Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet: Orangutans in Paris make for poor gondoliers

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The sunshine might be fading from our passion fruit punch but we're looking forward to what autumn will bring.

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Actually, by that logic, you'd be better off flying to Amsterdam than Eindhoven, Elle. Train stops at the airport and takes you to Antwerp in an hour and a half, less than an hour if you take the Thalys. Less hassle, time, and changes than Eindhoven unless you rent a car. Train ticket is €20 each way, Thalys is more expensive but can be quite affordable if booked in advance enough.

Thanks I'll have a look at Amsterdam too. I'll try to figure out timings at the weekend.

Yes gold sandals are for the wedding. I have a pair of gold shoes with a stiletto heel, but I quite fancy the idea of being able to dance all night in a block heel. Of course now I can't find gold strappy block heels when I could sworn they were all over the place a couple of months ago. Utereque and Stories have them in every colour EXCEPT gold. Those mules are very studio54 and I love them - I have an almost identical pair in a deep brown leather which are less out there, but still very 70s. Unfortunately I think that they may be a little too much of a statement. If I buy something I want it to be something I'll wear again otherwise I'll just wear the stilettos that I have and bring flats.

I can't remember if you ended up getting the light green COS dress or something else but perhaps these grey Rupert Sanderson kitten heels would work with that colour, less festive but you'd get plenty of wear from them in your corporate wardrobe. They also exist as closed back flats.

This thread is one great big enable-fest. I now want Gah’s cape and a Brora paisley stole. I am contemplating a grey and white Brora houndstooth stole in the clearance but I actually think the colours of this plaid one (alas not in the sale) would suit me better. Not sure what coat it would go with though... My smart winter coats are a crimson Hugo Boss 3/4 length (but a different crimson), forest green 3/4 length Reiss and navy Reiss pea coat. Not that I’ll be squeezing myself into any of those this winter....
Love the Jacquemus trousers Bo - v chic, especially the belt.
I like those grey Cos trousers Jon - I think they’d mix well with your planned Autumn palette.
Thumbs up to the jumpsuit from me Elle
, love the neckline on you.
Oooooh a Sezane in London! Thank you plumpciousness I shall pay a pilgrimage to look at the shoes and bags. I had a peek at their lookbook earlier, lots of lovely rusts in their new collection.

Long time lurker, love reading all the advice and looking at the photos.

I'm so ready for autumn, as lovely as the warm weather has been I don't cope fabulously in the heat, and can normally be found hopping from one shadey spot to another.

I'm determined to get the autumn wardrobe looking cohesive this year, loving the rusts and thinking they will pair well with navy, but really need some style inspiration.

Are there any recommends on who to look at on Instagram for some style inspiration?

Also, I've been looking for the posts about the body calculator mentioned on one of the earlier threads, but cannot find it. Can anyone recommend one that goes beyond the usual pear/apple etc?

Love the Chloe slide show on Vogue, wistful sigh.

You are terrible enablers. I am now the joyous owner of a Brora plaid scarf, a pair of Bobbies and am on the list for a Sands and Hall cape.

I wear a lot of APC and Joseph and have a few bits of YSL (vintage and current), Marni, Mui Mui, Prada, a fair bit of Sonia Rykiel and I LOVE a wide trouser.

But I still feel a bit meh about all my clothes.

Am hanging around for inspiration.

The Rundholz skirt has arrived and all I can say is, thank you, Summer, you may go now. I cannot wait to wear it. The construction is really interesting - shaped a bit like a Chinese lantern but no boning or undernetting. I'm still figuring out what looks best with it - my first instinct was to keep everything else plain and understated but I think it may need something to balance it out - chunker shoes perhaps. I'll post pics later.

I love that Brora scarf and I don't even like scarves. Well I do but they do bad things to my jawline.

The autumn inspiration on this thread is fabulous, I'm really looking forward to cooler weather now!!

Is it today that the Uniqlo Ines de la Fressange collection is available? I might pop over to the Regent St shop today...

Placemarking...

Peony that plaid scarf is gorgeous! I love those colours.

I can't really wear pointy toes, but those Rupert Sanderson shoes are gorgeous, bo.

flo I'm excited by your skirt . It looked great in the photo, but the length was hard to judge.

It's starting to feel like autumn, but I think that just might be a return to normal British summer weather compared to the roasting heatwave we had earlier.

We went out to dinner last night (anniversary) and I wore a black, v neck Ghost top I haven't in a while. Interesting, how much better it looked with a better bra. Also, I've been avoiding 3/4 length sleeves, as I find they cut my forearm off at the most unflattering point and although I have not really lost weight, but toned up a bit over the summer, I was pleasantly surprised by how the 3/4 length sleeves looked now. Fit is everything.

Here’s my penguin!

Yes, IdlF x Uniqlo went online about an hour ago Xiao. I had been looking at the pea coat in the children's collection but it's mostly polyester, so that's out.

Peony, dare I say get both? Sounds like the houndstooth would go well with the HB coat and the plaid with the other two. Otherwise, without seeing the houndstooth, I'd say get the plaid since you seem much more enamoured with that and you're mostly buying sensibly on account of the mini bump for the next few months so live a little through scarves

Rosie, I'm not one for Instagram much but I did stumble across an account the other day looking for some 70s inspiration. Loved the navy, rust/brown, white combo attached. Were some other great pics on there too, mostly from old fashion magazines. The account is laurakitty. Probably not what you were asking for but felt it was worth a mention.

Hairy, considering your lineup of preferred brands, if you've got the funds, have you had a look at The Row? That would have a similar feel but a bit more oomph in the fabric and understated luxe department.

Exciting about the skirt Flo, for whatever reason I can sort of imagine them going well with laced boots that go up to knee.

Quirky, I've been contemplating the weather too, it feels cool but it isn't really, except at night. Weather predictions seem to suggest warmer weather again. I have to be in the south near the Belgian border next week and it'll be 27-30 . I also saw some news reports suggesting it will continue to be unseasonably warm well into November...

I'd say that's less fit and more the foundations though. When I was in weird weight loss mode I'd lose a lot in one go, so I lost a lot of muscle tone in the process. Being thinner but flabby was a lot harder to get fit right with.

The penguin is fab, Xing, as is the view!

Well it sounds like the plaid scarf is a winner. I think I’ll get it after payday 😀 And now I have Bo’s blessing, I may as well get the houndstooth one too...
Finally had my 12 week scan, all good and am happy to reveal bump to the world. Wearing the Cos navy silk dress today for the first time; it’s actually my first Cos purchase and I absolutely love it. The adjustable waist means that it will get lots of wear during this pregnancy but also work afterwards too. I’m very keen not to spend any more money on actual maternity clothes so it’s wonderful to be able to buy some interesting clothes that I can get long term wear out of.
This Jigsaw jacket fell into my basket last night. It’s actually sonething I spied first pregnancy and thought would work well as a pregnancy and after piece, but balked at the original price. Happily it’s still lurking around in the dregs of the sale, ready for me to pounce on this time.
Excited to see Flo’s skirt and interested to know what you pair it with.
Hairyhands which cape did you go for? And which colour Brora stole?
Quirky I can’t wear pointy shoes either, such a shame!
Love the penguin but love the view even more - what a beautiful spot!

The plaid scarf is a definite buy Peony, and the Cos dress looks chic on, and as you say, it will get good use through the PG and afterwards. Scarves, if you like wearing them, go on forever so are investments.

That navy, rust and winter white combination is lovely Bo; I can steal that look without expense.

Thanks for the penguin love: as a view from the kitchen sink, it's not too shabby. You see why online activity is essential as this woman cannot live on views alone. Haven't forgotten I need to exhume the tweed jacket and trousers for a try on.

Waiting on Flo's pictures of the Rundholz skirt with bated breath.

Lovely penguin xing

I had a look at that Ines collab, but didn’t see much.

Glad the skirt lives up to expectations Floisme

Love the dress Peony and the jacket will work well for a bump. You could tie the belt at the back as you get to the final stages. Glad that the scan went well.

Instagrammers that I like are @Camillecharriere @iconaccidental @jeannedamas @lauralbouy @anoukyve

Bit of a mememe post coming up. My sister initially was going for a pick your own dress as long as it’s green vibe, with the intention of doing that sort of pinterest mismatched bridesmaid look until I someone—pointed out that those dresses are often quite carefully curated across a particular part of the colour spectrum and that moss+sage+forest +emerald + lime might start to look a bit confused. So she settled on something around the emerald part of the spectrum and off we went. I couldn’t really find much that I liked, but I did already have a dress in that shade so after a fruitless search I settled on that. Now that I’ve looked out the photo for you guys I’m really no sure about it – arrrrgggg! Do you think it’ll be okay when it’s ironed and I close it properly so that the V isn’t wonky? I will also be more tanned and wearing smoothing underwear. Or should I look for something else? Would lifting the hem a little help? Crap – I thought I had this sorted.

On the shoes she’s specifically asked for gold shoes. She has offered to pay / a contribution which I won’t take, but I mention it as I know mumsnet can get het up about these things. I have the perfectly serviceable pair pictured, but wouldn’t mind the excuse to get something new provided they are comfy. Maybe the block-heeled one would actually look a bit frumpy with the dress. Hmmm.

ToElle, your dress has nice lines and I like the green. Not sure about the black edging plus the green plus gold shoes. It feels like the black calls for a heavier counterpoint elsewhere, but my eye is not seasoned enough to say what.

The Sezane collection to be released this Sunday has some golden shoes with block heels, if I remember correctly.

When is the wedding? I bought the attached dress on Etsy from a dressmaker in China, so it took a little while to be delivered, but I loved the cut, and I wonder if it might fit the bill for you. www.etsy.com/uk/transaction/1323982204

bo thank you for the link to the Chloe show... gorgeous stuff! Also in love with the navy/rust/white outfit. Sigh. Why do I never manage to pull something like that off?

I’ve checked my Fold trench and in today’s lovely sunshine the undertone skews warm, although not as much as in the official pictures. The lining of the sleeves, upon more careful examination, turned out to be a very dark navy, but the buttons are still black (but they only show when unbuttoned).

My enthusiasm for the IdlF collection has dwindled somewhat since I first clapped eyes on the preview, but I placed an order anyway. No idea of my sizing either so there will definitely be returns. There is a store in town (just not very close to me) where I could in principle drop them off. DH is the errand boy around here, he’ll love yet another trip added to the to do list...

peony very happy to hear the good news! The 12 week scan is quite the milestone. I hope you get lots of lovely reactions when you reveal the pregnancy.

I like the Cos dress and your line of thinking around maternity dressing.

To be honest Elle, I’m not 100% sure about the black. But, I may have the perfect dress if you would like to borrow it?
It’s this Somerset by Temperley one, and really lovely on. I think we are similar heights and the waist can be cinched in with the waist tie. I normally tie it at the back.

Congrats on the 12 week scan Peony. The COS dress looks amazing on you.

Elle, I agree with the others that the black feels off. Makes it more office Christmas party than bridesmaid in a wedding. I think you'd struggle to make it work with gold shoes unless they're also black which doesn't feel very wedding appropriate in my mind. And this is just me, but you mention your sister settling, then you settling on a dress you already had. So perhaps there's just been a lot of that in the wedding prep but it feels a bit like a missed opportunity considering it's meant to be a celebration.

I saw a lovely emerald dress from Atlein, it may have been a two piece but I'll have to remember where I saw it and it wasn't exactly cheap. Peony's dress looks lovely too.

Hi Bo, The Row is a brand I always look at on Net, like their stuff, but then think 'I'm not paying 1k for a cashmere tank!' and then go off to find a cheaper alternative.

BUT, I've never seen it in the flesh, so it's possible that if I did I'd make the pshycholgical leap and 1k for a tank-top might suddenly seem quite reasonable..

I think one of my big problems is I tend to do all my shopping on-line and have got stuck in a bit of a rut. I need to go to some actual shops and have a good old retail session!

Not really Parisienne but thought people might enjoy this article:

www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/aug/29/structure-your-wardrobe-dress-like-an-architect-this-autumn-pair-of-heels

I seem to have bought a few of the Ines things, we will see how they end up, I won't be surprised if I return them all.

Thanks for the feedback. Lovely dress peony and that's extremely generous of you to offer a loan, but she specifically wants knee-length so there's not much flexibility. I'm open to other suggestions and apologies for taking this a bit off topic.

Here we are sorry not really doing it justice as not my finest ever photos and also not close enough to see the construction properly - basically a series of panels that don’t lie flat so ironing should be fun! Still think it needs something else - I don’t have any knee length lace up boots bo but I have some ankle length that I’ll try - thanks for suggestion. .

Ha! those pics are even worse than I thought