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

[botemp]

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

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You're missing the mask, Flo! I like the shape on you, it looks great evening without seeing all the special details.

I'm on mobile so can't link at the moment, Elle, well I can but I can't be arsed but it's two options with Atlein, it's a dress and then slightly different as seperates. I prefer the seperates (pic 1 but if the order is messed up again when posting it's the one with the arms and bag up) but it's more money Not sure if the satin finish is appropriate or not as it does feel a bit night time. Also only available in FR36 and FR38 which I think is your size but not sure.

Also saw a much more affordable jumpsuit pop up in my inbox from Kitri. I suspect that wouldn't meet the brief either but they do have a couple of green dresses, but again with satin finishes.

I saw that article Catharine and wondered if this thread will be quoted in an article four years from now... People have a bit of an odd imagination of what architects wear although I do really want those heels from M&S of all places

Argh lost my post. Hairy, I do think that can be the case with The Row. They don't cater their design to be at its most optimum on Instagram or in online shops. To go weak in the knees and experience the luxe factor you have to see it in real life. I don't think it's all worth it but some of it I'd be hard pushed to find elsewhere. They just understands understated luxury, the right fabrics and colours that are distinctive but still easy to wear. The clothes have structure without being tailored which is a surprisingly difficult thing to get consistently right but they somehow manage it without feeling staid.

I've attached pics of The Row online and the watered down version from Topshop, similar styles, dressing a similar woman at different price points. Between the two, the Topshop is better designed and styled for flat screens, The Row is almost muted and could almost be mistaken for lounge wear but in RL those qualitiess would be completely reversed because clothes just move differently and that's when quality of cut and fabric choices show.

The skirt looks good, but somehow I thought it would be a little shorter, Flo. Could not comment on your pictures as we are of an age, and it's clearly a generational issue! If I had seen it first it were mine, I would be thrilled to bits and wearing it tomorrow. Does it have pockets?

I have green wedding outfit confusion, sorry Elle, but I do like that bright forest colour; it's really wearable.

Apologies for multi-posts.

Yeh life was simpler when a Kodak Instamatic was considered state of the art. Yes Xing it has pockets! I couldn’t be sure about the length from the website image but I’d have sent it back if it had been above the knee. I think I’m happy with the length but I won’t be certain till I’ve tried it with clompier, stompier boots.

Pockets! Yes!

And I’ve just realised it wouldn’t be easy to shorten if I did decide it needed it.... So the clompy boots had better do the trick.

Yes really good deep pockets

Ooh, nice skirt, flo, I think clompier boots might work too. at Kodak instamatic.

That first green pic is lovely (separates?) but does look quite eveningy in satin, I agree. It might depend on the wedding, though. I went to a Jewish wedding and the dress code was very much evening/cocktail dress - so much easier to dress for!

botemp If you have second would you mind telling me the site where you saw the Atlien skirt and top please? I looked on Yoox, but the colour looks really different there, much darker and more-blue toned so it’s hard to get a sense of whether it’s the right colour or not. I know I should recognise that panelled background, but I can’t place it!

A kind lurker pointed me in the direction of Reiss for that shade of green so I’m going to have a look at the attached today. It may be a bit workish in person, but I’ll see. It’s frustrating as I thought I had this all sorted!

On the heritage blazer, it looks like &Stories have a selection in wool mixes which might make them easier to wear. I quite like this: www.stories.com/en_eur/clothing/blazers/product.hourglass-herringbone-blazer-grey.0623758001.html

Ooooh that Row outfit is gorgeous. It’s exactly the kind of thing that I imagine wearing when you you’re told to “dress like you’re travelling in first class” to get an upgrade…. Not that I believe anyone gets an upgrade like that anyway, but it oozes luxury. It’s really lovely. The Topshop version is a decent imitation, but does not look luxe in the same way I think it might be the extra length in The Row garments too? That said I have never bought anything from the Row it’s just too expensive. I must look out for it at sale time though, ideally with a deep discount. Are the Olsen twins still very involved?

Flosime I love that skirt on you though slightly disappointed not to see the mask

Yes, I'm still very much bemused by the Olsen twins being the brain children behind The Row. They're around my age so it's not like they're actual children but the brand has a gravitas and maturity I wouldn't have expected from them. Never judge a book by its cover and all that.

The pictures are from Net A Porter, Elle, hence the familiar background but it's on sale at Yoox (which are all the same group now, so I'm assuming it's just last year's stock). I'm on mobile again but can link if needed in a bit. I think it's just the lighting with the shine factor that makes the colours show up differently. Yoox didn't offer any modelling shots, so those were easier to post and I find NAP a touch more reliable for accurate colours and fit.

The Row is only to look at for me too, I feel you need to be able to buy your next house in cash without much thought to shop there outside of the sale. It's a touch more affordable in the US but not by much...

And, yes, the upgrade to first class wardrobe is nonsense. It's all down to loyalty schemes, I used to have a card connected to my father and he travelled a lot for work so I got upgraded loads and never dressed for it.

I've been meaning to have a look at Stories again, there have been some interesting bits coming in my inbox but I'm still on the fast fashion ban so will wait until that's up at the end of next month to have a good peruse.

Elle, I've saved them into the Shoptagr list for you, easier to do on mobile than copy pasting them individually:

shopt.me/jeBr0

Last post, I promise, on NAP the official designer colour is listed as Emerald.

Not S&B, more a Xing update. DS has been doing a cooking course as a way to earn money to fund his gap year of self discovery. We took afternoon tea yesterday in a vairy upmarket hotel (I wanted to go to the garden centre next door), and dropped off a CV (the first speculative toe dipping into the water, AKA the search for employment). So this evening, he's had a call from the head chef inviting him for a trial service shift as a commis chef. It's not an anointment to be CEO of Goldman Sachs, true, but it's an ambitious kitchen with a national reputation so he's more than thrilled. Just because I need to boast a little/ or just tell someone in an environment where no-one has skin in the same game.

Back to frocks. I've returned everything except an orange Uniqlo cotton sweater recently. ANd the tailor has said he doesn't think he can alter the COS jeans bought in February and keep them wearable. My chum's DD who is doing a tailoring course in Savile Row also turned down the commission for exactly the same reasons.

So if any of you are interested in indigo wide leg jeans in a size 27 with quite a high waist rise, please holler. They are just slightly too big on me. Never worn. Your size Flo? We like similar things but I think we are also the same size (I am a generous 10/small 12). I would rather give them to someone who would wear them, but they will swell the charity shop coffers otherwise.

The green on the Atlein dress is stunning!

Thanks for the Instagram links, I'm going to have a trawl through at the weekend.

I'm very taken with the idea of winter White, especially with the rust and navy colours. The subtle touch of rust in the belt that @botemp posted was fab, just the perfect balance.

Its very wet and windy where I am, so will save the white for top half only, I'm going to have a browse for the perfect slouchy jumper. Possibly Jigsaw and Reiss.

I'd love a pair of wide leg wool trousers, but being a size 12 pear would need some without pockets. I also struggle with shoes/boots to go with. Any suggestions welcome.

Forgot to say, re the Row, I love the aesthetic but unfortunately don't have the budget at the moment ( plus I'm very lazy at dry cleaning things!). Having the wealth that the Olsen's do must be incredibly freeing from a design perspective.

The definitely have a maturity beyond their years, but I honestly wouldn't want to have had their upbringing within Hollywood. I've a lot of respect for them for not just surviving it, but really excelling too

That's great news for your ds, Xing, I meant to say, I love the view behind your penguin, too .

FallingForRosie winter white just for the top half seems like a good way of taking a trend (for want of a better word) and adapting it to your lifestyle. I sometimes wear white on top in summer, but a trick I was shown, is layering white under something else, which is much less risky, but still gives you the brightness. I do this more in colder months, though.

Xing I'm sorry to hear about those jeans - what was it they were trying to fix, I can't remember now? High waisted wide legs sound right up my street if they fit. I'm typically 8-10 on the high street but mostly a 10 in trousers and jeans and if that 27 is a waist size then they might well work for me. However I've already benefited once through these threads so if anyone else would like them I'm happy to step back. Plus I'm away at the moment so wouldn't be able to take delivery for at least a fortnight - so get in other posters if you want them!

And congratulations to young Xing - that must be so good for the confidence. And how great to have a chef in the family!

Flo, the fix would have been to lower the waist slightly, to extend the space between hip/waist/bosom. I find high waists quite unflattering, unless they are a bit more exaggerated. I also asked for the ankles to be nipped in a tad. That would be easy to do.

As I say, they are almost certainly going begging for a loving home, so if you're a 27" waist, about 5.5 or 5.6, 30-32 inside leg, feel free to PM me and I can post them out for a try on. Not worn, BNWT in Ebay tags. From Cos A/W 17. They were a sale bargain, so don't feel bothered by money.

Xing My waist is pretty high so that might work well for me. I’m 5’3 but can shorten or, if they’re very wide, get them done professionally. I’ll pm you when I’m back home in about a fortnight but if anyone else wants them in the meantime that’s fine! Thanks

Congrats to XingSon, Xing. I'll be curious to hear if he had to produce a perfect omelette baveuse for the trial run as I've heard that's a thing.

Sezane dropped their pre-autumn collection this morning, despite being on there before the email dropped, everything I was interested in was sold out

I was only half kidding about the winter white Rosie, but I think I'm serious about it now having tried on some white utilitarian 70s-esque trousers yesterday. Will upload pics in a bit. Speaking of wide trousers, I did see Mirae Paris (the sort of French Everlane I mentioned previously with the pretty silk camisoles) had some lovely options in the trouser department. I'm on the waitlist for the square neck top.

I think the rust belt on that picture is just a silk scarf, Rosie, never really contemplated it as the whole fancy silk Hermes scarf through a pair of jeans was never my thing but I do like it as it is on that picture. Another detail I quite enjoyed was the bracelet worn over fabric, as larger bracelets and cuffs can just look too chunky on me, I had already been contemplating wider cuffs with mohair jumpers as attached, but I’ll have a play with some of my grandmothers’ chunky bracelets which probably are from the seventies but need a good clean.

Oh and curse those Olsen twins for popping up with this in my inbox… I don't even want to know the price. Other news from my inbox, Loewe seem to be copying the much over drooled coat from Raey and I don't even like it as much as the Raey one.

Had a quick nose in the shops yesterday just before closing time, it's the last weekend of the sales so wanted to get the boys tie that I’ll use as a belt before it ended.

I would say they’re all somewhat so wrong that it’s right, or maybe just wrong pieces. I thought the striped Acne Studios jumper was going to be far too cheesy 70s but I was actually quite taken with it, it really suits my colouring. Liked how it popped on top of the bright white trousers from Ba&sh which were also surprisingly flattering and not see through which I had assumed would be the case.

Also surprised at this jumper from Maje as undefined shoulders aren’t usually all that flattering on me.

The Aran type jumper I only tried on for the look of it, also from Maje but hugely overpriced considering its mostly acrylic, did help with the weight of it though.

Tried on a mid tier priced heritage fabric blazer from Ba&sh, 100% wool and not a dating cut but I’m still not feeling it. Doesn’t look as bad as I remember in the pictures, but I really didn’t like it in the flesh.

In contrast this cheapie from Zara in the ‘wrong’ materials I did really like. Maybe it's the tuxedo cut but I do think the cut of my Lemaire trousers I was wearing underneath saved it from looking cheap, but it’s an odd thing that the ‘right’ versions leave me so lacklustre. Probably if I looked at higher budget designer there’d be something out there but not that interested in spending that much. I'll have to have a nose through high end vintage.

And in the ‘really wrong, maybe right’ category, this faux fur jacket at Zara. Even my hair suddenly went a bit 70s… Can’t make up my mind if I’d actually wear it out if I bought it or if it’s be one of those surprising pieces that would get worn all the time, or maybe it just is really wrong

I love the sleeves on the Maje Aran jumper!

Although acrylic is horrible to wear, i still get itchy thinking about my old school jumpers in royal blue acrylic, i'm very tempted to order the jumper to try on.

I also took a look at Sezane, I get so turned off by their heavy handed pushy sell tactics, especially the "currently in someone's basket" although they do have some lovely items so may overlook it to put an order in.

Thank you for the link to Mirae Paris @botemp, I am very taken with a couple of their pieces so will be placing an order, in particular I have high hopes for the Lenita trousers in navy.

Love the photo of the wide double bangles on the jumper. Works so well with the volume of the top.