Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet: Blue Stockings are Back in Fashion

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Lovers of Parisian style and fashion with a conscious mindset to our wardrobes. Occasionally we pretend this is a proper Salon of the non-beauty kind.

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Recommended Second Hand Shops in Paris

Outlets in Central Paris

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Sadly my trial FT sub deal ends today and I'm not renewing, but they had interesting articles on Tommy Ton and the return of the Olsens to The Row as answers to the loss of Phoebe Philo's aesthetic style. If anyone can get past the paywall or uses the three free articles monthly option. Clearly, I am not a customer, but it is fascinating to see how the minimal style evolves in new hands.

And for the UK Parisiennes, Sewing Bee starts a new season tonight!

I always enjoy the sewing bee, more for the program and the displays of techniques than anything else. I also quite liked the pottery version but I think that one got axed? I'll see if i can watch it elsewhere, BBC doesn't seem to monitor YouTube all that well.

Oh I want to be a Proenza Schouler model now. How do I apply?

Yeh it does look like a robe Red but I love the colours. If you can afford it, I'd be tempted to keep it just for swanning around.

I can never think about blusher without recalling some of my teenage crimes against cosmetics. But that's not to say it's not a good idea bo and I've got a Burts Bees lip shimmer that looks better on my cheeks than on my lips, plus it has a bit of iridescence that might help in the hunt for my missing cheekbones. I'll give it a try.

Recorded Sewing Bee!

Love the sewing bee but a hassle to get hold of here. Did a bit of YouTube watching but quality grainy so I missed details. 😩

Love the Philip Lim photos! Def a style goal for me but I look more like my heating is broken if I wear layers. Or more lagenlook/Gudrun Sjödén.

Wearing my Casimose trousers today. They are a nice wool but not that special. A little tight 🙄 but wearable. Black hides the bulges better. Feel a bit dated but can’t put my finger on it. Maybe they feel too bootcut = Trinny and Susannah = the past. Took a crap photo while my office was being cleaned.

I’d like to be wearing a long cardigan rather than the one I have. Sadly I lost out on one I was bidding on this weekend 😩. A long one would be more interesting line-wise. Fluffy top,long trousers and long line of cardigan/coat/kimono.

Thanks for the Phillip Lim images bo, , just checked out the rest of the collection. I love the skirts especially.

The Row layering looks fabulous too but what happens when you take your coat off? I attempted similar long length layering with various weights of fabric few weeks ago and while it look fabulous with the coat on, when I took it off I was left with a large expanse of shirt. It still needed something heavy on top to keep it together. Perhaps a sculptured jacket.

Peregrane good to see you back and admiring the energy for anything in these early baby days. Thank you for the Everlane lowdown, I think I'm going to order the cheeky jeans and a few tops for while I'm in the US next month. I'm a bit put off by return shipping not being free and because I have no experience of the brand so will have to order several sizes of everything. I really like the everyday shoe too, but on the model video they look like they crease a lot.

I wear my Sezane low cut back jumper with just a vest underneath, it's fine as it's not tight fitting. I don't find I need to wash it more often than my other jumpers that I wear layers underneath.

bani I really like the colour of your top. I like the idea of layering with a longer cardigan.

Thank you very much for the kind comments and the feedback! I didn’t expect all the love for outfit 1, so it’s really useful to have other people’s take. I agree, looking at the photo, that a front tuck (and a simple leather belt?) should be tried with the last outfit. It would help to lose the pudge first, I had major muffin top going on with these jeans!

Elle I will try the Barry the way you wear it and see if it works on me.

Xing the FT is the best UK newspaper by far and totally worth a subscription! I often skip the markets section but their news coverage and op-eds are consistently of a higher quality than any of the competitors, including I am afraid the BBC, and I love the Life and Arts section. End of unpaid advertisement! :)

Thank you for the photos bo. My favourite is the transparent layers one, knowing full well I am very far from pulling off something like that. With the coming of spring around the corner I’m in the mood for some cheer, so the sober colours in Proenza S are not lifting my boat at the moment.

bani your trousers don’t look too tight from here! I’m not sure I like the navy cardi with them (they are black, right?), though it goes well with the top. Do you maybe have a grey or white cardi to try with it, plus some accessory incorporating black? I actually find the combination of black bottom+ non-neutral colour on top really difficult to pull of, even though it’s such a staple normally.

JonSnow if you have resolved to fork out for return shipping, you might as well try several sizes 👍
I found the reviews and the model size information very helpful in gauging sizes. For what it’s worth, I am a UK 10 and I got an S in the pima cotton base layer in grey and an M in white, and while both fit comfortably, I like the look of the M better. In looser/boxy cuts I’d rather go for the S (eg the mock neck I posted).

I should have said I am a UK 10 veering into 12 on the bottom especially at the moment... I still have another stone of uninvited baby weight hanging around.

And thank you for cheering me on, Red :)

Well they are the A/W shows Peregrane, though I find a lot don't really adhere to the traditional seasons any more. Spring itself feels like it's just round the corner though, have to remember to keep sunglasses on me at all times lately as it's been positively sunny and temps seem to be going into double digits more often.

Bani, with the trousers it may be length, not that it is of any use to you in slushy and snowy winters but it definitely feels that hems are dropping really low for a while so it's now very cropped or very long.

I took receipt of an order today from Mytheresa, some Marni culottes (slightly longer than the ones I tried on, and black rather than navy which meant they're pretty similar to a pair from Isabel Marant I already own so back they've gone) and I tossed in a pair of high waisted cord trousers from Rokh and the length on them was noticeably long, a tall person in heels may have needed to take them in slightly, they didn't suit me (material felt too bulky) but I would have needed to chop off twice the length I normally do.

Okay, today's shows, Gabriela Hearst who was very textural and did a lot of AC matte and shine, some scarf action and a tied up jumper. The styling department has obviously been studying the Céline shows, down to the skirt over trousers look in the bright blues.

Helmut Lang also interesting, a lot of two pieces that read as jumpsuits and some double coat action featured.

Both shows seemed to feed my current pink craving, I've been avoiding the colour for a while because it all became to sickly sweet or dusty and dreary, now I'm feeling it again. Not sure how sensical that is, but we'll see, I'm not actually anticipating buying much for S/S. Famous last words...

Forgot to mention Jon, don't know where you're headed but Everlane does have a few shops and concession stands, iirc they didn't charge a return fee if you returned it there. May have completely imagined that though

Bani the top is lovely but yes a different cardi would probably be better.
I can lend you my flowery kimono/robe from uterque
As tempting to keep it to lounge around as Flo suggests, I will return it as I do own a vintage kimono for those purposes and in more subtle lovely vintage colours.

So my outfit today is a boxy top from Whistles (two seasons old) and a high waisted wide legged lk bennet trousers I had for 5 years.
I feel I am not great at taking selfies (How do you pose Bo?)
And I am not sure comes across very well in the pic but I wanted to show that I think the boxy top and high waist bottom goes well with my rectangle shape as the top endings are “out” and then you see a slimmer “waist” coming from underneath...
I think I need to explore more this silhouette.

How do you pose Bo?

Like I need access to a toilet, pronto I honestly don't know, I do tend to step back a bit usually and keep my back straight but beyond that I just look at the screen and subsequently always have a WTF face in my pictures. Phone can be a bit tilted more than you'd expect to adjust perspective. I have no tried and true method tbh

I get what you're trying to convey with the silhouette though, the loose feel of the top and the solid darker colour beneath suggests there's a shape underneath which isn't as straight as it is. It's a tricky line to get right but when you do, it works well. Eg. if you reversed it with solid dark top and light bottoms it wouldn't work for you but an IT that isn't too exaggerated would probably make it work.

Sorry, had actually come back to confirm to Jon that returns are free in their retail locations but also saw they have free returns in Happy Returns Bar which have even more locations, seems to be some sort of collective return station for multiple retailers.

www.everlane.com/help

locations.happyreturns.com/?retailer=everlane

I am seriously of the view that selfies are not the natural terrain of anyone old. Mine look dreadful but I am sure they are made much worse by my not having grown up with a camera in my face. I was the photographer not the subject.

Thanks for this Bo. Oh my they have a $6 restocking fee for returns, never came across this. For postal returns you need to preauthorise and print all off. The Happy Returns bar will work though. What hassle. I may reconsider the whole thing.

Sadly no pop up shops when I’m there. I’m heading to Seattle.

Thank you for kind comments on my top - I love the colour and get loads of compliments (although as I’ve said before I think it’s because people are starved for colour with all this black and beige). Absolutely correct about the navy cardigan being bad match but this is my morning: set alarm for 6.30, snooze it for twenty get out of bed and make coffee which is then drunk while not being able to face breakfast even though hungry, panic into shower at 7.15, leave house at 7.30. So all my toilette is in 15 mins. I’m awful. You lot speak of blush - ha! So baby cardigan was near. I’ll root out a grey one I have but it’s not really warm enough if it’s cold.

Nice thinking on trouser length, that’s prob it and why they feel bootcut. But they’ll do! Felt like spring today - I’ve hunted wool trousers all winter and now it feels like it’s over 🙄

And you’ve seen my selfies ... my kids say you have to take hundreds to get good at it but I’d rather die then look at 299 bad pics of myself before finding lucky no 300.

It is a nice top, bani. I think one of the advantages with a streamlined wardrobe is that most of the effort goes into choosing and buying, so that I need less effort to grab something that works well in the mornings.

Lots of lovely photos, bo, thank you.

Red, I know that trick , as another not very curvy person, I do this too. Yesterday, I was wearing a faux leather skirt, that is slightly a-line with a uniqlo merino jumper that is slightly boxy. My waist looks quite curvy from the side, usually, but less so from the front. I've found I can tuck tops in too to achieve this, if the top is drapey enough, so it also provides that contrast with what's on the bottom to give a "waist".

Well I guess that makes me officially old Xing my mother was very anti-posing (there was some feminist talk that I tuned out) and pictures were only ever taken when we were unaware or for school. As a result I find it highly disturbing when children can go from neutral to a super excited pose and posture before tucking into a treat for the camera. I have dubbed them the performance generation and they scare the shit out of me.

Jon, as I understand it the restocking fee is only applicable if you return by post. Their return procedure definitely has put me off ordering with them, I think international orders don't pay a restocking fee (as you pay the return shipping) but they don't refund the prepaid taxes and import fees. I don't know if you're then able to reclaim those yourself but it sounded like far too much hassle.

Have you checked the Nordstrom site, I think they also carry Everlane online and they have better delivery and return procedures, I think.

I'm really feeling the combination pink and red, in those big blocks like in the Gabriella Heart pic above. I just don't think it'd suit me very well - or maybe just that I'd feel too much like an ice cream. I've been feeling it since that Jenna Kirkman comedy show on Netflix, it's the same colour combo. Also the navy trousers I bought from Hennes and returned also exist in pink, shown with a red shirt on the homepage - I did waver there but thought ice cream and went for navy (and they won't fit anyway, so).

But it's very appealing!

I love pink.
I used to dislike it but a couple of years ago I discovered it and it seems to suit me (shade dependant)
I even have a baby pink channel type coat that goes to your tights (from Zara) . I love it.
I think for many years I was put off a bit by the colour as I work in a very male dominated Industry and I did not want to be the stereotypical “girl”. Then I grew up, advanced in my field and I felt a bit more confident to wear what I like more.
Again, I am not extremely girly in my dress sense in general.

Typo - coat length to “thighs”

I haven't found a pink that I enjoy wearing but I have nothing against the colour per se. The paler or duskier pinks are pretty and have been fashionable/available, but I don't get along with pastels. The darker shades can look a little too mumsy on me (because I am haha). Possibly I over-think.

Pink is a question with me. I think it makes most people look healthier, but struggle with it stylistically and a bit politically because it's such a girlie trope. I love a man in a pale pink shirt and can't bring myself to wear it... unless it's a big colour clash. I like pink and orange; pink and red, but not with green or blue. At the moment; things change.