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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Previous threads:

Un

Deux

Trois

Quatre

Cinq

Six

Sept

Huit

Oh, and obviously not double breasted.

I really like that too Name but then I hadn't scrolled down to the end so hadn't twigged it was a pattern I still understand French words individually but string them into a sentence and these days I'm lost.

Please get busy bo

Ooh Mackintosh

I notice they avoid using the 'W' word - a paper bag gives 'protection from wind and rain' so that's pretty meaningless. Still, hood, detachable wool lining and vair nice (well I think so). It also makes the Margaret Howell look almost affordable. And they've just done a collab with Jil Sander!

Actually it says a bit more here about the fabric. 'suitable across all seasons and features a water- and windproof finish.' Still sounds like it was written by a lawyer to me but cotton based rather than something techy.

To be fair, waxed cotton doesn't claim to be waterproof either but I used to have an M&S Barbour homage/knock off coat and wore it every winter for about 15 years without any problem.

I really like the look of the Agu site. It's nice to see woman's cycling clothes that aren't just in garish shades of pinks!

The trousers would be very practical for here as well.

I do like the look of the DP Studio coats, so much so that I have ordered a pattern but one with an integral scarf.

dpstudio-fashion.com/fr/patrons-de-couture/332-le-204-manteau-echarpe.html

Buying a new sewing machine Bo would still be cheaper than the coat on Net a Porter you linked too, although it is fabulous and worth saving for. I'm not convinced that the canvas won't crease though in time.

Bo I like that brown coat you just posted a pic of, where is that from?

On Swedish radio today there was a piece about clothes shops (what’s the fancy word? fashion retail?) being in trouble. H&M were doing ok but the industry in general is losing money. They interviewed a fashion knowitperson who is also an economist, Jenny Lantz, and she said something I think was interesting (and I think Bo and someone else might have said it in thy see threads before) - that for a while now fashion has moved at a tempo so high it’s become uninteresting as an expression of culture. (Free translation.)

Knowitperson economist all sounds very impressive but is she a Nostradamus like me too? Anyhow, yes, valid point that I've probably attempted to make it in a very roundabout way previously. I mostly blame today's youth for not going around and looking like absolute idiots and reveling in youth culture, they make your average goldfish look more interesting. It's why the elderly are so cool now, including my 86 yo neighbour who just had a haircut of which I'm ridiculously envious. It's like this slick short and long cut with asymmetric bangs coming over really long from the back, sort of tough girl in fantasy novels but she's lovely and has always been quite feminine and still is, and her various shades of grey hair that are naturally a bit blocky make it look even cooler.

Name, it would be cheaper to buy a sewing machine but I know myself and I dislike my limitations in getting really good tailoring done by my own hands and that's not worth the time and effort if it ends up in aggravation. And you'd all never see me on here again until I give up! I have considered just trying to rip off the above reference pic (it's Maison Margiela, Bani). I already have a trench coat like the underneath so I could use that to make the pattern from and make another slightly larger layer to go on top with a hood in a complimentary fabric that's more water resistant and would provide an extra layer of warmth. Bit of a project though, may consult a local tailor that trained and worked on Saville Row how much it would cost to get done there.

Anyhow I have somewhat managed to quell the madness as I found a cape made out of waxed canvas in Rotterdam yesterday. It lacks a hood though, so the situation hasn't improved much. But it was €15 in a vintage shop and I really like it so can't complain too much. I'm trying to figure out if I can make a hood by shortening it slightly and using the excess fabric but I think I'd need too much. The fabric is military fabric from the world's largest military supplier hailing from Belgium but I can't find anyone that sells it.

I probably will just wear a thick woolly hat with it, keeps me dry enough in anything that's not a heavy shower and I tend to avoid staying out in that type of weather. I did find a new hat coincidentally but not sure of I'll wear it with the cape as I fear it'll be a it garden gnome. Really like the colour with my complexion, anything that makes me not look dead in winter is a bonus. Not secondhand but I've decided to put hats in with shoes and undies as things I don't particularly want to buy secondhand.

Didn't buy anything else but did see plenty. Hadn't really shopped Rotterdam properly in a very long time so nice to see all the smaller boutiques and independent designers that have now popped up. The secondhand shops were a lot better than the ones around here, priced more accordingly too but it is a bit of a hipster crowd and they tend to sell a lot of what we'd call bourgeois clothing from 20 years ago, George Rech, Escada, Gabor, Rene Lezard, etc. to be worn ironically but I just look very bourgeois and 20 years ago in it. But definitely would visit a few again and one shop had a lot of Dries Van Noten, Jil Sander, etc. They had a really beautiful Jil Sander skirt suit but it was too big and too much of a project to take on to alter but the cut was magnificent.

Did see quite a few nice things at a sustainable designer, Joline Jolink, but was a bit when I suddenly started hearing lots of shutter sounds from the side from the shop assistant as she really liked how I had put an outfit together, apparently very chic (no mirror in the dressing room setup). Felt bloody invasive though, so probably didn't have the best attitude and was rather picky with the clothes about how I preferred it to be cut like this here or had extra stiffening there, etc. Turns out it wasn't the shop assistant but the designer herself , would have been a bit more tactful about it had I been aware. I was just technical about it and how it fit me so not absolutely scathing but creatives are sensitive souls. She didn't seem phased by it at all and was apologetic about the sneaky photos but it was all a bit weird tbh.

Cape photos are a bit freaky btw, looks like I'm friends with Thing from the Addams's Family, It's a bit difficult to take a picture without disrupting the shape too much.

Young people don't seem interested in fashion at all at the moment, beyond pinching their parents' clothes and then trying to tell them they shouldn't wear them any more. But I have to say that, if I was young now, I'm not sure if I'd get into it either. I don't know if it's that the most creative people aren't going into fashion or if fashion is squeezing the creativity out of them. It depresses me that today's designers have the whole world and the whole of history and modern technology at their fingertips - not to mention their own imaginations - but can't seem to come up with anything other than a rehash of the last few decades. But then I guess when you've got to produce so many collections and there's so much big money riding on them, you're going to be less inclined to take risks.

Anyway nice cape and I don't think I've never come across waxed canvas. We went on a day trip to Rotterdam several years ago when we were staying in Amsterdam and heard it (Rotterdam) was going to be the next Berlin. But we couldn't find any vintage / hipster scene and our son was still quite young and getting restless so we ended up going up a tower instead, as you do. So maybe we were just a few years too early, although it was probably more because we didn't know anyone local who could show us round. It was an interesting train journey thought, through all this reclaimed land, and I remember wondering how it is that humans can be so clever and yet so stupid.

Yes, bo, the elbow gloves came from the Dent's factory shop, and are for wearing with Auntie's black and tan coat (huge blanket check) which is tied inside, knee-length and has a huge shawl collar that (sort of) makes a half-hood. I saw a pair of leather culottes that would look perfect under it in the paper this morning.

Interesting that all the bourgeois ranges are now being sought after by hipster types. I'm not sure that my Georges Rech suit still fits me, but the Rene Lezard stuff I still love and wear regularly, though hopefully in a slightly boho way now.

There's a UK manufacturer of fabric, Millegrain or similar IIRC, that is typically used by high-end companies making top quality foul weather gear. Some US websites I've seen mention it as a badge of distinction in their marketing. I think they are Yorkshire or Lancashire based. Perhaps Lancs, as Yorks was the drier side of the Pennines, so more suited to woollen manufacture. The colour range could be improved though, it's a bit British uniform colours. I agree that those are the very best everyday and endurance colours, but a short run of a hot high fashion colour each season would sell like hot cakes.

Jenny Lantz has had a blog and has written books actually, so she can be checked out in English and then we can determine how clairvoyant she has been ;)

I like the cape Bo, it's the sort of thing I can't get away with wearing without looking like a golden age detective story police man on the beat a rainy night (minus helmet). But on you it had very nice lines, maybe the assymetry helped? Fjällräven's clothes are often some sort of canvas that they want you to wax (just waxed my rucksack! helps it hold its shape).

The designer taking photos sounds incredibly annoying, I don't blame you for being shirty. Looking at the website now, it's all "find my true self" but then all jurken and broeken where is my English waahhhh. Seems to have some nice basics though. If I'm ever in Rotterdam...

Flo I'm so with you on "ending going up a tower". Ain't that the truth.

I tried on a Didrikson Agnes coat yesterday in Åhléns just to try out the fit. I wore a cardigan, and it fit well over it in a size 42, but I did feel very middle age mammy in her sensible coat, chosen to be formfitting and thus more urban than outdoorsy. Otoh I do need a sensible coat! The colour was nice, a deep olive green.

bani, you are a bit conflicted! Sometimes you have to buy something that does most of what you want, even when it's not perfect; style may lie in what you do to make the imperfect look wonderful, for you.

I know I know! But a new Didrikson coat is about 200 euro, and I don't have that - rather if I pay that I have to LOVE not just feel sensible.

My issue with practical parkas is they make you feel a bit dull and shapeless. And terribly sensible too. Though I think the worst of it is that when it's dreary winter and you look like death warmed over without meaning to and you feel slightly pudgy from all the winter foods a parka can make you feel like a round little barrel with absolutely no redeeming features. A fur collar or a bright colour can help distract a bit but it really is just all very blah. They're not in the business of making you feel good about yourself, they're just warm. Either admit defeat or become like me and seek out something that probably doesn't exist until you make it or spend a bomb.

Well I've looked up Jenny Lantz's book and the description had the following quote:

The fashion media may have declared that 'trends are dead' in the light of digital dissemination, but Lantz argues that trends still not only serve as a significant organizing principle for the fashion industry as a whole but also as a source for legitimacy.

In conclusion, I'm probably not psychic, but I'm very much convinced JL lives in my brain part time. Might buy the book but it's pricey and looks to be very short.

Name, how much much material do you think I'd need for my secondary waterproof hooded layer. The internet tells me between 2.8-3 meters but that sounds very tight to me especially without even contemplating the hood. I think I might try a trial run with a bit of Calico or similar just to get an idea of whether it's worth the effort.

Yeah, that's the thing, and it's hard when you never feel stylish in general - six months of the year you're locked in behind a jacket and it's the pits if it doesn't make you feel good. But a lot is just mental. After all I've basically given up on Bags and am now just carrying the rucksack from Fjällräven, and I don't mind this. The bags were never right.

I am attracted to the Didrikson Stella padded coat because the hood lies in a cool way (pic attached). But that's not rain gear, that's snow and cold gear.

Have put in a reservation for Jenny Lantz' book "The death of fashion" at the library.

I’m not caught up- I am travelling, with far more headspace than I’d like going to job apps that have come up (bloody difficult to do a job application without only iPad and phone although familiarity would make it easier) and keep getting Italian pop ups. I did want to say the Pringle H&M collab came in my inbox and it’s awful! Reminds me of the big tracksuits phase with huge brand names across them when I was a teenager I think - champion, Canterbury. Ugh. And there was one nice-ish jumper , grey with some argyle pattern on half but it hardly had any wool 😮. You’ve probably covered this upthread but what were they thinking!
Way up the thread but red floral sezane dress is lovely red - I’d snap it up in a heartbeat.
I’m living out of a (packed) suitcase so not much to report! Attempting a hair ribbon to feel slightly more dressed. Today is the khaki culottes but being cotton they need ironing before wearing from a suitcase. We are in Umbria so not complaining though 😆

Bookmarking dp studio name
bo has probably been reading regency romances novels and the images snuck in
images.app.goo.gl/R62C5oHZPgYACaQRA

bo and bani you have nailed why I dislike my Seasalt coat so much. If I only wore it in really bad weather I wouldn't mind and I'd appreciate it for keeping me warm and dry on those occasions. But because walking - and especially to work - is my main exercise, it becomes my default coat November-March on any day when rain is forecast, which is a hell of a lot of days. I can't tell you how pissed off I am when I wear it and it doesn't rain after all, or if the rain has stopped by the time I'm walking home.

And now I'm in a bad mood just thinking about it. I haven't even got it out of the cupboard yet.

Hope you're enjoying your travels time and good luck with the applications.

Ha Time I've been looking at a mustard and floral hairband in a shop a few times, but haven't gone for it yet. MIght be too cutesy I'm thinking - then I waver and think it will Pull Me Together. Then I waver again and think who am I, Rosy the Riveter? And so on. You've inspired me to go have another look at it. And lol at regency romances!

Flo breathe. Breathe. I relate, but we need to work on our blood pressure here.

Forgot to attach pic of Stella coat with nice hood. Doing so now.

Just been to check in on 'my' Margaret Howell Barbour and it's selling out So from now on I'll refer to it as 'the coat with no name'.

Hood is good. But not much use if it won't hack it in the rain - at least not in the UK.

Nope I agree.

There's a navy Burberry for about 90 euro on Swedish Ebay atm. I'm drawn to it because I wouldn't mind a trench coat rain coat. But I'm reminding myself that a Burberry is no rain coat.

Yeah Burberrys are great for swanning around and posing in but little functional use. I guess they're aimed at women who travel by taxi.

Love that coat, bani and love the cape bo. I also want the Regency many caped great coat, but does it have a hood for the school run .

I feel like that about my Ilse Jacobsen, but I have had lots of compliments in rl, so it's probably just that I associate it with shit weather!

One of the reasons I like my parka is that it's shorter and belted, so quite fitted so I don't feel like a huge quilt. It also has a huge white furry hood. I try and make sure other things I'm wearing are stylish with rain gear. But yes, in my head they are practical coats rather than what I would choose to wear.

I think a shorter, fitted/belted parka does look stylish - but it won't keep my arse and my legs warm and dry.

It's coming - this morning was chilly although no frost, dry but rain expected later. I'm wearing my Protected Species mac with an extra jumper underneath and it's fine but it won't cut it once the temperature drops a bit more.

I've been wondering about whether I can make some of my other coats more adaptable. Something like this or this with a wool or tweed coat. Wouldn't cut it in seriously bad weather but maybe for chilly, showery days, which is what a lot of winter consists of in the UK.

Anyway I need to get some work done, although I suppose if I got sacked I wouldn't need a walking-to-work coat any more.

And that, flo, is the problem, my parka does not keep my legs warm and dry. It's also so waterproof that the rain runs right off onto my legs. Though, heattech leggings under trousers can solve the cold part.