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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The shape of that one is great Bo, the price not so much [waits for duvet to tell me she got it for £1].

Yes to platforms and oversized blazer with that 00’s trousers.

I got this sezane jumper in my charity shop, unworn with tags , not silly cheap price but £28. The merino wool is super soft, that attracted me as I normally itch all over with merino, I am wearing it today for work with Cos high waist trousers in Prince Charles type pattern (off white, cream type shades).

Happy to hear that the leather jacket saga is over Auld!

Thanks maids! Geriatric corner

Agree with flo and auld about just grasping the nettle and getting on with it. No chance of taking to my bed with a rampaging toddler about anyway.

I have taken on board earlier comments from bo and xing about shoes to reveal intent rather than a great floordrobe but still not enough to try the triggering accursed Witches square toes. I went for not chunky but oh so Louise Wener 90s red hi-tops and felt mad nostalgia for being a wannabe cool teen in 1997. Also chuckling about bo’s pavement-worn hems! Totally forgot how I used to cut a 5cm split up the back hem so jeans would flare out and cover my trainers just so.

So happy your jacket worked out auld - let’s have a picture (here in UK or once you return to bright S France sunshine )

Arghhh just lost a long post replying to everyone and now don't have time to redo

For Red

zoekarssen.com/pages/responsibility

Zoe Karssen who I think are a Norwegian brand and they waffle well on sustainability and ethical matters.

I've recently bought 2 of Zoe Karssen sweatshirts from ebay

1 coral and normal length but with puckered darts in the sleeve which make it look quite sculptural. I've dressed it up, wide leg trousers, skirt, collared shirt
Or down with tracksuit bottoms and both look good. It was about £13 all in
It's washed well and if I hang it well doesn't need ironing (big tick)

I also got this one for £6.18 all in, definitely more casual, but I have very few jumpers long enough for leggings and a lot of physio to go to. Though I think it will work in the summer with white/bleached jeans

Also cos tend to do some good sweatshirt or scuba fabric jumpers in "different" styles.
But you are taking your life in your own hands buying Cos online as the sizing is anybodies guess.

Though to be fairer to COS I don't live near any stores and have only been in a real shop twice, both times accompanied by a bored husband and excitable child. So if I "knew" my size/shape better I might have more luck

duvet love your eBay hauls! What do you search for to get these results? Or are you more of a browser?

Agreed that COS has interesting items but IME their sizing is really inconsistent depending on the styles and preferred fit. Not quite Uniqlo-levels but it’s getting there… It’s worth the time if you’re local to a store and can try on various sizes, or just commit to buying 2+ versions of everything and returning most of it.

Also, flo I was looking at H&M idly this morning and spotted several styles of cream / off white cotton/linen gaucho culottes and trousers for not a lot of £. Might be worth a look?

Zoe Karssen is a Dutch brand, it went bankrupt before the pandemic and then got purchased by an investor which probably saved them as I doubt they'd have survived the pandemic financially. Haven't seen it in stores since but I'd wager it's probably not quite the same as it used to be. It was always overpriced though but I think it was one of those brands worn by Alexa Chung in her heyday and managed to ride out the wave for a while. You do seem to get on well with Dutch brands Duvet, but Dutch brands do tend to favour the tall and triangle shaped.

So happy to hear your leather jacket saga has a happy ending Auld can't wait to see it.

Ah bo that would make sense, I am not tall only 5'5' but quite long bodied, people I meet for the first time seated are usually quite shocked when I stand up as they are expecting a much taller person

Shangpie I do a bit of both, I either go in with an idea of what I want i.e. orange cashmere cardigan, then I'll filter out the brands I know I don't want like primark or asos etc, filter again for Wool.mix like acrylic but keep in silk or merino as I don't mind that in a cashmere mix.

Obviously filter by size, but with jumpers that can go up or down.

It's easier to.go by colour for jumpers rather than all as it gets overwhelming

If I see someone has say a John smedley cashmere jumper for sale at £5 I will then look at their other items, even if I don't want the jumper as it could mean they are selling off all their clothes for peanuts for some weird reason.

My Balenciaga trousers came about because I had looked at the pictures of the new chloe show and searched chloe, someone was selling a chloe poncho/wrap with a starting price of £3. When I looked further all her things started at £3 but the trousers (and ALL of her shoes but too small)were the only things that I liked. So I got them for £3.10 and delivery.

So sometimes I search by designer.

I always look at sellers other items as that cuts down on delivery costs, often I will buy with the intention to resell the other item to make my purchase "free" but only on low cost items.
(I know flo I'm becoming part of the problem I'm complaining about)

If I like something I'll search again incase I missed one the same. The sweatshirt I posted yesterday I had liked at £14, I searched again and someone else was selling it for £1.99

If you like (heart) items sellers will offer discounts, you can offer back a lower price.

Your liked items go into an ended folder after the auction is over, if these haven't sold you can relike and these will go back to your current watch list. If you know you've been watching something for weeks you can assume a lowball offer will be accepted more often than not.

You will definitely make mistakes, I have sold mine on through Facebook buy and sell groups so have not lost out.

To try and combat mistakes I will look up the size guides on a company before I buy. I don't usually use the buy it now function without liking first (due to waiting for discount offered) and I don't usually get involved in auctions with minutes left

You can also see how many people are watching an item, if its lots I dont tend to bother. I also stick to a price I am prepared to pay and walk away if it goes over.

I think that's all I have. Sorry if its a bit jumbled. Writing on my phone as waiting for a drs apt so had some spare time

Here are the bargain Balenciaga trousers
Imagine I'm wearing them with a black silk shirt as that is my nemesis right now (why didn't I buy one in my grief shopping - now the voice in my head says ohhh you could get one on ebay for £10 --but I can't I've been looking for one for 15 months and it's the moon on a stick - I need to suck it up and buy one)

Second pic is detail of waistband but the colour is too bright. They are definitely more burgandy/deep wine.

And to prove my point about mistakes
Sorry for the treble post, I didn't know how many photos I was going to be allowed.

I thought I had it all in this jacket for this season.

The yves klien blue
Double breastfed
Heavy linen (I think, it looks like linen but no labels)

Size 10 but from the 80s so it should fit perfectly
And it was £1 (the coat I am keeping "cost" the postage in my twisted maths)

I didn't realise its an American 10, so in reality a size 14. - see I got carried away because the coat I wanted was £1, well everything was £1 and they said I could keep adding to the parcel until I hit the weight limit, so I didn't do my usual.due diligence

It doesn't sit too badly around the shoulders as they are 37" but is huge everywhere else
Flo Bo any point in trying to save this with a tailor? Or would anyone like a size 10-12 blue jacket? It needs dry cleaned it smells heavily of charity shop.

Ohhh and what I came to mention is that there appears to be a pair of IM black wide legged jeans flying under the radar on ebay. Size 38, so a 12?
They look fab, slightly faded and with a seam down the front leg like Sailor pants, and are currently £5.00 and I think I'm the only watcher. DM if you would like the link.

OK I need to shut up now or at least be called in to see the dr before my fingers fall off or my battery dies

Hope all went well with the doctor Duvet.

A French 38 is more of a 10 than a 12 IME and if you're generous in the hip department it's more like an 8 in Isabel Marant sizing, especially if it's the earlier stuff.

If you're interested in a black silk shirt, there's an Equipment one on Vinted here, I can post it to you when I'm in the UK, they want €12 for it, can probably haggle it down a bit. I previously ignored it because I already have two black silk Equipment shirts it's a medium but I suspect with your shoulders and this more fitted style that would work better for you, assuming you want a relaxed fit. Might need a redye, difficult to assess properly from the photo, could just be the washed silk look.

WRT the blazer, I think it's probably too big a project to get it tailored down but you could take inspiration from Jacquemus and Raey and just do a very obvious fold that you stitch down. Not very difficult to do yourself and can be done by hand. I'd take more out proportionally at the front than the back and maybe lose some buttons in the process.

I have messaged re. the IM jeans @70sDuvet and thanks v much for the eBay tips!

Thanks duvet for the eBay masterclass - definitely need to up my game there rather than focusing too much on Vinted.

Love the colour of your blazer, and think it was definitely worth a punt at £1. Bo’s front pleats could be just the ticket.

Agree that a 38 in French high-end brands is often on the small side of 10. I’ve repeatedly made the mistake of being too optimistic with Joseph sizes. I don’t think I am particularly blessed of hip, but apparently I am wrong

Many thanks for the Ebay advice... clearly I have never got to grips with it. Wow for the Balenciago trews; they are lovely!

Ooh, good advice about ebay! Thanks, duvet!

A French 38 varies a lot depending on the label, but with classic ones it's often closer to an 8 than a 10.

With apologies for the university loo background, here is a bad pic of you know what... (Kind of proves a point I once made on here about how mirror selfies make you look wider in the lower half than you really are.)

Will try to do better once I'm home.

I'm off to the cinema!! For the first time since Jan 31st 2020. I remember the date, as I went with a friend to take our minds off the B-word.

Popping on to say I'm not a Russian quirkybot! (sometime ago dd1 and I watched the Netflix AI series Better Than US and Russian for sexbot is sexbot ).

Trying to keep up with 70sduvet's fantastic bargains and congratulations to Elle. We just seem to have been drowning in bureaucracy, mostly for dd2. Hopefully, we are getting somewhere, but it just feels like we are being passed around from one dept to another.

I'm on a low buy, as I replaced a fair amount of stuff last year. Also, up till now, it's been quite a cold winter, so a lot of my milder weather clothes haven't been worn much, so feel a bit "new" anyway.

Auld, you look amazing. So pleased for you. And Duvet, I'd be really interested to see if you do stitch pleats in the blazer.

I went on a spontaneous trip to Stockholm this weekend to see the exhibition at Nordiska muséet on NK:s couture department of yore www.nordiskamuseet.se/en/utstallningar/paris-north

It was very lovely but I came out a bit dissatisfied. Somehow I don't feel I learned much. It's like all exhibits are a bit shallow and bloodless. I did enjoy that all garments had belonged to real people so had different shapes and mannequins were padded accordingly, and I enjoyed seeing the same Balenciaga suit that had been ordered by three women in three different styles. They'd also written what the clothes would cost in today's money, which was say 80 000 kr for a dress. I thought it was interesting the amount of people willing and able to pay that, and I'd say there are just as many really who would be today if we had the mindset (labour costs have gone up of course).

Also popped into H&M and got The Trousers in black, so am set. Sadly I've managed to pull a thread on the grey ones :(:(:( right on the front. So annoyed with myself.

Am having a hankering for these new chunky loafers. Not too chunky, I'm not FAsHuN. But tried on a pair and not sure I don't look like a granny (not afraid to go there, come at me). I'm not hip enough to look cool, I look like I've been shopping in cheap mail order catalogues. Hm. These bloody shoes. Bane of my life.

The coat is fab Auld, definitely worth all the angst and years of waiting.

Hiya quirky good to know you're not a Russian sex bot too, although you'd say that wouldn't you...

That exhibit does look good Bani although your experience says differently. I do have the feeling fashion exhibits are an easy cash cow for museums and they can just be a bunch of clothes. €8000 or so doesn't seem as mad money for couture, it would be much more than that for today's couture.

I don't know if it's down to nostalgia and talking of pavement worn down hems but I'm hankering for the only flattering trend item of my youth and want a boob tube. Don't see me paring it with a bolero this time round though. I need a good one though, I can also still remember a cheapie would lead to unintended flashing

Thanks.

Speaking of nostalgia, in the passport queue yesterday was a girl in her early 20s, wearing a cropped boob tube with a thinnish blouse open but knotted at the waist over it, hugely flared and very frayed jeans and chunky boots. She had very long, flowing, curly hair.

Apart from her mobile phone, she could have stepped straight out of a tutorial in my final year as an undergraduate in the mid-90s.

I'm always up for a granny argument bani but we would have to take it to another thread as I don't bring it here Good news about the second H&M trousers, is the pulled thread on the grey ones fixable from the inside - I can't remember how you do it now?

I'm so far behind I'll just go from memory: Duvet thanks so much for the Ebay advice, I might well be coming back to pick your brains when my dress agency lady retires, as seems inevitable. Love those wine coloured Balanciaga trews. Re the jacket - I find I can get most things altered but I use two different people, one is a seamstress who's quick, reliable and very reasonably priced but who only takes on fairly minor adjustments; the other is a trained tailor who will do anything except alter raglan shoulders - but he charges a lot more. I'd say it probably depends on how much you love the jacket as it could turn out quite expensive. I like the sound of bo's pleat idea.

Auld the jacket looks great on you, so pleased, you deserve a break after the time you've had.

Xing I hope the care home visit went well (and what did you wear?)

In other news, I've ended my T shirt search. After much dithering, aka research, I went for a selection from Rapanui as they ticked all the boxes: cotton, a neckline that shows off collarbone rather than cleavage, long sleeves and a reasonably good range of colours. Pretty pleased with them and relieved that the hunt is over. My only grumble is that they now keep emailing me about climate change which I find a bit given that the T shirts are made in India and do not, I imagine, arrive by paddle boat.

Yes, the one to one replica looks are somewhat disturbing. I did wonder if it's always like that and those who have seen a few cycles will know better, but I remember the 90s fashion that have been doing the rounds for the last few years felt more interpretative (as did the earlier eras but no firsthand experience of those) but I was still a child for a large part of the 90s so that may just be my memory. The 00s stuff feels scarily accurate, and there's a lot more visuals to study. I've also noticed that the creatives here, well that's probably a bit generous, it's people who want to be perceived as creatives, are all dressing like the before pictures in all the 90s makeover mania presentations, terrible perms included I'm always torn between wanting to tell them no one actually looked like that back then, that was just to make the makeover more spectacular...

I do know of a Dutch single origin chocolate brand that comes by ship, not paddled but sailed, they go like twice a year when the winds blow in the right direction, then wait weeks or months till they blow the right direction back again. It's a pity it's not very nice chocolate 🙊

Adding thanks to duvet , applying that I got a pair of Joseph burgundy trousers, a madewell top and something else, I will report back
Oh boob tubes, they do sound appealing once again with something flowy on top like Auld mentioned.

Hopefully all is good for the meet up on the 31st. @mm47, @microbius and @botemp
Any late additions? If you are in London… let us know

Hi there yes I’m definitely on for it!