Merde, here too. I only meant to dash into TKMaxx to get a new yoga mat before closing time, completely forgetting the beginning of January is the worst time to buy exercise gear, so instead, I had a look if they had any Costume National in. All quite innocent browsing really, until I chanced upon a navy Joseph trench coat in the sale for a little over a 100 euros 
. They claimed it was originally ten times that but I was a tad sceptical but internet confirmed as much. It's quite seventies and is really quite special with the stitching, perfect length, not full and not too short (feels more contemporary somehow) though a tad big. I haven't made up my mind yet whether to keep, have it altered, or get a Uniqlo lightweight down coat to go under it and give it a bit more range seasonally but I couldn't just leave it there as I knew it would haunt me at night. 30 days to return so I can take my time dithering. It's also mostly synthetic, like the 70s, which I was less enthused about but in a coat I don't find it as problematic, at least it'll keep me dry and the collars do that flattering sticky up thing and it falls straight like a much heavier fabric would.
banana, I think those Soeur trousers actually have sturdy enough fabric to be able to roll up the hems and wear them cropped like the Uniqlo pic, would give you a bit of added versatility into spring as I doubt you're one to feel the promised warmth all that quickly.
Elle, I personally prefer a Chambray shirt. It's woven like denim with the alternating colours of white at the back, blue at the front, but it's not as unwieldy and thick/heavy as traditional denim so it has a bit of drape and ease. I think a proper denim shirt is quite hard to pull off as effortless unless you're very slight in contrast as it can be a bit butch/bulky. I like Isabel Marant for these, she usually releases them around this time of year in the resort collection, but most French brands will have a version.
The Dries documentary aired on national TV here, so lucky I could just watch it back online but I think it's available on itunes now as well. It was really lovely, and I liked what he had to say about dressing a woman, how he designed for their personality as a starting point, not a silhouette. It also made me realise that much of what I sprout here is about somewhat giving understanding to a designer's creative process more so than a stylistic approach. If you're ever planning on visiting Antwerp plan for the bi-annual sample sale week in May and November, you get to go into the actual Dries van Noten warehouse and gawk at everything and touch but no photos allowed. It's glorious, there was the most amazing beaded skirt with a dragon pattern completely in white that weighed a ton that I was over the moon with, but where I'd wear it I'd have no idea. In that documentary, he does go on about not saving silk, brocades and beadwork for party wear and just making them part of the every day. I used to do it a lot more in the past, I don't know why I stopped beyond that those items wear out much, much, quicker.
I like that top from Soeur you linked, I think it is the case that you need to tuck it into a pair of high waisted trousers or skirt and not be too chesty. I only discovered Souer in Paris last summer, I think there are a few UK stockists but not as wide a selection. It vaguely reminds me of Isabel Marant and Vanessa Bruno in their early days. It is actually started by two sisters, a lot of French brands are actually women-owned and operated, or a couple, and I do feel women design differently for women.
There are plenty of sites to input your measurements into but I don't find them all that accurate. For me it's easy, as I have the most standard measurements for an hourglass and dead on medium wasted. I'm not in between, it's pretty easy to observe as well standing in front of the mirror in my underwear. I still think that's the best way to go before measurements, and in all honesty, if you're at the lower end of the spectrum size-wise with no exaggerated features, it's less of an obstacle or hindrance. Someone linked this blog post earlier which is Trinny & Sussanah based which made me skeptical but the flowchart is pretty useful and if you click through to the body shapes I actually found them quite a good classification as it takes height into it much more.
The &Other Stories straight fit is longer, so you can wear it tucked in but then pull it out and blouse it out, so to speak. If you're willing to spend a bit more, the silk shirts from Filippa K are really quite nice and the cream of the crop are the Signature Shirt from Equipment, though I only buy those from Yoox or similar, I find them overpriced at RRP. I do love them a bit too much though.
Proper, but attitudes to boobs are changing again, and have been for a bit. I remember the world was basically segregated into the haves and have-nots when I was a teenager, and if you were a have-not you best be very waify. Getting them done was as commonplace as those lip fillers are now, it didn't matter that they looked obviously done and completely disproportionate to their frame, they were a status symbol and we were all focused a lot on them. Push up and padded bras became the norm (and minimisers seem to all have disappeared), a silhouette without breasts had negative connotations, stupidly of course. That part of it has waned, and I do hear it more often now that 10-20yrs on people regret ever getting them done, a folly of youth, they're as carbon dating as tattoos, so now small and moderate boobs are desirable.
Rosie, her style really is polished up by the heel collection, and she is quite a polished person by nature, shoes seem to be the only place she reveals that. Emanuelle Alt has very similar looks but she often wears sandals in summer, so it's not that it can't be done, but that extra bit of polish is helped by heels. Capucine Safyurtlu does do flats on occasion but she'll switch out the straight/slim fit jeans for something baggier like a boyfriend (but it's more of a slim boyfriend fit) and then do very narrow, barely there ballerinas/D'Orsay flats.