Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: For the Love of Well Dressed Women in Repose

[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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Six

Sept

Huit

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Dix

Onze

Douze

Treize

Yes, the Raey silk slip dressers are weirdly inexpensive which has me questioning if they're standalone pieces and not under garments/layering pieces.

I like the use of negative space in that Loulou dress and can definitely see it working well for you Elle. You didn't also order that knitted Khaite lookalike dress to try too by any chance?

Negative space is another thing I've been on the lookout for, it's had me looking a lot at Ozzie designers Dion Lee and Christopher Esbers. Think their collections are a lot of hit and miss but the hits are really good and it has a bit of that Tom Ford at Gucci feel where clothes can be suddenly exciting on (yes, the dreaded sexy, but it feels a lot less explicit than TF at Gucci). It's a nice antidote to the ruffle twee that's everywhere.

I think another consideration with halters and shoulders is posture, if it's crap you are going to look more hunched and broader in one.

Is it just me or does the halter model look like a cheerful Greta Thunberg in 5 years time? At least the top is green

Love that dress elle - looks like it falls just right with a simple cut to show off the shoulders

No I didn't order the Khaite lookalike, but I knew instantly which one you meant as I spent ages lingering over it. I may yet cave, 15% off at Moda right now. I like that the neckline is a bit higher and it's overall less tight than the Khaite one so could possible be worn to work. How do you pronounce Khaite by the way? I say it like "Kate" in my head. I've never had cause to say it aloud! No one in real life would care to hear about a lookalike to "that Khaite dress". Here for everyone else's perusal are the two nearly identical, but not, dresses. I know you're all my people because you'll all agree that they DEFINITELY different. The Loulou studio one is less than half the price and silk as opposed to viscose.

Is the black top Dion Lee? I love the woven detail at the back.

ha - ShangPie I cannot unsee it

Absolutely Elle those dresses are different!!
I like the second one. I am a bit slow today ... forgive me ... so I am sure if I read properly I will get it ... are they from different designers?
Just shivering in my sofa after my covid jab, I had a terrible night after getting it.

She could be Greta 2.0 but I struggle to see GT signing up to be a model for a cheap Amazon top. Alhough I do suspect a lot of people tell her to cheer up all the time, she should send the dickheads that picture back.

Yes, I prefer the Loulou version too, the Khaite would be too skin tight on me to have range beyond cocktail/date dress and it also has a split in the back from the bum down which I'm sure on my shape in that knit would just end up being a gaping triangular hole instead of a straight split, although superior technical knitting (the money's got to be going somewhere) might prevent that? I do prefer the brown colour though but not the folded over sleeves. The prices are insane though, the Loulou is not exactly a cheapy either but it's something like a quarter of the viscose Khaite one (I looked it up, apparently it is "Kate", Greek word for luscious long hair apparently, I'm definitely not their target audience ). I just worry with the Loulou that it's too long for me, it's not that bad on NAP but on their own site on a model 10cm taller than me, it's pretty much ankle length.

Yes, black top is Dion Lee but it's from a much older collection, I've liked his work for a while but I never see it in the shops and the material choices aren't always great. I also suspect the European prices are highly inflated, as is the case with most Australian brands. I've spotted some Christopher Esbers dupes at Mango so will book in an appointment there too, just to see if I actually like it on me as it has not escaped me all the models are very straight up and down and tall (not really my idea of the average Australian but what do I know).

Lovely dresses and tops... weeping over the requirement for such substantial underpinnings. I am so going to have a boob job if anything every happens to DH! And then... then I shall be too old.

stray Y... if anything ever happens...

The purple crossover cardigan was an "inherited" woolovers cardigan that I kept due to the warm wool and purple colour. I added a button and loop on each side, so I can wear it both ways. I may take the buttons off later.

The stripey cardigan was a Fenn Wright Mason from a charity shop that shrunk. I gave it to dd1, she no longer wants it as it's not a hoodie . As the arms were too tight, so I took them off.

I like halternecks, but I also have strong, wide shoulders. I wouldn't wear a very low back, as I don't have the posture for it (though, working on it).

Well Xing that lends a whole new meaning to the expression 'the merry widow'

You know, I hadn't noticed that about shoulders but mine are definitely sloping. I'm not sure how much of it is genetics and how much is posture but even when I had the requisite upper arm tone, I rarely wore anything sleeveless because the straps always, always, slid off.

Nice work quirky

Thanks for the cardigan photo quirky - do you feel happy with that adjustment or do you feel that you’re wearing a cardigan oddly? Genuine query. I tried Bo’s way of wearing a cardigan back to front you see and it looked like I was wearing a cardigan back to front 😩

Lovely dresses Elle and completely different. I really liked them and Bo’s pictures. I like that peek of skin but garments have to fit right for it to remain a peek and not be wardrobe malfunctions waiting to happen - we’re back to quality ...

Does anyone fancy a challenge? Mr bani wants new shoes and his requirements are so so specific. Casual, but not sneakers, and if sneakers absolutely not white. Between casual and dressy. Should be wearable in the summer (too). None of those flat thick white converse/sneaker soles. Brown is good. Doesn’t have to be brown. He’s talking about oxblood being the up and coming thing and wants to be first but that’s a colour you can’t find. He then goes off on a rant about how men’s clothes are boring.

bani, I definitely prefer the crossover way of wearing it. The other day, I put it on normally and changed it to crossover again. But I have a love of drapey items, as long as it doesn't go into full lagenlook, which is oversized in my book. The adjustment was really easy to do too, I moved the spare button and added a small hair elastic as the loop on the side seams. I'd tried it out with safety pins before.

Alyssa Beltempo on YouTube does a lot of different ways to wear items. I think she tucks in her cardigans to make them crossover, though.

A Becksondergaad scarf and Polaroid sunglasses from the Zalando Lounge sale. I tried to post earlier, but mn was being weird.

I have just realised that last photo looks like some strange creature! Not intentional...

thisname I love that dress. You should definitely order it for a try on. That is one of my favourite colours to wear, I'm neutrally warmish and I find it very easy to wear, not as bold once it's on. Fab!

Flo I've sold a good few things to give me a pot to start with and will continue as I go. I'm trying to make a more cohesive wardrobe but definitely NOT a capsule wardrobe as I can't think of anything more depressing.
Bo do you think naked ebay pics would give me a bit of an edge??? Should I risk the perverts for more money to spend on more fancy outfits
I might try and post some pictures of my "winnings" in the next few days, but I'm very pleased so far.

quirky your adjustments sound perfect. We'll done on doing them as well! They'd get left in the to do pile forever here . Hope you postnpics when you get a chance.

bo I used to paint onto clothes years ago, to customise things for myself and friends, and one of the best paints that actually stood up to washing was ordinary emulsion. You had to wash them on their own but 95% of the time they were colourfast. Obviously the problem is, if you were putting a lot of time and effort into making a raey type dress and the bloody paint rain, but it's surprisingly effective....have you ever been able to get paint out of decorating clothes????

It is a beautiful dress but I can't believe I missed the polyester lining. That's a firm no unfortunately.

I love both the Dion Lee and LouLou Studio dresses, can't beat a lovely back detail.

Bani Russel & Bromley do a smart line in men's sneakers, however between Brexit and a high starting price I'm not sure if they hit the mark enough:

www.russellandbromley.co.uk/clear-run/530830

Bani is Cole Haan terribly old hat? They used to be part of Nike as the executive sneaker division, so have super comfy soles with smart leather uppers. Interesting colours and soles, although some are a bit too ‘creative director’

www.colehaan.com/mens-shoes

Otherwise I can strongly recommend Fiebing’s leather dye to easily change the colour of an otherwise perfect pair. There’s a huge range of colours and you can buy it online for about $10.

I did it with a pair of patent mink / cappuccino Repetto pumps that were just the wrong colour to wear (thanks store lighting ) and turned them into a fabulous reddish brown that I love.

duvet, I thought the pervs on eBay aren't actually into nudity but weird shit like soiled underwear and abused shoes and they want to see them on. Nudity gets you nowhere in that scenario.

Bani, Axel Arigato might have some oxblood, the 'clean' models often have a matching sole.

I've been eyeing some of the Veja X Rick Owens Colab for my feet. Not really into anything like this usually but I'm drawn to the chestnut colour for autumn. They're unisex, maybe Mr Bani has an unexpected reaction to them too.

I think there may have been some Eytys trainers in oxblood on afound with a steep discount, they had thick white soles though. I think Onitsuka (sp?) Tiger has a oxblood/burgundy as a standard colour in their lineup usually (very underrated brand imo).

True duvet, paint is a bugger to get out, I've been looking at Javana paint for silk (which can also be used on cotton linen etc) you only need to let it dry and then fix it by ironing. That seems very doable but I'm not sure how much paint is needed, they only come in 50ml bottles that are €5 each. It can be watered down, which is probably what I'd want to get the layering effect of the check but that makes it even more difficult to calculate.

Oh forgot to mention, although very boring and not very forward by now, allbirds probably has something too.

Thank you for all suggestions, I'll pass them on. A lot of them are very sneakery though and that's what he's tired of. Don't get too hung up on the oxblood! I think it's a colour he might not like for the summer anyway - just an example of how picky he is. I appreciate the ideas, throw them all my way!

Yes red the first one is Khaite: www.net-a-porter.com/en-gb/shop/product/khaite/leana-ribbed-knit-midi-dress/1316064
And the second is Loulou Studio www.net-a-porter.com/en-gb/shop/product/loulou-studio/chelat-ribbed-silk-blend-midi-dress/1319375

How are you feeling now after the vaccine?

Botemp keen to hear how you get on at Mango still no in person shopping here and my hit rate is not great online. There was a pair of trousers that were so awful in real life that I didn’t even mention them here. They went straight back.

quirky I really like the crossover cardi, a great update and the scarf pattern is great. It does appear to be looking at me though.

70sduvet I presume you’re off updating your listings to include multiple “soiled” tags bleurgghhh

Might MrBani fancy something from Grenson or Cheaney? Good stout English-made shoes, some very stylish. While £££, they are properly made so can be repaired forever.

MrFlo is very fussy bani (you might think I'm bad but I'm an amateur) and he likes Solovair - as do I. Not too dressy, not too casual, quite a lot of oxblood / burgundy and properly made - a wide range of style but definitely no sneakers. On the downside, they're not exactly summery and some take a bit of breaking in, also pricey - we make the trip to the factory shop every so often but that's probably not an option for you. It looks like shipping costs to Europe are included in the price, although I only know that from a pop-up box.

Loafers, deck shoes, driving shoes bani? Somewhere I came across a company that made gloriously coloured driving shoes for men, that were about 80 euros. They look great with shorts, and are not sneakers.

Thank Elle today I am back to myself. Jab effects lasted 2 days for me. It was very uncomfortable, shivering, at night I even had hallucinations ... but I seem to be fine now. All the symptoms I had were listed in the possible side effects, although in the slightly less common category. For the second dose I will in advance tell work I am not working for two days after. Some people are perfectly fine though!

Bani how is the shipping from the rest of Europe to Sweden? I was looking at Galeries la Fayatte or El Corte Inglés. I am not sure what exactly Mr Bani is looking for ... but here are some to add to the pot of ideas.

Ah, so in MN parlance Mr. Bani is a bit of a madam, gotcha I do seem to automatically categorise men's casual shoes automatically into trainers or sensible frumpy ECCO type shoes with ginormous black rubber soles so he may have a point about boring men's fashion and limited choices. I remember a summer where my uncle whinged endlessly about finding the perfect "Italian men's casual shoes", no one knew what he exactly meant, nor could he properly explain it. In the end it turned out to be a bit like toddler shoes (protected nose but cut outs at the side and a little belt closure thingy) in a woven leather. They so didn't suit my uncle and I'm not sure they qualified as Italian (though tbf they were made there but I doubt an Italian would be caught dead in them) 🤣

I'm heading into the shops this afternoon, Cos, H&M (going for the home section though but I'll have a quick browse through the premium section) and Mango. I'll take pics if the changing rooms are open and report back.

He is absolutely a madam. I think he and I both suffer a little from being a bit average in looks, stature etc and a little too aware of the fact - it means if we're being fashion forward we look silly, and if we're buying what everyone else is buying we FEEL as average and boring as we might look. Haha. I'll be passing on all suggestions. No deck shoes, no driving shoes, I think he's passing on all sneakers atm (but I suspect he'll end up there as long as the soles aren't too hilariously chunky or the current thick, white, flat sort).

I think free returns are more of an issue than the shipping, to be honest. One or the other can cost, maybe not both.

Summery shoes are tricky for a man who is a right madam and who doesn't want to wear sandals.