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

I might well have gone for that men's cardigan too but I've found one in a charity shop that might do the trick instead, although it's really big on me, possibly too big. I'm tempted to machine wash it on 30 to see if I can shrink it slightly.... It's a lovely yarn though - basically brown but so many different shades all intermingled, and pure Shetland wool which has definitely softened up since the days when they used to dress children in it to torture them. So it feels wrong to risk ruining it when I could redonate it instead.

In fact although I've been very grumpy about the second hand clothing trade lately, I have to concede I've found some good things these last few months which I don't think I've posted: 2 x 60s jackets, a Margaret Howell jumper and a men's raincoat. So not a bad haul.

Sorry I can't join in the trainers chat as I don't own any.

I'm still waiting for my puffa coat, Hermes told me it was bigger than expected, so they are rescheduling and will let me know .

That's great news, red. Have a lovely time.

The puffer coats were also much more expensive than last year - £179! Luckily I managed to sell my last year version for quite a decent amount, so that's mitigated things a little. Still debating whether I want to keep the huge cashmere polo neck - it is quite nice, but very expensive for Uniqlo

@Floisme - which Margaret Howell jumper did you buy? I'm knitting one from Marion Foale who did some of the designs they have - it's the one with the little collar - very plain but lovely, like an old school jumper

Yes, my men's coat is the charity shop one - very pleased!

Red, I hope you have a lovely time, so glad you got to go!

Flo - DON'T try shrinking the jumper if you love the yarn, you'll only end up felting it.

You're right bani, you're right, I know you're right. It's just so tempting.

faustina the Margaret Howell was second hand so not on the website any more but here's a pic. It's nicely slouchy and relaxed but also fits on the shoulders which is clever. My only grumble is that it's quite warm and yet the sleeves are only elbow length. I'm very impressed at your knitting skills.

While I'm doing pics, here are the 60s jackets I got recently. I really like this one and it fits well. Colours probably aren't clear but it's a very fine green and black dogtooth. Sleeves are full length, it's just the way I'm standing.

Oh I was going to show you the other one but it won't let me post any more pics, sorry!

Eek the state of the bathroom mirror

Lovely finds Flo, you'll have to delight us with the rest tomorrow. I've been uhming and aging over a MH cashmere jumper on Vinted myself but I'm not sure I need more jumpers and I usually just steal OH's cashmere Margaret Howell jumpers. I assumed the market would beat me in my indecision but it still hasn't sold and now I'm super suspicious of it...

I was wondering about the high prices too Faustina, couldn't remember the prices of the puffers last year. I naively assumed the higher prices meant JS demanded higher quality fabrics but that didn't seem to be the case. I'm not sure whether Uniqlo wanted to cash out on the last collab or if it's an international supply chain issue, I suspect the former with maybe a bit of the latter.

Duvet ah interesting I'm not the only one reviving them, I weirdly think they might actually work underneath the trousers I'm making with the Christian Wijnants fabric (nearly done but I had a minor setback with the shape). I was rather yesterday when browsing the Ssense sale yesterday that Asics are now the 'it' trainer brand, apparently. I have a pair for proper exercise and now they're looking rather scared as I eye them that they'll be worn outside of the house 😱

Good finds Flo!

Still nice and cold here, around -5 every day. No snow, but that just makes getting around easier so I'm ok with it ;) My teenager is wearing a warm coat, no hat and runners. Kids.

Sad to see that Virgil Abloh has died. Not always a fan but I remember liking the kente cloth looks.

Yes, tragic to die so young. I can't profess to be a fan either, the opposite almost, really, but that doesn't take away from the sudden shock of it.

If there's no storm winds and rain, minus five sounds positively delightful right now, Bani. Luckily there's little reason to go out but then you get the whole headfuck of you shouldn't be cooped up inside so much. Sigh.

I'm a bit as I've had to send back my entire the Outnet order. Not sure why I ever doubted the almond green coat colour, it's lovely but unfortunately I was drowning in it with my thickest jumper on. Not sure what to do next, order the one from the French store that illegally refuses returns which is a size down but still a size up from I tried on initially or keep on hoping it'll pop up somewhere in the size I tried on, or go for another colour. Le grande sigh.

The dress was that weird slippy viscose that feels like polyester, even if it was the most amazing thing ever on I still would have sent it back.

TL;DR: I need a win already, life's becoming too monotonous here. And the weather's shit.

@botemp what a bore about your Outnet order. Could I distract you by asking if you have any plans yet for the amazing blue fabric you posted - I loved the monochrome checks but the blue print was glorious (and I am curious). I can’t contribute anything on trainers but I am a big fan of brogues and flat lace ups (MH, Loake, and an ancient pair from Emma Hope - I bought two pairs years ago and might start wearing the second pair now).and am hoping the look stays remotely current for a while longer!

I can’t remember where I first read this (probann belt while lurking on this thread) but I absolutely love it,, and it involves Virgil Abloh:

www.gq.com/story/my-son-the-prince-of-fashion

@floisme love your jackets and especially those buttons, they are beautiful

@banivani. I love men’s tweed coats from charity shops too! My latest tweed coat was £11 on eBay and I am in love with it - but need to find a mirror
that doesn’t reflect our pre removal mayhem….

Well the Outnet cheered me up by suddenly having the coat in white in a size down (same size as with the evil French shop). I don't know how I feel about white (white coat is still a wrap coat in my mind) but maybe the colour will surprise me and at least I'll get closure on the sizing.

I haven't really gotten an idea for the fabric yet. Last winter I created clothes with the previous summer weather in mind which didn't turn out well... Now I'm thinking shite weather so my mind is at oversized shirt but I keep meaning to try on attached shirt in Paris (and forgetting all about it when I'm there) but maybe it's too similar.

They made into attached dress I'm not really liking the demure officey vibe, but it's also a bit tropical so I think anything too skimpy will be a bit too resort holiday. I quite like the idea of an unusual jumpsuit like attached, maybe.

I was just coming on here to ask actually, if anyone had experience with MH shoes (at least I'm assuming MH meant Margaret Howell mm47), a pair of Chelsea boots showed up on Vinted. Wondering if they're worth the gamble, although my feet are so finicky it's probably a bad idea.

Off to read the GQ article.

@botemp if it suits you a white coat sounds very glamorous - but whether it’s a keeper depends on if you drink coffee while commuting into work…

Love the three possibilities for the blue material, I imagine the shirt would be the most useful but I get the feeling you are most drawn to the jumpsuit?

For some reason I think you have very narrow feet - Margaret Howell is v generous width-wise. I’ve got absolute clodhoppers and my normal size only has to stretch a tiny little bit - and her shoes half a size up are instantly comfortable.

Thanks mm47, I don't have extra narrow feet but they're definitely on the narrow side, not too far off normal though. MH shoes have very strong menswear vibes, I'm now wondering if they're just sized down men's shoes, that would explain the width.

Yes, jumpsuit probably has preference now but I might make that jumpsuit in the Dries van Noten patterned fabric I got previously. I have enough material theoretically to make an oversized shirt and trousers which is also sort of a jumpsuit but the pattern probably means I have less fabric than I think, shirt plus shorts might be a better thing to aim for. Both have very large dense patterns with little white space so I think I need to work some negative shape into whatever I make otherwise it'll be too massive so it's all still percolating.

Btw meant to say that was a very sweet article (and I've been reading his books for years, who knew he wrote for GQ, had imagined a completely different type of person) but it was also a bit sad. I've been observing young men's/boys' obsession with fashion/street wear where Raf Simons is God for a few years now as it's very different sort of 'fandom' than anything before. I feel like I'm supposed to think it's great that young men are getting involved and not for stereotypical reasons (they're mostly straight, they're not trying to dress like a hip hop artist etc.) but it feels off somehow. It's very internet Reddit based and makes something that isn't really rational (creative process) into some sort of intellectual theory with arbitrary hierarchies and as a result their outfits are really a collection of footnotes mixed with fandom. It's how serious they take things that disquiets, I think.

I have a couple of Margaret Howell shoes (one a pair of ankle boots, one brogue-style flats), and they are beautifully made, handmade Italian shoe style. I have very narrow feet and hyper mobility but her shoes fit me well and are super-comfortable. They are both laced styles which is all I can wear with my narrow feet, maybe it depends on the style?

@floisme - that is a nice jumper, though I think I would be constantly trying to pull down the sleeves (in fact I have ebayed similar for exactly that reason). Lovely jackets too - I wish there was something near here where I could go for a rummage. It always seems like such a gamble to buy vintage online

the knitting is very plain and easy so far - my favourite kind!

@botemp - I think the puffer coat was £50 more than last year's and even though the shape is nicer (to me) the quality is really shit! I went to add my review about the lack of padding and it joined a long list of similar comments

About the Margaret Howell shoes - can you identify which company she collaborated with? It might help with the sizing. I know she's done some with Solovair and they're always one size bigger than they say they are

I hadn't noticed before but the shoes actually come up a size bigger according to the seller, so that coupled with the possibly wider fit (they're not laced) it's probably not a good idea anyhow. For a designer brand she doesn't charge the earth for shoes though, not cheap by any means but not ridiculous like some either. Nothing there currently I'd want though.

I'd really like some boots to fall in love with already.

Just popped in to join the potentially-risky home improvement chat flo

I am typing one arm deep in a cold water dye bath to dye a charity shop ribbed cashmere dress from grey to forest green. Searching for advice on dying cashmere got me a thread from 2012 - the OP was faustina!

Loving being back in the UK with access to Vinted, eBay and charity shops, but I think I may be going a little too wild in the aisles. Not sure if it’s because my main wardrobe is still (still!) in transit - global shipping crisis indeed - or if I actually need to rein it in. Has anyone here done a no-buy January or similar?

@ShangPie - hahahaha - yes I remember that jumper well, and I wish you more success than I had (not hard, because it didn't work for me at all!) I gave it to DS2's gf in the end! fingers crossed for you!

Ooh spooky, and Faustina's username already gives me déjà-vu vibes as there was quite an extended period of time when I was a child where I desperately wanted my middle name legally changed to Faustina, no idea how I came to that name

I have no expertise in dyeing at all but I thought protein fibres like silk and wool required acid dyeing with hot water (this is what always put me off as I assumed the heat would kill the garment). Anyhow, was it a succes Shangpie?

I've not done a complete no buy, I think Red has come closest but I've done whatever it's called in September/November and not buying anything new and that unintentionally lasted several months. I've had instances of avoiding fast fashion for long periods of times, it's always the collaborations that trip me up in the end. I've spoken about this previously but I definitely do get much stronger FOMO vibes with secondhand (especially in physical shops) than I do with fast fashion and I'm a lot more likely to buy superfluous things. I think it's improved by leaving things, with the option of potentially returning for them and being okay with missing out on things I wasn't immediately 100% sold on.

red I’m delighted that you’re getting home to see friends and family.

I bought nothing in J+, probably a good call reading about the mixed results.

Flo those are some great second hand finds!

Very sad about Virgil. He was certainly a ground-breaker in a few respects and tragically young.

botemp great about the white coat and at least, as you say, you’ll know about the sizing.

Good luck with the dyeing ShangPie - let us see the end result

After to-ing and fro-ing I’m actually a Mumsnet Parisienne in Paris. I came over for work and I have this evening to potter around beside the Tuileries, where I’m staying, drooling at the windows as I doubt I’ll have time after work to go much further. Then tomorrow I have the whole day so I’m trying to remember all the lovely places I went with botemp. I have some from the google docs. Consignment stores are a bit tricky because I can’t try things on, but I might have a look at brands where I know my size. Any idea where to try for sales? Failing that there’s always shoes and baby clothes. Also any recommendations for solo dinner spot tonight – casual ideally. I was in Hotel Costes last night which was very people-watchy!

How exciting Elle, for solo dining near tuileries Sanukiya is very easy but go early as otherwise you'll be waiting in line but if you're one or two people you usually get served quicker at the counter and the pregnancy might help you jump the queue. Otherwise there's a few places on the Rue Saint Anne, all Japanese and they all are used to solo diners and most are good. The ones with the line in front of them are the best. It's mostly noodles and donburi/izakaya, there's a few sushi places but no idea if you're comfortable with eating raw fish now or not. There's also an amazing bento place inside the palais royal garden (we went in there briefly with the black and white stumps and all the instagrammers) it's £££ but excellent, when we were there they only did takeout not sure how it is now but our hotel was right next to it so wasn't an inconvenience in that sense.

I'll really need to update the Google Doc, I've discovered a few new ones and a few have closed now. I'll try and do it today if I remembered to save them on my map and I'll look up the name of the bento place. Where you bought your Céline coat they have a children's consignment shop in that street too and also an accessories one. Louise Paris now also has a shop in the 3rd, I think, might be by appointment though.

Sales are strictly held by date in Paris so there won't be any, some will hold private sales. Le Bon Marché might have something, I think I got an alert but it might have been something like 30% off linen... There's always the outlet but it's a trip and a half, though Uber can take you there and pick you up and then it's like 40-60min each way depending on traffic.

And, current sample sales in Paris can be found here, I never really get how it's worked. The first day is reserved for members and the other days by invite but I've always managed to get in on the invite days by doing the I'm foreign thing but I think you need to register online and it just cost you being spammed by them. I'd be curious about the Nina Ricci sale. Also just remembered Tom Greyhound usually has a secret discounted section on their first floor.