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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Previous threads:

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Cinq

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Sept

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Dix

Onze

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Quatorze

Quinze

Shangpie did you have to use the CG tube station every day 😱 honestly my first instinct was to swim against the tide and get back on the tube. I briefly considered the stairs too, hundred and whatever steps don't sound like much but it's a ridiculous number of floors iirc. Isn't there also an annoying anouncement going off in the stairwell every minute essentially telling you this is a really bad idea...

Thanks for the Fara tip, I had two of them bookmarked in Pimlico and Portobello, I can't remember if I ever went to the one in Pimlico as it was either mysteriously closed or they were away on lunch or something but maybe that was another charity shop chain. I always intend to go to Portobello and then decide it's too far away... I've added the Kensington one as that looked promising by description and most likely to have the higher end selection. Is there a specific Fara one you can recommend (turnham green terrace looks a bit of a schlep tbh but if it's laden with golden opportunity I may consider it?).

And yes hopefully lots of sun for you after Eunice and her two evil brothers have departed.

Staying at the Nobis mm47, nearly picked Skt Petri but decided to splurge on Nobis instead. I've stayed at the Skt Petri before so no novelty factor and had a really memorable stay in the Stockholm Nobis.

Don't think I'll get much shopping in, but welcome to hear any tips, I'll definitely pass by Yvonne Kone's shop and IB. I have some consignment/vintage shops earmarked but am not getting my hopes up as IME the Scandis are hoarders offer a limited selection...

I’d definitely avoid the Farah in Angel / Islington, but the S Kensington shop is great and about 15 mins walk from the V&A. It’s also in a little cluster of 2-3 other good charity shops - I got a Barbour jacket, Winser trousers and several Uniqlo cashmere sweaters on my last trip.

The Pimlico shop was like a crazy jumble sale of madness, so it may appeal or totally repel depending on your preference/state of mind. It’s very close to a well-laid-out Trinity Hospice shop IIRC so may be worth a look if you’re nearby.

Caveat - they do have some shops that are kids items only (eg Notting Hill Gate) so be careful you don’t end up alongside the posh W London mums buying for little Tarquin and Arabella

Yes I remember the Trinity hospice shop had a good selection but it was very ambitious in its pricing, especially considering the condition of the items. The Oxfam and Higgins trust were good there at the time. Now that you mention jumble sale I do remember it, it was very run down at the time.

Annoying thing with charity shops is they may be great once and crap the next. Not sure how much shopping I actually want to do but every musuem exhibit that peaks my interest is gone by the time I get there or already sold out 😑

(I'm kinda rooting for Tarquin and Arabella to become couple so we can call them Tarquibella per good noughties tradition. Obviously their child will be called Ballonz)

Tarquibella

Actually if you can face the schlep, the Chiswick shops are very nice (maybe a bit MN ‘naice’?) and a good destination for hitting a lot of shops in a very short distance.

IME the better charity shopping options tend to be in the chi-chi neighbourhoods a little further out, like Chiswick, West Hampstead, Wimbledon.
Willing to admit it’s at least partly nostalgia for me as I used to live nearby and rediscovered my love of charity shops amid cast-off Joseph tops, Bruno Magli boots and more. If you need further tempting, there’s a lovely walk back to Hammersmith along the Thames past mansions and ye olde worlde pubs.

Hello (and はじめまして)

I’ve written out a self-introduction several times and have variously been too nervous or been sidetracked and lost the long well written post I crafted. So now I’m just going to write something in a hurry and hope I don’t sound like too much of a tool.

In fact I almost joined in about this time last year but then I found out I was pregnant and anything marginally fashionable was eschewed for linen shirts and stretchy bottoms. Said pregnancy is now a three month old baby so I’ve started to re-vamp my wardrobe into something I look at and love. Currently living in Tokyo via London, Hong Kong and Calgary with my current occupation listed as ‘housewife’ (no joke - it’s the box I have to tick on official forms).

Favourite charity/second hand shops were in Hampstead where I scored Hermes scarves, a beautiful Bally handbag and some
Joseph dresses among other things for criminally low prices. Music Room sample sales were a favourite as well.

I hope to tap into the vast pool of collective wisdom here in the future to help me achieve a wardrobe I’m proud of!

Now, to post before I wimp out again…

@ShangPie
It's beautifully sunny in my bit of S-E France, so I hope you get some sunshine, too.
Just to say that a lot of pharmacies have discounted products in big cases near the checkout, which are often v good value. Ours has smaller sizes in there alongside the rest, which is good if you're travelling.
Bioderma Atoderm lipsalve is really effective. Bioderma stuff in general is pretty good. And La Roche Posay, of course.
And if you have dry skin on your hands, Dermophil Indien Stick is brilliant. I bung it on at night, and it really helps (hard water area, v dry air, mistral...my hands take a battering).

Oops, x-posted with @Tokyo89. Didn't mean to ignore your brave first post!
Welcome - there are lots of stylish people on here (not me) who'll be really helpful.

@AuldAlliance can you recommend a good lip balm over here? I hate going into pharmacies not knowing what I want, i always feel like I'm being escorted round my local one in case i shoplift!

@TwoBlondes
The Bioderma one is good. Or Nuxe, the one in the little jar.
Pharmacies are really intimidating. It's good if you can go in after a hypochondriac who is buying loads and needs endless advice, then you can mooch.

Welcome Tokyo89 are we really that scary 😱 housewife in Tokyo sounds quite enviable, I must admit, and since I'll take any excuse to travel these days I definitely feel there should be a Tokyo meet up 🗼🇯🇵

Ha, I'm loving the tip to follow in a hypochondriac although IME all French people in a pharmacy appear to be hypochondriacs, roughly divided into your bog standard hypochondriac and the homeopathic hypochondriac.

Blondes it kind of depends what you like in a lip balm, but l'occitane do an ultra rich one which is nice to pile on liberally at night. LRP and Avène both have a specific one in their cica lines that's really helpful when you're in need of healing (I've used straight LRP cicaplast too but it's not very aesthetically pleasing). I think Sephora in France may also carry Laneige (South Korean brand) their overnight lip mask is great too.

Auld have you got your leather jacket already?

And as much as I appreciate everyone's efforts for the greater London tourist boroughs bureaus, considering I never even make it to Portobello I'm not sure I'll make any use of this precious intel (but if anyone insists I go to Primrose hill I might be inclined because there's a Philippe Conticini there and apparently I am prepared to travel for the best Paris Brest pastry in Paris, in London).

Tokyo89 welcome, it's great when new posters join in! i hope you're enjoying your baby - I remember my own style and taste went a bit nuts for several years afterwards,, I didn't lose my love of clothes but I made some very odd choices.

Hope all is well for you Auld?

OK London charity shops - I shouldn't really be joining in because I've not been for so long so just bear in mind this is Old and possibly Dodgy Information: there was a good Farah shop on Elgin St, can't remember which district that is but fairly central. And yes the Pimlico branch is chaotic but has quite a lot of vintage, and there are several other charity shops in the neighbourhood.

Marylebone has several fairly close together along or just off the high street. (It's also near The Wallace Collection where Vivienne Westwood was said to do a lot of research but I never saw her.)

Wimbledon Village - a bus ride away from any Wimbledon tube stations, several in a very compact area, not exactly bargainous and a bit boardroom / charity dinner for my taste but that was pre- pandemic and things my have loosened up. And if you want to look at some new labels there's also a Matches, but it was closed by the time I found it so I can't report back on how welcoming they are towards browsers.

Brixton - I wouldn't make a special trip but if you're in or close to the neighbourhood they have a big Barnardo's that has a really extensive range from cheap to high end. There's a Farrah too. If I remember correctly (but I may not) it's only a couple of stops from Pimlico so it might be possible to combine them.

Kensington, yes quite a few good ones although very spaced out as I remember so pick a nice day and be prepared to walk.

As far as specific shops go, Trinity Hospice has already been mentioned - not cheap but looks so fancy, I love it. Also Octavia Foundation.

If you go to Hampstead, do your research first. We went to the wrong part, walked for miles and hardly found any.

I have a hunch about Clapham - untested so don't shoot me if I'm wrong but I'm planning to check it out when / if we go.

Thanks Auld and Bo. I'll check those out.

Ironically I live very close to La Roche Posay but they don't appear to have a factory shop so I still have to brave the pharmacy.

Hello @Tokyo89 yes it takes bravery to make the first post but everyone seems super friendly on here (thank God! After some of the spats you see on other threads).

Anyway Bo sounds like you already know my Nirvana street in CPH even if I mostly window shop or eat cinnamon rolls in Emmerys.
The only vintage shop I can give you off the top of my head is Times Up Vintage but as that’s such an institution I imagine you already know this one. Apart from that I just Google vintage CPH and walk around them all! A couple of years ago I went to the Red Cross shop in Fredericksburg and found a fantastic bag repurposed from a sealskin coat - they had a project to reuse old fur, they even made cushions out of it, I imagine they will have moved on to other ideas now but I loved the creativity of it. Apart from this my other favourite shop is Smyks which sells semi precious beads and has a fantastic selection (although I never actually make anything, I buy every time I go with my Danish girlfriends! After we’ve been to the sauna in the harbour).

twoblondes I can second auld’s Nuxe lip balm recommendation (although my most effective lip repair is good old Vaseline!)

Flo Also worth trying (comfortable ‘burbs) are charity shops in Clapham Junction ((Northcote Road) and the ones in Balham are also really good.

Phew sorry for long post -now need to lie down-

Thanks bo and flo.
The jacket is still waiting for me at my parents'. Seemed insane to post it to France.
Except that I had to postpone my trip as, back when I put in the final paperwork, my workplace wouldn't approve travel to the UK for late Jan/early Feb, due to Covid. Which was kind of lucky, in the end, as DS2 came down with the virus the day I would have been leaving, and was quite unwell for 10 days. The day after he recovered, DS1 had a skiing accident and now has his arm in a sling for 6wks.

So I'm going in mid-March. Come hell or high water. Can't bloody wait. A week in a hotel in central Edinburgh, no kids and loads of work, but hey...
And I will duly regale you with my account of the longest-ever-awaited jacket in the history of MN.
It had better live up to expectations, as it will be too late to return it.

I've been reading and enjoying all your posts, but a bit frazzled. And I rarely have much to contribute.

Poor you Auld, are you sure your DC are not purposefully trying to speed up the greying/growing out process? Hope the COVID suffering child has fully recovered and the skiing one heals as best he can

I'm taking notes of all the charity shops in the back of beyond. I'll add them to the linked Google Doc in the op but am still petulantly refusing to go there.

Thanks for additional tips mm47, yes Time's Up was the one I found and apparently there's another one in the same building but expecting high prices and a very specific taste that probably isn't mine but it's much more about escaping and sniffing up another atmosphere. It's not very big and weather should be good so new discoveries should be easy to stumble across without trying.

@botemp Not so much scary as aspirational and therefore intimidating! Everyone seems to have well considered opinions and actual knowledge about brands, styles and places to shop. And if Japan ever opens its borders a meet-up sounds very fun! I’ll start researching the best places to shop 🧐 If you do make it to Hampstead check out Mary’a Living and Giving Shop - I’ve seen Hermes trousers, Alexander McQueen dresses and some very nice unbranded wool and cashmere sweaters there. Cancer Research just around the corner also has some gems occasionally.

@Floisme Really enjoying Baby - especially since she has been a good sleeper (so far). Funny you say that about interesting fashion choices, one of my first postpartum purchases was a relaxed fit, burnt orange suit. My husband was like ❓❓❓ I’ve also decided that jeans don’t inspire me and have purchased a few pairs of wool trousers. We’ll see what madness strikes next.

@mm47 oh Mumsnet spats 😆 They are so bizarre and seem to erupt over the weirdest stuff. Glad to hear that this thread has escaped that.

[waves] welcome tokyo! I am self confessed obsessed about anything Japanese…
Might pick your brains if I manage to re-schedule my Japan trip for next spring. I have been there before but it has been a while now.

Sorry to hear covid and skiing woes Auld. My ds came out of isolation yesterday, I have been testing negative but today I feel quite shit tbh … not sure if just tired or the virus is trying to get hold of me. I have rescheduled my skiing trip , but that is now for Easter break … which is a bit late this year so I am not sure how much snow there will be left.

Yes, style with a new baby can be interesting. Let us know tokyo if you found some good pieces that work. We have other 2 regulars that I hope they are doing well with their new babies. Waiting to hear from Elle and Times, when the time is right

X-post with tokyo burnt orange suit, a two piece suit? Or boiler suit? Anyway sounds like the choice would be approved in this type of circle! I love the sound of that.
What sort of brand for wool trousers have you found? Are they Japanese brands or found in Europe / Uk too? It would be nice to browse other things as I am getting a bit bored …

I won't lie, I quite enjoy a Mumsnet spat sometimes... but I always keep them off this thread.

Tokyo89 I see your orange trouser suit and I raise you a heavily beaded dress from Monsoon, also orange as I remember, quite fashionable at the time (late 90s/early noughties). At least it was in the sales but a) I could barely zip it up and b) I knew I'd never going to get the chance to wear it. And I didn't, not once, plus I tried cutting off the top to give it a new lease of life (didn't work) which meant I couldn't even charity shop it. And then there was my 'I'm the boss' Hobbs jacket in Margaret Thatcher blue for which I paid full price, not useful even in my previous life never mind the new one. I've no idea what was going on in my head - sleep deprivation? Hormones? But I've kept it because it was such a ludicrous choice and it still makes me smile.

Can you remember which Hamstead tube station you went to for those charity shops? Assuming you were on the tube? We clearly got off at the wrong Hampstead - there was nada.
Thanks mm47 for confirming Clapham junction - is Balham just a stop further down the line?

Auld what a time you've been having! Your luck has got to turn soon and I can't wait to hear about the jacket.

Hi tokyo89! Also signing up for a Tokyo meet-up

Do you brave the vintage shops in Harajuku? I used to love pretending I was cool by shopping the massive one underground (Kinji?) and found all sorts of crazy treasures there that were way too bougie for the street style kids with purple-tipped mullets and whatnot… fond memories.

twoblondes just on the Nuxe front, don’t be tempted by the tube lip balm for convenience. It’s a totally different formula and nowhere near as good.

flo I think it’s Clapham junction to Wandsworth common and then on to Balham and it’s very quick. You can go from Clapham Junction to Hampstead direct overground and you come out with 2/3 very good charity shops more or less opposite in the road opposite Hampstead railway station. On the spat front (and enjoying them -for me it depends, although I’ve only ever read them I just get so bored of people getting angry (it feels sometimes it’s just for the sake of it) and want to shout please can we move forward on the thread itself rather than getting bogged down in this old chestnut?

tokyo orange two piece sounds fabulous please post photo. What a fantastic place to a spend some time - I follow a few Japanese accounts on Instagram (ie have only a very superficial knowledge) and it seems the Japanese attitude to beauty is so multilayered and the philosophy behind a lot of their repair skills is wonderful - with stunning results.
red hope you feel better soon
And very much looking forward to seeing the long awaited jacket auld

Hello tokyo89. Always good to have another poster here. Welcome and stick around.

Most of my favourite lip balms have been mentioned, but may I add the Elemis Minty Moisture version? One year, I bought a dozen from Ebay so I had one in every winter coat pocket!

Yes, two posters just arguing with each other for the sake of arguing with each other is a nuisance but an actual spat can be quite entertaining on here. Specifically where the (usually) OP has some really strong beliefs or opinions on something most people really don't care about and then expect the entirety of MN to agree with them (I assume under the assumption that they usually agree with the majority of MN opinions). It's sort of reverese trolling at that point as the continually more worked up OP only really gets engaged with to react with more preposterous outcries for the entertainment of everyone else. Some actually are trolls (I think the dolphins are rapists thread was an acknowledged troll) but I think the dinosaurs are being pushed on our children was by all accounts a genuine evolution denying evangelist from the US or Canada.

The baby names section is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, it's spat central.

In terms of a new poster sticking around, I can add my two-pence on charity shops in London. Especially that I've recently even somehow happened to visit Chiswick and its charity shops mentioned here.

Few things; with a backlash against fast fashion and perhaps other factors, I find that London charity shops became somehow the main way people shop. Consequently, there is either nothing to buy, or the prices are insane, higher than what these items would be on sale in the original brand shops. Literally, the only way to buy a silk shirt for less than £30 if not £70 is if the staff missed it and mislabelled as a £12 item.

Chiswick was empty, ditto Clapham charity shops. Trinity Hospice can easily try to charge you £100 for a pair of wool trousers. I would probably only go to Pimlico now. Farah in Pimlico still doesn't go crazy sticking high prices as soon as a bit of a brand makes an appearance. I bought a Margaret Howell shirt there for £18. And there is also a high turnaround.

Another charity chain to look for is Traid. They have multiple locations. These are true vintage, and their managers handpick stuff [from some mysterious locations holding containers worth of vintage clothing]

Another thing is that both men and women shop in men's sections; there is less men's clothes donated, and consequently, there is a desert where men's clothes should be