Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: Ce n'est pas bon de faire du lèche-vitrines avec de l'argent en poche

[botemp]

Lovers of Parisian style and fashion with a conscious mindset and lots of chatter in between. Feel free to join in

---

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

Dix

Merch in celebration of our tenth (previous) thread:

Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet shop

I love flower flavours like rose, violet, orange flower water etc. though, I know they can be an acquired taste. All I can think of is dandelion and burdoch drink, which I don't like.

Marmelade is made with Seville oranges, end of!! You are all misguided and wrong. It's to be spread on hot buttery toast and, in an emergency, it can form the basis of a bitter orange sauce to eat with duck.

Bit cooler and raining here today, and it's time to top up the fridge, so a bit more effort with the outfit, albeit an all navy ensemble based on wide leg jeans (COS), navy/silver trainers, and a Uniqlo T shirt. And some make up! Enjoying the change from gardening gear and exercise kit. But the weeds will come roaring back.

That's Not My Age has a post on sustainable clothing ranges, which brought up some new ranges. And not stratospherically priced. I am rather liking the Mother of Pearl collection for John Lewis.

Marmalade can be made with any citrus fruit as far as I'm aware. Can't stand the Seville orange version myself, it's just the most recognised one. The Chinese called it flower petal marmalade or jelly. Neither description is particularly accurate, it's a gel technically, I guess.

I spotted some dried marigolds in the organic supermarket today. I assume it's for tea.

I love orange blossom water too, quirky, especially on strawberries with mint leaves, delicious with some pistachios on Greek yoghurt too. I also use it in the steamer and iron. I like rose petals when it's fragrant but really dislike it as a syrup when it's sickly sweet and the rose component only seems to emphasise that. It's really hit and miss with florals, lavender can be really special but it can also just taste like soap 🤢

I had a sort out of my wardrobe, it has only reinforced the fact that I do not need any more clothes and I have a good selection of stuff [take good with a pinch of salt]. I intend to keep wearing what I currently have, I am not even interested in acquiring second hand stuff.
I think I can put myself a target of 3 months (till end OJ July) and then review.

Ah the Marmalade Wars, I've encountered them before. I can't remember which is the one true marmalade but I do agree with Xing about Seville orange being the only one I really like - the more bitter the better.

I know what you mean Red. I'm still wearing my nice clothes but not switching outfits nearly as often (although I promise I'm not still in the Whistles barrel legs). Ask me again in 6 months though. But in the meantime I'm saving loads of money which is great although it does have me wondering where the hell it all goes normally.

Red you can have my dandelions, the garden is overrun with them! Although I think they are quite pretty, and have no aspirations to a Chelsea show garden anytime soon.

I was browsing the new Vogue patterns and thought of Bo and her not really a dress:

mccall.com/v1708

Flo, have a jar of my homemade marmelade! According to DH I didn't make enough last year, so doubled the quantity in January. I'm sure we won't get through it all!

I would also like to offer Red a free run at my dandelions. Although my friend reckons they are an important food source for her bees, their self-propagation powers are off the scale.

With the change in weather, I've retreated into winter and got my favourite boots out again, but fingers crossed it's very temporary.

I don't really like the seville orange marmalade (that seems very un-British!) but I much prefer lime or lemon. Though, talking floral flavours, a local company make a gorgeous strawberry and rose jam that manages to be delicate and not too sweet.

Xing dp has been laughing at me swearing at the multiplying dandelions last week. I've been digging them up and by the morning new ones have appeared. They're the plant equivalent of a hydra!

name that's a gorgeous not a dress, both the style and fabric.

Bani, you may like some of the linen trousers on here. I am liking the jumpsuit. It's Polish and has been getting love on another MN thread about decently cut and made clothes at High Street price-points.

I like the style of Son de Flor but have been wary of spending money there - during the knitting racism fiasco they also came under fire for not having any posts on their Instagram featuring wearers who were anything other than pale and Caucasian. They appear to have improved a very little bit on that front.

I keep getting served ads for Marie Zélie - does anyone know of them? They look like the kind of things I could wear to work to look put together and trustworthy while defining strategies for looking after billions of pounds of investments (downside of work becoming less formal for most people is that it becomes increasingly hard to dress for my world on a small budget, as Hobbs et al become the only good options).
en.mariezelie.com/

Viennese never heard of mariezelie, but from a quick browse I see in paper if you describe it I should like it, but when I see it I don’t.
There is something about the prints and cut that makes me suspicious about the fit, I can see they would not fit me well and I could look either swamped, frumpy or both.
I think the model is trying to compensate by wearing towering heels.
I clicked on the first dress sizing guide and it said : * Size guide
The dress is made of fabric, so it needs some extra room. Leaving a few extra centimetres will work for the aesthetic benefit...*

What on hear this dress is made of fabric mean?? what else would it be made of?
I think is telling me, it has no giveaway, and the cut on the arms might be restrictive so you need a size up or you won’t be able to move?
Are you looking for work dresses or just browsing? I don’t see myself going to the office before the summer but maybe I am mistaken?

As usual, the grammar of my first sentence is lacking. Apologies.

my son today went: so all of it was a big waste of time?

Red, I crossposted with you before fecking off for a time - I am howling at your son. Poor creature! So you got no taste of it at all, it's all burnt? I don't like the sound of pollen flavours though...

QuirkyI really like that paisley scarf, and am envious of your ability to just .... wear a scarf. I haven't mastered it.

I associate flower flavour anything with the Middle East or Poland. Always a let-down when the delicious paczek is filled with fecking rose jam. Oh hi, eat some perfume why don't you.

Seville marmalade is THE BEST. I adore bitter marmalade. I am very disappointed in you haters. Xing Flo and I are in the CLUB here (which possibly says more about our age and/or cultural heritage than anything else ).

Bo, did you go for a Tango/Trump look on the makeup too ;) to honour Kingsday I mean.

Weather went very cold again here. Today is a big party day in Sweden, Walpurgis night. The police are out in force (allegedly, haven't been out to see them personally) to keep people from congregating. It's a huge deal in all university towns. In Lund (south of Sweden) they're spreading manure in the parks to discourage gatherings haha. I laugh, but I'm a bit worried about the stupidity of people. That said, I'm off to the shops soon because I need supplies for making donuts tomorrow (for a birthday). So I'm part of the stupid ...Anyway, us sensible people think that even though we normally love a warm Walpurgis, this is the year when rain, snow and hail could happily fall, no complaints!

I did read the natural fabrics thread and Xing I had already clicked on the seaside tones link. I love this and this . But I'm not paying that money now for something that I can't be sure of fitting at all. I got a bit lost there though for a while (in meetings while only listening) browsing the Polish/Baltic linen Etsy shops... it does all rather fall into the droopy linen category though.

Marie Zelie looks tricky, a lot of it very polite and, well, rather British and also rather Polish women going to church. In a small town in the country. But this dress I'd wear quite happily. And there was a good size chart right there - I had to check the Polish version of the site to see why bust measurement wasn't there (they claim not necessary because kimono cut, well I beg to differ but I get it). I see measurements anyway.

I'm annoyed with myself for missing the sandals offer from Kavat and don't know what I'll do now. But I appreciate the input.

Sorry, Marie Zelie is coming across very dowdy to me. And, yes, as Bani pointed out, weirdly English. It has a Laura Ashley vibe from the 2000s feel. Granted, I don't have any issue with people who handle my money looking a bit undefined, I get rather mistrustful when they're all flashy.

I pronounce you The Bitter Club I think we all have a pronounced preference, don't we? I've been a lover of sour for forever. I ate whole lemons and insisted on sauerkraut with everything as a child

Interesting dress/jumpsuit Name, it's sort of a mashup of the 'barely a dress' dress and the Gimaguas dress. I'm not sure I like the busy bow on the waist but you could probably just wrap it around to the back. I'm bookmarking it anyhow whilst I continue to wait for my supplies to finally get here. Everyone has decided to start sewing all at once here Can you name any other decent pattern makers? I'm looking for a camisole and the McCall ones are either really modest (the very idea of it!) or are lingerie with lots of lace bits. There's lots of free ones online but they look rather atrocious tbh and Google just delivers too many results to search through easily. I suppose it shouldn't be too hard to copy an existing one or make a pattern up myself but I don't want to ruin my precious expensive silk either.

I used to read soooo many sewing blogs and was well au courant with all the pattern makers out there - now I’m not. And I never started sewing. I fell for the Instagram sewists though and it was GOMI’s craft forum that woke me up a little as to how many of them are rather shit. There’s an Italian pattern company that’s excellent apparently but they assume you know what you’re doing, and a Russian one you feed your measurements to and get custom stuff.

I had a browse of Gomi after you mentioned it Bani, they are brutal but pretty accurate.

A lot of the the indie darlings are very dungaree focused and frumpy in my opinion. Hitting the same demographic as that Lucy and Yak clothing brand.

I think the Tessuti Camilla camisole would work for you Bo. They also have a lovely bias cut slip skirt.

www.tessuti-shop.com/collections/pattern-books/products/camilla-camisole-print-at-home-or-copy-shop-pdf

www.tessuti-shop.com/collections/pattern-books/products/evie-bias-skirt-pattern

The patterns are hand drafted and uploaded, but don't let this put you off, they lady who creates them used to run a dress making business.

StyleArc are also well drafted, but scant on instructions.

My top recommend however is vintage patterns, I love the old Vogue Paris Originals or American designer patterns.

Excuse the ropey photo, but this is the inspo photos, the pattern used and the test version. Worked a treat.

Saying that, there are some great indie patterns. I've made a lot of Ogden camis, and rate the French pattern Indies.

It seems that no insta/social niche is safe from corruption. I wish it would go away already, I used to feel bad for all those followers being taken in but at this point I assume they consent to being fleeced. It seems that most aren't even that fond of these influencers but the trade out of not doing the leg work yourself merits a follow and the occasional affiliate click or collab purchase. Laziness excuses far too much, unfortunately.

Thank you Name, I've ended up down a rabbit hole last night of vintage Vogue Paris patterns on Etsy 😍 I don't have the skills for these (probably) but I have something to aim for as I'd love one of these coats. Especially the giant cocoon one (pic 1), I think it would be great in a more modern stiff but crisp fabric, something with a neoprene backing, maybe. But, oof, the prices of these patterns 😬 they are a bit more value for money than the new ones, as they're entire outfits, so coat+top+skirt or dress or trousers. Do people just copy them and sell them on?

Also, the MN fat shaming legion are right, I am a humongous size 12 in the 60/70s and a 14 in the 50s 😱

The Tessuti patterns look good too. I'd prefer a v neck camisole with a bit more structure, something like this but not as a dress. How is the sizing, as it starts at a 10 and it looks like a roomy 10? The bias skirt looks great too, unfortunately I always look crap in them as they overemphasize my curves and just make me look wide and short, I think it's down to the shine, I've always wondered if I could wear it in a sand washed silk though. I also really like these trousers although I'm probably getting ahead of myself again

The Ogden cami looks more the shape I'm going for but I'm finding it looking a bit basic, maybe that's down to material and spaghetti strap width?

Very happy and proud to be in the bitter club!

Re sewing, I've done my first job in 30-odd years - took in some trouser legs that were neither wide nor narrow. They look ok(ish) - I probably still won't wear them but have to start somewhere. That coat in the Vogue pattern is a distant fantasy for me but a gorgeous one.

If we're talking vintage sizing, I may have told this story before - certainly have on other threads - but I still have a Laura Ashley dress I bought in 1973, size 10. I'm still a 10 or even an 8 (if only in places like M&S) but cannot get the zip past my waist. I'd probably be a 14 or a 16 now in old money.

I must say I'm struggling to imagine these women of the smallest sizes, 22 inch waists and 31 inch hips. Busts in general seem very small in proportion to waist and hip ratios by modern standards. They can't have been very tall although I suppose malnourishment during wars explains a lot WRT to (lack of) development of the body.

I'm pretty sure we're bigger now - I was ridiculously thin as a child and teenager but perfectly healthy and it wasn't unusual. But I also think those tiny waists were probably measured in underwear. I remember an advert for Playtex that started with a smiling woman whispering, 'My girdle is killing me.'

It was something that troubled me in the Dior exhibition video - that the New Look shape was something women could realistically aspire to. But at the same time, I thought it looked stunning!

Yes, we're definitely bigger and taller now, my grandmother was just under 5" my mother I think somewhere between 5"1 and 5"2 and I'm 5"4 and I fit some older things of my mother from when she was young and she wasn't a waif. Diet is very different so that will have its effects.

My grandmother's jewellery is big on me though but I remember her having the tiniest hands, granted she was bigger before I was born so that jewellery may just be from that time.

True about the girdles, I could probably size down at least a size in one of those. Hips are never going to get smaller though but things are generally not cut tightly in that area so it probably would work and in most online size guides I shouldn't be able to fit into some tops with my rib cage/bust measurements but they fit fine, that may very well not be a recent thing.

Yes the New Look gets as much lauding as it does criticism. It is stunning though, but I think it's one of those aesthetics that appeals to women and not much to men so the criticism doesn't really stick in that sense. Maybe as an image of the morality police of what a decent woman should look like and aspire to be through some very rose tinted nostalgia glasses, but those selective readings of history are far from accurate.

Lekala is the name of a the Russian pattern company. Cannot remember the Italian one. Something like Marni but not.

We’ve had a birthday here and I made Polish doughnuts (sadly too stodgy) and boterkoek so mr Bani and I have spent a large part of the evening shouting BOHTERKUHK at each other to the resignation of our children. Turned out pretty well even though I forgot it in the oven. I am pro boterkoek. 👍🏻

Bo you could trace it and then sell it on I guess. Or you could store it away lovingly, getting it out to pet every now and then. I let you guess which camp I'm in.

I think this pattern would be a great dupe of that dress you linked:

papercutpatterns.com/products/mito-cami-dress

The sizing changes are noticeable even from the 80s. No way can I get into my Mum's clothiers from the 80s or even the early 90s, and she has some beautiful pleated skirts. Unfortunately I inherited my father's side of the families body shape, which includes a very pear shaped arse.

Thanks for that link Bani, I'm interested to take a look. Is it Marfly patterns you are thinking of? I've never seen one in real life, but their lack of instructions are almost legendary.

I think I'll take my more generous sizing over having to wear a girdle, wearing spans is bad enough.

Oh, and most importantly; Seville marmalade is the food of god's.

Oh, and you could absolutely make the Tessuti trousers, but good luck finding elastic.

It's impossible to get hold of the narrower gauge due to all the mask making.

Sewing scrubs could be ideal practice for novice sewists. Just learning again to use my machine well would be progress.