Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: "You gotta have style. It helps you get down the stairs." - Diana Vreeland

[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:

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Quatre

Cinq

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Sept

Huit Neuf Dix

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Merch created in honour of our ten thread anniversary:

Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet shop

Hmm, would the issue not be best solved by two small darts at the front, it doesn't seem to be a crotch jaws issue. From this angle anyhow.

Oh, yes, Bernie Sanders was best dressed as far as I was concerned as at least he dressed for the weather. I particularly enjoyed this meme 😃 I do have a soft spot for Bernie though, and I don't know if it's the pandemic or just my traumatic run ins with American hairdressers but the very done hair on everyone irrationally annoyed me.

Possibly yes but not sure how to add them in without messing with the waistband (lazy). Only three months of winter left after all!!! Considering pressing a v careful front crease and then stitching it down and maybe that will distract from the fit. Frankly feels easier than darting it. Again, lazy.

Love the Bernie meme!

American hair is sort of the antithesis of Parisienne hair I think. I am quite frustrated with the American intolerance of imperfections. Although I loved Michelle Obama’s trousers.

Yes, they were nice but they looked weird when she walked, she had crotch issues too, so you're in good company but I applaud the trouser choice regardless and loved the colour too, on her the monochrome palette didn't look so twee.

There's also a Bernie and Marina Abramovic meme that had me cracking up but you have to be familiar with the work but it was chef's kiss because that's exactly what Bernie would be like in that performance piece.

Urgh, tonal not monochrome.

Also, @missmoon, someone on the EU/UK vat and import duties thread mentioned today they ordered Cos without being slapped with vat/duties 👍

Oh, that’s great news! I’ll have a look. Thank you!

bani, you perfectly summed up American hair for me. As someone with curly hair, I have long given up that "done" look. I loved Michelle Obama's trousers too.

I'm with you quirky - so bored with seeing groomed hair. I've not combed mine since 1976.

That's interesting about pleats and darts bo and bani. I know my least pouffy pleated trousers (sos I've probably said this before) are from Toast and have a single, deep pleat that pretty much rusn down the whole leg.

bani you're such a perfectionist! If I like something I never notice a detail like that - or I deliberately don't look. You're right about the colour combo, it's really good.

I thought Michelle Obama looked lovely but Barack's overcoat stole it for me - much more elegant than Joe Biden's, or the Second. Gentleman's.

Sorry - forgot to welcome prettybird back!

Sorry, @missmoon, I've just noticed that's an Irish poster 🤦

Echoing the chorus of down with the groomed hair already, although I think very done hair is very much a class thing in most of Europe. The whole better to be mistaken for a vagabond than new money attitude. Can't remember what the movie was called but it was art house with Penélope Cruz and she played a very working class hairdresser, and the whole gravity defying pouffed out hair was like another character (that's apparently more memorable to me than anything else in the film, I vaguely recall a freezer and it might have been by Almodóvar).

I've been sewing, well not sewing technically, but I've started on refitting a beloved old Zara dress (weirdly well made it's double lined, French seams, only around the invisible zipper an overlocker has been used). The original fit is a sort of faux wrap over style with long tails that you wind around (pic 2) but it's not the best style or an easy take in job so I decided to start from scratch and take it all apart (except the skirt) with hope of making it a little longer as this is no longer a great length for me and shorter didn't feel right either. I'm still mid process, just tried it on myself and will need to raise the waist slightly but it's going surprisingly smoothly so far (until I discovered I have no matching thread and I can't just go out and buy that ).

Forgot to attach pics...

Also, I've been calling it my vaccination dress as the flowers remind me of all the Covid virus graphics and it'll probably be well into summer by the time I'm eligible for vaccination.

Oh, and my Thebe Magugu order came in, shirt is a big no as the elastic on the arms is an inflicted torture I'd like to do without and the skirt is nice but I don't love it, bit too polite of a length. Do love the bag, though I had anticipated a soft ropey thing but it's super stiff but it works well.

I only saw still photos of MO so didn't notice anything untoward about the trousers - very annoyed on her behalf that they weren't perfect though!

I get annoyed mostly with American perfectionism because it's just another stick to beat women with. I mean we all know and have discussed that they do this in France to in other ways (you have to be thin and not let people see how hard you work on your appearance etc etc etc) so let's assume we all agree that misogyny is rife everywhere. But I've watched several youtube videos or read blogs where someone goes to the trouble of making a detailed, clear tutorial of something fiddly, so it involves closeups of their hands, and immediately someone will comment that they should have a manicure so they don't DISGUST people with their nails.

Didn't even have to look up the Bernie+Marina Abramovich meme to imagine it - priceless haha!

Oh but speaking of American perfectionism - as an antidote I can recommend the horror series The Outsider. The casting is great and feels very realistic, like they are all real people. Not all this polished swishy hair bullshit they do. British actress Cynthia Erivo plays the investigator who is a bit woo, and she is the most polished of the bunch, yet doesn't feel phony and false. It's such a relief and feels like real Americana.

Welcome back prettybird

I agree that Michelle’s tone-on -tone look and the trousers kept it fresh and I thought she looked great. Jill and Kamala both played it super safe, but who’d blame them. It was very UK royalty IMO with the fit and flare coats and matchy gloves. I saw analysis suggesting that purple was a politically savvy choice – the blending of blue and red. Kamala Harris’ coat doesn’t do her justice when she’s waving in the second picture in the Guardian article. I wonder do designers for royalty and politicians consider how the garment will look when the wearer spends a lot of time with one arm up?

I loved Amanda Gorman’s outfit and I thought Lady Gaga’s was both perfect for her and the occasion. J lo needed a warmer white / cream and a little less going on.

I also loved the Biden family’s outfits at the ball. Well maybe not Jill who looks like she’s getting married for the third time, but I love Ashley in the female tux, the orange and yellow sparkly dresses and the Rodarte dress with trainers is a cool look too. Actually after writing this I looked up Jill’s coat for the evening celebrations and the story is really lovely and the embroidery beautiful, but it's lost at a distance.

Love the fabric of the trousers banivani, they’d be fab if you could sort out the fold.

I don’t think we’ve seen the death of the office. There are going to be plenty of young people who don’t want to / can’t work from home and face-to face collaboration is important in lots of industries. That said I think there will be a massive shift to flexible working and I do think work attire is going to be more casual. When you’ve seen the CEO with six weeks of beard growth and a rumpled polo shirt it’s hard to put that genie back in the bottle. I don’t expect people will attend the office in leisurewear, but do expect to see comfy knits, “smart” trainers and wide legged trousers featuring heavily.

Speaking on comfy knits I got these two on sale Loulou studio. The brown in a keeper it has a nifty detachable scarf so I can do the two jumpers look and wear as seperates. I’m undecided on the other. The colour is gorgeous and very Michelle Obama, but I’m not sure about the fit. I’ll need to try it on as an actual outfit.

Wow love the dress alterations botemp. That colour is lovely and not at all coronavirus.

Elle, I thought that about Kamala's purple coat, is rose up as she waved. Reminiscent of British Royalty and Kate in her long, smart coats too. Coats that don't let you move are a bugbear of mine. I want to move and wear layers underneath, obviously.

X-posted with Bo earlier - too bad about the Thebe M stuff but I appreciate the review from reality. How annoying with tight wrist elastic!?! Like, why? And I think altering that dress seems a great idea, hope it works out!

I have now seen a pic of MO:s trousers that shows a very unappealing bulge in the front, very surprised by such a poor fit. But I looked at the designers website and he has no trousers on it so maybe this was the first attempt ;)

The ball pictures look oddly less formal than the inauguration which I agree has great similarities to royal dressing!

Will look up Loulou as a brand don’t recall them? Today the internet suggested swildens.fr to me for Fraaaaanch dressing. I think I’m sized out but there is a pair of mustard corduroys on it I like. In theory. In reality I feel odd in corduroy.

You see, comfy knits, trainers and wide legged trousers were my standard office wear anyway (well not trainers cos I'm not a fan but flats or plimsolls). Maybe that's why I feel so out of tune with all these 'I'm never wearing work clothes again' threads.

Love both those jumpers Elle - I didn't see the pic at first. The pink is really striking - hope it fits!

I dunno Bani, post a picture on here that has a messy background and some random will shame you for subjecting their poor eyes to all that filth, or even a smidge on your mirror 🤷

I think with Americans I'm more annoyed with the lack of variation, considering the whole land of immigrants and just how bloody large that country is, women are all expected to all look pretty much the same, just like the food must all taste the same everywhere.

Found the Bernie and Marina meme again, also, the pandemic must be getting to me as I am very tempted to get this mug...

Ugh that evening ball pic from the inauguration is giving me the social distance shivers again. Let's take bets, did everyone jump the vaccination queue under the related to important people loophole or did everyone just get a PCR test in advance (although if you're a hardcore covid police type, that still would be too risky and masks really should be warn indoors, per Biden's own signed directive, all those poor reserves ended up catching Covid in the hundreds ).

I like the raspberry (?) jumper and love the chestnut colour one too but the raspberry one looks quite cropped and wide so I can definitely understand that the fit may feel off, but difficult to say without seeing it on.

Oh and we can all stop speculating, Kamala Harris' outfit was just stolen from Lisa Simpson, from the episode when she became president (Biden better watch his back, KH has communicated her intentions) after Trump left the office in shambles

New season of Call My Agent out today on Netflix, going to watch in a bit. Only six episodes so I may just binge them all

Love the Lisa Simpson pic! Didn't the Simpson do a Trump as president one years ago, too. Many a true word, as they say.

Call my Agent Season 4 started on Thursday here, already seen 3 episodes . Today's episode was a reward for keeping dd2 busy: online music/splashy puddle park walk/making biscuits.

I need longer days to catch up with the thread, definitely more entertaining that the stuff I am having to deal with at work at the moment. Next week I hope to go back to more normal workload.

@botemp, @missmoon - sorry I missed a few days ago when you asked. So, I ordered on the second of jan from Monki, order was for £83 and I did not pay any tax and was free return ... I am not sure where it came from, the return address was a random place in Rugby , Uk , I assumed to be a place where they will sent it to afterwards?

KH stealing the look from Lisa. Spot on Bo

I do like the jumpers Elle, specially the colours.
Talking about perfect hair, today I spend 2 hrs in a paddock, windy, hailing for part of it ... was wearing a
woolly hat ... now at home my hair looks like it has been professionally blown dried and has a lovely shine , these last couple of weeks I had been struggling with my hair ... I seemed to have found the solution...

I am super excited about Call My Agent too

I have also been watching Self Made, about CJ Walker. I really liked the story, very inspirational and enjoyable costumes too, for me specially when they go to NY.

Love your hair story Red, isn’t that just typical! 😂

Mr Bani discovered Call My Agent this autumn for himself and binged it, so now we’re watching the last season together in instalments, not binging. Let me on a different note recommend Lupin, which is fun in a different way. Looking forward to s2 there, it was something we could all watch together and it’s always a victory when our teenager agrees to watch something he has to read the subtitles to!

I went to loulou.fr and looked at the jumpers. I remembered the site then because it’s one of those French sites where the models to bizarre poses. Hard to tell how the jumpers fit haha. Have you decided yet Elle?

Listen now, I saw a pair of brown boots on Spartoo that I quite liked (minus a weird tab thing at the top). Pic attached. But they are a Spartoo own brand and the soles aren’t as chunky as I’d like. I love the dark brown though. Am I off base?

Bani I started yesterday Lupin. Love it. Great show.

The boots ... how would you wear them? Sorry I am having difficulty imaging them on you. I know I never met you face to face, etc etc

I’m thinking midi dresses/skirts with boots? Im looking for a no tights gap thing. I’m in trousers all winter because I’m not fond of my ankle boots and skirts, chops my legs up. But I’m kind of fancying boots that aren’t black, trying to move to brown.

Bani I am not convinced about the boots. The bits that you picked up, the top bit and the heel are not great looking.
IMO they either need to have an interesting heel, which I (probably like you) would not wear a heel as such, so it would need to be chunky or something interesting.
When I see them I imagine them being worn with skinny jeans, but I don’t imagine that being your style? Maybe I am being short sighted.
I would like myself to get a pair of long boots that I can walk on and look good ... I will google ...