but should be good when the weather worsens as they say it will.
Cooking all day today as we have newly engaged friends for dinner tonight. Waves to all.

My god, what a winter! Very cold here too.

I took DD1 to see The Nutcracker last night. It was an awful modernisation. Can you believe, the ballet was set in a graffitied crack alley (The Nutcracker apparently OD'd in Act I, Clara wore a pedofile-friendly "almost naked" see-through white leotard and no tutu, and The Sugar Plum Fairy was in grotesque drag - this is the first time I've ever seen her/him moon and fart). Mercifully DD slept through Act 2. I love modern dance, but the audience was full of 5-year-olds and I think everyone was expecting a classical rendition with Christmas trees, tutus and dancing dolls.

Style goes out of the window right now - it's all about bundling up and keeping as warm as possible.

Sounds intense Dona!

I love the more traditional ballet, and get tingles when I see the classical productions.

They look really useful Shop. I could do with snow shoes nothing worse then slipping everywhere. I remember I went out with ds2 in my arms on that very snowy year and had to hail a workman's arm to hold on to (he was doing some electrical stuff on the street) back up the small slope to my door! Luckily he was very nice about it.

J Brand cords arrived today and they are gorgeous. Lovely rich colour, sumptuous feel. Warm.

And a simple Marni cotton top.

Ooh they look lovely Marsha.

I took my own advice and did a wardrobe clearout yesterday (slow time at work) - I've been unable to find my black Moschino skirt for a few weeks now and have been wearing very boring outfits although I know I have a lot of lovely clothes.

Purged only very few clothes, basically just took out everything summery (it all fit in a big suitcase - will need to retrieve them in the spring). That took out all the patterned clothes I'm not so sure about and what remains is a nice, full but manageable wardrobe of cool-weather clothes -

• 10 sleek dresses (mostly cocktail, a few casual shifts)
• 10 jackets in textures varying from leather and denim to boucle
• about 10 cardigans
• two Marni coats (which I usually wear as coat dresses)
• 20 shirts and blouses (varying from ivory silk to chambray menswear)
• 1 pair of wide-legged trousers
• 1 pair of dark navy denim shorts
• 6 skirts (different lengths and shapes)
• 11 handbags

Am not counting knits, sweater dresses and jeans which I keep in a different place. Nor my 10 pairs of winter boots.

It was really worth doing. Everything fits in, there is enough space left to browse the clothes, and now that the unseasonable stuff is gone they actually look new and appealing. I'm wearing now black wool tights with a short black skirt and a bright neon coral merino twinset and pearls. Neon coral definitely brightens up a winter day...

Completely barking version of the Nutcracker there, Dona!

My dh stage managed a regional tour of the traditional version a few years ago now in collaboration with the national youth ballet. Ít was gorgeous.

The Italians would faint in shock at my behaviour walking to my father's funeal this summer- my Louboutins were killing me so I took them off to walk in bare feet through the village to the church! Í'd forgotten that we were walking in procession....

Am freezing today and am wrapped up in an old Donna Karan blanket whilst typing away clumsily in woolly gloves too. Have on an APC navy heavy woollen sweater, white collared shirt, Helmut cigarette pants and ACNE boots. The socks are uncool christmas ones...

Enjoy your parties, everyone. i hate them with a passion so manage to avoid all but drinking, dancing and eating at close friends houses. I never go to work/corporate ones. Bah humbug.......

i love that sheer marni....Marsha.

Mig the Italian winter outerwear rules were pretty bizarre at the ballet theater - nobody checked in their coat, instead they took them to the very narrow seats. Just try compactly folding up a voluminous piumino...

I'm not a huge fan of The Classic Workplace Christmas Do (where people tell truths about their bosses, vomit on their shoes and end up in the wrong bed) although it's sometimes fun to be a participant observer.

But the party yesterday was perfect (civilized, beautiful, great people and talk and not too long).

Pop hope your travels work out! Sales will start soon, hope you will get something lovely to wear during your time off. I've been very happy with my two Filippa K sweaters and a circular oatmeal/bone colored fine merino cardigan.

NHS parties always result in terribly bad behaviour which forms the bulk of trust gossip for most of the following year! As they say, nurses party the worst..... So Í made a decision years ago to only socialise with mainly non colleagues in private spaces. Í really dislike that incestuous atmosphere that can result from getting the work/play balance out of kilter. Some of my colleagues seem to live in each others pockets and being married to a colleague probably makes me in danger of being one...

What are people wearing on Christmas Day? I am so tempted to remain in PJ's....

Oh and an update on DD- they are now staying put. So rather then my child boomeranging, it is my head/psyche that is. I'm kind of feeling that their relationship is on a slow slide towards over-ville but will bite my tongue and see what lies ahead.

Mig I've also experienced some hair-rising parties with nurses going wild.

We always spend the Christmas en famille, and I end up spending most of the day wearing an apron - dressing is an afterthought. Might wear my go-to home uniform of tall black boots, black opaques, short A line skirt and top TBD. Unless I some sales start before Christmas and I score a comfy Maxmara sweater dress... Probably not, as Christmas is the season of stuffed envelopes for everyone who has helped our family this year. I'm feeling very cash-poor atm.

What would your dream Christmas be like?

I'm actually quite fond of our fairly low-key traditions. The room-service Christmas in a luxury hotel after DD1 was born was just awful I'm quite flexible actually - if I could pick the props, a real fir tree, some snow, all the traditional foods, a roaring fire and everybody somewhat healthy and happy would be lovely.

Yes! A reality show.....None of them would keep their jobs though.....Seriously, the tales I could tell would fill a book.

I once had a country-pub/hotel Christmas because we had just moved into a wreck of a Tudor house and had no kitchen floor. We hated it. We're all about the kitsch movies, real tree, stockings on our bed for whoever sleeps over on the Eve, a full Turkey lunch even though we also have roast pork eaten around 4:30 pm when it is dark....My best Christmas's are always the ones where I receive piles of books as gifts. I will miss my cat this year. Last Christmas he'd only been with us 3 weeks and he coped beautifully with all the chaos, sitting on our bed and batting a piece of wrapping paper about whilst 5 people opened stockings....

We don't do terribly dynamic things over the holiday as DH is invariably very tired and really needs to re-charge. But lots of walks in the country, r4ubbish films, Scrabble and cooking. I pretty much have my dream Christmas but would like a little less financial pressure....With 5 near adult children and 5 birthdays of close family in January, it is costly and trying to come up with ideas for gifts is mentally tiring.

Our Christmas has been the same for years now, since childhood. Same food -

champagne, oysters.
crayfish, home made mayonnaise,
rare beef, beans and garlic carrots
homemade chocolate eclairs.

worth the journey. And we have always dressed up. Two sisters and my mother. It's obligatory to go 'ooooh, you look good/nice' as the person walks out from the bedroom.

Have had a few parties this year and the vibe can be so different. Especially between given which sector most are in; the conversation, the look, the whole thing. Had two parties in the same venue and they were so different. Although was pleased that it was dh's work one that I preferred. Just the right amount of frisson, energy, happiness and chat as you say Dona.

Mignonette I walked up my street a few months up with feet in tights, was very grateful to find that the pavements were very smooth and easy to walk on!

Hi Pop thought of you the other day as Stella M on the outnet for 80% off.