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

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

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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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Cinq

Six

Sept

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Dix

Merch in celebration of our tenth (previous) thread:

Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet shop

Hellup, I'm in Antwerp and there's now also a Poiret sample sale. It's still ridiculously expensive but I'm all over it. I want to like this but can't make up my mind. On a practical sense I will never iron this myself so it'll always be at the cleaners or going there when I want to wear it which will effectively mean I'll never wear it.

Also, my nemesis cap sleeves (sort of) which make me top heavy, it's busy enough to distract, but I suspect I'm talking myself into it because I'm dazzled by all the lovely pieces. Also, I'm doing the beauty pageant thing of arm out to the side which usually means I'm trying to make something work that isn't working... Help me snap out of my delusions that this is a thing I need...

Would have gone for this wool blazer but it's too long in the body and too broad in the shoulders, doesn't look so bad in the picture but ill fitting in RL unfortunately (and I'm nowhere talented enough to alter it).

Also, no fabrics anywhere

You kept that quiet Bo! I didn’t realise you were going to Antwerp.
Very quickly though... stay away from that top, it does nothing good to your lovely self imo.

I'm not convinced on the white top wither, though I'd like to see it square on , the jacket is absolutely lovely though. Could it really not be altered?

I think I did mention contemplating Red, but I tend not to advertise exactly when I'm somewhere because who knows who else may be reading along.

Don't worry, I left the white top, knowing better and bought other lovely things and even some lovely silk fabric. I have pictures of almost everything as the changing rooms were individual due to Covid19 but I need to scribble my head out of the pics.

The jacket was lovely but the construction of it was very confusing so not a simple alteration and tbh at €800 (the Poiret stuff remained scarily expensive) it had to be perfect from the get go. Hopefully they'll stick around in the Antwerp sample sales and I can find something next time.

I first read that as 'Poirot sample sale' and it worked surprisingly well. I really like the jacket and it gives you a teeny tiny waist, but that's a lot of money for something that doesn't fit. The white's a bit Isadora Duncan for me although I like it in the side-on pic. Plus it's white and all that entails. But I see you'd worked that out already. Looking forward to more pics!

Sample sales... Antwerp.... silk... how lovely to be reminded that there's still a world out there.

Still, off for a haircut today! Woohoo.

What did the intruder want? Or was it spamming all the boards?

I forgot to say, gorgeous trousers, bani.

bo, I agree the blazer is lovely, but very €€€ for something not perfect. The white top, I'm not so sure but it could just be the photo.

I've just returned my leather flip-flops as I stupidly ordered the wrong size and did not see it was US sizes and not UK . Anyway, I will reorder the right size with some help from the Etsy shop (they're super helpful).

Much colder and rainier today, I'm in a merino jumper and back to the Ilse Jacobsen raincoat.

I meant to say CatherineMaitland, it sounds like you've had a tough lockdown with a lot going on.

Maybe the intruder came to shit talk the white Poiret top 🤣

Alright will attempt to keep it brief. 3 fails at Ann Demeulemeester/Haider Ackermann. Because sample sales are full of weird pieces that you don't know whether it will work until they're on.

Pic 1 had Bani in my head telling me I can only ever attend the Nobel ball in that and I'm still procrastinating on fixing world peace so...

Pic 2 because there had to be a foreskin moment... And also an excellent demonstration of how the wrong proportions can alter so much. The one where I turn into a squat dumpling...

Pic 3 wanted to love this for the colour but never mind flattering or not (clearly not) what was it even trying for? There was a ridiculous amount of excess fabric around the waist, no one improves with that, not even in an ironic 'oh my god I'm so skinny I can get away with anything' way.

More fails. Still at AD/HA.

The flamenco moment. The shape was weirdly flattering but no clue where I'd wear it to. Underskirt is mine so even more confused, it's probably a top and need trousers with it. It was very cheap as a proper sample but not incentivising enough.

Pic 3, Another where the proportions threw me out of balance which is impressive since it's such a basic form fitting shape. Twas a shame as the back was really nice. Sorry, no pic of that.

So my successes at Ann Demeulemeester, white silk top and slip dress. it's actually the same shape as the first pic of the Nobel dress but with the sides worn up (or one of them). Back is interesting, much more signature AM than the front but difficult to photograph (correction, I'm terrible at photographing my backside, it's really doing a disservice to the item of clothing).

Also bought an underdress, I'm wearing it here as well underneath. It's nothing groundbreaking but I've been on the lookout for a while and they all come up too high on the sides and top of bust, the whole point (for me) is to wear them under things, often where a bra doesn't work so I'm glad to have found one that hits low enough not to be seen.

This was another fail for me at HA, nothing really that wrong with it but for me it had to either be shorter or longer as it was just hitting it at the wrong spot. Just including it as you get quite a view of what the sales floor looks like, plus from some other places, 2 is Poiret with shoes I don't think will have a place post Covid19 and 3 is Christian Wijnants

Had to retake this one as the one I took at Christian Wijnants were really dark. Silk jumpsuit, it needs a bit of tinkering as it's a sample, but the armholes are just sitting way too low and there's excess length in the straps, and a horizontal seam that's pushing on the top of my breasts but it should be an easy fix by pulling up and shortening the straps after that it should be a really easy put on don't think too much about outfit for that warm but not really hot type weather we get a lot of. Plus super comfy.

And the fabrics, CW thankfully had some. I was getting a bit greedy and wanted it all but restrained myself. I had vowed to only buy fabric for projects that were ready to go/a toile of already but I didn't really find any of that. The silk Charmeuse pieces were a bargain. I had hoped the electric blue was the same fabric as my existing CW blue dress so I could add a panel to make it a maxi but unfortunately it's a slightly different colour. Difficult to capture on camera, pic 3 has the dress at the top. I now need to figure out what to do with them, it's quite shiny (traditionally they use this silk for night wear) so I don't want it to read too evening. Maybe an asymmetric top? The black may just end up as a camisole and shorts pyjama combo.

Last stop Dries. I think Elle posted a pic of Anna Wintour in an ensemble with the same pattern of the skirt. It's a really lovely pattern, they had a few things (including Vans type trainers and a really narrow dress which was too smal for me) but pencil skirts and I don't tend to get on too well, unfortunately. I could only move sideways... Top, looked good on the hanger very meh on me.

Maxi skirt, I liked the shape but the fit around the waist wasn't good and it was quite stiff and therefore weirdly formal but in an antiquated way if that makes sense, but it was pretty simple thin citton. I'm not sure what the shape is called, something in the fishtail/mermaid family but not those from what I can tell from Google. I do like the potential of it on me, so I'll experiment with some toiles instead in hopes of it having a more casual feel, perhaps as part of a dress?

So no clothes for me at Dries (it wasn't as good as previous years tbh) but I did find this belt from the men's section. It's a typical crazy sample sale buy. I will either love it forever and remember the sample sales fondly whenever I wear it or leave it unworn but not that worried about it as it only cost €25. Definitely think I'll wear it a lot though, over coats. The ropes are only this small section, it feels more Loewe than Dries but then again men's Dries is always a tad more adventurous than the women's.

All done now, so much for intentions of brevity

Yes that was the pattern and someone likened it to some thing Asterix would wear I think!

I like the rope belt, your coat is gorgeous. The AD top is a nice find too.

I love the jumpsuit as well. I really like the racer neckline that's super popular at the moment, but I need a better fitting bra to go underneath them.

The green dress on the mannequin at Christian Wijnants is lovely.

Yes, I need to find a good bra for under racerbacks too. I have a few convertible ones that you can criss cross but they still show. I have strapless bras but they're a sort of a maximiser type as the basic shape of a strapless doesn't really suit my shape as I need some padding to fill out the lack of volume on top and keep the bra up. I feel deeply unfashionable in them though as it's a very pronounced look, such an odd thing.

That geen dress is indeed lovely, have tried it on previously but it's not a good shape for me, I'm too short in the body for it.

Also, isn't Obelix the one with the love of funky trousers? Or am I mixing them up now?

Love the coat and belt, bo! The green dress is a gorgeous colour. I like the white silk top too. I think it is Obelix with the funky trousers.

A quick Google shows Obelix has blue and white stripey trousers but Cacofonix the bard has the blue and white check pattern on his top.

That’s the one, ooops!

Obelix has the big striped trousers yes but the chequered print is def straight out of the comic book Gallic universe! 😂

Thank you for being kind about my trousers but frankly it shows what you know. The proof will be if they survive the washing machine ... I’ve had fun trying to refashion a silk/cotton blouse into a camisole top. Not that I wear camis really but I ruined this top when I bought it, because I cut off too much of the neckline when I wanted to alter that. Am really pleased if I can make a strappy cami out of it, but it requires some decision making - roll all the hems (=watch seven youtube tutorials on how to do that) or even make a facing out of fabric from the sleeves? Decisions decisions.

I love all the Antwerp pictures and I think you made the right choice in what you bought and didn’t buy. I really liked that long white blouse thing though. But you’re right it doesn’t get worn. Pity they were a bit of a disappointment on the whole but you didn’t come away completely empty-handed anyway!

Comic relief time: One of my daughters tipped me off to this “recipe”. The comments are great, bless them all. www.livewellbakeoften.com/homemade-whipped-cream/

It was good to see Antwerp photos!
The green dress is lovely and that rope belt great too.

I am considering relaying carpet on the stairs , the only place we have carpet as the rest is wooden floors. I am thinking that a runner would be better and nicer , there are some lovely ones with a material very much like ropes (talking about ropes reminded me), but my worry is that as they tend to have loops my feline pet will literally destroy it... just throwing this out here in case any of you have good tips !

I keep going back to look at that green dress and feeling annoyed that they ruined it with the extra fabric 😭 I’ve also been re-looking at the silk jumpsuit and it’s really good isn’t it? Hope you can fix the straps - I want to do something similar to a jersey dress but it’s harder than I thought because they gradually widen, so I can’t just fold over and sew a seam across. And I’m not so keen on unpicking jersey hems and cutting them down 😒

Picture of my finished camisole attached. I found a super tutorial on narrow hems on YouTube. Did a pretty good job on the back minus some problems with the tension (fabric is so thin). Promptly then did it backwards on the front 🙄 That’s a true sewing bee fail if ever there was one! I had to wing the finish a bit then. However I did the front in a slight curve and I don’t really like it. It feels dowdy. Otoh I was planning it as a sleep garment so...

Oh forgot - I have no help to offer re ropes and cats apart from don’t do it 😬 based on my sister’s cat 😉