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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Merch created in honour of our ten thread anniversary:

Les Parisiennes de Mamansnet shop

The Uniqlo +J SS21 preview has gone up, if anyone is interested. Link here: www.uniqlo.com/plusj/21ss/uk/en/

I'm still lurking on this thread - love the way that you look at the detail of how to put together outfits in a different way and your thoughts on colours.

I'm pleased with my latest outfit - not as glamorous as some of yours, but it's midnight blue velvet jeans from Hobbs (mid-rise, which is about as low-rise as I'll go ), to go with the navy satin shirt that dh bought me for Christmas. Bought the black velvet jeans initially from John Lewis but then thought that the dark blue jeans would be more useful.

The belt is also from John Lewis - dh also bought me it but bought it in a large - but I had to buy a new one in small (and dh must find the receipt to take the large one back when John Lewis finally re-opens or find someone really fat to give it to as a present ).

Ah blessed be the Lurkers. I'm still exceptionally tepid about it and think it should be called, I'm bringing Marxism back (to the tune of JT's bringing sexy back, apols for the earworm).

25th of March is quick, the shops are open here by private appointment atm but numbers are rising so I expect they'll be closed then again... Think Simone Rocha is tomorrow, didn't see anything there I wanted either.

Xpost with pretty, love the outfit 😍 meanwhile I'm looking a slob today

I have just been reorganising my wardrobe. After we had the fitted wardrobes put in, I just moved all the useless vacuum pack bags with various out of season etc. clothes with a view to doing it later as we had ongoing work in the house. I have bought some zip up storage boxes, as I have started to swap a few Spring clothes in. I have even labelled labelled one box "out of circulation" clothes, like flo, these will be kept for another year.

I haven't worn any of my slouchy, wool trousers either. They seem a bit impractical for on the floor with dd2 and the park!

Thank you Botemps

I wore it to my dad's for supper on Sunday (he's in our extended household): this is the highlight full extent of my social life at the moment

Nice outfit pretty
I love the outfit pics on the thread. You all include shoes... thats where I fall down with editorials as I may have moaned before.

Your belt is lovely. Which reminds me...
Also can I ask as I am struggling again with online ordering. How do you measure a belt?
I'm used to trying on in shops (mainly TKMaxx) and sizes are crazily irratic.
Is it waist or hips? Or do they measure for waist and sell for hips? Or is it just length of belt? Or all 3 and you don't know until it arrives

In my case, it was because the Large belt was soooooo large (even the smallest hole was still at least 6" too big) dh will never live it down so I knew that even the Medium would be too big. Going by the John Lewis guidance, I might have gone for the Medium (says 12-14), while the Small is size 8-10. But I know that a) I have a relatively well defined waist and b) the small only just fits (in the "biggest"/first hole)

I always buy belts in shops but IIRC the rule is to add 5cm to your waist measurement. But maybe that's outdated? I know it's correct for men though as they move at snail pace when it comes to fashion weirdness.

I need to get to some spring cleaning too, it's cold at the moment but the brief warm spell a week ago (I think, I've lost all track of time, I know it's supposed to be Easter soon but no clue exactly when) reminded me I need to have some spring like clothes at the ready in case it happens again. Really cold out today though, Céline coat is weirdly warm for a coat that doesn't close though.

Easter Sunday is on 4 April - the only reason I know is that it's 2 days before my 60th birthday

4th of April I thought it would be much sooner. The Easter stuff has been in the shops for weeks already. Happy Birthday in advance anyhow 🎉

Thanks for the +J preview, pigeon. Some of the silk-cotton tops appeal so maybe will aim to log on early to be in with a shout.

Nice outfit, prettybird. Dinner chez papa would count as an epic event here, and something to dress up a bit for. Velvet and satin are good fabrics for dressing up.

The date reminders are useful, so for those of us that still have them (or are them) March 12 is Mothering Sunday in the UK. Do other countries have similar celebrations?

Yes thanks for the preview link pigeon. I still quite like it. Time will tell if she's captured the public mood but I think it reflects mine at present. I enjoyed the Lookbook - yes it's all very artful and you can't see most the the clothes properly but I think it shows how it all works together. You could almost close your eyes and pick two random items and there's a good chance they'd go with each other.

Like Xing I think the silk cotton knits look promising. There are some men's trousers with a single pleat that I also like and I'm disappointed not to see a women's equivalent - not sure I want to order something that would almost certainly need altering. And another stripy shirt although it looks like the same officey look as last time so I really should stay away from it. Probably

I'm also drawn to the silk skirt. I don't think I'd wear it enough to make it worth £90 but it would be perfect for a summer gulag wedding.

And yes bani as you can see, I am just as bad. I did write an email to both Uniqlo and H&M about their use of Uyghur forced labout, but they then sat in 'Drafts' for about 2 weeks as I couldn't fathom out where to send them. I found Uniqlo especially opaque - I didn't literally expect to find a named contact for human rights transgressions but still, when a company devotes all that space to sustainablity and anti slavery statements, then an easy-to-find working email link would be good. I ended up sending it to their Customer Service where it will no doubt bounce around for all eternity. H&M Group was to be fair, more straightforward - they had email contacts for every department.

I'm far too vain and shallow to make threats I probably can't follow through, but I asked how they were getting on with extricating themselves and were they planning to sign the Forced Labour Pledge any time soon.
No replies yet - that's the other thing: notices up on both sites saying there will be a delay in responding to emails.

Quick post to share Joseph blazer. Photo not the best, still creased but just tried it quickly, I am at home wearing black joggers.
The blazer fits well, shame is not cotton but the fabric is mix of viscose , acetate , etc , still feels nice.
I need to see it with casual trousers and a tee maybe.

Nice blazer, red.

Mother's day is later in France (May, maybe?) and the US, I think Xing. We will probably have a takeaway from one of the lovely Asian restaurants, as I love Asian food.

I think that the idea that jeans are easy to throw on and go is just indoctrination though. Why shouldn’t any other garment be just throw on and go? We just haven’t gotten used to it yet.

Prettybird, you look great! The colours really seem to suit you!

Pigeon, thank you for posting the preview. I agree with all previous assessments, even the ones that contradict one another. The lookbook had me looking twice at some things, but I find something I dislike about everything. I liked the supima shirt but looking closer I saw it had a granddad or Nehru collar which doesn’t suit me. Or else the colour isn’t right etc etc. I’ll lean back and watch I think.

Generally I’m having a low moment re: appearance. I gained back my weight over the pandemic and am only just starting to exercise again after covid so am not feeling great in my body iyswim. I bought a pair of good-enough boots from Vagabond and was trying them on with skirts and just felt really horrible about my whole self, everything was unproportionate and clunky. I don’t know what it is! I took the boots back anyway but it feels like the only silhouette I feel comfortable in and gives me proportions I can relax into is the wide trousers and slightly fitted top combination I’ve always liked. So I’m back to trouser woes, basically! It takes too much energy this, enjoying clothes and so on but never being able to try anything without feeling terribly WRONG in it. Entirely possible my time would be better spent learning to sew those favourite garments I can’t find in the shops. And learning how to master shoes.

Lovely fit on that jacket red. Very useful.

Bani, I was looking at the new Me&Em leaflet this morning and thought of you when I saw the wide slouchy trousers and culottes towards the end. I know it's not your preferred price point but some of the visuals might give you inspiration. I hope. You need to find something to fuel your enthusiasm that you can wear in real life.

“ I think that the idea that jeans are easy to throw on and go is just indoctrination though. Why shouldn’t any other garment be just throw on and go? We just haven’t gotten used to it yet. “

Yes agree with the above. I did own my first pair of jeans when I was about 14, my mum only wore jeans when she was middle age. She dresses generally in casual clothes , so it wasn’t a thing about being formal or old fashion royalty
For her it was the idea that it was an ‘uniform’ from a very capitalist country and she was against that. She is not a socialist or communist, she is more of a free thinker but with equalitarian views. But I always liked that she considered (and still does in her old age) that you need to be well dressed and considered in your appearance.
Although I ‘rebelled’ against her in my teens as I was the only one with no pair of jeans or as a child with a barbie ... I am now glad as I consider that that helped to form who I am today.

Bani I think the pandemic, winter, blah blah blah has taken a toll on our minds. Is very hard to find inspiration and feel cheery about yourself sometimes. The monotony kills me, I am very busy but the lack of variety on things I do is just draining, so I find myself being less than enthusiastic about things that before I would be looking forward to.
Right now I probably would be browsing silk dresses for chelsea flower show for instance... I hope the brighter days help with the overall mood.

I think jeans are only "throw on" if they fit well, same as any other clothes items. red, I didn't wear jeans until I was in my last year of university and then they were black. I wore a lot of floral/indian skirts with chunky boots, usually dms. I think that's why I shy away from that style now.

I do sometimes wonder (cos what else is there to do at the moment?) if we're seeing the beginning of the end of jeans domination. Just the way there are so many styles around - and have been for a while now - and still no real sign of any one shape taking over. It's unusual.

Nah, I disagree, the right kind of jeans is a throw on thing as anything else you grab blindly out of your closet will just go with it. That's a lot harder to do with wool trousers as the colour is pretty solid due to material. I think we are seeing the end of a single silhouette being dominant for jeans though, they're all just perennials now.

Bani, I think everyone has gotten weird about their appearance. I haven't been able to do a Pilates reformer session in a year and my posture shows it and I generally feel like I look like shapeless bag of salt, clothes are fitting but not the way they used to and I'm generally feeling bored and blah, so do the clothes. Even men have gotten obsessed with their appearance, faces in particular, and are asking me if Botox or whatever will fix it. It's weird and I hope it disappears again once we're not so reliant on social media as communication. I don't think focusing on trying new clothes now helps, no, exercise is a pain to get into but you just need to get to that phase where it actually feels rewarding and then you'll rediscover your own clothes.

Good jeans sit at the perfect centre of the Venn diagram of dense fabric, some stretch, (combo = easy fit, and flatters lumps and bumps) goes with anything, robust- can sit in mud etc and wash on 60, doesn’t snag, and looks good faded and old (even if you don’t wear them in all the same situations when old). What else does that trouser wise?

And yes exercise is the way to go to feeling good.

I'm not so much talking about their practicality - or otherwise - though, just musing out loud about whether they really will be a fashion item fashion forever.

And while I really like the choice of shapes and didn't expect it to continue this long, don't all the different silhouettes mean they no longer go automatically with everything? That instead you have to stop and think about which shoes and which top? That they don't work for everything from walking the dog to a night out any more? And so the very thing that originally made them so appealing gets eroded and they become just another item in your wardrobe?

Anyway that's my meditation for today.