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

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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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Ah yes my secret tipper offer I do have a talent for remembering random details, fairly sure you also have ridiculously tall men in your family.

I've never been pinged, feel very slighted somehow. Hope you're holding up well in France, infection numbers seem surreal there atm.

Thanks for the well wishes all! A couple of weeks still to go. Funnily enough my first Cabbage Patch doll was called Phoebe so I don't think I can revive that name. Celine isn't on the list, but is actually quite nice.

I like the bag xing. It reminds me a little of Strathberry but is less prim.

Clothes are pretty much stretchy base layers and cardis here. The Acne Carice coats have been a god send as they're so roomy. I did buy a ridiculous pair of boots since I can't buy anything else and they seemed a more sensible purchase than lingerie-adjacent dresses.

An in person meet up - the dream!

Tall men AND women!

I'm only just starting to hear about people I know having Covid, it's been a total non issue around here and everyone is scarily obedient, even in Paris. Our death rate is still well below the UK's. I long for the end of masks in shops but no sign of that happening soon.

Microbius, I do like the bag, a lot, and it feels secure with the magnet closure. I've been on the Tube with it, with no feelings of it being risky. It's a small cross-body bag. The leather was dyed all the way through- it's because they are vegetable dyes according to customer service and the website:

katesheridan.com/pages/product-care

I'd probably still buy a tan or a black bag from them. The bags are simple, and well-made.

Interesting, veg tanned leather tends to darken usually, I'm guessing it's down to the dyes, probably the better choice environmentally but not for stability. Have you tried using a leather conditioner or moisturiser, that will restore a bit of depth of colour, usually. I agree, something closest to the natural colour of leather would probably be the safest choice from them, not sure if black would behave differently than other colours.

Apologies for forgetting the women Blondes, shall report myself to FWR gaol 🙈 I'm not so fussed over masks anymore, I usually catch anything going so it's been nice not being sick for forever now. Hmm, they weren't all that well behaved when I was last in Paris, granted it was last summer and I think most people were convinced it was the tail end of it. I also got the idea that there was a bit too much faith in masks but French social distancing is only a metre so that might explain my discomfort with how close people were.

Hiya Elle, are we going to place bets on a Valentine's baby? I'm always convinced cabbage patch dolls were an American thing, we either didn't have them or my parents were really good at making me unaware of their existence, toddler me would have desperately wanted one. There's actually a Carice coat on sale here in my size, I'm debating it but I really don't need another coat. I get what you mean about Céline, it's a name I've only ever known adults to have so while it may be nice it feels strange for a child.

Coucou from Provence,
Popping in, after months of lurking, as I do...

Enjoying the bags, Flo's N. Korean fling, and all the rest. And mention of Paris makes me yearn to hop on the TGV for a quick weekend.

Covid case numbers are indeed really high here and the number of vaccine refusers in my town means lots of people have had it, either Delta or Omicron. I also know /know of 2 people who have had it badly: one healthy 45yr old neighbour who was on oxgygen and a 50 yr old friend of friends who is in hospital and about to have ECMO. Hundreds of contact cases, lots of teachers off, huge uncertainty over how the Bac will be organised and when this year...not much fun for DS1, who is reacting badly by disengaging from work altogether at the worst possible moment.

I have been off new clothes for a while now, happy to wear what I have, very comfortable and confident in my fairly classic style, and not seeing much that enthuses me. I'm also growing out my hair dye and trying to go with the grey, so not buying clothes till I see that through (probably a year to go - for now I have an odd (dyed) auburn bun while the front is streaks of (natural) blonde, grey, auburn and brown. I don't mind the streaks, but the contrast with the back is weird and I wonder what students make of it when I turn to scribble on the whiteboard.

However... update on the endless Jaeger green leather jacket saga (symptomatic of how dull my life is).
I was going to pop in to M&S to try it on, stroke it, etc. in late December when I went to Scotland with the DC. That trip was cancelled due to Covid, so I figured it meant the jacket really wasn't for me. Yesterday, I idly peeked on the M&S site, as I'm meant to go to Edinburgh in March for work. It was reduced to £96 from £299, and sold out in all sizes online, but they had one single one in my size in one single Edinburgh branch.
My lovely DM popped in this morning and bought it for me, says it's beautiful, a really nice cut and looks the perfect size. She's hanging onto it till I go in 6 weeks' time.

It was meant to be for you.

How can I forget the green leather jacket! Very pleased for you

[waves] to Elle , very exciting baby arriving soon.
And if Times is reading , looking forward to hearing baby news!

I wore my MH trousers the other day and tried it with a tucked in frilly sweatshirt and ancient shoes that I used to wear quite a long long time ago (more than 10 years … must be nearly 20…)

Ah lovely to hear about your green leather baby Auld, I did wonder whether you managed a trip at Christmas so glad to hear it all came together in the end coatwise (and hopefully your parents will see their GC sometime soon too).

Some WHO bigwig is saying we're nearing endgame of the pandemic in Europe. He mentioned March, it's all sounding too optimistic to my ears, but I can't help but daydream about popping on a tgv (or in my case the Thalys) to Paris either 🤞

I grew up with lots of old ladies with grey hair and then they had a very hairpiece of a very specific styled chignon, very intricate, that hair was always pitch black. I thought it was marvelous as a child, it didn't look all that odd, I'm sure yours doesn't either, and students aren't that observant about their teachers' hair either IME.

Oh, also, look what I stumbled across, I raise Bani's two toilets to three

Im also growing out the hair dye, @AuldAlliance. I have a grey cruella streak at the front now (short bob, so hasn’t taken much time to grow out). I switch between loving it and hating it, almost on a daily basis. The green leather jacket sounds amazing.

I really hope the jacket lives up to collective expectations once I try it on.

You're right, bo, I doubt students notice my hair. Although when I hennaed it during lockdown, one mentioned it at the end of a Zoom class, so some are clearly more observant than others.

Voltefarce, mallen streaks are very cool. Mine is more patchy. I alternate between liking the grey/white, not being fussed either way, and disliking it and all it represents. In Germany over Christmas, DSis spotted an elderly woman openly staring wide-eyed at me in the supermarket queue. We decided it must have been the fox/badger effect, and I felt a bit meh about it for a while. But I'm going to stick it out, I think. DSis cut hers really short a few years back and let it go grey, and she looked amazing, but she lives in an Eastern European country where all women of all ages dye their hair and she is also taller than most women by quite a long way, so she felt very self-conscious and has grown it out and gone back to the dye.

Those loos, bo!! Why, oh why, oh why?

So pleased about the leather jacket Auld.

All the best for the babies Elle and Time. And hello to posters new and old.

Xing that bag's a great colour.

My North Korean experiment hasn't come cheap. You have to pay for MH returns and I decided to fork out for insurance and tracking as the postal service still seems to be in mayhem. Plus in my excitement I hadn't noticed the (admittedly very fast) delivery charge was a tenner To be fair, I'd have paid way more if I'd made the trip to a MH stockist but at least then I'd have had a day out and eaten cake (which always tastes better when you're out) and tried on a load of other stuff too. I can't afford many more mistakes.

I've been tracking the Omicron variant since it popped up in South Africa and I think there are good reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

No words left for the toilets.

The Cabbage Patch dolls definitely were an American thing. Ours came from Santa by way of a relative from the US coming back for Christmas and were the subject of much envy.

What a stroke of luck about the coat Auld, looking forward to seeing it on.

Nice trousers red

We are opening back up here which is great albeit the timing is just a bit unfortunate for me. I’m not so much worried about the effects of the virus as I’m boosted etc as are the kids, but I’d be so gutted if I or DH got it and I had to deliver as a covid positive patient or without him. I think it would be pretty hard so we’re just keeping to ourselves for the next few weeks.

What is going on with these toilets? I’m so intrguied.

I always think that Cruella streaks look really cool!

I hate when those gambles don’t pay off and you end up paying an awful lot for a try on Flo. Maybe it’s time you became an Instafluencer, then you could pint the garment at the back, take some photos, photoshop out the tags, return the damn thing and deduct the expenses for tax? Joking aside if you have Paypal and use it to pay it’s worth exploring whether you can use their services to return which are sometimes free, though I’m sure it varies massively by jurisdiction.

I'd be keeping low too in your situation Elle, fingers crossed. Good point about Paypal - I have it but use it very sparingly. I hardly ever order from the MH website and I've never had to return before and I guess I got a bit giddy because it looked like such a good reduction (now I know why!) and didn't check the T&Cs carefully enough. Rookie error but still annoying.

I've always fancied a green leather jacket, so when I saw the Jaeger one half price and only one size 8, my usual M&S size, left online, I decided it was meant to be. Sadly, though, it was too small.

The hunt goes on.

Yikes, SeaRabbit... I haven't bought anything in M&S for years. I think I'm an 8, so hopefully the 10 my DM got will fit. She did attempt to try it on, but she has a very pronounced dowager's hump , so couldn't tell much.
Nailbiting saga not quite over yet .
Hope you find your holy grail of green leather soon.

Sorry about the MH woes, flo.

Elle I'd lay low, too. Not long to go, you can nest quietly.
I had DS1 during a chikungunya epidemic and it was quite stressful, all the more so as no one knows anything much about chikungunya (oddly, diseases that don't affect developed countries don't get researched much).

I had some Japan exclusive Barbie things and was subsequently the envy of many. Oh the prestige of it all I'm fairly sure my uncle just brought them back for me to piss off my mother and her hatred of plastic tat (the whole wooden toys only thing only lasted so long).

Yes, unfortunately, the current somewhat let it rip mentality is a bit shit if you're vulnerable. Children here no longer have to isolate when there's cases at school and they're not symptomatic which is fair enough but then they're not allowed to see elderly relatives, bit annoying as many count on those for childcare. And they've already been saying for everyone not to see elderly relatives since October or November, it was just sort of okayed again.

Anyhow, hopefully everyone stays healthy and the birth goes as best as it can🤞

Fingers crossed for your green leather jacket fitting perfectly too Auld.

I'm not sure what's going on with the toilets, who wants more toilets to clean? Or are they so germ phobic that each family member has their own designated toilet? I suspect the picture I posted is a converted school or similar and they just took down the partitions. Personally toilets in large spaces irk me regardless of their numbers, I'm a big advocate of them always being a separate little room (where possible).

I find the whole grey hair stuff a bit bewildering, I always assumed that great grey hair just looked like that but it's all sorts of treatments and toners involved, and even the occasional highlight. I'm not sure how different that is to dyeing and now there's people prematurely dying their hair grey at the first sighting of some actual ones. I also feel as a result of the hyping up of the grey the in between stage of salt and pepper is unfairly maligned and basically regarded as what grey hair used to be. I quite like Maria Grazia Chiuri who dyes her grey hair a shade of platinum blonde that's neither really legible as blonde or grey, it's almost white. Must be a mare in upkeep though.

Phone tree alert, @Floisme, @missmoon, just got a Margaret Howell email, the sale has gone to final prices.

I have a grey streak and I love it - it's quite striking when the light hits it.

I am also rooting for the green leather jacket. Looked fab.

I probably missed talk about it, but is anyone interested in the Uniqlo U spring/summer stuff? Sometimes I wish they had a few more colours, but I quite like the drawstring bag and some of the trousers. Whether I'd like them if I bought them, though...

Thanks bo. Also, after all my moaning yesterday, I feel honour bound to announce that it looks as if MH refund your initial delivery costs if you return an item. Very speedy response from them too, which has mollified me enough to at least go back and check out the final reductions.

CatherineMaitland there are a few things I'm watching in Uniqlo U too: a couple of the men's jackets that come in XXS, the women's shirt jacket and some off-white trousers. I've been disappointed in their recent stuff so I'm not getting my hopes up but I'll definitely take a closer look. Someone - I think it was bo - said their US launch is on or around Jan 31st so there might be a chance then to get more info on fabrics.

Flo - excellent news about MH!
Hope you get a bargain.

Uniqlo U stuff available from Feb 10th here, I think.

bo, I agree the grey hair trend makes the whole issue even more fraught. Young, gorgeous 20yr olds dyeing their hair a shade that resembles no natural grey hair colour can mean it's even harder to assume the reality, I think.

Christine Lagarde looks great, but she must spend a fortune on products to make her white hair gleam. Mine is curly and won't ever gleam, and also most of those products are full of things I've avoided for years (silicone, sulphates).

I have ordered a shampoo that claims to prevent yellowing - not an issue for me, but I thought it might pick out and highlight the greys/whites. And even if it does nothing of the sort, at least it won't trash my hair.

Until I've grown out all the auburn dye, I can't quite work out what the overall effect is. But since I had it cut on Saturday, it's a little too short to tie up properly, so I braved wearing it down to campus yesterday. No one fainted, and DS2 (who is a devilish charmer and whose pronouncements require a huge pinch of salt) claimed that I looked as though I was in my thirties and that the grey/white streaks are "trop cool". For the moment I'm going to take him at his word .

Gotta adore a DS who can pronounce his mum 'trop cool'. Devilish charm -- the lad can clearly lick his own eyebrows! Bet there is not a pinch of salt required, so enjoy the compliment.

Still waiting for delivery on the new bag... I keep thinking it must be arriving soon... it has landed in the UK so guessing Royal Mail have got it now and are probably wondering what tax they should charge me.

I ordered my brother a book for Christmas, online from Blackwell's, on Dec 14th. It arrived yesterday.

Jan 28th (so more like 29th here) for Uniqlo u in the USA, might also be available in Asia earlier but I don't have dates for those.

I'm another who doesn't want to get excited about it but did like the look of a few things.

Auld, I recommended the Jean Paul Mynè Pepper shampoo (think there's also a mask) to quirky and she really liked it (I assume she still does, I'm sure she'll show up at some point and choke in) as it's quite popular here with the grey curlies. It's different from purple shampoos that tend to be for blonde/lighter grey hair.

Keep on with the "trop cool" mindset. I'm yet undecided on what to do when the grey hair properly sets in for me, it all feels like way too much commitment, seems easier to just get a wig 🤷

Oof Xing, I didn't realise you were paying vat/import tax, that's probably the discount. Hope they are sleeping on the job and just pass it through and it gets to you soon.

I just checked Uniqlo Singapore, and they're getting it early Feb like us but already have the material info up here.