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:

Un

Deux

Trois

Quatre

Cinq

Six

Sept

Huit

Neuf

Dix

Onze

Douze

Treize

Quatorze

@Floisme - here's the cardigan - I actually like it most out of all the things that arrived today ( not everything did). It's really thick wool and not too long. It also buttons up quite high. Apologies for dusty mirror

They look good bob. I kind of wish I'd bitten the bullet a couple of years ago and bought some ££ swishy velvet wide legs when they first came back around again.

faustina thanks I really like that look

Well I look an absolute bugger in that layered shirt and no, you're not getting any photos. I still really like the shape from the back and the fabric feels nice too, but they're not enough to compensate for the front view, which confirms that standup collars and my face do not get along.

I'm now eyeing up the stripy shirt that's like the one I returned last year because it felt too 'officey'. I know they say never go back but I think I've got over the office wear hangup now plus I hadn't noticed there was a purple version this time. It's just an idle thought for now though as they don't have my size in at the moment.

The hoodie's much better. Again I really like how it swings out at the back plus the colour works for me and there are some good details e.g. a two way zip and a function, that I haven't tried yet, for drawing in the hemline. And yet... I'm kind of unexcited by it. This may just be because I'm a bit under the weather this weekend, but I also recognise the feeling: if there's a gap in my wardrobe it's surely for casual but interesting basics, and yet when one literally lands on my doorstep, I go 'Meh'. This is why I don't subscribe to the 'only buy it if you love it' school of style. Anyway I'll wait a couple of days before I decide.

@floisme - that is exactly how I feel about the cardigan, but perhaps it's because they aren't bells and whistles kinds of things - just slightly interesting basics? I'm still waiting for the coat which possibly will be a bit more dramatic

Thanks everyone for your well wishes,, still sleeping a lot. Pain meds and me are not friends. But I can't cope yet without them, may have had a slight breakdown/meltdown on Thursday due to too little sleep and trying to cut out the drugs too quickly.

Ohhh and the meltdown... my Mother had the absolute audacity to ask me if I would like boots for Christmas. And I of course said yes. Then I remembered the beautiful boots I'd tried on a few months ago, rang the snooty shop to find if they had them left on my size. No, they said, well what are they called? The woman wouldn't tell me. So I knew the brand but not the style and all the styles online are very similar yet very slightly different
......so complete sobbing breakdown about how I can't possibly order boots that may not be the exact one I really wanted
My poor mother
And thinking back as a rational medicated person, the boots, as bloody usual (eh bani solidarity here) I think at the time I'd rejected as not being quite what I was looking for, because I don't know what I want from boots. Well I do, but they don't exist (googles online courses to become a cobbler)

Flo I do like the flares, agree its the photo, I find it so hard to take pics where my whole body is in the frame, or the lighting is decent or I don't look like a constipated toddler.
How about trying one of your silk shirts with them? The purple might look good?

I'm glad you got the fabric bo those trousers were fabulous, I think I would have just worn long John's under in winter to solve the weight problem. But if they are too big and fiddly to fix then you made the right call
Especially when you have the skill to make a pair that is perfect for you

I got a pair of gap classic straight? ,(The ones flo likes anyway) jeans from ebay this week. I LOVE this fit Flo, thanks for putting me onto them threads ago. I got white and some heavily ripped ones in the summer. These are just a plain classic blue. They don't often come up in my size on ebay (well at a price I'm willing to pay). I've been vainly looking for a washed out black pair for months.
But that's the only shopping I've done in ages.

I like the look of those cords Bob, I'm deeply of anyone that can wear them, I look crap in the material. I think I was last able to wear them as a teenager and they were dungarees that I bought in Italy. Didn't actually wear them as dungarees though with the top half down, I may need to revisit that look, I tried on a pair from Isabel Marant in Antwerp and was reminded how much I liked that look but those weren't right for other reasons.

Faustina I like the cardigan, despite my dislike of cardigans for myself I seem to be slowly warming to them, I may send out for those if they return in stock. I'm also rather enamoured that you managed to make one sleeve look like a black swan diving into the bath.

Sorry to hear the shirt didn't work for you Flo, I was surprised it did work for me so I'm guessing it's one of those things that seem to be standard for the +J collection. I wasn't overly enamoured initially with the knit navy dress I bought last year but once I figured it out with the help of a bra to get the shape right it suddenly made sense.

duvet for your meltdown, sorry to hear of the struggle. Boots are bastards, I'd really like another pair too and it seems to be harder than ever, I don't know if I've started shrinking already or boots have just been adjusted but knee highs all seem to be over the knee on me these days.

Pic of my attached fabric haul, no clothes for me. Florals again (what is happening to me 😱), not sure yet what to do with that it looks good drapey but I was thinking oversized shirt. Coat fabric is hopefully enough to finally realise my dream of a double layered coat with too many lapels.

I've examined the trousers and I don't think it'll be that hard to replicate and it really would have required taking apart completely to fix the fit issues so getting the fabric was probably the right decision. I did think about just wearing them over tights or thermals too duvet but November tends to be wet and very windy here so I'm not convinced that fixes everything but at this price point of just the fabric I'm less bothered about its functional deficiencies.

@botemp - you would not believe the amount of time and energy that went into achieving that pose

I watched a couple of other odd Youtube Uniqlo try on videos and have realised that they all seem to be wearing huge sizes despite being tiny. If I'd know before I wouldn't have ordered the small size. The interesting cable high neck jumpers are going back and I've reordered in large since they all seemed to be back in stock this morning - not your trousers yet, unfortunately @Floisme

I'm very appreciative of your posing effort Faustina brava. The annoying thing with the Uniqlo videos from Asia is that their sizing is different, our xxs is their xs and so forth so a tiny person wearing a size medium is just wearing a small in our sizing. Asian body types are also a bit deceptive they can look a lot slimmer than they are.

Well I picked up my red dress from Uniqlo this afternoon and am also a little deflated. It's a bit shorter than I anticipated but should be okay with boots and I like the red but otherwise it's very basic and I'm not all that convinced I'd have given it a second look if it was not part of the +J collection. I do like the ease of a winter dress especially in pandemic times but I'll have to do a proper look in natural daylight and with the effort of putting boots on with it to make my mind up. They had a few bits in the shop but none that took my fancy I did just see online that the layered shirt also comes in silk in a taupey/brown colour, maybe I should get that...

The coats are genuinely oversized though - mine is XS and it's quite big on me, yet the cable jumper in a S is not generous! The quality of the fabric is unusually good though, so I will persevere. It is a nice shade of red they used - is it merino?

Well I have thoroughly missed out on all J+ haha. I was en route to funeral the day before and checked it out on the train and there was not much left was there. Ah well, absolutely no harm, I hate this scurrying to get things. Speaking of which, black friday can absolutely fuck off and die. God I hate it. But I was keen to try on the tapered wool trousers and now I can't. Poop.

Thank you all for condolences, funeral was very dignified and moving. Sadly little opportunity to meet up with family but that's how it is.

Duvet, I've tucked all your toys back into the pram and I PROMISE the right boots will come along! Sympathies! This is the 5th winter I think when I've been thinking I need new winter boots I think. Still haven't got them.

Today was the first cold-ish wintery day (about -7 at the most). And I took full advantage and wore the ankle length mustard puffer down coat I bought from the Cos sale last winter. IT IS FABULOUS. I was v snug and warm and since the long puffer coats are fucking everywhere this winter I was clearly on trend as well. Of course there was another woman on the train platform this morning in an identical coat(which as I said is mustard and v distinctive). She'd better not always be there the same time, mortifying so it is.

Oh forgot - picked up my men's coat I had handed it to be altered - It's very nicely done and I'm pleased. Glad to have another coat to add to the rotation in colours I love.

Also, a relative I saw this weekend was wearing great jeans - from Imogen+Willie apparently.

Minus 7 It's 8 degrees here and feeling nippy. I wouldn't last 5 minutes in Sweden. Nice work with the coat bani - I can't remember what you had done now?

faustina I'm so predictable. I put basics at the top of my shopping list and then when I find something that works and even has a couple of whistles and bells, I start carping and wondering if I can find a secondhand one. (Answer: no - lots of secondhand hoodies but most of them are rank because people wear them to death.) It's like I'm still 6 and want to wear a frock with a big sash and red shoes every day.

Sorry you're joining our disappointed club bo although for what it's worth, I think a very plain red dress can look stunning. Nice fabric haul.

duvet I think you should name and shame that shop. You probably won't want to if it's somewhere local but that's bloody outrageous. Well remembered about the purple silk shirt - you're right it should work well. And I'm glad you like the Gap jeans - were they the straight leg or the Long n Lean? I can't remember which I was going on about but they were both favourites.

Was this the men's coat you found in a charity shop and then uhmed and ahed over for an extended period of time on here and then nervously sprinted back to get it the next day Bani, if so, glad it worked out.

Yes, I think my dress is Merino, Faustina it's sold out so I can't check the site and it just says wool on the label (and some PA).

I get what you say Flo but one of my pet peeves of colourful clothing is that it often relies too much on the bright colour to do the heavy lifting. It's not that punchy of a red to do that but that could also be down to me, red suits me very well so it's not such a contrast on me. It's a very nice red though so I'm still deciding but now I'm looking through the lookbook and maybe I should have gone for the skirt and cashmere jumper combo but I wasn't very convinced by that skirt for me.

Well I made up a toile for the check trousers last night. It was surprisingly simple, I used my previously drafted orchid wide legged trousers pattern as a base but it's actually quite a basic thing to put together. There's no point making my usual endless toiles as the pattern and the lightweight fabric aspect is more difficult to predict so I'll be moving onto half toiling in the finished fabric next

I could go for a frock with a big sash and red shoes. I'm having a hankering for something ridiculous but that can actually be worn so the available party wear that would probably tick the bill somewhere is out.

The red dress is going back, it's just not it. Uniqlo customer service is being a nightmare though as I'm having an issue generating the return label, chat seems to be permanently disabled they don't respond to emails and I'm not getting copies of my request emailed despite ticking the box. Argh.

Sorry, I have been reading but not posting, as life has been so hectic.

I've ordered a +J puffa coat but sized down, I've wanted a short puffa for a couple of years now. I'm hoping it's fine after reading bo's returns nightmare.

@quirkychick good plan to size down. I’m losing weight but am between a 12 and a 14 and I chose a size M in the +J gilet … there’s still enough room to layer a jumper and a tweed jacket underneath! Very pleased with it, I like how it’s longer at the back, like a sort-of swing coat.

mm47, I am between a 10 and 12 and ordered a small. My coats and jackets are a mixture of small and medium anyway. Fingers crossed. The reviews were mixed, but someone whi is an inverted triangle said they were a good shape, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I hope the puffer works for you quirky, I really liked them, especially the white one with the black zipper. The sort of swing back is a really nice feature, I agree mm47. Even though it adds volume it makes it a lot less Michelin man.

I finally snapped up the almond coat, the Outnet dropped a boatload of Loulou studios items and I was very surprised to see it there, I was just holding on for a 25-30% discount and this was a much higher discount in the end. I do worry it's too big but we'll see when it gets here and maybe I'll suddenly hate the colour 😱

Also got a navy ninety percent maxi dress with an open back. I'm still hungering for something more maximalist/extravagant but have no idea what...

I also had a nightmare doing a return to Uniqlo - but of a different kind. They will only let you use one label per order, despite sending my order in two different boxes because too big for one box - grr - and impossible to cram into one, so had to improvise with something else and hope for the best which really isn't good enough for over £400 worth of things

the wool coat was extremely underwhelming in the end so have sent it back, along with the jumpers and the cardigan. I've kept the long down coat which was the right size for me (XS) - and pleasantly oversized, and have taken delivery of the interesting cable backed jumper in XL and the cashmere polo neck in L. The lambswool is really thick - still debating whether to keep them. It's very hard trying on dark colours at this time of year as it's dark so early!

Hope you all like your down coats, and good luck with your return @botemp - there is an actual phone number to contact them from the UK, and a chat function which made it slightly easier for me to get in touch - not that it changed anything!

I am here lurking from an airport lounge. Finally managed to get all paperwork sorted to visit my hometown. Ds is coming with me, first leg of the journey done … two to go. On the way back should be easier as direct flights are back on the schedule so it will only involve 2 sets of planes.
The next couple of weeks I hope to be in a sleeveless dress.

I'm so pleased you're able to see your family again Red, have a great time with your arms out

Faustina, the EU Uniqlo customer service is in Germany where numbers are skyrocketing so I suspect they're really struggling to staff it. There's no phone number and the chat function has been disabled for days. I have a return number and address just no shipping label. If I don't hear from them today I'll just send it at my own cost and get PayPal to refund me, but it's very annoying that there's just zero response and even the automated responses aren't functioning.

Shame the wool coat was a disappointment, the non puffer coats were really highly priced so you'd expect more from them. I had similar deflating feelings about the gaucho trousers material, it was very limp.

Have a wonderful time, arms out, red. I am green with envy at the thought of you enjoying a fortnight in warmth and sun.

That's great to hear Red have a wonderful time with your family.

I don't have a +J return story as I haven't tried yet. The layered shirt's definitely going back but I was waiting to make up my mind about the hoodie. I think that's staying - I mean it's pretty much exactly what I wanted. I remember having a similar 'Is that it?' feeling last year when the chinos arrived and they turned out to be great. (Wish she'd done them again.) I hear you on the guachos bo while still checking for returns twice a day . So is this The almond coat you've ordered?

Ha, Flo, keep checking you might feel very different about them. Tbh, I'm quite glad this is her last collab as I'm too annoyed with Uniqlo now to order with them again.

Yes, it's the almond coat I ordered, it's been a while though, I might feel very differently about it now and the size is larger than I'd like so I'm keeping my expectations low.

I'm still very low effort looking out for new trainers, saw these (secondhand) Chloe's pop up and despite my aversion to secondhand shoes I'm rather pulled in. I've seen these shoes in low top versions before but wasn't very enamoured though but I like how these can be combined but not sure how well they'd work with wide leg shoes. I'm going to pull out my old Isabel Marant high top wedge trainers first though, maybe it's time for a comeback of those again if I can wear them differently.

Wide leg trousers, not shoes

red hooray so glad you are getting to head home to your family.

Sorry to hear the j+ has been so hit and miss, I on my head would have gone for the men's cardigan and possibly the puffa coat and maybe the gilet.

Bo definitely resurrect the old Isobels. I got my old black becketts out a while back and had forgotten how comfortable they were and have been wearing them a lot with slouchy dresses and hidden under long flares for height and comfort without having to wear heels.
I also just "won" another pair in what seem like BNWOT condition from ebay in burgundy for £43, I have been stalking them for months and the seller came with an offer, and I counteroffered below and won
(We shall forget the hip injury and the not leaving the house for the moment)