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

Microbius, I wouldn't have the guts to hem the trousers short, because what if I changed my mind? So I'd go for the long version. which possibly makes me dull? I might be with Xing, the best version of everyday clothes is what I want. Also I ideally want to focus on fit in that best version (it's going so-so).

I def want and desire clothes based on a version of me that exists in my head and not in reality. So not so much for the life I don't lead IYSWIM.

microbius I think I like the second pic best - the one where both legs are longer and pooling onto the top of your shoes, which is interesting because I've been a big fan of cropped trousers and it makes me wonder if my fixation is drawing to an end. I'm not sure if I'd like that length on me so much because I'm short and so cropped still feels like a novelty, but I think it works for you.

My second choice would be the pic where they're turned up and just clear the top of your ankle (so on the left as you look at the screen). The look I like the least is where they're turned up but left longer and touching the back of your trainers. It's subjective though and others might disagree.

Are they the Oxfam trousers? I really like them, and if you think men's trousers are good, have you tried their tailored jackets? They're always too broad at the shoulders for me (and trying to alter them has been a bit of a disaster) but I just adore all those inside pockets - I swear you could fit your whole life into them. It's no wonder men think we're weird with all our bags and shit.

I had a look at that 'cool mums' thread and a bit sorry for the op, who sounded like she just wanted a few ideas about brands from women with a similar lifestyle. It never ends well when an S&B thread starts to trend.

Hi Microbius... I think the trousers look better longer too. If I wanted them "cropped" for summer perhaps, I would roll them high enough (twice over) on the exterior to look deliberate as opposed to too short. The colour is great.

I decided I was too old for the cool mum talk!

I'm another for the long option. You could try option four, men's tailoring style, which is slightly shorter at the front so they don't sit on your shoes and longer in the back. But that might be a bit neat looking.

I don't think you can ever be too old to be cool Xing, people I think are cool are generally a good bit older than me. Yeah does seem that the OP of that thread got caught out when it went trending, think she was just asking after things slightly different than what most people were wearing, which is what plenty of people use cool as a shorthand for but some posters just can't help themselves when there's an opportunity to call other people sad and desperate for trying.

The "conned by designer handbags" thread was an interesting one too, although not in Style and Beauty.

I liked the longer trousers too microbius but I'm not sure if that's because it's what my eyes are used to and see as familiar.

Talking of cool mums, I spy a small child’s toy in the background of your trousers pics microbius. As a toddler-parent, I am also looking for shorthand ways to look good acceptable while mostly crawling around with a small grubby child. I wonder if the searching for style ‘rules’ also coincides with the change in identity that the first years of motherhood brings, overlaid with the strangeness of the past few years.

Apologies if the armchair psychology and circumstances don’t fit as well as the trousers

banivani and elle, too, thank-you! It’s unhealthy Tkmaxxing rather than healthy budget. I am indeed a fan of Scandi and even have one polyester dress I couldn’t resist… I agree, it’s difficult stuff to buy, Samsoe and Samsoe seems quite a throwaway fashion; Baum Und Pferdgarten almost entirely polyester. I quite like Levete Room and Naja Lauf but now am completely restricted in terms of imports. Norse Projects bo posted are very interesting, but trousers are really risky for me (as well as shoes, as I need size 42), and I can’t face this out-of-EU returns/import charges, etc. Maybe if there is a chance to go to Denmark or Sweden at some point… I am not too thin, I just appear this way because of slim upper body and flat chest; I am quite heavy bottomed and can’t fit Cezanne for instance (the top and bottom are different sizes in French tailoring) but with Scandi it has never been a problem.

Wild Swans in Islington (all scandi) have a sale on (it’s online too) if anyone is interested.

What am I looking for? I don’t know. Maybe something seriously oversized, or with pleats and from fabric that is really sculptural. But the problem is, it will either annoy the hell out of me or be another dressing up garment I wear so rarely anyway. So this is the challenge, sculptural everyday. It is perhaps an oxymoron? Like elle says, dressing for life you want to have

flo I loved your description of treating a desire for coat with a bit of chocolate! And thank you for advice on the trouser length! These are Oxfam trousers. Will try men’s blazers, thanks! This might be what transforms my everyday wardrobe - not sculptural, but manly :D

bo of course you are right, it is a cheap fix that doesn’t solve the frustration. But if what is needed to save frustration is time, I might as well use it to learn something. I also think if I learn to read clothes better and actually go and look at it, it might help with online shopping, when I sometimes buy something on ebay to try (then re-sell, etc) and for which I am very annoyed with myself

I agree about boredom being productive; there is a way in which boring used in English to refer to “difficult”, “too abstract” or something requires some persistence

You are clairevoyant; most definitively one can’t make their life undull with exciting clothes. I just need to get through this period of life that is quite demanding and somehow it feels that clothes could be a crutch, or one of them.

ShangPie yes, I have a 3 year old putting her baby to sleep in the pic. But I also have a 17 year old, so have been there and I know how the 3-year watershed moment is actually so difficult because all the hormones that soothe you and make you accept all the multiple ways in which children make your life hell :D are gone but they are not yet not only engaging properly but also still trying to dominate your brain fully.
I am also an academic on sabbatical (trying to) writing a book. I usually have my social kick from seeing lots of young people, which is not happening this year. Instead I am sitting in front of my computer everyday facing the limits of what I can do as a writer which is not pleasant, and then my 3 year old and my teenager throw tantrums at me, sometime sequentially, sometimes simultaneously.

Broke the post in two as it was getting too long. I went to V&A today to have a look at their fashion collection, here are some pics.

Tennis dress from the 1920s; I like the embroidery if you can call it that (threads taken out of the fabric to make a pattern)

Thierry Mugler disco dress, supposedly works very well on the dance floor to Abba. Love the sci-fi look of it. It reminded me of 1924's film Aelita. Queen of Mars (crap film, famous for Constructivist set and clothes) I attach one pic

The best of V&A collection is a bolero made from an accordeon
It was gorgeous and made want to disembowel an accordion immediately.

Some people walking around the collection were very interesting dressed!

bo I've never known that man's trousers are (can be) hemmed in a way that is shorter at the front and longer at the back!

oops, I attached Vivienne Westwood postpunk instead of Mugler!

And I am sorry about all the typos - and mistakes, too

I have just come across this website which took me to see some rather lovely simple woven leather bags. I am contemplating buying a good black bag, as I haven't owned one for about 30 years. I wear a lot of black, but tend to dob in a coloured bag to relieve the monochrome. That said, several of the colours appeal. I think I like the Mini Elena. Opinions?

I like them - simple and no obvious logo (I am anti bags with visible logos). I think I prefer the tan versions to black, though.

Logos are a complete turnoff, Catherine. Choosing the most useful colour is the hard bit!

Happy New Year everyone 🥂🎉

Is that the Alice exhibit microbius? I was wondering what they'd done for that theme. Sounds like you're swinging between monotony and tantrums, so can appreciate the need for distraction.

For stepping out of your comfort zone and sculptural, Studio Nicholson is worth looking at, it used to be that a lot was gender neutral so but things are still on the long side. You can see on their website where they have a shorter model and it all looks a bit shit on her. There's a fair few stockists of Norse projects in the UK although it's more popular as a menswear line, I think Goodhood store in Shoreditch carries but not sure if they have it in store. I've occasionally come across Norse Projects in tkmaxx. Wolf and Badger in the coal drops yard is nice for something different too, and if there's nothing exciting in there you can go across the yard(?) and do a Flo and satisfy yourself with some Alain Ducasse single origin chocolate, I can't recall if the shop smells as strongly in there as the one in Paris does but the scent alone is an excellent olfactory mood lifter (avoid the high percentage ones with a sour note though, a little too strong IMO).

Xing, I'm a bit confused by that site, they're in the US and a flat fee of $50 shipping plus vat and import tax bill would put me right off. They look very similar to Dragon Diffusion bags which would be a lot easier to source but IME these woven leather bags are quite heavy without anything in and for whatever reason bags shaped like that when worn on the shoulder also seem to drag you down more than other bags.

Happy New Year all!

I missed that part bo. You are spot on; both factors have dissuaded me! Back to square one.

thanks bo, I'll be on the lookout for Studio Nicholson

V&A has a permanent (small) fashion collection; it looks a bit as if it only consists of items that happened to be donated and there is a haphazard sense about it, but there are some interesting things. Didn't go into the Alice show

Continuing my quest for the sculptural everyday, here is my attempt at oversized. Please express your opinions

I have to say, I feel ridiculous in this outfit. The trousers are not so bad, but the shirt and everything together has a whiff of a 16 year old. My 17 yo DS highly approves. I most definitively cannot dress like this for teaching, but what do you say as everyday?

I do like a bit of ovesize microbius but I normally mix it up with one or two more fitted or structured things. So if I was wearing those trousers I might swop the jumper for a cropped one, or I might dispense with the jumper and wear the shirt tucked / half tucked in. Or I might add a tailored jacket on top (not necessarily fitted, just for a bit of contrast). And I think I'd also turn the trousers up slightly - l know you're not keen on that look and I get why but I just think that in this instance, a flash of skin, especially at the thinnest part of your leg, is a good counterpoint to all the outsizery. And for the same reason, I'd probably roll or just push up the sleeves and show some wrist.

Alternatively I might wear the jumper and shirt as they are in your pic but with slimmer trousers - not skinny or tailored, just narrower in the leg, e.g. those red linen ones.

Love the V&A pics - it's one of my favourite places in London and it's so long since I was there....

Xing I rarely offer advice or even opinions on bags as I just don't have a thing for them - I have one that I really like and I'll be bereft when it dies but that's it. But wishing you luck.

Yeah, I agree with Flo, in that you've got the basic fundamental elements of it microbius but you need to find the tweaks that make it work for you. I'd be tucking in one shirt side so it looks more intentional, trouser length is difficult to really determine when you're in socks but they feel too long or just undetermined? The folding over and flashing a bit of ankle will shorten the look on you and make it more compressed though.

Question, what are your feelings WRT your height, I ask because I nearly mistook you for Flo (it doesn't help that you both take a picture on a phone in the exact same way) and in the previous pictures of MHL and in these you look significantly shorter than you are. Very confusing to a short person who lives for a bit of illusion of height but I can understand you may have the opposite inclination if you've always stuck out for your height and it hasn't always been a positive experience (sorry, really need to kill the armchair psychology, already ). Have you mentioned you were not originally from the UK or have I just decided that in my mind as it's adding to my armchair myth and your feelings WRT to your height?

flo thanks! Will keep experimenting, very good and detailed pointers. The trousers feel better when walking around slightly turned up as well.

I was looking at Studio Nicholson's (bo's recommended) styling and cuts and some of them are very drapey but I guess maybe oversized in a different way...

bo it's difficult to make good pictures, - also not skilled (not an instagrammer, etc) but will try to improve. When the camera is pointing from the top, the legs shorten significantly in terms of perspective but I haven't yet figured a way to make a good picture unless I ask someone else to do it. Apologies for bad pics.

Re: your question; I feel good about my height, and yes, I am not British - well, I am now, as well (you might notice I struggle with whether and where to place articles the/a). Being tall has always been good bar for a couple of years between 14 and 16. I am mid 40s now and I think by this age people generally make peace with their bodies. I am grateful to mine for trying to work as best as it can :D Isn't there research that suggests that taller people are more successful in their careers? I can't really complain I think my height is an advantage in our age and its ideals of beauty however critical we can be of them

I still think Annie Hall can be a useful guide all these years on. These days I'd wear a tailored blazer instead of a waistcoat and I ditched the ties years ago - although I do like a men's paisley scarf - but that basic template of baggy trousers with something with a bit more structure / fit on the top half still works for me.

I envy your height microbius. As you say, I made my peace with mine many years ago but I suspect you can probably wear the kind of clothes I like better than I can.

Agreeing with Flo again and that's probably what prompted me to ask, as the thing you're emulating is very much something that shorter people embrace, because for one, oversized is not that scary , most clothes have a bit too much room anyhow, and know the adjustments to make so it's a bit of a make it work look. As much fun as it can be there's a whole lot that isn't that wearable so it can feel a bit strange that someone wouldn't be all over that plethora, a bit of a grass is always greener type of thing.

I don't think it's inaccessible to taller people but it may require approaching it a bit differently. Tilda Swinton is an interesting one to look at, if you see in the beige outfit, the trousers are quite cropped and technically too cropped for her height but by going with high tops in the same colour it pulls it together along with her already pale complexion. And then with the blue trousers they're about the right length for a crop, a bit long even and then the shoes swoop down really low at the back to create that negative space. I'm sure if studied a bit more closely there's lots of theses tweaks you can distill from her dress sense.

She's interesting to look at period, but I really appreciate that she takes a lot of risks and sometimes they don't really work. The third pic where she's been dressed in Loewe definitely feels very much determined by the brand, transposing from runway to red carpet and while the colours and impact are great, and I'm all for anything that isn't another gown proportionally it doesn't quite deliver.

Also, don't apologise for your photos Microbius, we're all pretty terrible at them on here, well I am anyhow 😂 if you want to get the most accurate to life you usually need to hold it around chest height straight on (maybe a bit lower if you're tall, I don't know if that would influence it) but it doesn't always result in the nicest pictures as you lose a bit of dimension as there's not much perceivable depth.