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.

---

Favoured Parisian addresses:

Second Hand Shops

Outlets

Favoured London addresses:

Charity Shops, Dress Agencies, and Outlets

Favoured NYC addresses:

Consignment shops, Vintage, and Restaurants

---

Previous threads:

Un

Deux

Trois

Quatre

Cinq

Six

Sept

Huit

Neuf

Dix

Onze

Douze

Treize

Why are my pictures not showing, weirdly it said I can only upload three more pictures today, but I haven't posted any today

Link to pics

first pair

second pair

Wales was a trip to time past. Right now, every one in the world seems to want to come to Cornwall so the roads are horrific and there's a permanent traffic jam in and out on the M5 and A303, but we turned off for Chepstow and were detoured because the main road was closed.... and the scenery across the plain to the Black Mountains on the B road was completely eyepoppingly lovely, and there was minimal traffic. Huge panoramas of vista. I don't often think the view is better than the view from my own kitchen window, but some of the glimpses were on an epic scale, approaching Lord of the Rings landscape level.

Oh you wise women of Parisian Chic.
Have you heard of an online clothing company called Le Muse ?
If so and have bought from it, what were the clothes, customer service etc like please ?

bo, I too could buy shares in Compeed . I also use their cold sore patches (I react badly to zovirax) and yes, the copies are crap. I'm sure Scholl used to do a blister spray, but don't any more, which was great as it stayed on your skin regardless of sweat or rubbing. Thanks also for the recommendation of benzoyl peroxide for spots - it's a game changer! I usually have pretty clear skin but the sudden hot weather and fluctuating hormones haven't helped.

LadyEloise, welcome. Sorry I haven't bought from Le Muse, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along soon.

LadyEloise, they're new to me too. They do look like one of many of those Baltic based linen brands. Etsy has a lot of it too, I'm not sure if it all comes from the same factory but a lot mid high end brands like Acne Studios get things made there so it is an established industry. It's a gamble I guess, I suspect the cuts will be more on the basic side and if you were to buy it there it would be much cheape, so depending on how much your body needs a clever cut in clothes that'll work or not. Only thing I'd consider is import/vat into the UK but for some reason I'm convinced you're Irish so within the EU it shouldn't be a problem.

I've ordered some The Row Ginza sandals in the sale thankfully, but feel free to tell me about all the lovely benches I could buy...

Quirky, yeah, zovirax is weird stuff that doesn't work for me either. I've yet to meet anyone that swears by it, I swear by some weird American green herbal tincture thing in a tube that I can now only buy off iherb. I don't think there's anything really active in there but it always works really well for me, better than some prescription thing I had 🤷 thankfully not had a cold sore in years.

Has anyone else watched Cruella? It’s well worth a looks for the costumes alone. They’re a little one note, in that it feels very Galliano Dior by way of Zac Posen and McQueen, lots of sculptural takes on an exaggerated female form, pleating and asymmetry, but visually still an absolute treat. I had forgotten that Jenny Beavan was criticised for dressing in an overly casual way to accept her Oscar and I read a really interesting interview with her lately where she explained that her outfit was actually meant to echo the costumes in Max Max. Her jacket was from M&S.
www.vulture.com/2021/06/cruella-costumes-best-and-worst.html
www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/jenny-beavan-cruella-interview

At the risk of sounding smug in the face of the blister woes the Stories sandals have softened up nicely. I did however succumb to the sale that botemp kindly alerted me too and have a pair of camel Ginza sandals on the way. In fairness I’ve worn the black ones lots.

xing I’d love to visit Cornwall it looks beautiful. We were up in Donegal recently and I had the same sense of wonder at the views. On a good day it’s unbelievably beautiful

flo love the jeans but agree that the colour of the blue ones is too even ( I think) to be cool. I think with the light / mid wash you need a bit or variation in tone to make it work. You’ve exactly pinned down the factors that make the Loewe pants feel so good, mine don’t crease much either.

red I like the embroidered kaftan, if it’s inexpensive it would be nice for wafting along the beach in

bo I have the white version of the PS x Birkenstock without the heel strap. I got them in the NAP sale at 50% off in winter so I assumed that they weren’t coming back.

quirky outfit looks great.

This type quirky? plaster

Ok, I have somehow missed a lot of posts and the last thing I could see was a question about plasters …
We will be visiting Cornwall this year xing it has been ages since I last went, so I am looking forward.
I ended up getting the runner, then I was going to go back and try the kaftan and the weather has gone to autumn again … so I did not bother.
Talking about Etsy and linen, I am after linen curtains for my bedroom. I have a blind so it is more of a decorative / pull them during the day if I still want some light in. Anyhow, why are they so inexpensive on Etsy? All coming from Eastern Europe, I asked for a quote to be made here in the uk and it is double the price. Do you think the fabric will be different? Will I get better fabric if is handmade , certified linen here in uk?

Ah excellent I'm not the only one spending bench money on shoes I had contemplated the cognac ones too, Elle but I think I need the darker contrast to get away with their heftier presence on my short legs. I can really see th cognac ones working well for you, they'd probably go well with the Loewe trousers.

Yeah, the PSx Birkenstock sandals were secondhand (but never worn) at a dress agency, so probably not ever returning.

They are releasing a Jil Sander x Birkenstock collab soon though, the brand not JS herself, but I did really like the look of the Arizona versions with a sort of built out sole. Not a lot of decent pics but more info here. I had contemplated those Arizona until I stumbled across the discounted Ginzas.

Red, Baltic linen is okay but not the best out there. But for curtains that isn't as much of an issue unless you want something very specific, eg. very finely woven and quite transparent lightweight linen is pretty much exclusive to France. Etsy doesn't include vat/custom duties though, so there's the added cost of that. Linen also discolours quite easily so it's best to get it lined with cotton or similar but that's usually not the aesthetic people want from linen these days. I do know a good German Etsy seller that sells Belgian linen that's really good for curtains and comes in extra wide width especially for that, heavier quality and a good price for Belgian linen, you can get samples from there first.

I used to post on here, then stopped and have been a v occasional lurker.
Just popping by to suggest some linen-y links:

For Hepburn style trousers, these might be OK (I was going to order them but they didn't have them in my size)
www.laredoute.fr/ppdp/prod-542826305.aspx#productDescriptionHeading

These are nice (not sure whether you can get Monoprix stuff via La Redoute in the UK, though, and haven't time to investigate. Sorry...)
www.laredoute.fr/ppdp/prod-544177811.aspx
I ordered these instead of the other pale green ones above, and there was 20% off so they were a total bargain. Had to get them shortened to avoid tripping over them (I'm 5'5). They are lovely and cool, perfect for where I live, perhaps thinner and cooler than strictly necessary for the UK. They get crumpled and looser as the day wears on, but that's just what linen does, IME.

For curtains or blinds, this company sells linen by the metre and ships to the UK. Maybe a bit dear and I've not ordered from them (yet), so can't comment on quality.
linenshed.fr/

Thanks AuldAlliance - I've not looked at La Redoute in ages, in fact not since they stopped sending that massive catalogue. Hope you're well - come back and see us again!

Elle good point about the colour of those jeans, I'm still musing on why they looked so wrong. I really don't want to like any of that artificial fading and grading palaver because denim's processed.
enough as it is. But it looks like it's got to me, dammit.

You'll be relieved to know I'm quite liking the Birkenstocks so far - very easy to break in.

LadyEloise I've never heard of that company either but hope you stick around

Hello again Auld, is your Comptoir des Cotonniers coat still treating you well?

I like the Monoprix linen trousers a lot, they look like a really good cut. I always forget to go into MP when I'm in Paris as I only ever notice the big one at Les Halles and that one is always so busy. La Redoute NL doesn't carry them, but apparently they're planning to open some Monoprix supermarkets here, I'm weirdly excited about this

And thanks for the linen shed link, I see I can order myself some custom fitted sheets to fit my ridiculous tall mattresses so that's really useful.

Yes, I agree the colour of those blue jeans is probably the root of their basic basicness, Flo, they may as well be suburbia Magnolia wall paint. Although I'm not sure if distressed is necessarily the answer, a few shades lighter or darker would work, it's just such a solid blah colour now. I'd be tempted to DIY dye some if they get marked down heavily in the sale. If you bleach in a sort of tie dye manner instead of dyeing darker you can probably go off and live your best tik tok life like a true gen z-er

Waves at Auld

Thank you all for the linen suggestions.
One of the main issue is that the Baltic sellers had narrow pieces of fabric and I need a decent width for my window.
Yes I was adding the vat, etc etc , they were still cheaper than here but the gap narrows so I wonder and I might just get them made here. I will try to get samples first.

The Germany Etsy seller with Belgian linen is called stoffcreationen, Red, you just need to message them for samples. Their communication style is very German. I think it was around €30 per metre for 3m wide fabric, heavier weight stuff.

Sorry I lie, I've just checked, it's €55 a metre, that around €30 price I remember is the half metre price. Sorry.

I see bo has beaten me to the Jil Sander birkenstock collab. I quite liked the completely impractical clogs with wrap around ties in a pale creamy colour.

I like the linen trousers, Auld, I also remember the big catalogue and La Redoute's linen trousers were good. I (just about) still have a pair that are literally on their last legs and keep meaning to see if I can get another pair made the same.

Early/mid noughties Redoute feels like a bygone age but they were great. They'd leave your catalogue in the porch and reading it was my small-child free treat. Plus you could open an account so you didn't have to pay for anything until after you'd tried it on, and when you wanted to return, you phoned up the courier and they'd come round and pick it up.

I've recently dug out an ankle length denim skirt of theirs, bought around 2005, really thick denim and a nice shape. Even better, I can still fasten it (must have been loose before). And I've only just given up on a T shirt in my favourite shade of grey/purple that I won't inflict on a charity shop.

They did a collab with Jane Birkin once and I've had a style crush on her ever since.

Thanks for the welcome back!

Bo, your memory is phenomenal. My CdC green coat is doing very well, thanks. It obviously didn't get many outings this winter, as I was locked in my study and never went anywhere that might warrant such a garment. It's safely hanging in a mothproof bag with some local lavender until next winter, though, when I hope it will come into its own again.

to prettybird

La Redoute is a bit hit and miss now, and not nearly as good quality as it used to be. It does have some good basics, though, so those trousers might be worth a punt if you're not going to be charged for p&p and returns.
The Monoprix trousers are quite well cut and seem good quality for the price. They have some really good classic clothes in natural fibres, for a very reasonable price.

I've been eyeing up that French linen website for ages, swithering about getting some blinds made. If you do order, Bo can you let me know what it's like?

I have just ordered some linen samples from here auld, I am not sure if you know of them?
They had extra wide fabric so that could work for my curtains.
Taking about linen and Annie hall trousers, at home today I am wearing both as an easy at home outfit. The top is from M&S probably 3 years old and the trousers emin and Paul I got them in an end of year sale a few years ago. I would like them to be ever so slightly looser on my waist though.

Linen fabric… forgot to put the link
www.tinsmiths.co.uk/category/fabric/sheer-curtain-fabrics/

Thanks, red. I'll tuck that away, but I'm in France and am wary of ordering from post-Brexit UK companies: that website says items will be subject to non-specified customs charges. I might try the French site instead...

Ah! Of course I didn’t realise you are in the EU…. [I wish I was!!]

I'm in France.

Posted too soon, sorry.
Meant to say it's not easy by any means in the current context, being far from my DP, and it's painful to watch the UK right now, but I'm glad that my DC and I have dual nationality and the opportunities that go with that. Including French linen and Monoprix.