Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet: Be More Aunt Larry

[botemp]

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

---

Favoured Parisian addresses:

Second Hand Shops

Outlets

Favoured London addresses:

Charity Shops, Dress Agencies, and Outlets

Favoured NYC addresses:

Consignment shops, Vintage, and Restaurants

---

Previous threads:

Un Deux Trois Quatre Cinq
Six Sept Huit Neuf

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

We’re ten threads old! To celebrate we’ve got thread merch.

Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet shop

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

There is something fanatical and odd about almost all collectors in fairness ;) but I am willing to believe the booze house ones are the worst. (But are they though? There is a Finnish programme called "Here is my museum" about people in Finland who turn their collections into
museums. Sadly I don't know if it's available with English subtitles anywhere but I can recommend it.)

I happen to be drawn to fabric penises alright? I can tie them in a bow so they look like a penis with testicles. They are odd. I think I need to explore my love of the tie in some other way. I'm getting stuck in a fabric penis rut.

Agree RR prices are stupid. But if they're handmaking them then I suppose they are charging well for their time. Even a second hand wool blanket can cost 300-500 kr here and if they need two to make a coat they could be looking at 1000 kr just in material costs.

All right, just no sad droopy testicles, ok?

Most museums did just start off as weird collections, curiosity cabinets I think the English term is. Some of our best small and interesting museums started off as those. My aunt's a big collector, as is her husband, different (rahter mundane) things. Yeah, it's odd. But many would probably say that about my closets, 'archives', and online chatter about clothes too.

Darling, it's fabric. It will be droopy testicles.

The Finnish programme starts off with a man who collected refrigerators (used to be his job and he saved one of each model or something). I mean for posterity these collections are quite marvellous sometimes.

Love those coats Bani! also talks to my bohemian side very much.

The boots quirky are probably 12 years old and I probably I have not worn them for the last four years or so, the only downside for me is that they have small kitten heels so they are not the most practical to walk on, I have even considered if a cobbler could change the whole heel ... not sure if that is even possible.

On the collecting things... I am very attracted to “curiosities” and the botanical world (yes you remember well Bo), if I could have a glass conservatory or glasshouse it would be full of plant specimens, garden ornaments, odd bits mixed with the plants ... gosh I can even picture it right now!
I don’t think I would call myself a collector, although I do obtain from time to time a number of odd bits to display. But I like the search as much as the final finding.

That programme sounds right up my street Bani. Off I go to google it!!

Hope you can find it with subtitles Red! It’s available on SVT Play but obv only in Finnish with Swedish subs. But in the meantime I can recommend this video of the current Finnish prime minister chairing Tampere’s city council meeting during a long debate on whether or not the town should invest in a tram system. It’s like satire but real. And she is wonderful as chair.

For the long time members here really, DS (of the extravagant clothing instincts) has been for an interview for film and TV production uni course today. Fingers crossed, please, fashionistas....

I've always wanted an orangerie, mostly just to say orangerie (en Français) all the time. Preferably a rather decrepit one that needs to be transformed. Alas, one has escaped me so far. I'm not very green fingered but I can keep orchids alive so I'd fill it with those.

🤞🏼

Will check that video!

That is exactly the stuff of my dreams bo!

If you're ever in Brussels you should really visit the Horta house, you'd love the architecture of Victor Horta, Red, it's like the entire house is a botanical inspired orangerie. Somewhat away from Brussels in Meise (it's something like 15km out) is the 'national garden' with gorgeous glass houses. I'm sure there's lots of interesting plants too but I can tell you diddly squat about those...

Good luck SockSon!

Creepy, I just opened up YouTube and my first recommended video was this one of the Chanel show in the Grand Palais (bit of a giant orangerie, if you will) that's been dressed like a garden. Clearly this is the spying Google algorithm universe telling me I deserve an orangerie and need it snappish.

Of course, an orangerie is entirely different from a conservatory?

Best of luck to Xingson! That would be amazing!

I meant to tell yiz as well, I made new thread loops for the belt on my black winter coat, so now the belt sits waist high. It’s wonderful and I am very proud of myself.

Fingers crossed for your son Xing. Who will get the coat??

Speaking of which, I know the thread's moved on and I haven't caught up but I love those Rave Review coats bani. They remind me a bit of Wall and Jones which I've probably linked before and is one of my favourite shops in London. She buys up vintage and modern fabrics and refashions them in eye popping ways. I see she's now succumbed to using the dreaded 'artisan' but nobody's perfect.

DS will win the coat... but it might continue to live here unless it's wanted for events, Flo. Student accommodation often has limited space to the best of my knowledge, so it may go to uni when he has to move off-campus.

I now covet a Rave Review coat too!

I would love an orangerie too (such a great word). I do have visions of Professor Sprout in Harry Potter too. I would need a talented gardener, as it's not really my strong point.

Best of luck to Xingson with the interview.

I was just thinking I used to wear dark florals quite a bit. Dd2's music teacher was in a dark floral dress this morning.

I did a charity shop visit this week. I bought a pair of coated j brand "leggings" (they look like skinnyish jeans) for £5. Useful to tuck into winter boots with thermals now and thinner than my faux leather leggings, which are very warm, so I can wear them in milder weather. A white jigsaw t-shirt and and a white asymmetric t-shirt with an olive breton stripe for warmer weather.

I can be your gardener quirky if in turn you share some of your good finds
I do gardening as a hobby but have studied it a bit as well and continue to support a local community garden the days I am not at work,

I took note of Horta house thanks Bo, looks like a treasure

red, I can take you to my favourite charity shops and you can find your own .

Haha Flo at "artisan" ! Looks very interesting but possibly a bit quirky (read: slightly batshit) for me. See, I'm turning into a jeans and a jumper person. I'm wearing my Uniqlo jeans every bloody day.

Oh definitely batshit, although some of it's perfectly wearable and, even if you don't buy anything, I find it kind of inspirational.

Speaking of jeans, I've paid off the MH Barbour so celebrated with these Community Clothing straighlegs Really good to have jeans that fit me again. The shape is just what I wanted: straight and narrow but not skinny. They don't quite give me thighs like the model's but they're pretty forgiving. I would describe the denim as medium weight - not old school heavy but sturdier than a lot of the stuff on the high street and, for a garment made in the UK, a very fair price. Interesting company too - I'll definitely buy from them again. But thanks for all the other suggestions, I'll be looking into them too when I have more funds.

Also made a trip to my favourite market and came away with a slate grey silk shirt for £15. Lovely colour - blue in some lights, grey in others and really suits my colouring. And I eyed up a 1960s coat reduced to £25 in a local vintage shop but walked away because I really don't need any more coats do I? Or do I? I'll probably go back this week and if it's still there ... well it's clearly meant to be. And that will probably conclude my spending for another month.

Flo, the month is almost over! 😂 I'm in a similar coat conundrum, saw a bright pink wrap one at Zara in the sales. I don't need it, it's rather loud and I'm about to head to Antwerp and Paris but it looks really great with my new boots. I kind of want to go back for it... If you buy yours, I'll buy mine and we can blame each other

Sounds like you got some good buys there quirky.

Bani, technically an orangerie isn't a conservatory, it's usually an outbuilding with a lot of glass but not a hot house (it's just to put plants in for the winter), although some do overlap into the conservatory/hot house aesthetic but they're supposed to be different things but the names do get used interchangeably here and the countries next door.

What's wrong with artisan? Granted, I associate it more with food than other things, isn't it just a gender neutral term for craftsman? Granted, I'm quite partial to the Italian words artesano and artigianale, nothing at the Italian deli with that printed on it is safe when I come by

Unfortunately bo my pay goes in towards the end of the month so, in terms of spare cash, it's only just beginning! But I'll take you up on your coat deal - will let you know.

I know there's nothing wrong with artisan really, it's just become so overused that I roll my eyes now whenever I see it, plus most of the time, 'hand made' would work just as well. It's my inner George Orwell (although I think Thomas Jefferson got there first?) about not using a long word when a short one will do.

Well, don’t get me started with coats ... I have convinced myself that I need a colourful coat ... mint green/orange/anything colourful that would normally be a spring colour but in a winter fabric. I have not come across one yet that convinces me. I would prefer second hand ... coming here and reading that Bo and Flo are also dithering about coats is making me step up on the search.

Here's a pic of the coat, I tried it on when it was new in the shops back in September (when it was unusually warm, hence the open toe shoes). Colour is more like in the background, the tinted mirror makes it a lot less loud than it is.