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

Oh yes, I'd go with loft decorating over the staircase, Red. The latter is a lot more work than you anticipate, annoying to do with other people in the house going up and down while you're working and progress feels very slow so it's wholly unsatisfying. Very much a give the decorators the key to the house while you go off on holiday type of scenario.

Yes, quirky, it's me who loves Shtisel. Although I think Bani saw it before moi. This last season starts off so sad though

Well Arizona Love sandals arrived and have already been sent back. The shells version felt too crafty. I did like the tie dye version, although not at first sight particularly, but it did exactly what I wanted and knocked the formalness and 'good taste' bourgeois vibes out of my clothes and made things fresh again. Unfortunately one of the triangle connector thingies was broken and it was the last item. It's put me off any others though if it breaks down this quickly, although there was a noticeable quality difference between the two, so maybe, the shells were definitely a newer design (had all the branding where the other was really just a generic shoe with embellishments). Back to the drawing board, it seems though.

I know, bo, so sad .

Sorry about the sandals bo, I can relate. I travelled this week to a city centre where there are still some real shops left, hoping to find some but nope. I don't get it. I like a flat, chunky, fugly sandal - this should be my time but they're doing them All Wrong.

I didn't leave empty handed as they had a big Marks and Spencer and I've had a voucher for months so I checked out their jeans selection, which I've read about on other threads but hadn't seen in real life, and got these in light grey My favourite shape! I was going for mid blue at first but then I tried on the grey and really took to it.

So credit to M&S - they get a lot of stick on here but I think their choice of jeans styles is pretty impressive and well priced, plus I understand they're not made in a labour camp either. My only criticism was their sizing which used to be totally reliable but is now so haphazard it reminds me of H&M at its worst and which might put me off ordering a second pair online.

Those jeans look absolutely fab Flo.
Sorry about the sandals Bo
Went to a vintage indoor market (i was on my way to do a run … hence trainers) and I was tempted about this dress, I did not get it but I think is quite fun. May be cool on the beach (uk beach) or camping?
The only thing is that I want it to be quite loose so I would like to ensure is not too tight on my waist.
Also I saw this runner that I might measure to see if it will fit in my hallway.

Jeans look good Flo, your pics look very you Red, I think the white dress is limited in wear though, pretty much just the beach (I'm not sure on camping, I assume it's all Patagonia and Columbia there, but no personal experience).

Yes, sandals are a disappointing search but at least it keeps me distracted from deciding what to do about holiday planning. The tourists are slowly trickling back in here even though they're not supposed to and we're just really fed up with crowds everywhere when it's not objectively all that busy. So planning city trips seems a dumb idea but equally sitting around in some isolated villa with a pool sounds far too boring. Anyhow, I've got my eye on some hideous Ganni sandals but they've got a bit of a platform so not sure. I booked an appointment at the department store in hopes they had them, they did not, and I just got annoyed with the crowds again that I didn't bother venturing further. I think I prefer the camel ones but I'm fairly convinced my arches are too high for them so it's a bit of a waste to order and send back.

Sigh.

Thank you all for kind words - I’m alright really just occasionally get overwhelmed by bad thoughts. Our wifi is down so I got a grip yesterday and copied the shirt dress pattern out of the sewing magazine I’ve had since 2007 and today I sewed the front and back out of a bedsheet to try the fit. Not loving it and not sure how to improve. We’ll see if I get back to it.

Commiserations on sandal shopping y’all. Why do they have nothing?

Congratulations on a good pair of jeans Flo, they look just your thing!

Red that runner is beautiful, hope it fits! I like the dress for summer beachiness, Mexican vibe.

Holidays are scuppered here too. Been trying to find a place to rent for a week or so but no luck. Of course I’m the only one looking so slow going. 🙄

Couple of jeans pics. I sized up for the first time ever in M&S - not sure if that's due to lockdown lard or because I prefer a looser fit these days or M&S haphazard sizing. Most likely all 3.

Also a pic of them in the mid blue colour which I didn't take to at all. I think that was because the fit was poor - the smaller size was too tight but these felt shapeless and lumpy, also too long to skim the ankle but not long enough to cuff.

I did like the green which I think you can see hanging up and which I might still order.

In other news, I've bought some Birkenstock's in a style I think I turned my nose up at a couple of years ago. But I was losing the will to live.

Ah, yes the blue ones were best left behind, they look a bit 'suburban' (apologies to those living in suburbia but it felt the best descriptor).

I nearly bought some Birkenstocks, from the proenza shouler Colab last year (they were at my local dress agency online) but I dithered too long and they were sold by the time I made up my mind. I've ordered loads of other sandals though, Zara home (of all places) had some the Row knock offs in leather. I've also ordered some Yume Yume ones, I saw them in a newsletter from an independent boutique but they didn't have my size, then found them on afound with a really steep discount and colours that are probably better, think they came to 11 euros each, got a couple of colours. (I really like how they've styled the belt rope in that picture too, I'm very tempted to get it but realistically how annoying would going to the toilet be 🧐).

I'm considering some suicoke ones as I'm still confused I need to go ugly but their sizing is far too confusing. Apparently I need to size up to a size 42 but they have a hay Collab that's very colourful in various suede tones that I think could work but have to order from France with no free returns. The brand isn't carried much locally so difficult to blindly purchase.

Good to hear you've been productive of sorts Bani. Annoying about the holidays, is it really true PCR tests are €300 in Sweden

300 euro??? No idea, I’m forgoing foreign travel this year so haven’t looked. I might have seen somewhere private saying 150 I think? Which I thought was a ripoff.

I really like that leather belt thing but alas agree with toilet dilemma.

Agree that wrong colour blue jeans looks suburban.

The problem with the shirt dress pattern is that it’s too tight in the hips. So it’s a bit prissy. Not surprising since it’s from a prissy magazine. Not sure if I can add volume to the skirt simply by drawing a more outward shape on the side seam 🤔 but I have loads of bedsheet and might try. Also not sure if that unprisses anything (suspect not). I’d also like to put the shoulders seam ever so slightly higher but can’t work out how to do it on the pattern piece 🤔

My mum will come back and kill me if I'm rude about suburbia - she always said we didn't know how lucky we were to live there. But yeah those blue jeans - they were the first ones I tried and, if I hadn't had an 8 month old voucher in my wallet, I'd have walked straight out. Of course maybe in a couple of years I'll come across the photo of the grey ones again and wonder WTF was I thinking but

Hope the shirt dress works out bani. Shoulders are a bugger to fit I always afind.

flo, I like the green jeans. I understand exactly suburban - and my parents moved out of London to the suburbs, it was considered far better than the inner city. The houses in North London they had grown up in would be worth ££££ now!

I like that second photo, bo, the slouchy jeans and are they flip flops?

I know we talked about oversized before, but I think it's complex and fabric, proportion and line all come into play. So no simple formula, sadly.

these are the Birkenstocks except mine are in a lighter tan. I'd have probably preferred the dark brown but they didn't have any left and I was too weary of it all to go away and order online. Like I said, I either tried these or something very similar 2 or 3 years ago and decided against them but that was then and I couldn't face winging it through another summer.

I'm wearing them round the house today. Not getting that Kondo feeling but they tick every box and maybe love will grow.

Flo, those are the ones to have, apparently. Well done on being trendy. (We always want the dark brown, don't we? Can we get it? No.)

I have drawn a wider side seam on my shirt dress pattern yesterday, the same amount on all sides like a good girl, and then lost the will to live because I have to piece together bedsheet scraps before cutting out again (not smart enough to only add the extra bit as a wedge or something). Slow but sure. I then have a semi-attractive bedsheet in good condition I can use as a "wearable toile".

A colleague was wearing an attractive dress yesterday, but too short. She's a head shorter than I am and the dress was barely to her knees, ie a glorified tunic. How hard is it, clothes people, to make dresses long enough to wear.

Still no wifi at home (so I can't binge watch taskmaster, which does mean I got off my arse and did the pattern thing).

Yeah that's me bani and, if only I'd bought them a few years back, I'd have been a proper trailblazer. Finding myself on trend always feels like a glass half full / half empty thing because the trend invariably moves on and I'm left looking out of date.

I'm being a right old Eeyore today aren't I? I'm sure the world will be a better place once I'm fully caffeined.

I'm rooting for you with your bedsheet toile.

Spooky, these were the Birkenstocks I was dithering over for too long. Pretty much the same model, but this is my main gripe with the Birkenstock collabs, fancier name attached and slightly different finishes make them six times the price (or thereabouts) but essentially the same shoe 🤷

Can you not steal some of the neighbour's WiFi Bani, actually, maybe don't, a whole thread on MN will be started about your cheeky fucker ways. There's quite a few tutorials how to alter patterns, it involves a lot of scotch tape and paper usually but if you don't mind it flaring out a bit you can just draw in some extra on the side. Altering a shouler in a pattern is a lot easier than on an existing item, but you do need a French curve or similar.

Quirky, yes they're flip flops, you can see them better here, I always really like the styling on that site, but a lot of it you do need to see on and they're kinda far away.

I should be receiving a bunch of shoes today, I started on a coated linen tote yesterday but gave up as it was too warm and my sewing room has a crappy old IKEA desk chair with faux leather that was leading to swamp ass 🤢 but it's cooler today so I might just finish it as it's not that much work left, it's essentially a usable toile for a leather one I'd like to make except I'll make that one entirely by hand. Hoping it will end up looking something like the pic in the end. Sourcing leather is a bit of a headache though.

So not only are my sandals the Thing of the summer but so it seems are my favourite trousers:
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/jun/15/great-strides-how-annie-halls-dad-pants-conquered-the-world

Dad pants
Hey kids, buy them second hand - sorry repurposed - cos no-one's ever thought of doing that before.

As you've probably noticed, the coffee didn't help and I'm officially grumpy today.

Annie Hall trousers sounds far better than dad pants, flo.

I have the similar birkenstocks without the back strap, very old and battered in navy that are relegated to beach/scruffy walks and last year some black/metallic ones with a kind of mock crock print. And yes, bani, dark brown are exactly what we want, but sadly, so does every one else.

I do like those flip-flops, bo, but as I bout leather ones last year, I can't justify any more.

On the Birkenstocks front, I'm wearing my black metallic ones today (with old, aka 90s, clothes that are cool in the heat). Apologies for the light, it was really hard to get it right and so looks like the photo is from the 90s too. I seem to be dressing in lots of dark colours this summer! Partly because of a weird rash on my chest, so wearing higher necklines and bruises on my legs from falling off a bike (not serious, I'm a learner) last week. The glamour!

I seem to have got a double chin too , from the bad angle.

I do like the look of the 2-strap Birkenstocks, I just can't walk in sandals with no heelstrap, it's the old form v function dilemma.

Anyway this is a rare day - just a handful in each year - when my hips and the stars are aligned and I can fasten my charity shop Loewe chinos. I'm afraid you're not getting a pic cos they're still um.... straining around the crotch and I wouldn't be wearing them if I was in the office. But it's interesting trying to figure out why they feel so swanky. Is it that they're the colour of expensive caramel highlights? Or the fabric which is cotton and yet feels a bit silky (and the pocket linings are pure silk)? Or is it the style - neither wide nor narrow, not too high or too low? Or is it that they still look pristine despite a morning sitting in the heat?

Or is it all just in my head - the power of a label? Whatever it is, I feel like Charlotte in Sex and the City, only hers would have been a better fit.

I don't think the ones with the heel strap look that different, flo. I think sandals with heel straps are supposed to be better for your feet, as you are not gripping with your toes when you walk, so I don't blame you. I like the two straps, but they can rub on the strap nearest your ankle until you become accustomed to them.

Are we slowly turning into the official Loewe chino/cargo trousers fan club. There's at least three of us here, last I counted.

I'm a bit annoyed with the dad trend label, when coming of age I had to resemble a teenage boy as there was no hope of fitting into anything otherwise, then I was supposed to have sex like a man, I could deal with the boyfriend closet pilfering but I'm drawing the line at looking like a dad.

Sandals options are also doing my head in, the Yume Yume ones are ridiculously comfortable but they're aesthetically a bit meh and not that versatile. The Zara home pair, I like (although a bit too 90s with some outfits) but they're heavy on the foot and annoyingly they're attached so I can only really shuffle in them if I still want to be able to return them and it's all just made me realise looking for instantly comfortable sandals is probably just me procrastinating on breaking in perfectly good sandals I bought during lockdowns but lockdowns also meant my soft feet got even softer, so breaking in is not pleasant. I'm probably better off sending everything back and finding some preventive blister product that actually works.

No news on the fashion front, but just back from a few days away in Wales... such beautiful countryside.

bo, Compeed blister plasters are good, not sure if they're preventative though. You used to be able to get a spray on "plaster" for blisters, but I haven't been able to find it in recent years. I always find transitioning to sandals and back in the autumn to boots is always tough on the feet!

TL;DR, I go on endlessly about my feet first, I've put an asterisk netmum style decoration thing where I'm back to a normal person not talking endlessly about my feet.

Yes, I'm very familiar with Compeed, Quirky, I may as well buy shares in them as I go through them a lot and generic brand versions are shit in comparison. They work okay preventatively for a heel blister but I can't really wear them in sandal type shoes, not the ones I have now anyway. I'm trying to break in, although it's probably more a breaking of my feet scenario atm, these two attached. The first pair (pic 1 if it posts right) I wasn't anticipating issues with they're very similar to my tkees which I can wear without issue from the get go but these have been pretty painful on the toe post, that's passed now, my feet seem resilient enough for a walk (but haven't tested anything beyond a few hours) but now one of them has ripped open the top of my foot on the side. Sigh. Nothing major but it's still annoying.

The black pair are very stiff and the rubbing causes blisters across the whole of the top of my feet. I've seen Compeed do an anti blister stick I might try that, and there's a very expensive product in a spray that's also the world's tiniest bottle but gets really good reviews, so might resort to that too. My only concern is that these products will work too well and have my shoes sliding off my feet instead.

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I'm ashamed to admit, I always forget Wales exists I'm sure it's lovely though. We finally made some decisions wrt holidays, we're doing a short trip to Paris in a few weeks and have booked something longer and less city like later and may extend longer as we can just work remotely. We'll see how we feel after Paris and do more city breaks if we feel like it, but cities in August heat are probably not that appealing.

Also heading to Belgium even sooner (well it has to jump to yellow but I suspect it will next week) to go the Dries Van Noten fabric and accessories sample sale in about two weeks time. They're pretty much cancelling all limitations except social distancing from next Saturday here. As much as I dislike the masks, they've come to feel like a security blanket, it feels a bit naked now somehow.