Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: Do not ask the kock about les préservatifs in the food.

[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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No not the almond coat, the burgundy shiny one.

I don't think I can ever fit my entire body into one trouser leg

I don't get the menocore bit though, is it supposed to be about menopausal women? Or women who dress in men's pieces?

Sorry everyone, fell off the internet a bit there! Well, I got stuck playing loads of adventure escape point and click games on the Ipad and also stalking linen sheets on Tradera. :D

First -- Earthquake! In Australia! I was as surprised as if it had happened here! Glad you're ok, Time.

Starting way back - I love the almond coat, it's a really cool colour. At the same time, it doesn't strike me as being terribly special in shape etc so I can see the waffling. OTOH what does ever tick all boxes, I ask you.

I don't want to get started on maternity wear but let us remember that someone I know in the 90s found knee-length velvet dungarees with a massive big bow right over the belly in the maternity section. So useful. However, knitted figure hugging dresses are very useful maternity wear! When for once there need be no question about what shape you are.

God the massive chunky soles are everywhere aren't they? I'm just going to have to wait them out I think. Or maybe for once be fashionable and get a pair. I could absolutely do with stylish wellies actually, that is a gap in my wardrobe. Something I could wear that doesn't flap around on my feet (I always found wellies a bit pointless like that).

Annoyed on your behalf Flo that the Uniqlo sizing is so erratic. What's the bloody point. I think winter white works best in winter fabrics.

Thank you for the MH pictures Red! I have to say it's hard to tell the loveliness from photos, I liked the look of you more than the clothes so to speak if you know what I mean (which is nothing pervy). God I'd love to have a feel of it some day. Next time I go to Dublin I'll make sure to visit the shop in Rathmines. I am going to watch that video on making the shirt now when I go to bed :D thank you Bo, good find! I am insanely jealous of your thoughtful son, Red. Mine is all Asos and Nike sneakers. :(

I got an email about the sale at Cos and got a white linen shirt dress in two sizes (to try). And a linen shirt which I will probably send back if I'm honest. But I want linen everything, am absolutely obsessed. Suspect the dress won't look effortlessly cool on me and will also go back. So mindful...

My linen curtains were not a euphemism thankyouverymuch, genuinely just linen curtains. After washing them, unpicking the tab tape or whatever you call it and ironing them I see that they are a bit slubbier/rougher than I first thought. But you know, definitely grand for 40 SEK! I am in such a quandary over what I should make with them. I was thinking a shirt, to practise, or a longer shirt ie a dress. I just have to find a good pattern. But now I just ordered the Cos dress so maybe no dress? This is very typical me, the fabric is cheap, so making something that doesn't turn out perfect won't be a waste of money, but now I want it to be perfect so the whole thing is a bargain! So I make nothing, probably.

This will sound horribly elitist but I think you have to wear MH to really understand why I bang on about her. The first time I saw anything of hers (trousers of course) they didn't look anything special and, even when I tried them on, I thought they were nice but couldn't really see what all the fuss was about. But they were a good price and I was curious (and a bit of a label victim) .... and the rest you know. It was only when I wore them the first time and got to the end of the day and noticed they still looked just like they did when I put them on that I began to get it. I can leave them on the bedroom floor and put them straight on the next morning. Plus I feel incredibly cool when I wear them which is totally in my head but it's a nice place to be. So I'm very Red, particularly the check ones - haven't got any like that.

I would be dithering over that linen too bani because the things I'd want to make, e.g. trouser suit are all beyond my capabilities at least at the moment. When I have more time I shall tell you how I'm getting on making the Merchant and Mills trousers but it's not a happy tale.

Yeah I think the men in 'menocore' is for menopause bo so I guess that's me aside from all that white and gold. I'm glad you're keeping the coat, it'll be great.

Yes, I've looked it up, menopause is the meno bit, but it's typical Guardian posing as experts on all things young and cool (they'd use hip) when they're just making it up with vague input from someone's surly teenager. The other mentioned tribes never really existed or are pretty much over, VSCO girls are a sort of in joke that the media continues take seriously. The meno term was coined in 2017 on Man Repeller, wealthy WASP at the seaside, Diane Keaton in As Good As It Gets where women in their 20s and 30s dressing like they're having hot flashes is somehow deemed radical. Not dressing like a one percenter in extra wide leg trousers as per the Guardian, have they ever come across a one percenter There's only 724 photos on Instagram with the hashtag and it's mostly menopausal or post menopausal women, it's not a thing and I very much hope it won't become a thing.

I'm not sure what I'd do with linen curtains, I find that the more of fabric I have the more cutting anxiety I have because of ALL the options. Are they too scratchy for pyjamas? I love my linen pyjamas. I really need to get a sewing project going again I've been eyeing a red coat from the Valentino Haute Couture show, I really like the coat on coat thing but I fear it's beyond my skill (although I always think this and manage somehow) and nice red coating fabric is hard to find, assuming I don't want to spend thousands.

Frustratingly I wrote out a long chatty reply to everyone comment this morning early with my coffee and it hasn't posted.

Bullet points

bani I get you! I've too many things sitting unused through the fear I will ruin them forever. Can we have a thread pact to do something about this and enjoy ourselves with our nice things. We deserve it. And sure what's a mistake or two between friends

Bo good decision about the coat. Annoying about the birks. Though I have always found them hard to break in. Apart from the soft footbed ones ( though they don't come in the nice styles, but the range is getting better). I am hoping that birkinstock aren't being turned by the collab/insta fame and loosing their quality. You would expect more from them than what you have described your pair arriving like.

Red I will take pics of the belt soon, its actually from topshop but really leather. I have 2 now from topshop and both are very good for the prices I paid. Both a little 'different' as well.

Now to me. I've attached pics of a new coat I got. I really like it. It's from a Korean brand I think. Daily Monday, but I think they have gone busy now. However it's exactly the type of thing I was looking for. Possibly I would have wanted it a tad longer. It does need pressed. Also my dress looked weird hanging out the bottom so I tucked it up so it might look a bit bumpy
It looks to be unworn and cost £10, its 85% wool and 15% Polyamide....which could be the answer to my question.... it STINKS
Of plastic chemicals
How would I get rid of this?
Airing outside?
Freezing?
Spraying with vodka?
Would dry cleaning only add to the chemical smell.

Also added a pic of what I'm wearing today. Charity shop oasis dress with tags, my grandas old cardigan, another charity shop khaki belt and the boots I waited 3 months for last year that I think I'm over now

Ah photos

Lovely coat duvet, as for the smell, it kind of depends what is causing it. If it's the lining or something else internal then I'd try dry cleaning. If it's the wool then I sort of have a solution but not. Vinegar diluted in a steam iron and then press the hell out of it with a pressing cloth. The catch is it (and your entire house) will smell like vinegar for quite some time, if you hang it outside everyday the vinegar smell will go. Brush flat when done to revive the cloth.

Also, if you live in a hard water area you'll probably have to let a cycle or two of your iron go as it'll be decalcifying the steam tank and shooting out the calcium which is a nightmare on clothes. I suppose you could sponge on diluted vinegar water on the coat and then press with a steam cloth over it to avoid decalcifying nightmares but it would probably take longer.

How certain are you on the wool though? IME Korean brands can fib quite a bit on fabric composition and their business friendly government is rather lax on enforcement, I don't think they're even required to insert fabric composition labels within SK.

The sloth in me would just hang it outside for a few days before attempting anything labourious though.

Another great find duvet - I bought a Harris tweed coat this time last year that was both stained and smelly - lovely. The odours were a mixture of mildew and um... human so a different situation from yours but anyway. I was kind of embarrassed to even take it to the dry cleaners, brazened it out but it fixed neither. Hung it outside every day for almost a week. Nope. I bought a truckload of white vinegar, immersed it and left it outside in a bowl for 2 days. That helped with the smell but not the stains. To cut a long story short (bani egged me on) I ended up washing it on 30 degrees. Twice. Not even on a wool cycle. It looked a bit stunned when it came out but you know what, it did the trick. Ok the collar still hasn't fully recovered and it lost a couple of inches in length which is a shame but it's still below the knee and also wearable now, which it wasn't before.

I can't recommend it because it was reckless behaviour and a different kind of smell, but it worked. Kind of. (Now I just have to decide what to do about the lining.)

I like the cut of the dress on you duvet , the coat looks good too.

Well you lot made me LOL. Second hands fragrances . The smells …. It should be a mandatory attribute or the same way you go and Say No Marks etc etc… it doesn’t Stink!
As we speak I am ‘airing’ a Maje white cardi with studs on the pockets that I bought with all the new tags … no marks etc but thru eBay…. But oh lord the thing stinks 😷… not human … more I have been in a bag with anty moth chemicals for 10 years type thing …
So, I have done it, I have joined you in the stinky purchases .

Bo I've no idea how to be sure about the fabric, the label says so????and then the rest is in Korean.
Any tips as to how to actually know, it would be useful to know these things.

I will show it to my Mum and then possibly to my Nanny who will no doubt be more knowledgeable than me.

Thanks everyone for the tips.
I hung it in the garden today and its slightly better, so will repeat before trying anything laborious. The lining smells lovely so it's the wool itself. I've googled and Asian market clothes can be treated with formaldehyde, but I don't know what that smells like to be honest.

Red that cardigan is fantastic, hope the smell goes. I agree with you, smell needs to be an honest descriptor. I wash and iron everything before I sell it on, I often hate doing it as I know its clean but I'd hate for anything to be thought of as smelly, even though I know it definitely isn't. I have been very lucky so far in everything I've received too, until now. And luckily this is a chemical smell, rather than a person smell

Flo, I will keep the machine in mind as a last resort, I know this cost next to nothing but as it stands it is ticking all the boxes for what I wanted in a smart winter coat. So knowing my luck, and the lack of any care label, I'd end up with a barbie coat or a melted rag. But Harris tweed in a charity is a lucky lucky find bet it put a spring in your step. Just the right time of year to wear it too. Can you change the lining - maybe practice for the leather coat?

Vinegar and baking soda are good for smells. If it's a plasticky smell I'd have thought you could air it out though, ie it's production, not mold. Dry-cleaning involves an additive to get odours out but who knows. Might be the steaming afterwards that would help your coat, Duvet. I like that dress, this is what I want to wear more, midi dresses with boots? But can't find any fucking boots.

I'd forgotten about Flo being a bloody maverick with that tweed coat. Not even a wool cycle! I mean I'd wash it in the machine but I'd use a wool cycle. :O

Anyway, washing with water fixes almost anything when it comes to smells!

The linen curtains are not scratchy - not the softest linen I've ever felt but would soften with wear. Could be pyjamas but I'd prefer not white pyjamas so I'd have to dye and bla bla. I bought a pair of linen elasticated trousers in the sale and they are so nice. so so nice. to sleep in. God I love linen. Anyway initial plan was shirt or shirt dress, so I'm looking for a shirt pattern designed to fit on shoulders, not dropped seam, for starters. The Swedish shop korps.se (sell loads to LARPers and historical re-enactors) have a lovely twill weave linen i'd love to have a shirt in. Saw one on their instagram this summer.

I don't see coat on coat being beyond you, Bo. Depending on construction. I do wonder if it's an idea best kept in concept land, ie not actually that great to wear, unless very ceremonial? It does give you the option to have practical coat under and fancy open coat over Did I understand correctly that you returned almond coat? I meant to be more complimentary about it, was sitting next to my daughter looking at the photos and we both agreed it was lovely.

I know it was feckless and foolhardy but I'd been so careful for so long (well about 2 weeks) and got nowhere and I just lost it. That's my excuse for the first wash - I can't explain the second at all.

That's a really lovely shirt.

duvet - that was kind of the plan, to have a go at relining it myself as a lockdown project. But I didn't get round to it and let's face it, if I didn't manage it last year when there was pretty much nothing else to do, then I think it's probably not going to happen unless I pay someone.

I think though, there's another thing stopping me, which is that, although the lining's a mess, it's been painstakingly repaired in several places, not even particularly well but I find that really poignant. There's a story there - It was clearly a coat that was meant to last someone a lifetime and it probably did, and so I can't quite bring myself to rip it out. The leather coat on the other hand - I just need to find someone who'll do it!

That linen shirt looks great Bani, I wouldn't mind one either. Arket has some nice linen pieces in their secret sale today, there was a navy shirt that looked good and also a somewhat pricy (compared to the shirt) pyjama shirt.

No I haven't returned or even ordered the almond coat, I only tried it on in the shop many weeks ago now and I wasn't sure on the size when worn with winter clothes and they only had that one coat and that was right before I left on holiday. I figured I'd find it online in a size up to try but it's last year's colour. I have found it elsewhere where it's on with a small discount in a size up but they refuse returns on sale items (blah blah not allowed under EU regs but I don't always have the energy to fight with customer service, also it's French customer service so it'll have to be all formal language and you have to alternate between being very ingratiating and being super demanding, it's just too much to try on a different size of coat). Anyhow, someone in Italy is selling both sizes on Farfetch now so I still have to get round to ordering there. FF usually do a promo code around this time so I'm holding out for one of those.

WRT red coat, I don't want an exact replica but things I like from it are the coat on coat layering in different shades of red with different textual quality and the hood and tie on aspect of it. I think I might play around on my mini mannequin. Maybe attempt a replica in toile fabric to get an idea of how it's put together and then work off of that and make something my own. I think the outer layer on that is silk (faille maybe?) and that doesn't seem all that practical at all.

duvet you can usually get a feel for fabric composition, lower wool percentage in a mix tends to feel different but a 85/15 mix wouldn't feel that different from a 50/50 mix but you'd notice when wearing it as they insulate differently.

Flo, I agree it's very strange, I'm very poorly motivated to do sewing repairs and small replacement things but complicated large projects I take on without thinking about it 🤷

Good shirt bani, ultra-wearable.

All well here, just reading along and lurking quietly in the background. Next big meeting at the end of next week.

@botemp you mention an Arket secret sale. Is that on the Arket website or is it more secret than that?!

@creampuff99 it's though the newsletter, let me try and link, I've swapped out the country code from EU to UK so I hope it works, here's the EU link as a back up.

Good to hear you're feeling well Xing, are you back to enjoying walks with Xingdog already?

[waves] to Xing

Has your lovely jumper arrived? I hope is as you wished!

Thanks all! Yup, back to doing Pilates (a bit cautiously so as not to open any wounds) and walking XingDog every day... even in the rain. Yesterday was monsoon season.

The lovely jumper came from the posh frock shop red so I brought it home and sneaked it into the drawer quietly. I haven't worn it yet, but it was the last one and too good to miss so I walked around the block and went back for it.

Thanks so much @botemp. I ended up getting quite a few things from there. Great discounts and their clothes are always very good quality

I'm nosy now @creampuff99, what gems did you get?

I really need to unsubscribe from The Frankie Shop newsletter as they are way too tempting I survived not immediately checking out this wrap off white coat of my infantile 'I made it' dreams previously but they now have a green tea coat that's making me reconsider the almond one. The colour is equally hard to see in pictures (I assume), it's more yellow than I'd like, going by pictures but I never would have paid any attention to the almond one by its pictures alone so I don't want to judge prematurely on that, but otherwise they're somewhat similar and I think I prefer the coat shape of this one, and it's a third cheaper but still 100% wool (the other has a smidge of cashmere in).

Although now I've looked at the off white one again that's tempting me too

Delighted to hear about your belt find 70s. The price of that first belt did seems outrageous. The coat looks great and I love your boots too.

Glad you made it to the MH sale red I was too busy admiring your sandals and skirt to focus on the MH clothes at first. The trousers look great

I’m a bit confused about mencore and the quote in the article that say “Annie Hall is now an influencer”, I mean hasn’t she always been?

I love the idea of the repaired lining flo, nice when a garment has history like that

xing glad to hear that you’re doing well and that you’re able to get back to pilates

botemp I love that cream coat, though it would be completely unwearable in Ireland, the hem would be filthy and soaking wet in minutes. I think your almond coat is a nicer shade than that green, even allowing for screen variations.

I’m back in the office so have had some opportunity to wear work clothes, which is a bit of a mixed blessing at the moment, I might stick up some pictures later. I don’t think that I’m brave enough for a white knitted dress. Will hold out for a darker colour.

I think I'm with Elle and prefer the colour of first green coat too, bo although that was my first reaction, I've not been back to check yet, and who can really tell from a screen. That off white coat is stunning and makes me think of whatshername from 'The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe' - Cate Blanchet in the film version. So if you secretly have a snow locked kingdom in your thrall and travel everywhere by sleigh then go for it.

The model in that Frankie link reminded me how wider leg trousers look much better with a longer coat - to me anyway.

OH has commented that the Green Tea coloured coat looks like the colour of snot, well that's been a kiss of death...

I agree the almond is a nicer colour, probably, but it's probably also a better item, The Frankie Shop own brand clothes aren't especially high quality.

I'm safe as the off white coat is sold out, it was way too long for me anyhow, it would definitely not stayed that colour for long at the bottom. I also thought it was too much money for the material. I did think it was interesting that the brand of the coat (By Malene Birger) is being pushed by The Frankie Shop all of a sudden as they tend to champion new up and coming brands usually. It's a brand that had sort of disappeared somewhat, and now it's back with seemingly more sustainable fabric choices and and more expensive than before.

I wouldn't mind having a personal winter wonderland though. I'll probably curse myself later for saying as much now, I have a feeling we might get a cold winter. It's definitely suddenly Autumn now, I was very mournful packing my Ginza sandals away but I am really enjoying dressing in autumnal hues atm.