Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet - Thread part deux

[TossDaily]

New thread for those of us who would like to let a little je ne sais quoi into our lives...

[Auldspinster]

Navy and white, doh!

[ProperLavs]

I work in a school so no glam at work for me🙁

[Auldspinster]

If there wasn't a bit of talent at my work i probably wouldn't be quite as dressed up.

[Methenyouplus4]

Proper- sadly the initials from the makers of my jacket were H&M and not YSL. Perhaps just as well as I was happy to fling it over a chair in a bar rather than clean to it protectively. The more I think about it though, the more a tux jacket makes sense as an investment piece. My top half has never dramatically changed shape (other than less fuller bust/higher waist) so imagine it will always fit. Plus, if you get the style right, I imagine it would be a true classic that you could wear for years.

Quirky- it sounds quite a nice figure in theory but I find it hard to get the proportions right. I'm pretty tall so can easily look butch, and yet really feminine doesn't suit me either. Pre-breastfeeding, I found it much easier as a larger, fuller chest seemed to balance things out more.

[Methenyouplus4]

Auld-ha, love your motive.

I'm afraid it's just housework here today so I'll be in my slobs.

[silkpyjamasallday]

Thanks for the new thread! I am currently in Marrakech in a french owned hotel, so most of the guests are French, and of course very chic. I'm stalking one woman in particular who was wearing a tan leather mini skirt with an oversized denim shirt and coral coloured espadrilles yesterday. The older woman all seem to wear straight trousers in black or navy, with a crisp shirt in the same colour and some sort of silk oriental style jacket in the evening when it's a bit cooler. Lots of floral shirts in a more masculine cut during the day with the same trousers and loafers. Not much use in england at this time of year but I'm banking it for summer style inspiration. I've got a pair of acne Jensen copies from office waiting for me when I get home which I'm going to pair with my skinnies and Isabel marant coat, cashmere jumpers and I'm on the lookout for some huge scarves while I'm in morocco. I've got some red lipstick from Charlotte tilbury with me but haven't worn it yet as we've been having dinner in our room each night as 15 month DD is so grouchy with teething I don't want to inflict her on the other guests at an evening meal!

[quirkychick]

methen I know what you mean, I struggle with very feminine clothes too. I quite like assymmetric tops, sometimes with some drape as then they break up broader shoulders. Scoop necks or something with some detail down the front looks good too. I'm quite an accessories girl, and find I can wear more statement pieces as fine jewellery just gets lost on me. That helps balance the masculine with some feminine. Love a tux, too.

[Auldspinster]

Feminine clothes don't work with my figure, i'm busty but broad shouldered and narrow hipped with no waist definition. My legs are pretty slim, i carry all my weight on my abdomen.

[quirkychick]

Welcome to the club, Auldspinster. I'm not busty but just a bit smaller than average (B/C cup), but broad-shouldered, some waist definition, narrow hipped and with long, slim legs: quite tall too. Not always easy to dress. I favour tomboyish clothes too. I just hope the long curly hair, red lipstick and accessories keep it feminine enough .

[botemp]

Don't go peddling back now, Methen! It may feel like baby steps but they look like a massive leap forward from where I'm sitting, just the way in which you're now speaking about your body in contrast to how you first described it is a world of difference and it's really encouraging to see you see the positive rather than focusing on the negatives.

I do need to hurry with a reply actually as the answer to jean issues is Yoox and their 35% off a selection expires midnight tonight and that should help as some of the listed below models are among them. I think jeans are worth spending a bit more on if you wear them regularly, I've had some good buys on the high street but then they're gone the next season or a completely different fabric and if you're in the smaller waist wider hips category you're usually buying something with a high stretch content so they wear out within a year which is both wasteful and costly. Designer denim usually has a better fit (if you find the brands that work for you) and a better choice of fabric. If you know exactly which models and fabrics suit you best you can go bargain hunting on ebay (I usually set up really specific searches) to get backups but Yoox is my first port of call. Unfortunately, they don't mention the brand model names so it can be a bit of a guessing game sometimes, although I've also discovered new fits that way.

Flares, my top brand (I'm listing multiple names for brands as Yoox sometimes lists them separately) picks for those are:

-AG Jeans/Adriano Goldschmidt (TTS more or else, possibly size down one) usually start at 130 euros and drop down to under 50

-M.I.H. Jeans/MIH - specifically The Marrakesh and The Casablanca version of it if you're petite (depending on fabric TTS or size up one) usually start around a 100 euros and I purchase when they get near 60 or below

-Paige Premium Denim/Paige Denim/Paige - specifically the High Rise Bell Canyon (American sizing so best to size down) usually start high at 180 euros but drop down to under 70 quite quickly, I tend to buy under 55.

-The Seafarer/Seafarer - specifically the Penelope (easy to spot by the pockets and slight flare. (TTS) start around 120 euros and drop to around 60 and with the discount are picked up between 30-40

My favourite of the lot and coincidentally the easiest to score on the cheap, The Seafarer Penelope (I purchased 3 the other night for under a 120 euros which would buy me half one at full RRP. Unlikely to be keeping them all, two are the trusted Penelopes but different colours and one's a new model to me, a kick flare). The Seafarer jeans has a bit of an interesting heritage, they're the ones that started the flare trend way back when, it had something to do with the Italian navy and surplus but I've forgotten the full length of it, but they're the exact same model Jane Birkin, Farah Fawcett, and Jackie O were sporting in the 70s. It's altered slightly for a more modern look when the brand was relaunched a few years back. The Marrakesh from MIH came to prominence before that relaunch and at the time was credited as a direct inspiration of The Seafarer originals. I slightly prefer The Seafarer though, it's also made in Italy with Italian fabric whereas MIH are usually made in Turkey.

If you look at the modeling pics on Yoox you'll also that these flares do that thing I described at the waist that dips low in the middle giving that flattering v shape rather than cutting you off horizontally quite bluntly.

[botemp]

Running out of pic space, pic 1 and 2 are the MIH Marrakesh, Pic 3 is The Seafarer Penelope. As you can see they're all quite close to the body flares rather than the wacky full flare versions.

What is most helpful for me when looking at these jeans is to find a celebrity body double. It's not so much about how much you resemble them but whether proportionally your body is similar even if they're slimmer/tallet/etc. For me I know that if Rosie Huntington Whiteley or Jessica Alba is wearing it they're usually a good bet. But say, January Jones is wearing them then it's usually not my best fit. Heidi Klum is borderline with me as she's much straighter in the waist. I look nothing like these women at first glance but especially RHW and I have very similar proportions, she's just stretched longer lengthways. This is also where those highly invasive bikini shots come in handy, in modeling shots RHW usually knows how to disguise it but the broadness of her shoulders is more apparent. In your case Heidi Klum may be a closer resemblance proportions wise, it's just a matter of anlysing a few.

Final bit of advice on flares, they usually look better with a heel underneath or some sort of lift. They look their absolute best when they hem falls very close to the floor so you sort of have to make the decision to go for flats length and or heel length if/when taking them in. I usually double up on flares to have one of each, or have a similar version in duplicate at different lengths. They're not the easiest to wear in wet weather so it's really only ever with ankle boots in winter.

WRT straight leg jeans, I'm stil trying to find my best fit for that. It's tougher because you need a stiffer fabric but with the small waist to wider hips (even if it is just your bone structure, as it is predominantly with me) you need a bit of stretch. I have the Boston and Ellsworth from MIH which are decent but not perfect perfect. Uniqlo are worth exploring, many many Parisian women shop there for jeans (the high waist cigarette and the slim boyfriend are firm favourites) but I threw a massive tantrum when fitting them as they push the boat on vanity sizing there a little too far. I needed two sizes down and even that was roomy, it was a size I haven't been since under the age of twelve and stuff like that can really throw me and have me doubting my own sanity. It's shaken off easily enough and I know it's just down to my proportions but it's still bothersome somehow.

[Auldspinster]

Quirkychick I too wear my hair long and curly and red lippy .

[PastLegoNow]

marquer le lieu

[ProperLavs]

bo how many pairs of trousers do you have? .

I am pretty straight up and down with broader shoulders and no bust.
I have a proportionally short torso-ok it's very short with almost no distance between my ribs and top of my pelvis. My legs are long and slim for my 5'4" height.
I can't do wrap dresses or tops because I have no waist and I've realised that I look deformed if I try and put one in because it's so high.
I once had a dressmaker's dummy when I was altering my own clothes and was once I had adjusted it to be a replica of my torso; It was completely without curve or shape either from the front or side.
I realise that my body shape means I can wear a lot of different clothes basically because I have no 'shape' to work around.

I am rubbing my hands in glee at the thought of hunting down a tux in the sales.

[Eolian]

Reading with interest. I'm a French teacher but none of the chic has rubbed off on me, sadly! It seems one thing that's de rigueur is a red lipstick. Is it really true that there's a shade of red lipstick to suit everyone? I've always shied away from red. Can anyone recommend one to suit a 'pale olive' (a.k.a. yellowish-toned) complexion? Anything that's at the orange end of red makes me look like a corpse.

[TossDaily]

Saw this today in John Lewis and thought of you lot.

Got a nice red balmy lipstick from Chanel, too. Called Memoir.

[quirkychick]

Auldspinster

bo cool flares and lots of great info to digest. I must admit I mostly wear flares in the warmer months, as they can't be tucked into warm boots or worn in the rain. The dark blue ones do look lovely, though.

Eolian olive skin can often be cool-toned, weirdly, so maybe a more blue red or true red. You could always start with a more sheer colour or blott the lipstick for more of a stain than a full on bright red.

[Eolian]

Thanks - will investigate!

[ProperLavs]

yes, try the blue reds :)

[botemp]

Probably too many Proper, but not excessive, if we're just talking jeans:

1 Pair of midrise black skinnies Acne Studios Skin 5
1 Pair of highrise black skinnies Levi's Line8
1 Pair of near black highrise flares Paige High Rise Bell Canyon
1 Pair of highrise black velvet flares The Seafarer Penelope Jeans (though technically not a jean)
1 Pair of deep blue highrise flares MIH Marrakesh
1 Pair of dark grey highrise flares MIH Casablanca
1 Pair of deep blue mid rise straight/cigarette fit MIH Ellsworth
1 Pair of blue mid rise straight fit MIH Boston

All of the above purchased for 85 euros or less, most less than 50. I then have a few wool, cotton, silk, leather, and suede pairs but not in those numbers per category. I'd say less than 30 excluding exercise gear in total but maybe it's a bit more. I don't own any shorts, which is a bit of an issue but last summer was probably the worst summer collection ever so I continually came up empty before giving up entirely as the choice between Daisy Duke or appear to be smuggling watermelons was not an appealing one .

So I mostly have a flares problem . I don't like skinnies and I only own them purely for bad weather. I've ordered two very light blue flares and a white one from Yoox for summer as I no longer have any that are very summery anymore. I did get a lot of wear out of a Mango boyfriend fit last summer but it's too big now and I'm not sure if I'd still like a fit like that this coming summer.

Those paying attention will note I don't actually own the AG Jeans, that's mostly because I've fit quite a few and recognised how brilliant they were but they are excessively long and with a flare it's really difficult to see how they will sit when you take away so much from the bottom so I never risked it as the ones I tried on in person were never bargain prices. Should probably have noted above that they AG jeans are good for the tall.

[botemp]

Eolian, true reds are your best bet, blue reds are good too but less flattering in winter light I find, I'm more neutral though.

quirky, I tend to stay away from the flares in autumn because of the rain factor but now that it's mostly just cold I dig them out again and wear with big fluffy mohair sweaters. Any sign of snow and it'll be skinnies with knee-high socks and boots worn begrudgingly. I slap on my cape to compensate it somewhat and pretend to be a phantom.

[quirkychick]

bo skinnies really are needed to tuck into proper winter boots. Loving the idea of big, fluffy mohair sweaters but I'm coming to the conclusion that much as I love chunky jumpers they don't do much for me. I've just donated a chunky knit fairisle jumper to my 12 yr old, I think they just emphasise my shoulders and not in a good way. I will have to go for a scarf, hat or socks in a chunky knit instead. I have a dark grey marl, oversize, chunky alpaca scarf I was wrapped up in today. Lol at phantom.

[ProperLavs]

bo I thought I was being excessive with my 5 pairs of Levi's and one pair of navy gap high rise skinnies! Clearly I am a lightweight!

[ProperLavs]

I do like cigarette/ peg style though. Any thoughts on decent brands ?

[botemp]

I have no need for formal wear and jeans are seasonal to me so they're not all worn in the same time frame. I know far too many people whose closets are rows and rows of jeans, I feel quite the minimalist in comparison. If you don't mind the vanity sizing I'd look at Uniqlo for the cigarette/peg legs, other good brands are J Brand and Frame but it really depends on your shape. I do also really like the jeans from Comptoir des Cottoniers, they always have a peg and cigarette leg in there.

Quirky I've just realised the mohair sweaters aren't actually big, the material just gives that illusion which is probably why I like them as I can't carry a proper oversized sweater too well either. More like pictured just not with the gigantic sleeves.