Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: Maids Cosplaying as Schoolboys are Going to Get Themselves Cancelled by North Korea

[botemp]

Lovers of Parisian style and fashion with a conscious mindset and lots of chatter in between. Feel free to join in.

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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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Bo children break for Easter half term on Friday 1st April , hence the price of hotel going up …

I'll be gone by then, or at least departing that day so that's not an issue. I think it's algorithms trying to extract higher prices out of me but it just ends up putting me off booking altogether 🤷 prices seem to go down again the longer you wait, previous dates are now cheaper than when I first looked which was a week earlier. Anyhow I'll stop now as I doubt anyone is interested in my hotel struggles.

Can I change the subject and ask for some pharmacie recommendations? Assuming we can actually fly on Sunday, I’ll be in SW France with family for the first time since 2018. I have totally forgotten what I used to stock up on, apart from Nuxe lip balm in a jar.

What would be your go-to products, oh wise maids?

Bo have you been to Durrants? Just off Marylebone High Street, and old-enough to be able to have a tiny fire in the lovely old-fashioned bar. A friend who travels a lot with work always stays there.

When I stay in London I use Hub hotels - preferably St Martins Lane. Not what you're after at all, but clean and comfortable and good value if you just want a bed for the night.

I'm thinking if I'm going to pay £115 for a t shirt, I may as well pay £135 for a John Smedley Sea Island cotton jumper:

www.johnsmedley.com/uk/cassandra-classics

Tbh, I probably wouldn't bother, the physical French pharmacy shops are expensive, everyone in France seems to buy online or at a very specific one that's known for low prices, I know where those are in Paris but not so much outside it. Prices will probably be more than in the UK where there's always an offer going and there isn't much you can't get over there.

However, difficult to find things to consider that you need to get from behind the counter (no prescription) Pommade A313 (a retinoid, it's particularly good at excavating pores and the like but itches like mad if you overuse, I use it for KP on my body), Laluset (hyaluronic acid cream), Homeoplasmine (does it all homeopathic balm), Hexomedine Transdermique (great for if you have under the skin spots that are painful and don't come to surface, just q-tip a bit on and it'll peacefully surrender, also good for ingrown hairs blockage). Then there's brands like Uriage, Biafine and SVR that you don't see much elsewhere. There's also oligotherapie granions but recommendations for those would depend on skin (and it's very extra and probably a bit unnecessary).

Thanks SeaRabbit, I'll have a look at Durrants. I'm usually not so fussy and would be fine with a no frills hotel, spend all my time out anyway but I just want to luxuriate a bit but going by what's readily available and harder to book I'm probably not the only one looking for that.

I would like to pick your brain about St Martin's Lane as I have one hotel there on my shortlist, but the location is putting me off somewhat. I have some concerns about public transport connections (although most things would be walkable but getting to and from the airport would be annoying and the only easy solution would be taking a taxi in) and I've never really enjoyed Leicester Square area crowds. Am I unfairly writing the area off?

Thanks all for the t-shirt recommendations. I am not averse to splashing out on a t-shirt which will wear and wash well. I note that there are plenty of Majestic Filatures t-shirts available very cheaply on T K Maxx, if anyone else is interested.

The t-shirt talk is interesting. I have some old H&M l.o.g.g. branded, long and short sleeved T-shirts that have lasted very well, but not sure they still make them or are the same quality. A couple of American Vintage ones, which are a nice slubby material, but very delicate and a few long-sleeved uniqlo ones, that I mostly wear layered under jumpers.

How is the sizing in majestic filatures? I am a small size 10 on top.

I never liked the Leicester sq area crowds either.

popping my head round the door again to say majestic filatures sizing is quite variable! Generally smaller than uk sizing though.

Also - can't recommend this company as I haven't yet tried it but it's on my list to do so. Colours galore and a decent price for good, organic tshirt.

www.colorfulstandard.co.uk

Thanks bo - that’s a great list and good to know that the French pharmacies aren’t quite the hallowed ground they used to be.

On the t-shirt front, I have a few MHL cotton-linen blend boxy ones but disappointingly the neckline has gone. The ones I reach for most tend to be from Gap, and I got a lovely Spirit of the Andes pine / olive boxy t-shirt in a charity shop recently. Not sure about the brand - their site styling makes me think of Sunday supplement ads but the quality seems good.

Why are t-shirts one of those ‘so simple it’s complicated’ things? How hard can it be?!

I know @ShangPie! I have some lovely gap t-shorts I’ve had for years, I’ve also got some from Cotton On which were extremely cheap but still going strong. My work wear has become increasingly casual so need to restock!

bo some star academics I invited liked staying at Goodenough college

Thanks Voltefarce for starting the T shirt chat and to everyone who made suggestions. I spent yesterday down a T shirt rabbit hole but managed to track down a few brands, both high and low end, who might offer necklines and colours to suit.

It got me thinking about life before the internet when I'd buy my T shirts from Gap, M&S and the Redoute catalogue, easy peasy. And, while they might not have been quite as great as I remember, there was no angst involved because there wasn't much choice anywhere else. And it was fine. Now I'm permanently dissatisfied because there's always the possibility that something better is just a click away. Maybe that's why I 'm reluctant to embrace Vinted and Ebay - because I suspect I'd either end up with a load of shit that I had to sell on, or spending my days searching for perfection and getting increasing grumpy.

Speaking of perfection (not) the Uniqlo U order went back. It wasn't bad actually but the men's cardigan failed the Kim Jong-un test and the gauchos were a nice shape but beige, not off white. (I've definitely been caught out by that before.)

However I may have ended my charity shop famine - found a heavy, relaxed fitting cashmere jumper, no label but feels more substantial than a high street brand, plus a Toast knitted linen top that will help with my quest to tone down my smarter clothes. So not a bad couple of days all in.

I agree Flo, years ago I was happy with gap, H&M for basics … now is another story.
I have a MHL tee and I am disappointed I have to say, never liked the uniqlo or Cos on me neither … I have a couple of those too.
I am an eBay aficionado and I have learnt the very hard way how to purchase stuff there and nowadays I am happy with my purchases most of the time , but I buy a lot less on eBay as needs to have the right ‘provenance’ so to speak.
But t-shirts … I wouldn’t buy on eBay, unless they were unworn and I new the fit.

Extremely envious of your purchases Flo! I never had anything from toast but my friend arrived the other day in a toast dress and I have to say … sparkled something on me …

Are you thinking of the St Martins Lane Hotel, Bo? It's very stylish though I think got very confused once in the loos, which were painted black all over ,with low lighting- sometimes the vision has to give way to practicality.

I've only ever gone from that end of SML into Covent Garden: I also dislike Leicester Square, and I like CG at night. There are (were?) some nice places to eat that are fine if you're on your own, and good shops. It had gone upmarket when I was last there, but that was pre-pandemic.

Yes, I've stayed at SML Hotel previously but that was a very long time ago so I do wonder how well it's held up as it's all so pristinely white. But we took a cab everywhere (not my idea) and I can't remember exactly which tube station it is but it's either the closest one to the hotel or the next stop but it's the one where it's really deep down and you have to take a giant creaky elevator or the stairs of death to get up, it's really claustrophobic and it's put me further off the area. I've booked something elsewhere where everything is a 15-20 walk at most or a few tube stops away and they offer free bikes (not sure how comfortable I'm biking in London though). It's not 100% what I'd like but close enough, I hope. It is a bit of a shame, in the early 2000s London so many amazing hotels were popping up (I still fondly remember the Hempel hotel, it was so so different) that have shaped much of the hotel landscape today (St Martin's Lanes interior has held up remarkably well in terms of design, aside from the dark rooms ) but most hotels in the areas I'm looking at are this weird faux Edwardian members only club vibe, I guess I'm not the target audience. There's lots of nice properties in Shoreditch and Southbank that I'd have loved to stay in but it's just so far away from everything else.

Anyhow, echoing Flo that too many options are just driving us all mad and making it near impossible to be satisfied (thankfully the hotel I booked for a quick getaway to Copenhagen was easily chosen and booked in minutes so it's not like this everywhere).

I've noticed lots of things have closed (including hotels) in London, I've been having to do a clear out as a lot of my bookmarks on Google maps as so many are no longer relevant

We stayed in the Russel square hotel recently and it was just perfect . Had a lovely dressing room in the suite

@botemp you're describing Covent Garden tube station. It has the added horror of having to push through crowds once you're back on the street.

Abbesses in Paris is also on my list of metro stations to avoid because of the long descent

on my permanent shitlist they go. I'm not too familiar with Abbesses in Paris, I'm guessing it's near Sacré Coeur as Paris gets really weird topographically there and it's an area I don't visit much. Favourite Paris metro stop is Arts et Métiers, it's a beauty that's difficult to adequately capture on film.

And yes Covent Garden crowds when you get out are horrible too but I was so happy to be out that I didn't care. Why is CG so crowded anyhow, it seems to be a teenage hang out spot but it's not just them clogging up the space. I'm sure I'm missing out on what's great about CG as last time I went it just seemed overpopulated with stand alone high end makeup shops and overpriced instagrammable food outlets where I suspect it's style over substance in most places.

Covent Garden used to be a fab, alternative place to shop and hang out. There was a big craft market where I imagine a lot of St Martin's students sold their own creations. It really was great - jewellery and clothes I'd never seen before - and pretty cheap. It might even still be going, I forget, but the original stall holders will have been priced out long ago. I bet a lot of the crowds who still go are people like me who keep forgetting that it hasn't been good for a very long time. And yeah that tube station always scared the crap out of me too.

Agreed - my first proper UK job in the 00s was on Long Acre (the road that the tube station opens onto) and I was all about why CG was such a popular place. Not that I was particularly fashionable, but it just seemed a bit meh.

If you’re editing the list bo, I’d suggest adding the Farah charity shops. They are a small charity with a handful of shops that consistently have great items. There is also a street in W London’s Chiswick - Turnham Green Terrace, next to the Z3 station of the same name - that has about 5 very well-stocked charity shops. I try to make a point of going for an afternoon when I get time.

Hopefully off to the unfashionable bit of the South of France tomorrow (4 days later than planned, thanks Eunice) so am packing conservative items to layer.

A bientot les maids

Very late to the t shirt party (no electricity water etc thanks to the storms, now back in London so lots of catching up to do) - but Muji do really great @heavy long / three quarters length sleeve t shirts (their version of Breton but they also do have plain ones, too, in a similarly weight cotton). Can’t see them on their website but I know they do them every year.

I second (third? fourth?) PPs who’ve commented on the ghastliness of CG station, I once was foolhardy enough to climb the stairs and it nearly finished me off!

Where are you staying in Copenhagen Bo? I go several times a year piggybacking on my husband going out there on business, and we usually stay in the Admiral or Sankt Petri. It’s a really nice place to shop and I do a lot of window shopping but every so often fall for something rather specialI eg Bruno og Joel boots. I love how every shop has flowers in the window, at this time of year it’s things like narcissus or crocus and it’s so simple, effective and beautiful- a real breath of hope that spring is not far away.. I absolutely love it!

Ps meant to say Shangpie I hope the sun shines for you 🕶☀️