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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Obviously there's salmon on those bagels too but it now reads like a sad bagel without it...

It doesn't seem to have started here. The joggers appear to be in stock, but still full price. www.zara.com/ie/en/leather-kassl-joggers-limited-edition-p08469957.html?v1=134264824

I assumed the bagels did include the salmon!

They're OOS here but marked down to €89.99 so definitely in the sale and a bargain at that if they have Irish stock. They don't look that short at all, did you try them on?

Am in Ireland and they are still full price

Continuing the China influencer chat, one challenge that Insta ranters here don’t face is being properly cancelled.

After yesterday’s mega fine, Viya has apparently been cancelled. SM accounts are locked, all her weeks’ worth of content wiped, SM mentions of her removal are monitored and cut. Hopefully she is somewhere safe and keeping a low profile before returning mid-2022 like nothing happened

For those interested, China Skinny has an excellent weekly blog - nothing to do with me, but always interesting reading.
www.chinaskinny.com/blog/ (I can’t link properly on phone?)

No Zara sale here in UK yet either - will preemptively pop a few items in my basket now so they are waiting for me later will almost certainly forget and return to Zara in March and be annoyed

Link works fine Shangpie, thanks, makes for interesting reading first time I've heard of China Chic/Guochao.

I'm reading an article about Viya on the South China Morning Post about her cancelling. They're a little obscure in their language, am I right in reading between the lines that the cancelling is a top down measure, not her fans predominantly but the platforms, is that under direction of the political powers that be?

I found the mini documentary I watched a while back, it feels even more icky the second time round. , I would just like to point out, my recent chit chat about books is not because I want to put out a cultured vibe to you high net worth individuals, I've just been reading a lot. But if you want to send me $85000 in virtual gifts tokens to become a level seven fan, who am I to stop you

Thanks for the info on mytheresa bo, I must admit since Brexit I just blocked anything from outside and not bothered to even look properly… thinking back it is not the best action to take!

Llama, it is a high quality product with better qualities than wool, thinner and less bulky and less itchy (although not completely without an itch). Many mix it with merino in the high quality knits.
However it is not the best of the local Puna Region (North of Argentina, Peru, Bolivia). Alpaca is another product and is softer than llama and tends to be more expensive too. I prefer alpaca as most stuff really itches on me. But I am even careful with merino wool that cannot stand it unless is very very soft , so it might be me.
Llama is not cheap and in general it cannot be found in all regional markets everywhere, in Buenos Aires and the cities it can be found in ‘decent’ regional shops, you probably pay 80-150USD for something similar. In the north Puna region, it might be found in markets at a lesser price but not less than 60/80 USD. For something similar to the one from Acheval Pampa it would be probably half the price they show it in there, but in a nice shop in Buenos Aires it will be close to £150 I think.
The photo is how much it costs 240 gr of baby llama wool which is softer, I think it is around 10 dollars (the value of dólar etc is really confusing, there are two values … sometimes online you don’t know what you are looking but when I was there I was getting roughly 1 dollar - 200 pesos, it was easier for me to work in my head in usd not in GBP).
I find it interesting the Ruanda (the wrap from acheval pampa), as it is a very known aesthetic from the gauchos and it doesn’t look updated or anything, it looks just copied. I personally really like it but I wouldn’t buy it from them because of that reason. The people who most would wear that in Argentina is old money type owner of estancias or a certain class of intelectuals (not bohemian), but nowadays probably a few more have started to wear too.
I can see that if you go to watch a polo match it would be quite handy, I watched this friendly there and was admiring the boots of the players.

Here is some of my shopping from back home. I am not on the mood of trying them. The dress is actually a very good fit , when on it looks very good and the way it falls, it is a maxi.
The trousers are a cotton with elastano mix , they go to the ankle and I like the shape at the hip. I sized it up as I wanted really a slouchy feel.

Bon matin, Les Parisiennes! On invitation of @Floisme from another thread that made me feel emboldened to post here, I am going to ask you for some education on lines and shapes.

I have recently got on eBay two MHL "basics". I am finding it hard to style them with other things I have and I feel I am missing some basic understanding about silhouettes.

First the skirt. Here it is with plain black top. It works ok. I expected to love it, I wanted one like it for a while. I can't say I am in love with it, I don't know why. I want to wear it either with a jumper, or a jacket. The jumper - another recent buy from Hartford is a plumo-like relaxed shorter fit, but I don't feel it work with the skirt. It feels it needs a more sombre cut. Can you explain to me why? What is it of MHL that requires some solemnity?

Then, a Brora jacket which I though was quite neutral doesn't work either. Is it too long for the length of the skirt? Why doesn't it work?

Do I need a short boxy but very plain jacket a la MHL to work with the skirt? I don't have any, I always preferred to cover my bum. Do I need to always leave the waist exposed because of the pleat in the front?

Thank you for teaching me and I am going to write another post about the trousers.

MHL trousers are amazing quality dark green-brown wool. They were styled as cropped with a large part of the fabric turned over (don't know what it is called in Eng) and I undid-redid the hem so that they had some decent length on me (I am very tall, 180cm)

They work ok with brown jumper - if I style it like MH with the front tucked in which I find ridiculous. It's ok for a photo but going round all day with part of your jumper tucked in the front??

Then tried on again with Hartford jumpigan and Brora jacket. Again, like with the skirt, nothing works. I really want to understand why. Is it slight oversizedness of MHL that makes fitted clothes (Brora) and loose (Hartford) not work? Does it mean I only wear these two things with super plain jumpers tucked in to expose pleats. I feel like I need a basic lesson in geometry

pictures didn't attach

trying again

mums net not working, sorry for spamming

last ones

Welcome microbius, I think we can only post 3 pictures a day now. Your height is probably a factor in why clothes feel off as most brands use 168-175cm as their standard length to pattern to, MHL is IME catering in the lower end of that. Looking at the skirt, it's difficult to say with pictures and perspectives, etc. But it looks a size too big (MHL comes up very big IME) and if it's therefore sitting too low? Don't know if you're quite straight in the torso with a longish upper body or if that's just the result of how it's fitting. I'm guessing that if you wear it about 5cm higher where visually you'd expect the natural waist to sit and pulled in the waistband to fit the length is off and potentially too sticky outy iykwim? In short, I think your styling struggle is actually more of a fit issue as it's not really sitting 'naturally' on your body so it's always going to look a little lost in relation to other garments that are fitting in line with your body. It's not terrible by any means but I think that's the underlying, 'why isn't this working' conundrum you're having. Alterations might work, but difficult to predict from pictures alone.

Thanks for the info on llama wool red, yes, I did suspect it was less design and more of a direct lift. Acheval Pampa's owners are (originally) Argentinian but I do suspect they're capitalising on the general ignorance of most of that part of the world. I do love a bit of alpaca (part of the reason I'm stalking Lauren Manoogian so much, it's all alpaca or baby alpaca ethically sourced and made in Peru) my mothe had a Vicuña scarf when we were in Bolivia, that was all sorts of magical, it was massive but you could pull the whole thing through a ring. She forgot it on an airplane it's thousands of euros to get hold of one here. I like the spicy palette of the clothes you got, I especially like the cut of the chinos.

X-post, I took too long typing. I think the trousers have the same issue, sitting visually too low and the hem height feels too ambiguous to make sense in relation to your body. I take your word on it that they don't you any favours at their original length but to my eyes the hem needs to go up from the perspective of the trouser design, but I don't think that would fix the off feeling you get from them.

thanks @botemp I think you might be right that it is about the fit, the skirt would definitely have been better if it were longer on me. I think the photo distorts the perspective, I have long legs and quite a short torso and I quite like when my skirt hangs lower, slightly on the hips although I appreciate that is not the cut MHL intended.

I might put an elastic into the trousers to gather them at the bottom of the leg.

It's interesting that you don't think it's the cuts/styles.

What do I do then as a tall person? Everything is 5 cm too short for me

Interesting about the perspective, but, yes, I think that is an 'issue' with MHL, it's a very pronounced aesthetic with a specific designed fit and it tends to favour shorter people over taller ones which is usually not the case in high end fashion. Although I'm on the shorter end, when I don't get on with MHL that's usually also down to preferring to wear things a smidge lower on the body. I look fine with the intended rise but I often find it too austere or severe looking when I want a more casual easygoing vibe from those type of clothes.

Have you ever tried her men's department, I appreciate they have no skirts and dresses but I'm wondering if the men's fit for trousers would work better for you.

That's a good idea. I only tried Carhart mens trousers in my search for a good black everyday trouser and they all had a pouch of cloth where the mens parts would go. Maybe with wool it would be different.

Yes, there is a kind of austerity with MHL which is surprising given the oversized fit you expect to be more relaxed. I understand from what you say that it is a cut and fit. I guess I am quite new to thinking properly about this, and I am just puzzled. For instance, I have an Agnes B jacket, shirt and trousers and they are clearly amazingly tailored, fitted and hence for me feel very formal (some of her stuff is just too cutesy)

I think I probably never encountered a cut like MHL that is fitted and "formal" but in a very weird way. Makes sense that she is liked in Japan. I remember looking a Japanese women going to work in Tokyo and they all had sculpturally pleated skirts that worked fabulously on their narrow frame but absolutely wouldn't work with just the sheer width of my hips.

Hey microbius and welcome. bo is far more astute about this kind of stuff than I am and she also has a professional 'eye' that I'm sadly lacking. But I'm a huge Margaret Howell fan which is probably why your thread resonated with me.

I've only looked properly at the skirt so far. I think it looks good with the black top but maybe a bit 'tidy'? I think you've said you're not a fan of the half tucked in look but it's how a lot of MH is styled on her website. I love it myself as it shows I still have a bit of a waist without being as formal as fully tucked in. I'd do the same with the grey jumper. I might also wear it with a cropped sweatshirt or a tank top. (Running joke on here, I think I'm the only one who likes them but I do!)

But I think one reason I'm a Margaret Howell fan is that I like that whole slightly oversized, mannish asthetic and I don't worry about the precise fit too much. I buy it mostly second hand and quite a few things are a couple of sizes too big and altered by a local seamstress.

I should add that I'm quite a bit shorter than you which might make a difference.

Yes, I'd say MHL is a sort of engineered casualness but there's always an underlying legibility of its intent so it never reads as purely casual or has that I just threw this on je ne sais quoi quality. She strikes a good balance where it never really feels over designed but it does very much narrow down the market for whom it suits seamlessly.

For good black everyday trousers you might just have luck with Hope Stockholm. Their clothes have a male/female sizing overlap and even on the super leggy female models on their site the trousers can sit a bit long. Not sure how easy they are to find in the UK these days, I know Zalando carries them and sometimes Yoox has some previous season stuff.

That vicuña scarf left on a plane , gosh Bo , yes vicuña wool is as precious as it gets.

Hi microbius I am a recent MH convert (thanks to flo), but yes I can see that it might be a bit short for you, trousers fit me perfectly at the ankle and I am 170cm. But I also have to agree with Bo that the MHL line runs very big and it doesn’t fit well on me whereas the main MH fits much better. Recently I had the opportunity to try a few things on a sample sale, and I have in my calendar pencilled for the next one, I really recommend if you are near London.
I leave all the technical explaining to Bo about silhouettes

@floisme I think you identified my problem in the end. I lack in basics (especially trousers) and having bought MHL trousers and skirt I was expecting (don't know why?) that they would act as basics, i.e. go with nearly everything. And I discovered the opposite. You are right, I think the skirt will go well with a cropped sweatshirt which is not an item I would normally have (!) I still like the skirt, but it will probably be a summer causal skirt rather than something that can be worn now

The trousers I think I might have spoilt as they now have a slight weird flare. Perhaps I can make a couple of pinches to take them in and make them a bit baloony. Maybe they are too short for an elastic.

@botemp I have a pair of HOPE trousers - I really like their news editor (I think it's called) but they are quite thin cotton; and I am freezing at the moment.

Redandblue11 (it seems your netiquette here is not to @)
I am in London! Do they email about the sample sale?
Interesting about the sizing for the main MH line. Not that I can afford it :D