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:

Un

Deux

Trois

Quatre

Cinq

Six

Sept

Huit

Neuf

Dix

Onze

Douze

Treize

Very sad. I did not know much about him either but it is a great loss.

those lace inserts Bani, if you experiment please share. Maybe it will look amazing and I will be envious that I did not see the potential

Thanks bo for purgatory feedback on the skirt , I will try it with another top. However I did wear it the other day, you see social distanced outdoor drinks with another couple of friends. I was one of their birthdays and I know she likes clothes and making an effort so as we were sitting outside and I thought I will not get my coat or hat out so the skirt was perfect as just peaked under my coat when I sat cross-legged under the heater. So actually the shape or how it was fitting it did not matter ... was more of a ... pretty insert at the hem of the coat .... ?!?

bani I am curious about your DH shoes ... did he buy any?

I asked for the Merchant and Mills books for Christmas bani but then I'm a sucker for sepia toned photos. They saw me coming. I think the presentation is very clever and totally has me believing I wear my own couture and live in an 18th century chapel I converted with my bare hands. Back in my real life, I've used their 'Elementary Sewing Skills' guide (small paperback) quite a bit but not attempted any of the workbook projects. Don't know about errors but I did buy one of their other patterns last year found the instructions fairly good - easier to follow than Makers Atelier, but to be fair, the MA pattern was much more complex.

Which reminds me, M&M have added some video tutorials and courses to their website - some short ones which I assume are free, and some with a cost. Not tried any.

Oh god the shoes. Wait 'til I tell yiz.

After all that fecking hoo-haa, he goes down town and buys a pair of Björn Borgs in solid black. Quite precisely what he'd moaned he didn't want - but granted, the sole is black too so not that white sole that is everywhere.

He's still grateful for the tips and I think they helped him narrow down what he dreamed of vs what he could settle for etc.

In my defence of the lace inserts, what I'm envisioning is as I said more of the broderie anglaise type or chunkier cotton lace.

Flo, aye maybe I should trace them off ... they're not my dream trousers though because front pleats.

I've got the book in front of me now. Would the pleat convert to a dart I wonder? They do look nice - I'd be tempted to have a go myself but I'm scared of zips.

Ah those inserts seem much more fun Bani and a lot less lacy.

I use Scribd (it's like Netflix for books and audiobooks and weird things like sheet music but also a lot of user uploaded pdfs, it's the latter that makes it interesting) and that has most sewing books, even very obscure ones (those would be the user uploaded pdfs) it's quite surprising how often I come across errors, especially annoying when you're drafting and the calculations are wrong. I guess they just don't have the budgets that cooking books do that suss out all the mistakes but these are in the more expensive books so I'm very annoyed whenever I spot them.

Anyone else a bit deflated by the Sewing Bee now that you can actually sew something vaguely adequate? My main issue is that the slap dash artists get on in the competition while the perfectionists get axed because they refuse to compromise on the quality of their work .

Weren't the M&M people originally fashion photographers, or at least one of them? The photography on their site is great but it makes receiving the samples a bit disappointing sometimes.

Björn Borg, you say, I didn't know that brand still existed. I remember back in the day that was the boxer brief men all had to have (because Armani and Calvin Klein were far too showy and gauche but they still wanted a branded waistband 🤦).

I've seen an online course at Central Saint Martin's for pattern drafting, I'm somewhat intrigued but I feel I have the basics down now, as it's not that different from architectural drafting and the basics are pretty basics when it comes to pattern blocks so if it's just a rehash of that I'd feel I've wasted my money. They have some summer programs that look great though, but £££ although more like ££££ if you add in accommodation and living costs.

Ah you know, can I convert a pleat to a dart? I can barely use a pattern. I need a course with someone who explains stuff to me in basic language, I very much learn by doing and need to see it happening. I wouldn't want an online course in pattern drafting, I'd want a live version tbh. Also it's the altering that interests me the most. Drafting the basics is quite commonsensical, it's rectangles that you make inroads into, but understanding what the poor fit means you have to change - this is what I can't really grasp in any practical way that could convert to paper.

I can't even see the sewing bee unless in grainy youtube format so i lost touch. :( I think i'd read enough sewing blogs by the time I watched it to take it for what it was though. No programme where you have to work to a deadline like that is every going to be representative of getting the best.

Speaking of sewing, there's a dutch costuber called Juul Thijssen who does very "aesthetic" asmr-y type videos that are pleasant to watch, (including a lace insert one...) and she's done some handstitching that's fun to see. She does a rolled hem in a "take a few stitches and pull" fashion that seemed smart and isn't in any books I have, I'm going to find a scrap of fabric and give that a go I think, it might be very useful.

I've never done it myself but I'm dithering about ordering the Merchant and Mills Eve Trousers which seem to offer a choice between pleats or a dart. I'm not sure if that means you can always convert one to the other?

I'm enough of a novice to still feel inspired by Sewing Bee but I'm finding the enforced jauntiness a bit grating. I don't mean Joe Lycett, I just wish every project didn't have to be so colourful and so loud and so fecking cheery. But I think we've talked about this before and I'm a bit out of step with the zeitgeist. I think tomorrow is menswear so maybe that'll be more up my street.

Yes, I saw a recommendation somewhere for a book on fitting but it was over €200 and it's not on Scribd, and no preview either so that was a no. I do find the blocks to your own measurements do help with things fitting well but I'd also like to be able to draft my own fancies from there and understand my mistakes and where to adjust, etc.

Yes, a rolled hem is deeply satisfying to do, it's even easier with a waxed thread. Although the historical nutters call something else a rolled hem which just looks finicky as fuck to do unless it's linen so if you Google you'll be left confused on technique. I think Juul Thijssen is deaf, or has become very hear impared, hence the ASMR vibe, it just annoys me there's subtitles and it's not hardcoded in there.

Yes, they really need a moody goth in there for the sake of diversity. I dislike this idea that craft hobbies are this cheery thing, I'm very serious and stormy looking whilst sewing, apparently.

You know what I worry about with Merchant Mills patterns, they have quite a large size range within one product where others would have split and adjusted for different ranges, but at their core they're quite simple so I guess they can get away with it provided you use a good fabric.

As a mindless funny programme the sewing bee gets many points , but I agree with you, all the cheery colour is doing my heading. And I love colourful cheery clothes ... but not that.
I saw the one of making a garment with swimming men’s shorts ... blo* h** I could not believe what people did. Ok you want to use, reuse, but don’t tell me you are going to do a dress out of colourful worn out men’s shorts ...

It's a very Brexit aesthetic #FuelOnTheFire #TooSoon? #SorryNotSorry

Well their PM does enjoy jogging in what looks to be swimwear

But best not open up that can of worms on here, we'll be accused of being jealous vaccine failures who have the temerity to sue the giant pharma company. People have really lost the plot on here.

Anyhow I'm stuck on what red is trying to star out, pretty sure it's not blowhole...

I was browsing through Sezane, as they for whatever reason are not showing up in my inbox. I spotted a dress and thought hey that's Bani's 'lace'. I'm also liking the third dress even though I shouldn't as it'll look crap on me. Boo. It's all becoming a bit samey on Sezane though, Soeur is at least switching it up a bit.

I'm so on the money!!! The colour and everything! See I told you lace inserts could look non-Edwardian.

Bani now I've seen some pictures I'm getting your vision and I like it. That's another art I wish I'd paid attention to, my grandmother knew, knows but no longer can, how to do beautiful Irish lace and I could have too, but obviously that was too "old woman" for a teenager.
My maternal great aunts were all single or widows and lived in border towns in the South, apparently they used to crochet boxes full of lace day and night and then the sternest one of them would bring all the boxes to Belfast on the train and sell them to someone involved in one of the linen factories and they would be used as trimmings.
And that's how they all survived, probably pennies for hours and hours of work.
There also used to be a bedspread or something along those lines in the museum here made by those women that was used by possibly King George on a visit to Ireland but I can't remember the details now, I should find out before the people with the memories go.

Bo I think that dress you say won't suit you is exactly the style I am on the hunt for, but without the belt.

I was thinking today as I purged the wardrobe again about who my bodyshape is most like.

I am bringing her up purely on bodyshape no opinion involved. I have never seen anyone as close to me as Megan Markle. Possibly due to height and the fact she had a pregnancy in the public eye so we saw her shape change. Very slim legs, any weight seems to go to arms first, lack of defined waist. Even now I've lost a lot of weight my upper arms are almost bigger than my calves.
And I think apart from very casual looks MM doesn't always dress well for her shape, neither do I really....but that's why I'm here

I'd say go for the dress, duvet, it's lovely and the belt is detachable and all, but what put me off is that the sleeves will probably cut right at the widest part of my arms and make them look heavy, ditto on the legs. Belt would be in the wrong place for me too. Would you not have the same issue with arms?

Yeah, MM's body is an odd one (not the body itself) in that it's a figure I associate very much exclusively to the US and very specific to California which shouldn't really be possible. Which leads me to think, I don't think she necessarily dresses badly for her body shape, but she does to European eyes as we just don't appreciate that body type the way they do in the US. My theory anyhow, but that athletic figure (that's what it's always referred to there even though it has nothing to do with athleticism and is a body type that usually is good at long endurance as opposed to high impact) seems better appreciated there which might have to do with the emphasis on sportiness, especially when they're in school. I think she always looked a bit lost in clothes in the UK because she was very used to posing and it is a body where you can easily manipulate how it comes across on camera through (extreme) posing so what you choose to wear isn't that constrained by what 'flatters'.

Bit overexcited there are we Bani I'll send you the Nostradamus cloak in the mail. I think it's veeeeery much a French staple though and less Edwardian. Not sure if it has a name although maybe it's just a leftover of chemises and other under garments that people just started wearing after finding some in their granny's attic.

I like both those dresses, bo. The yellow one looks very much bani's colour too.

70sduvet, I'm quite a straight up and down/athletic looking shape too. Legs not quite as slim as MM but I put weight on the top half easily. I think it's an easier shape to dress in a more casual style, whereas more formally tailored clothes tend not to fit so well, as they cater for a more curved figure. The smoother fabrics tend to not flatter either and can look a bit flat.

I have fallen down a Vinted rabbithole. Although, the sizes seem a bit weird in the search, size 10 as a medium and size large as a twelve, which then doesn't correspond to the actual sizing.

I will post a couple of things I've bought recently, once I take some photos.

Those sezane items are nice. But that is that, as you say bo a bit samey.

My starring ... ignore me, sometimes I think certain words are too rude because I think of their meaning in Spanish. I know they are ok in English but I cannot bring myself to say them or write them in English. But I will have a go Bloody Hell.
Feels better!

Maybe Quirky and I need to start a Californian thread and chat whimsical about yoga and green juices and taxes. Then all the big shouldered athletic bodied would come rejoice together
Though we can obviously be double agents and get all our actual info from all of you, so we know what we are talking about to the triangular ones. Also Quirky is more up to speed than me so she can be head honcho

Red how bad does it sound in Spanish????

Bo my arms are semi heavy (they aren't really I know it's mostly in my head, just in comparison to the rest of me) to the elbow. So it's lonnnng sleeves or I'm thinking wider sleeves to give the impression of thinner arms (I stole that from Trinny)
But I don't suit cream/neutrals unless I have a deep tan, which is never really so it would need to be a dress like that not that dress. Even on the model she looks slightly thick waisted in it, which she obviously isn't.

For laughing and pointing purposes... I include these pictures.
I did spend all of £1 on this (I also got jeans which are glorious so shipping was taken up by those)
So after the beautiful raey? Dress with the cream and black diagonal check I saw this jumpsuit, not a dress, in square check, not diagonal.
Well...
Pic 1. How it is meant to be worn. It's about 2 inches off my waist so is on my ribs and just looks wide. Not that there's loads of difference, but there is some I've put my hand where my waist is

Pic 2. With it on my waist. But bow it would need tit tape. It's a bit scandalised and the shoulder/neck tie isn't in the right place.

Pic 3. The tie is hidden by the jacket and with tit tape and no pandemic I could maybe wear this out to a nice dinner on a very warm night with only adult company in a blue moon to a nice restaurant

I'll sell it. If it hadn't been so wrong in the waist it may have been OK. Not a raey dress but decent for £1.

Actually scratch the it may have been OK.... its hideous. At least it was £1, IF I sell it it will be to a blind man, or someone as delusional as me who has just been looking as pictures of dresses she can't afford and translates beautiful things into............the above

70sduvet, it doesn't look too bad on the second photo, but I appreciate it may be a bit scandalous in real life. I find halter necks are good for wider shoulders as they cut up the horizontal line, I also suffer from too high waistbands! Not sure if I'm an expert, though . I think we had loads of discussion about lines of clothes and body shapes in the early threads. I can manage the yoga, not sure about the rest, East Anglia is so not California!

Haha I can imagine it now, the California Bodies thread: We Steam Our Vag Not Our Veg 🤣 (the latter is eaten raw, obvs).

Technically MM isn't an inverted triangle, she's a trapezoid which is a term we don't even use here except for men's bodies, it's somewhere between triangle and square/straight, shoulders aren't that wide they just appear so proportionally.

I don't think the check jumpsuit looks bad but I'll totally believe you as I once tried one on too and thought it looked terrible but I shared a picture on here and yous all disagreed and some lurker eagerly wanted to buy it 🤷

Don't talk to me about check though, I'd found some lovely linen and cotton blend check from a haute couture deadstock place for an okay price and had a draft drape up on my mini mannequin and then I was reading a book about drafting sewing patterns which said in no uncertain terms that hourglass body shapes should never wear check I know this, really, but thought if I made it myself I stood a chance...

I don't know what Trinny is on about with wider sleeves, doesn't make sense to me, wider sleeves just make me look heavy, unless you mean sort of wider short sleeves that stand away from the body, sometimes that works but it needs to be really nice fabric and there's the downfall.

I doubt it sounds all that terrible to English ears in Spanish, Red, but I totally get it, I don't swear in Dutch but do in English, when in Rome and all that (and I don't really swear with Americans and change my spelling).

I'm contemplating a silk dress by Madewell on Vinted but I remember it being overpriced crap last I saw it, with no silk in sight, just cheap flimsy cotton, did it have a good period at some point? Anyhow, not buying until I've had a nose around the shops tomorrow, going to see what the secondhand shops have in.

Love the Steam our vag not our veg .

I can only think the wider sleeve means towards the wrist, something like a bishop sleeve or bell sleeve. So maybe it shows a visual difference, so your wrist looks thinner. find long, fitted but not tight sleeves make my arms look slimmer. Mine are toned-ish but not very thin. Tops always go under my arms.

I find, obviously

Maybe, I don't really have issues with my arms when they're fully sleeved. For me it's not a shape thing but just being shorter limbed than what's designed for so with t-shirt, cap sleeves, etc. it all just cuts at the wrong place and looks weird and bulky. It still confuses me as my arms are disproportionately long compared to my body but a large part of that is hands, they are weirdly long for someone my height 🤷 maybe it's all the oversized ribs' fault 🧐

I agree with the rest about the halter duvet, looks good but if it will make you feel too exposed (second pic) is not worth it imo. The bit that bothers me a bit about the shape of that halter is not so much the waist but the amount of fabric going to the neck, feels a lot of fabric bunching, specially on the left hand side, but the screen in my phone is small etc so I am not sure if you get that effect in real life.