Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: Too much good taste can be very boring. Independent style, on the other hand, can be very inspiring.

[botemp]

Lovers of Parisian style and fashion with a conscious mindset and lots of chatter in between.

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Favoured Parisian addresses:

Second Hand Shops

Outlets

Favoured London addresses:

Charity Shops, Dress Agencies, and Outlets

Favoured NYC addresses:

Consignment shops, Vintage, and Restaurants

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Yeah, stay away from the relationship boards before bed, MN should really put a disclaimer up. Although some of my weird dreams could be explained from nosing around the Brexit boards before bed.

I've had movie like dreams as well, but these dreams have been so odd that whilst in them I'm very conscious of it and have that this order is meant for another table feeling about it but the waiter is ignoring me and I'm sitting here desperately trying not to breathe on it so the food remains untouched

Yes, variations of the same colour can be very far apart from each other yet grouped as one but even something as standard as navy seems very much up for interpretation these days. I suppose it has to do with synthetic dye becoming much more advanced and sophisticated, I think there's always a tipping point where too much choice just becomes chaos instead of the proposed freedom it was meant to be.

Not that we're getting much choice (hmpf) just shades of blush pink [/bitter]

Very good question bo and I have no idea how I knew it was Polish as no-one told me, I just kind of knew. Some of it was being fed directly into my brain, like with Neo in the first Matrix film but I also remember having to rote learn some irregular verbs (do they even have irregular verbs in Polish?) It was a very busy dream but for that nanosecond in between half and full consciousness I swear I could speak it fluently. But yes maybe I accidentally wandered into someone else's brain - wonder whose though?

The pleats conundrum is bugging me now. I have some Armani vintage pleated chinos that are very Annie Hall and I absolutely love them but they do pouch up when I sit down. I don't care because I'm a label victim and it's an Armani belly so it's cool but I'm now off to check whether the pleats are straight or diagonal.

All this dream talk is making me think dreams and sleep in general (or lack of).

Mmm. Pleated trousers. I favour them greatly. Then again if they give me a pouch in the belly I do not mind providing that: they are wide and roomy, the waist sits at the real waist or not too low (e.g. really bugs me if near my hips), or if they are a bit lower than the real waist they are oversized so a belt can keep them in check and have enough room in crotch area.
I am not sure if my pleated style chinos are with straight or slightly slanted pleats ... but I will look.
Do you wear them with a waistcoat flo? btw- I could see you in my next dream appearing like that!

And thank you all for the shoe input.
xing i checked M&S and there is nothing similar online (at least I could not see).
So I have decided that, I have a few weeks to hunt for shoes and really my real gap is on something interesting enough that can be worn in A/warm W/ cold S.
So if I do not find anything that goes with the dress I will default to one of my existing pair of sandals e.g. I have a block heeled black with a single thin-ish strap that would be ok.
So I am in no hurry looking at different shoes .

Btw Bani I do not order asos any longer as I have never found anything that fits me nicely from there . Must be my lack of choosing ability though!

More shoes. Maybe I take back the warm winter bit, just transition seasons.

The albino whale image is now seared into my brain. Thanks for that.

Of the shoes I prefer the black/ white ones that you tried on to the latest ones you posted. I actually quite like the idea of one white and one black! That’s maybe because it’s a look I’m trying to make a thing as I have a habit of slipping off my shoes under my desk or when I have it in standing mode and slipping back into odd shoes.

Old Sézane t shirt and shorts got a run out today.

Label victim! 😂

If I really suck my belly in I look a little like Katherine Hepburn there in my mustard cotton/linen trousers. If you squint.

Trouble is I so quickly forget the belly 😉

I’m not sure I understand the straight/diagonal pleats. 🤔 Would it be possible for a sketch to be made? If

red I have never been happy with anything from ASOS so I should learn my lesson. I love those yellow Zara mules - that’s what I ideally would have liked when I was looking last week.

elle love the t-shirt!

Two of my favourite photos there Red! The last time I did this look I wore a waistcoat and sometimes a tie too But that was back when I had the body of a flagpole - this time around I'm heavier and squidgier and I've found a silk shirt is more forgiving.

I'm very taken with those powder blue & Other Stories shoes although they seem to have razor blades where the heels should be.

I think trousers are hard, generally, bani. They need to fit in lots of different directions, I have a couple of more Katherine Hepburn style ones for autumn/winter, but tend to wear them a bit slouchy. As someone who is short waisted and has a tendency to a rounded belly, I find it's more flattering in that style to fall a bit below my waist and the slouch makes them look looser and hides any roundness.

Lots of lovely shoes, red, I find in my sahm life I no longer have shoes, I seem to have sandals, trainers or boots, so need to start looking at shoes, I think. I am still quite taken with doc marten shoes, the plain lace ups or brogues seem to be smart but versatile enough to not always wear for formal occasions.

Lovely t-shirt and shorts, Elle.

Loving this thread! Merci, OP!

Well thanks to Flo I dreamt I was a toy being taken out of a box (one of those see through windows one) in abirgjt sky blue with a yellow banner on it with a muddle of Georgian and Ukrainian lettering, can't recall much more than that

The Stories mules look a mint green on my phone. I was actually quite surprised initially to see Whistles be so fashion forward with selling two tone shoes. It was a brief thing under PP Céline but it never really caught on beyond a few brave Instagrammers and I kind of wish it would. I'm well aware in RL people will think most daft but shoes need a bit of a shake up. The trainers thing is just so tired and were advertising that from the moment they appeared. Heels have been on their way out but flats are a touch boring, whilst I love a pointy toe we've seen it all before. The sculptural heels are fun but they feel a bit like a placemarker for what's to come.

I remember that old sezane shirt on you Elle, still looks great, shorts too. Although I'm being distracted by the sinister looking set of led lights behind you. Are they just two really oddly placed pitifully small led downlighters or is there more to it?

Why sketch when you have the internet Bani, so it's basically the difference between how you remove/fold away the fabric behind the seams, if you do the straight thing and fold the fabric behind it's similar to curtains, and subsequently it hangs very straight and isn't all that equipped to deal with volume as it just pokes out disproportionately (see hand pic). Where with accordion type pleats because it all remains one piece of fabric (you need more of it) and it fans out to the sides (or inwards but you rarely see that) at an increasing diagonal that follows the contours of the body. Weirdly the latter is much easier to find in men's clothes but it's more flattering on women than on men similarly an inverted T will have better luck with straight pleats that sits low or high waisted.

Some extra close up shots

De rien, nearly, welcome!

Interesting about the pleats botemp couldn’t really see the difference until the close up. The two teeny lights create some wanky effect in the bath that they’re shining into. I’m not sure that it would appeal to any adult, but the kids love it.

Love the pictures red. Very envious that you can pull off a squinty Katherine Hepburn bani

Ah thank you Bo for your stolen sketches, then I understand! ;) I misunderstood you and envisaged the actual pleating somehow being done diagonally and couldn't get my head around it. I actually know the names of all the pleats and so on, (I self-identify as a seamstress after all) but I hadn't connected that stitched down pleats as a rule don't work for me while knife pleats/accordion pleats (must admit I'd need to sew those myself a few years to really work the difference into my system) can be okay. I'm going to be more vigilant about this when shopping. Thank you!

elle Very envious that you can pull off a squinty Katherine Hepburn

Oh my dear child, I'm pulling nothing off - but one can dream ;)

Wow thanks bo. I don't do much sewing (which I keep meaning to rectify) and I'd never seen an explanation of pleats before - I was just conscious that some worked for me and some didn't without understanding why. I haven't totally digested it yet - at the moment it's bit like those optical tricks where one minute I see it and then it's gone again. But, once I've got my head round it, that'll be really helpful.

Are we not all squinty Katherine Hepburns in our delusional minds? Anyone interested in a 'squint and you'll see Katherine Hepburn' tote?

Well I'm glad the led light show provides entertainment to the DC, Elle, life would be so simple if all we had to do was please children.

Yeah, it can be difficult to imagine Flo as you need to switch from 2D to 3D which comes easy to me considering my profession but I know it's not the case for most. A bit of sewing experience helps as you've seen it happen, there's probably useful YouTube videos for it.

I do have things with actual diagonally sewn pleats Bani, a pair of wool Proenza Schouler trousers which are stored away at the moment, I haven't quite figured it out but it sort of folds over each other, crossing over is the best I can describe it, and is somehow very flattering, looks like straight pleated trousers in shape on me if I didn't have thighs and a lower pooch. I think it's just a way of getting more material in without it being confined to the folds of straight hanging pleats, if that makes sense. My newly acquired Dior skirt also has a variation of it but there it's purposefully done to poof out the fabric which probably wouldn't look that good in trousers.

Argh now MN has rotated my picture I actually have more pics to post, I got sucked into COS with promise of a MH Barbour dupe and ended up discovering some of the Lemaire twisted seam trousers but I need to do the whole remove face thing first.

Looking forward to pics Bo! Ill post one of myself to show how far from Katherine Hepburn I am. Rumpled (cheap) viscose trousers in a terracotta/rust colour, a black vest top and a massive jersey open cardigan from Monki. Hair is a mess. I find scratching my face out quite easy using the pencil thingie but it makes the whole thing look if possible even more rumpled haha.

Anyway trousers are accordion pleated but since cheap the seams are not great and pulling a little.

I don’t feel half as fat as I look? Trousers are doing that thing where they roll down under my belly I see 🙄

Forgot to say I loved the “wanky lights” 😂

bani cardi is great but those trousers are fab imo! Where are they from?

Here is positively sunny again!! Making the most wearing and ancient primark vest and boden skirt from 4/5 years ago in broderie anglaise. And unintentionally doing my mn name justice.

bani you look fantastic. The merest smear of Vaseline needed on the screen to convince me I’m looking at Katherine. The colour of the trousers is great and I think they really flatter your figure. The lines on your face though..

Lovely outfit red

Beach cover up in the longer length (you need to get yourself some affiliate links bo) and an old IM étoile dress - not sure about the shape. Trousers were lovely quality linen that I tried on in town after all our pleated trousers talk. Sadly not particularly well sewn around the fly. I swear that they were not too tight, but they look it due to poor positioning of fly cover (placket?) and button and also too short.

The resort here is mostly European and a mix of Northern Europeans and Brits. Definitely notice that the British/ Irish and Germans favour more patterns in general whereas the French opt for more single colors / muted stripes and virtually all cotton / linen.

Stop talking yourself down so much, bani, and go with your initial instinct. You don't feel as fat as you think you look because you bloody don't look anything like you've been describing yourself here or what you think you're seeing! Stick with the I don't feel fat. Your eyes are definitely deceiving you. Trousers are a fantastic colour and suit you well and I didn't take any notice of rolling under, I just assumed it was the sheen of the material and wouldn't have paid it any mind had you not drawn attention to it.

I'm side eyeing you for liking "wanky lights" though. As a very visual person who sees penis everywhere that conjures up some very disturbing imagery

I wore this the other day, when it was around 20° and sunny, it's my Dries Van Noten dress with a tied up (tying up has definitely taken over tucking in in my life) IM shirt. Think I posted the dress before when I bought it in the sample sales but never any pics of me in it. I tried on a gazillion things at TKmaxx none of which took my fancy but I did try on some boots. I found some Iro ones in the sales at 70% off and they did tick a lot of boxes but they're a little on the too high side to be comfortable and they're made of that stretchy leather for a closer fit, but I have room to spare but they're not drooping down, so am undecided on them. 70% off sounds good but they were very overpriced to begin with and their height means they're not going to get loads of wear. What I do really like, and it's a rarity, is where they come up on my leg, a little higher than mid (on your average leg). I've complained plenty on here that boots are too high in the calve, knocking the back of my knees, etc. And these sit slightly lower and it's a massive difference to how other boots look on. I've added in another pair at the traditional length that half swallows up my knees for comparison, and gives me a much heavier looking leg. Granted heel height makes a bit or difference too but to my eye the where the boot ends on the leg makes more of an impact for me, especially with how it shapes the rest of my leg. It's not a fashionable boot length though so I'm not sure if there will be other opportunities and if I pass them up I'll spend another winter fruitlessly seeking out boots.

Lovely outfits one and all. That knotted shirt trick is so flattering.

Ok if we're sharing pics, here are the vintage Annie Hall-esque Armani chinos.I think I paid £20 for them 5, maybe 6 years ago and I thought I was being suckered because they looked totally outlandish at the time but I wanted them as a piece of fashion history. All I've done is shorten them and cuff them at the hem. They pouff up when I sit down and,as you can see, they crease a lot but then so did Diane Keaton's so I'm in good company.

Check out the matchy matchy plimsols

I've been eyeing up that Cos raincoat on their website bo but had feared it wouldn't be weatherproof so thanks for confirming. They've also got this one which is stated as waterproof but I'm not sure I like the sound of the 'rubbery feel' plus I'm guessing it doesn't have a decent lining so won't be warm. That's the problem with replacing the Seasalt coat - I don't like it but it's damn efficient.