This thread is about as French as a Sainsbury's baguette

[AuldAlliance]

But we'll still enjoy it...

Aw that's fine botemp was really thinking of it for abroad.. it can always go back 😬

I've also ordered the play suit in the attached photo to try it..

For anyone interested in Uterque, I ordered these sandals last week:

www.uterque.com/gb/footwear/heeled-sandals/suede-sandals-with-buckle-c1766002p8209004.html?colorId=100

They arrived today and are lovely - comfortable and easy to walk in, add a bit of height, and the two buckles are both adjustable.

Methenyou, some SF food recs. Botemp is right about the price - on top of the menu prices you have tax (8.75%) and service - 15-20%, so it gets expensive quite quickly, especially if you have a couple of glasses of wine with it. Food trucks are a good call - check out Off the Grid when you get here, a collection of food trucks that are at different venues on different days. I also recommend using Yelp or Open Table to help you find places - you can filter both on 'near where I am' and on price.

I really like Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights - good shopping, and some nice, less expensive places to eat - great burgers at Roam burger, great pizza at Pizzeria Delfina, and some great bars and cafes as well.

Chestnut Street and Union Street in the Marina/Cow Hollow district (mainly between Octavia and Divisidero) are also good for shopping (Marine Layer, Amour Vert) plus eating - this might be the area that peony mentioned. For food around there my favourite is a GREAT Italian restaurant, Roma Antica, that is delicious and reasonably priced, or The Tipsy Pig which claims to be pub food but is more the posh California version of pub food - their fish tacos and chicken pot pie are amazing.

Another great little area is Hayes Valley - again lots of independent shops, great bars and nice restaurants - Souvla is 'fast fine' Greek food - reasonable and delicious.

Lastly, for the Cable Car I like starting at the Powell/Hyde - sometimes less busy than the Market St turnaround, and definitely more scenic while you wait

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

Bonjour mes petites batons.

DD (21) was actually mistaken for being French in London the other day. She nearly died from the happiness. A French lady mistook her for one of their own. So proud.

In other news, the M&S Summer Beauty Box has been released. Woop Woop!

Sad news. I have visited the Mulberry Amberley in person and it is not The One. It is beautiful but I hadn’t realised from the photos that it tapers in depth towards the top, meaning that it’s got a smaller capacity than I had realised. Good news because it really was over budget but I was patching myself up for a treat, so feel a bit dejected now. Plus am fed up of looking for tan crossbody bags!
Also popped into the John Smedley store with the intention of purchasing a merino navy boat neck. Tried on the large but it was too large, so then tried on the medium but it felt different so checked the label inside - 100% cotton, not merino. The sales assistant was actually quite rude, insisting that it had been mislabelled and that there was no difference between the two fibres. Will purchase online as it was really nice, but feel a bit huh about the whole experience.
That’s so exciting for your daughter Happy - what was she wearing at the time?

Psyching myself up, not patching!

That's a bit rubbish, peony, if it was mislabelled she should have been apologetic! Also, cotton is not the same as merino . It does annoy me when you pick a slightly different version of a garment and find the fabric composition has changed.

What was your daughter wearing, happy?

Noodle- thank you for all your insider tips.

Happy- also curious to know what your daughter was wearing.

HappyPoo, we will not rest until we know what DD was wearing

HappyGirl, I actually went into Stradivarius on the hunt for that playsuit but despite showing 'in store stock' online they didn't have it. Let me know how it is in RL, please

Catharine, ooh lovely shoes with a very Dries like heel. How high are they? They look quite high in the product pics but low on the model. Love the deep colour too.

Why is it that lustworthy bags you desperately want are everywhere when you're not looking for one and nowhere who you need it?

Victoria Beckham does have the double moon in cognac (pic 1) in their private sale at 50% off, if that takes your fancy?

I hate when stores get defensive, especially in high end ones where you think they both to train staff for situations like this. It's so easy to just accept there's been some mistake beyond your control and try to accommodate a customer with an alternative.

I have new things to add to my wishlist. I tried on these white high waisted cropped trousers at H&M but it was far too transparent but I did really like the look of them with my leather slides.

I was also reminded why I tend to swerve away from the Maxis as I need one with dipped or low backs, otherwise they sit far too low, flatten out my chest and make me appear to have a really long upper body and no legs

I put in an order with yoox last night. They sent me a good promo code for my birthday that worked on top of another offer. Decided to be sensible and got something from the list, a 100% wool large check trouser from Laurence Bras and quasi from the list, a pair of silk Toteme Toulon trousers in beige/cream. I fear the Toteme trousers won't be a good fit/too long and no idea how to shorten them but I just really like the way they look Think they will work well with leather slides and strappy sandals too, so totally versatile. Will post pics of those in the next post.

Trousers order.

Ooh I like those cream trousers I have pm'd you bo

Re hair products that hold but aren't sticky: I have wavy (not curly hair) and I like Hair Fudge which comes in an orange plastic pot. It works best if my hair's dry. I think they also do a hair putty that's lighter and better on wet hair.

bo - they're pretty low, 2 inches? The heel is really nice, simple but also a bit different. I sent back several pairs of sandals at similar prices from Dune/Clarks & other brands as they just weren't well-made and felt cheap but these feel really good. Hasn't been warm enough to wear them yet though.

Speaking of Clarks I noticed on a trip to St Malo that every shoe shop seemed to have a Clarks section.

Those trousers look lovely.

Would also like to know what DD was wearing, happypoo.

Does anyone have a recommendation for anywhere to buy a simple silver chain? Sort of vaguely considering a Links of London one as assuming the quality will be decent but it's just slightly too long and not adjustable - I like about 16 inches rather than 18.

Just popping in to say, Elle that I finally collected the La Redoute dress this morning. I'm keeping it. It's quite a thick cotton, so that the collar and neck hold their shape, and the belt cinches in, with the skirt flaring out. There are seam pockets in the skirt, a plus for me.
It's creased, and I couldn't get a good photo because the light here is weird, but it's worth a punt, I'd say, if you think the style would suit you. It's maybe a bit thick for the height of summer here in the south of France, but perfect for May/Sept and probably good for a UK summer's day.

Off to buy passionfruit to make punch for a dinner party I'm invited to. A throwback to my time in the tropics, neither typical of these parts nor very ecologically sound...

Will catch up better soon.

Gosh sorry! Well she is home from uni so I asked her and it was black culottes and a black and white thin striped boat neck top, and, not even joking here, a beret

So you can see why she was mistaken for French. To be honest both my DC dress like they are Beat poets in Paris in 1958.

happy you sound like you have cool dcs!

Love those cream trousers, bo.

Passion fruit punch sounds delicious, Auld. I've just made an almond and apricot chocolate cake for our street party tomorrow (one of our friends is coeliac and dp is pre-diabetic, so I'm hoping it will do for both!).

Glad the dress worked out auld Sounds like a great buy. I love the sound of the passionfruit punch!

Anything good in the beauty box happypoobum DCs outfit sounds cool.

That's half disappointing, half a relief on the bag peony. I love the VB one that bo posted.

OH you are not curing my Toteme-curiosity. Those trousers are divine and after all our chat of silk trousers...now I really want some.

Lovely shoes Catherine. Agree very Dries-esque. Etsy for the chain?

Sorry, meant to reply earlier today, Flo, but have done so now

Auld, please share the passion fruit punch recipe. I do really love that fruit. When M&S disappeared here last year the only thing I really mourned were those handy passion fruit pouches. I can barely find a passion fruit here otherwise, let alone a ripe or affordable one. I tend to have more luck this time of year though.

Sorry, Elle but I've been lusting over those trousers since last year. I had wanted them in a patterned version (pic 1) but they sold out instantly so to see the same pair in an equally great colour at a significant discount on Yoox, I couldn't not, now could I? I'm imagining them to be absolutely breathtaking in movement, I've had silk trousers with a side split similar to that and they're a godsend in hot weather. I love the look of them in black too with the sneakers in pic 2, I'll try my IM sneakers which are both white and beigey-cream but think the black probably pulls it off better.

Although I do fear I'm setting myself up for inevitable disappointment that they'll be amazing but far too long. Although internet stalking courtesy of Google has produced a picture of Alicia Vikander wearing them who is definitely tiny sized and only 5cm taller than me (according to Google) and they look cropped on her. But she's an A-list celebrity with stylists so possibly they've just been altered, I'm a bit scared to do the same. As much as I love my tailor they have pretty heavy duty machinery, I'm not sure how well I'd trust them with delicate silk.

For anyone interested, I did order this dress (pic 3) last year and it was absolutely lovely but too much of a project to get altered to fit and shortened but it had the most lovely boat neck. It was discounted by 25% yesterday though (and it's cheaper in Euros) so I'd wait out their next offer which will surely be within the next few days. The Outnet sometimes gets a few Toteme bits in too and they seem to have opened up their own EU online store now which is great as previously it always meant high shipping costs and limited stock from NAP or Scandi shops.

Oh, bo, those trousers are equally gorgeous in the patterned and black, as well! I think I'm sold on silk, as I wore my charity shop, black polka dot blouse (hate that word but can't think of a better one) in the heat the other day and it was so lovely and cool. I also saw a woman in a silk, navy jumpsuit which was fitted on top and had long, flared legs that looked very chic but perfect for hot weather.

Etsy might be good for a specific length chain, some sellers will adjust things to order.

Passionfruit punch recipe would be great!

Love silk, always have. I have very sensitive skin and silk really feels amazing on it. I also love how it moves and catches the light. I used to have a lot of raw silk tops and things, I loved the smell of those too but I haven't found any of it in years

I did spot some lovely silk grey trousers at Cos the other day, I didn't try them on as that just leads to disappointment about being sized out over there but it did look lovely. Think there was a matching silk top too. I've bought quite a few silk things from Cos over the years and it's all held up really well.

Also, I received some very exciting news at Cos as one of the SA there whose known me for years accosted me and excitedly informed me they're going to start stocking a size 32 from the autumn onwards, it'll be online only like with H&M but I'm so pleased I'll be able to shop there again where there's more than 3% available to me

Was just deciding on what to wear today, think I will go with my IRO silk trousers I bought in Antwerp earlier this year. May even try it with a silk kimono as it's sunny but not super warm.

Disclaimer: this is NOT cheap at all.
I made half quantities yesterday when I saw the price of the passionfruit...

For 1l of punch

c. 16 passionfruit
0.5l white rum
0.25l cane syrup
pinch powdered vanilla

Put the passionfruit flesh through a sieve and then a dishtowel/muslin. Or run it through the finest sieve on one of these (have forgotten name in English).
In a 1l bottle, put the rum, syrup, fruit juice and vanilla.
Chill for a few hours before drinking.
Should not be exposed to the light.

I don't know why it should be kept in the dark. I just blindly follow the recipe...it's lovely.

I need to play catchup with this thread but just to say THANK YOU parisiennes de mamansnet - collected the Sezane coral sandals and I LOVE them!!

Once I've road tested them to check they're actually comfortable, I may have to consider buying in other colours, because I love them so. And they crucially have proper ankle support which is critical if you have hypermobile ankles like me

Would never have known about them if it wasn't for this thread!

However opinions needed - these high waisted trousers from Sezane I'm less sure of. I feel they look a bit frumpy on me - I really want to wear more loose fitting bottoms instead of my perpetual skinnies (for example bo I absolutely adore the slouchy Soeur grey trousers you recommended to me, so I'm very very keen to get out of my fitted top / fitted bottoms rut), but I'm not sure these don't look a bit catalogue-wear and aren't somewhat ageing (I'm 36)

I'm minded to keep the sandals but return the trousers, as I can see me bottling wearing them, if I feel frumpy in them

Thoughts?

botemp I like the playsuit and am keeping it.. its quite generously sized..

Thanks for the Etsy recommendations - I didn't even think of that.

Thanks for the recipe auld. Sounds delicious.

Botemp I see 32 on the Cos website now. Greyed out but a positive step.

Peony I love the sandals, great colour. Have you tried the jeans with other shoes? The ankle strap and the hem are kind of fighting with each other IMO.

70s vibes here. An old a line denim skirt for out and about with the kids. Bobbies sandals are working hard. Then the Arket skirt with shirt. I dunno if the shoes work -bit much maybe? I’m happy with the skirt though.