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I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.

911 replies

TossDaily · 01/11/2017 09:38

So there.

EVERYBODY looked fantastic. EVERYBODY. DP and I just sat open-mouthed in fascination. Whatever their age, they looked amazing.

So I'm sitting here on a diet, wearing an Isabel Marant jumper and frantically googling 'How to turn French.'

As far as I can tell, the rules are:

  1. Be thin, despite the fact you are walking down the street at 11am gnawing a cheese and ham baguette the length of your forearm.
  1. Have your hair the colour and texture of natural hair.
  1. Have the most amazing skin, despite the fact you have a permanent Gauloise on the go.
  1. Never get pissed and lairy, despite the fact you are having a glass of red wine with your lunch and it's Tuesday.
  1. Wear shoes you can walk in.
  1. Have an amazing coat.
  1. Know how to tie a scarf so it looks like you have slung it on and it's just choosing to snuggle up to you because you are SO FRICKING GORGEOUS.
  1. Have a pharmacy on every corner that is just an Aladdin's Cave of miraculous skincare delights for less than a tenner each.

Anyone else have any tips? Joking aside, I loved the style - the shops, ohmigod the shops! It was like I'd walked into my internet shopping history.

I could actually walk around in my biker jacket without feeling like a twat.

I want to be French. Aidez-moi.

OP posts:
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squoosh · 07/11/2017 13:53

Love the detailed posts from Botemp. Proper forensic assessment of what does and doesn't pass muster in Paris Grin

Have read this thread whilst eating my lunch of soup and yogurt and am feeling very chic to discover this is also the lunch of choice of the tousled haired Parisian madames et mademoiselles.

sanitygirl · 07/11/2017 14:20

I've really enjoyed this thread. botemp your posts are brilliant - can I ask how you find Mango Violeta sizing? I wasn't aware of the line before and looking at their stuff has been a bit of a revelation. I'm a tall size 14 so unsure how their smallest size would fit

botemp · 07/11/2017 15:13

Phew, I thought I'd scared everyone off with the shoe talk Wink

I was catching up with the second season of Call My Agent on Netflix last night, it's a bit of a silly French show, but amusing enough for light entertainment but it's also brilliant Parisian workwear inspiration for a variety of shapes, ages, and sizes. I'm going to try and compile some images and/or screenshots but for some anticipatory titilation here's some of the excellent scarf action on the show

I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
ottolinemorel · 07/11/2017 18:26

Botemp, am loving this thread enormously and am slowly remodelling myself into a French woman (I come from a Francophile location originally, although it’s more peasant Breton than Paris).

What does a chic Parisian woman wear on a girls night out (if such a thing exists)? I’ve just got my mojo back after two DCs but have no idea how to pull off night out wear that is sexy and chic for a woman in her 30s but isn’t the low cut top-short skirt combo of my youth... any ideas or pictorial inspiration?

prettybird · 07/11/2017 18:33

I had a good trip around make-up counters today - as evidenced by my hand Wink

What was interesting was how some "true" reds came out a bit blue-ish on my skin - but some of the orange reds were too orange.

The lady on the Tom Ford counter put some Scarlett Rouge, number 16 on me which was lovely - but I balked at the £40 price tag! Shock

Max's Lady Danger was a bit too orange - and Ruby Woo went blue on my skin.

Liked Envious at EL, and the Number 4 of the Chanel Christmas edition lipsticks - but decided I didn't wants limited edition colour however gorgeous the packaging Grin. There was another Chanel lipstick I really liked (an unendurable true red) but I've forgotten its name, so I'll need to go back Wink

Winner was Dior's 999 - the slightly shiny version rather than the matt version.

Thank you all for your help!

I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
TossDaily · 07/11/2017 19:19

I'm loving reading this thread and watching you lot finding your mojos!

I've worn red lipstick twice this week - Lipstick Queen's Bête Noire, which is a dark berry shade.

I'm also considering a beret as a smarter alternative to my usual cashmere beanie. I did see some Parisiennes wearing them, but I'm wondering if that would be un pont trop far?

OP posts:
botemp · 07/11/2017 19:21

Funny you should ask otto as I'm debating heavily on whether to get a silver velvet tuxedo jacket (looks better than it sounds) from one of the private sales sites this morning thinking it would make for the perfect night out but also versatile for daytime. I'd wear it with a silk camisole with lace edging from the Massimo Dutti's holiday collection (which I need to stay away from in its entirety as I want it ALL. I may be being swayed by the fact they've lit it up and filtered them into Vermeer like paintings but there are loads of special pieces in there that make for good high-low combinations to perk up otherwise boring pieces). Then tucked in low rise black skinnies (I generally hate skinnies but make an exception for black, most Parisians also tend to wear a slim or cigarette fit jean rather than a true skinny) with a slim black belt and ankle boots or pumps, or maybe even pointed flats to make it a bit less dressed up. Keep the makeup very lowkey, a bit heavy handed on the mascara and a red lip but nothing more than that. Maybe a bit overboard by Paris standards though, depends on the venue mostly. I can see that blazer working equally well casually with boyfriend jeans with the hems turned up over trainers and a graphic tee like in the pic or an otherwise low key shirt.

There's a good looking black velvet blazer in the MD Christmas lineup too that you could pair with a graphic tee, lots of kohl liner and messy hair with the same black skinny jean lineup from above, some ankle boots with a bit of metal on them, matching to the metal of the belt and a bunch of rings on several fingers, that kind of thing.

There's also the most gorgeous silk blouse that's probably more dinner with the in-laws or evening work do appropriate that looks stunning simply tucked into a good pair of trousers and is amazingly good value for being actual silk. Sorry am currently brainwashed by MD will look for a few actual Paris pics in a moment.

The 999 is fab pretty, for next time, it's best to swatch on the tips of your fingers (so on the underside of your hand) as that gives the closest indication of how the colour will show up on your lips.

I was in our version of Boots today and L'Oreal seems to have brought out a lipstick range with Balmain, I balked a bit at the price for a L'Oreal lippie at 15 euros but the red looked to be a really good colour, so perhaps on offer, it'll make a good buy for someone. Had a stupid name though, 'Domination' Hmm

I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
botemp · 07/11/2017 19:52

See, the reality is slightly more toned down and just a tad more manicured at a special occasion type thing with little in between. It's mostly a case of changing out a t-shirt or shirt for a camisole and maybe tossing off the jacket as the night progresses.

Those tops with the lace on top (pic 3) do make for nice night out wear without revealing too much but it's not always easy to find one with a really nice quality of lace and they're a bit limited in your wardrobe otherwise. I always feel there's a bit of a trap in the whole 'nice top' as default night out solution too.

I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
Methenyouplus4 · 07/11/2017 21:45

Oh wise Bo, what I would now really like off Santa is a personal shopping trip with you, but given that seems somewhat unlikely, I'd really appreciate your thoughts on the following. I realise the shape I'm describing is one you may have no experience of, but love the advice/images you'very posted thus far.

I an 5ft 8 and a 12 on bottom and 10 on top. My struggle is that I have very broad shoulders and a very small chest (think the type after breast feeding 4 little ones rather than a chic petite bust of an early 20s chic Parisian gazelle). I find that little vests look odd but equally a blazer/jacket makes me look very butch. I really struggle with necklines/dressing my top half whether for smart or casual.

For work, I tend to wear a round neck Peter Pan collar shirt/blouse tucked in but as I have a softening middle, I'm not sure this is such a good look.

Any inspiration would be gratefully received.

Bejazzled · 07/11/2017 22:13

sanity I buy a lot online and eBay from Violeta. I'm a very non Parisian 16 which is a Medium or a 16 in Violeta, so you would be a Small or a 14. Some John Lewis stores stock bits of the range so you could try that?

Great thread, really entertaining too. Just wondering though, what constitutes a great scarf or a great coat?

botemp · 08/11/2017 09:58

Bejazzled, I'd say for both it's the material, the type and the weight. Both are things that hang off your body so they need a sculptural shape of their own. The coat has the added demand of how it's cut, body type comes into it a bit but unless you're really on the extreme ends of a body shape (that's not weight related, it's proportion related) but it's the ability of the material to hold the shape rather than your body being the scaffolding to the construction of the coat.

Methenyouplus4, probably not that unfamiliar. However, what I'd advise changing first is your thinking around it. You've got a great height and large shoulders are not a bad feature to have at all. It's very statuesque and a bit of natural grace not to be taken for granted. Whilst the French approach to style has its more undesirable points one of the best things about it, I feel, is to stop seeing things as flaws. They work with the texture of their hair not against it, they don't try to conjure boobs out of nothing with push up bras and what have you, it's really about embracing your best parts and not hiding or covering up (which usually just ends up emphasising it more) what you perceive to be a flaw and accepting it for what it is, simply another part of you.

I remember being a bit shocked by Caroline de Maigret in an interview commenting that she was always blessed in the looks department in a way that wasn't self-deprecating or boasting, just an assessment. She is most definitely beautiful but it's not a conventional beauty and one most women would have to learn to come to appreciate with age. Had she grown up anywhere else I doubt she'd be so positive about her own looks from the onset.

I'm guessing where you struggle is much more with how to work the proportions of it all and the shoulders stick out noticeably as a result but going by your measurements I can't imagine them to be that big. I assume you've been bra intervened already, though would hazzard a guess that you struggle more with finding a good bra style rather than the right size.

What body shape do you think you are? By my estimation you're actually a tall altered hourglass whose volume in the breasts has decided to take residency in your lower abdomen instead. Are the tips of your shoulder roughly around where the hip bones stick out to? You're definitely in hourglass territory then, most people confuse it for a bust waist hips measurement but it's actually a ratio of shoulders to waist and hips to waist, the bust only plays into it marginally. To test my theory you'd be dressing in the vertical to emphasise length and though I mostly I hate the emphasise your waist anthem in your case acknowledging it will be important since it isn't as naturally shaped as it used to be, but you don't have to dress around it. If you can grab a man's shirt get one of those, and flip up the collar (women's blouses and shirts don't tend to want to stay up). If he's got a tuxedo belt hiddden in the back of the closet, steal that too. Otherwise, fashion a large scarf into an obi-style belt. Get your highest waist fitting pants and wrap the belt atop it near your natural waist (just above the belly button on most), tie it with a slimmer waist belt atop it if necessary. Stick on heels for full effect.

Garance Dore is probably very similar in build, she's less Parisian in a way, definitely a more regular size by French standards (I'd say she's at least a 10 or 12 but hard to judge really) and tall. I gave up on her blog a long time ago as it has become more of a digital platform but she still dresses with a great sense of style. She'll always be adding length at the neck drawing the eye vertical, in a blazer she'll look for softer edges around the collar but the shoulders will be sharp (but equally on blazers and coats you can pull the collars up), and if she can't create height in the garment itself she'll stick a bun on her head instead.

I think your other challenge will be that the type of clothes that suit you best simply aren't in fashion currently. That's wide flowing trousers with a large band and a side zipper (they flatter better because they hang at the highest point of your hips but because there's no tension on the zipper in the middle they drop, creating a V shape, again emphasising a vertical line rather than cutting you in half, a voluminous pair of pants with a zipper at the front will instead just add more bulk), halter neck tops, sleeveless turtlenecks, and racerback tops. They sound terrible for broad shoulders, but rather they make them work in a way that brings out their beauty. Forget the Breton top or horizontal stripes, instead, go for vertical ones.

I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
AdelicaArundel · 08/11/2017 16:07

Botemp may I add to the chorus of thanks for your insights? You write beautifully.

I've lurked on this thread, as I've never seen Parisians as a source of inspiration (my celtic colouring and, frankly, peasant build, are not in keeping!).
However, your last post is absolutely correct about drawing attention to one's best. I can relate to wide shoulders and hips.... and your description of trousers explains why I have held on to some very nice trousers from 15? years ago. Side-zip, sit on the waist, wide-legged. I'm wearing them again this year.
This time I'm them with some nice v-necked knitwear (or boatneck)... and I feel great.
Perhaps not quite Vogue-September-edition ready, but emphasising my best.

As an hourglass, any tips for evening wear (pub/dinner/Christmas theatre)?

Tiedie · 08/11/2017 17:03

Adelicawhere do you get those magical trousers?i've been looking for some wide legged ones like that, and can't find any suitable for winter. Thanks in advance from another Celtic peasantGrinWink

AdelicaArundel · 08/11/2017 17:23

Oh Tiedie...they are very old and were from a long-defunct boutique locally...can't remember the label right now.

I think it was a Danish label (I always like Northern European clothes labels- I find them much better proportioned for me).
I have two pairs which wash and wear really well (15years at least!).

They have seen me through the weight changes from post-pregnancy to losing all my baby-padding, back to pregnant again....and to my lightest weight after some stressful years.

When they die, I will be visiting a local dressmaker to replicate.

botemp · 08/11/2017 18:59

Adelica, can you elaborate a bit how formal/not formal those situations would be. I'm not in the UK or British for that matter oh woe is me, no one will want to get pissed with me and I've always found that going out can be something really special and more formal in the UK than elsewhere or really laid back and not formal at all. Would those situations normally be regular bottoms, 'nice' top, where a dress would be too dressy, or would it be the opposite?

AdelicaArundel · 08/11/2017 21:41

Bo I'm rather informal in dress even at the best of times.

Where I am, people will wear jeans and a nice top to the Christmas Panto at the Theatre...but sit beside a family where mother and daughter wear a sparkly dress and faux-fur stole. Very broad range. The same outfit will go out to dinner in a nice restaurant, and even on to the pub afterwards if it's a special evening.

My wardrobe could consist solely of a well cut pair of trousers, a few of the ubiquitous "nice tops" in varying levels of embellishment...and that would cover me for pretty much every eventuality!

I'm a short-waisted, overweight, middle-aged, broad-shouldered peasant. Good pale skin, good teeth, boobs holding up, about 5' 9" in moderate heels which leaves me looking down on most.

I sympathise with Methenyouplus4's description of feeling butch in a blazer....Zara is a desert to me (...although the knitwear is ok)

This is my type of style

AdelicaArundel · 08/11/2017 21:42

Thank you Flowers

botemp · 08/11/2017 23:30

(Pic 1) is totally too formal and probably a challenging top but oh how I'd pay to get one of you with that beautiful Celtic colouring into that green. It's from COS, how are you with that brand?

(Pic 2) Wool belted sweater. The neckline is high, but personally, as an hourglass, I've never had issues with that, then again I don't have boobs that sit right up under my nose either, I'm proportional rather than exaggerated so my frame of reference may be off. The neckline also lays wide which I find to be flattering, a bit boatneck. Half wool, half viscose, it's kind of pricey at 85 quid but versatile and a lovely festive colour that can be worn much beyond that. would look great with the COS pants too, I don't care that it's full on Christmas chintz

I am trying to contemplate the blazer conundrum. I think anything menswear inspired as is the fashion now will indeed be too manish but a lot of the very feminine cut blazers at decent prices are in places like Zara and Massimo Dutti which will mostly be cut too small overall. Just wondering if a bathrobe looks particularly off too, or a Kimono style fit. Is it really down to the added bulk in shoulders or is it more than that? Or is it the lapels, would very slim lapels be balancing enough?

(Pic 3) Josephine La Baume is an interesting one to look at, she's busty, definitely in the hourglass range and her weight has fluctuated somewhat over the years so she's been a variety of sizes. She does this shrunken leather jacket that points outwards both on the shoulders and the sides, it sort of shouldn't work but it does.

I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
I've just got back from five days in Le Marais, and I've decided I want become Parisian, s'il vous plait.
AdelicaArundel · 08/11/2017 23:58

Botemp, you are gifted!
From that written description, you have arrived at things that I have spotted previously or already own a variation on the theme.

Cos...I have to travel to get to a store. However, I have a green dress from there (several years ago) and my favourite LBD which is a classic dress-up-dress-down one. I find their tops more hit-and-miss for my shape. I will be making a trip to that city later this month, so will go for a rummage.

The red top I already own in a Jaeger version. (Cannot imagine it with green satin trousers...I may as well have "Gnome" tattooed on myself Smile ) I'm inspired to look for some grey wide legs.

Jackets....I think you may be on to something there. I had a little cropped one from River Island about 2 years ago, which I returned and regretted later. Similar idea, it came to waist length behind, with a very slim lapel fading into a longer, pointed front- so giving a strong vertical line. Not that I knew why it worked at the time, but your explanation upthread makes sense.

You're very generous with your time and knowledge- thank you.

splendide · 09/11/2017 06:34

I’m in hospital recovering from surgery and I’ve enjoyed this thread so much thanks! Been reading it overnight.

Now have so many tabs of things to buy open! I really need to get some oomph into my work wardrobe and this has given me some good ideas.

splendide · 09/11/2017 06:36

Oh should say that as a short and dumpy and generally unkempt mess it’s a bit of an uphill struggle. But lipstick I can do, and chic shoes and scarfs!

Gonegrey31 · 09/11/2017 07:30

Botemp your advice is absolutely amazing and so interesting - I have ordered the faux fur scarf and can’t wait for it to arrive!
I lived and worked in Paris many years ago, and was constantly intimidated and terrified by the chic women around me. I fortunately acquired a wonderful French friend who guided me and was ruthless in her suggestions. Many of the clothes bought on her recommendation are still my favourite wardrobe staples, all these years later.
Please keep sharing your wise opinions!

prettybird · 09/11/2017 08:09

Thanks Botemps for reminding me to use my fingertips for lipstick testing. I'll have to remember to keep my hands warm as my finger tips have a propensity to go yellow in the cold (touch of Reynauds), which wouldn't help with testing Wink

I was with a friend on Wednesday (also a MNer although coincidentally she is one of my oldest friends, who I'd only reconnected with a few years ago) and she commented that the "right" Style and Beauty thread can be great. This is definitely the right thread! Grin

TossDaily · 09/11/2017 08:36

Any thoughts on whether I should go for the beret?

They're apparently 'in' for A/W 2017...

OP posts:
OCSockOrphanage · 09/11/2017 08:53

If I may, adding thanks to the OP and Bo for powering this thread. I have also really enjoyed it, and the pictures and advice so generously shared. I too am tempted by the faux fur stole, and would like to volunteer a name - Ischiko - to all those who are looking for the useful little short jackets. They probably need searching on Ebay as they were absorbed into Oska a few years ago, but on a bosomy figure they work well to create a vertical line. Mine is now nearing 20 years old, but still comes out regularly. here from Ebay.