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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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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Deux

Trois

Quatre

Cinq

Six

Sept

Huit

Neuf

Dix

Onze

Douze

Treize

Quatorze

Quinze

Update: looked at Engel and amazon reviews say they sag and won't work under a skirt. Anyone knows any brand that would work? Thanks

Xing has your bag been released from import tax purgatory already?

Micro, yeah, natural fibre thermals often don't work as tights (often let too much air through too), what you're wanting is footless tights. They don't exist in natural fibres much, Fogal do cachemire and wool ones, beautiful but £££. I think there are some merino ones out there but they won't hold their shape over time unless they're mixed with something else. But if you just want tights without feet to wear with socks and don't mind synthetics plenty of footless tights out there at all price points. And you can make tights you already have stay put by wearing an extra pair of tightish underwear over tights.

Hi everyone. Just sneaking in before February to say Happy New Year and hello to you all again.
It's taken me ages to catch up but great to follow along with all the chat again.

On colours, when I had the opportunity to rebuild my wardrobe, I did at one point think perhaps I should go for a colour consultation. I was feeling at the time a bit like I suspect you are feeling now Microbius sort of lost as myself and needed to reclaim my place as me. And did that through a new wardrobe.

Anyway due mainly I suppose to lockdown and the lack of actually wanting to spend money when I could do it myself I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of articles and "diagnosed" myself as a soft autumn, which I think is mainly right. I do suit khaki and corals and navy best. And that's the route I took for the first while.

But then as I've said often here before I need my clothes to let me play a character some days. I want to be somebody different every day. I dont want to be a classic dresser so within weeks I was buying the "wrong colours" black, brighter orange etc.

I know I don't like pastals really and I don't do yellow as I'm too green in winter and olive in summer. But it's a colour I always try incase I find one that will one day suit. I don't really do cream either for the same reasons except one very specific shade which is hard to come by.

However, I do find it relatively easy to see the difference between shades, I know my sister can't do this at all. Maybe a colour consultation would be useful if you can't see colour specifics.

I have found it difficult and still am finding it hard to dress my body shape (skinny legged inverted triangle with no waist definition) which has changed due to weightloss and then being in covid times during that. So I feel I haven't had a full swing of outfit opportunities.

I didn't make my year of purely 2nd hand buys..... I got so so close. But on 22nd Dec DH and I went for some last minute Christmas shopping and even though I was wrapped up in layers, I was so cold I had to buy a long black puffa gilet to be able to stay out and finish the shopping.
It's turned out to be very useful especially while I'm still mainly not moving much at home, reasonably stylish....but I was so damn close

I also have read Ma'am Darling and adored it, so I will definitely try out the new recommendation, thanks Xing? Flo?

Volte I really like those IM trousers.....(goes off too look now that her self imposed spending ban is over)

Flo recommended it first to be honest.

I think el bag has just escaped confinement. I still don't know what if any duty is expected, but it should arrive this week (fingers crossed though).

I spent so many years working with graphic designers that I was totally indoctrinated into their colour opinions. As the writer, all I could protest was that it is difficult to read text reversed out of colour, and that the text content matters as much or more. This was not always a popular view!

Thanks bo, saved me from another failed buy. I blame sitting at home and imagining things.

duvet yes, I am feeling much better [bank balance much lighter as well] I bought impractical whites, hats and gloves, and scarves, and a new perfume. Also, a variety of trousers (some more successful buys than others)

I put some stuff of mine on tinted and eBay; and then read bo's advent calendars. And took some of my stuff back off. Especially Klein's blue viscose blouse

Good to see you again duvet, I had been wondering how you were doing and recovering. Did you end up getting the Bottega lookalike boots for Christmas in the end? All but one emergency buy in a whole year is pretty impressive.

I seem to be in a buying funk, I've not bought a thing so far this year, I think, which is quite unusual as January is usually when I buy a lot. And I'm still debating keeping a Zara dress I got back in the sale in December (I have untill mid Feb to decide, probably going to keep on debating until then 🤦) Probably down to lockdown and still being cautious, I'm debating whether to just order in some out of season things off my wishlists in places, I'll be grateful come summer I'm sure but I'm still very meh about it all.

Xing, I know the type you describe well, it's always quite staggering to discover the lack of pragmatism some have in the applied arts.

Clap, clap [Aplaudes] duvet for the non buy year . That in my eyes counts as 100%.
I did a year of very few new buys last year, probably 4 or 5 items in total, mostly not planned.

I think we can be cautiously optimistic. I would like to think a meet up this side of the year can actually happen.
I believe there is an YSL exhibition in paris too? I was considering going for a long weekend during May/June.
Do you know anything about it Bo?

Just had a Google Red, looks like it's in six museums and from now until mid May info here. It's not a big organised exhibit like the Dior exhibit, that's usually at the Musée d'Arts Décoratif but they have a big Thierry Mugler exhibit on (I think I saw that in Rotterdam) that's also on until end of April.

Nice to have you back duvet... I've seen you on some other S&B threads, so delighted your mojo is returning. More applause on your no buy year.

Klaxon! The bag has arrived. It cost me VAT and a handling charge on top to ransom it from the post office, which I am going to challenge because the calculation is just wrong but even so, I am pleased.

The size is just right and it's not too heavy even with everything loaded into it. Converting it to a cross body is straightforward but has to be done fairly gently. The colour is good too, even through I'd imagined closer to oxblood; it borders a purple-red wine, and is a little brighter than expected, but good with navy, grey and black because of it. It will fit neatly into my life. And it is the first new, new bag I have bought in about 10 years, apart from the £18 Parfois number: others have been vintage or preloved. And two are off to the charity shop in exchange.

Ooh I’ve been to la musée YSL but this is a whole new ball game. I think I shall have to hop on the Eurostar at some point during the exhibition. I wonder if a weekend is enough?

Bo I saw that dress of yours as I read the thread, In the link I followed it had been reduced to £12.90 and I nearly killed myself trying panic press they buy button, didn't realise it had a tiny sold out sign beside it. Could you try and return to the store and see if they would sell it back to you at the final mark down price?
Then it would be a worthwhile gamble even to try and dye, for me I liked the shape and style but I know the colour is not quite right.

Xing glad your bag has arrived, that's the hard part about buying online, the colours are so hard to predict on screen. But great that it ticks all the boxes, especially that it is not overly heavy, I can't stand that with handbags.

Thanks for all the applause, I pretty much did it and it was a good challenge. I haven't bought anything at all yet this year, so maybe I have curbed some of my consumerism and will rethink before I rush to press all the buttons or rush to the till

I did get the BV "dupe" boots from Next for Christmas and they have been a real gap filler. Perfect for wider cut jeans, or rolled trousers. I cannot do a bare ankle in winter (or autumn or spring lol) and they are also a good height for longer dresses too.

I'd also forgotten that Next shoes do tend to be quite deep for high street shoes. I have a large (depth) orthopaedic insole I am meant to wear every day to help with my hip and knee instability BUT finding shoes to fit the big ugly things are v hard and sometimes -often- I go for style over substance which does me no good in the long run.

However, Next shoes (well their flat boots and trainers) always seem to fit these perfectly and if you choose carefully the shoes can be good quality and on trend. I got a pair of leather trainers a few years ago for £5 in the black Friday sale that fit the insole, I've been stopped in the street numerous times by people asking me which style of Golden Goose I was wearing.

Congratulations on your bag, xing! Do you intend to mainly wear it with two straps or across the body? Is it worth thinking about it for cross-body wear if one always has to move the strap to lift the flap? Do I understand correctly how it works?

And are there any other interesting bags you looked at before choosing this one?

Can't imagine a year without buying anything. Maybe this means I have a real problem and that is exactly what I should do
duvet how did you put it in action (options: disconnected internet, hid cards, deleted email account, ?)

Ah no the cashmere dress has been worn plenty and the prices I paid for the dresses don't bother me enough to go haggle at the till. It's this one I'm debating (hope the link works).

I wasn't paying attention to the composition when I bought it, I thought it was just viscose. I do like how it looks although a lot of the details get lost in it being black and the large sleeves and middle can sort of become one giant block a bit. I think with normal work life I would have just kept it because it's a good work dress but I can afford to be picky about it now as there's still very little f2f meetings. I'm not a fan of the material from an environmental pov and it also really smells of fabric dye. But I like the sculptural neckline and the length and it suits me really well.

I go back and forth on it, at the moment I'm thinking it's going back but it's not something I'll easily stumble across again, probably and the sculptural quality probably isn't achievable without some synthetic input.

Volte if all the museums in France are still working with dedicated time slots that you have to book in advance I think you'd struggle to see all six, or drive yourself mad sprinting from one to the next. I doubt each exhibition is very big though so theoretically it should be doable, whether it's enjoyable to binge on so many exhibits in a short amount of time is another question.

Reading mumsnet's bags threads and checking out some of the bags, I quite like the look of the new senreve cadence, mainly because of the way it opens and how the strap goes around it, and that you can change for a chain if needed. I could never imagine spending that much money on a bag and I am really suspicious of myself liking it. Maybe their media campaigns found a way to infiltrate my consciousness even though I don't do social media.

What are people's opinions about this bag and my mind ; and xing can I ask you what is your thought process when choosing a bag, and what is your search strategy, if it's not too much to ask.

I avoid the bag threads on here unless it's promising to be a proper bench terf war, then I'll just read along for the entertainment as the moralising is spectacular to behold. Otherwise, I have very specific bag tastes that doesn't overlap on MN much (not criticising, my bag taste is marmite).

Eh, my bag buying process is very much, see something, dither over it endlessly and then buy it (or not), on the rare occasion I forego the dithering. I only really consider price in is it worth the asking price to me kind of way, I refused to buy a cotton tote once because they were overcharging for it but I have bags that were four figures. I don't like classic style bags much, and I also think the designer bag world has gone topsy turvy in the last decade or so, expensive high end bags have become much more expensive and overall quality has dropped and the speculation aspect is destructive IMO. I tend to keep an eye out for small independent emergency designers. There's a very mediocre middle band (300-1000 price point) of entry designer or designer like brands that is also very overpriced, the internet DTC brands are particularly terrible at this and think just by saying it's made in Italy it's somehow quality. Debatable. I don't like the stitching length on the Senreve bag, it's too large for the size of the bag, small Demellier bags have this issue too, it always annoys me. Don't like the look of the pebbled leather on such a smooth design either and that clasp opening would annoy me in use.

*Turf war

thanks bo, really useful feedback. I see from the previous threads that the bags you like are what I would describe structurally interesting, for instance, in their block-ness, or inversion (of trapeizoid), or other things. Of course, there are considerations of what function one wants, etc. I also don't like classical bags but I got interested in these hard (don't know how else to describe it) small crossbody bags. They seem to be made in a way that is not quite the kelly bag ("accurate lady bag" imo) but still with stiffness that I don't quite observe (also I never quite looked at bags properly). Do you have a Rokh bag? Does it have stiff walls?

It's probably a stupid question. I see Rokh got a bag actually called box. I don't even know where this Rokh memory came from, maybe you don't have it at all. But if you do have a similar bag, do you find it comfortable around your body or you don't quite wear it "on you" for long times like I would on the endless transport journeys?

My strategy has always been a female patagonia backpack for my laptop, books, etc. (Anything else damages my back quite badly, so I gave up attempting to wear laptop and books in a bag). And a small cross body bag for a wallet, phone, etc. Just writing it aloud makes it clear that probably a box-like bag would not work in this setup.

Yes, I have a Rokh bag from his first collection. It's not that stiff but does keep its shape well. Most bags will have some stiffening in (it's often just cardboard or card paper, the more expensive brands use specially developed products). There's also some that are wet moulded, that's the really sculptural ones, Lemaire and Jil Sander have a couple of examples, those are stiff down to the type of leather and thickness. Box is a bit of a difficult term in bags though, as some are called box 'something' bag but then it's in reference to the material, box calf.

I do wear my bags for long periods on me and it's always been fine, but I don't commute and in that situation I'd go for a sling bag that goes across your chest or back, those are the most pleasant to wear and quickly adaptable but I don't know how well they'd work in conjunction with a backpack as you'd be quite padded out on both sides of your body.

Microbius My self made challenge wasn't to not stop spending completely but to replace my wardrobe from 2nd hand sources only.

I sold my bigger sized clothes on FB clothing pages and rebought mainly on ebay due to covid, with some charity shop buys once restrictions eased. And then resold any dud buys on the FB pages again.
It worked well and meant I was able to try a lot of new things and replace a too big wardrobe for essentially zero cost but it was quite time intensive.... luckily lockdown provided the time.

Bo I like the dress, especially the neckline. I found with fabric dye smells, spraying with high % alcohol hand sanitizer, the liquid type spray bottles and then leaving outside to air got rid of smells most effectively.

I tried vodka on its own and various odour eating sprays on non washable items but this seemed to be the one that came out on top.

It even worked on a 70s leather jacket I've had since I was 15 and has been unwearable for years as it had been improperly stored over the years and smelled of mildew. Now perfectly wearable

That's a great achievement 70s. I'm in awe as I didn't do too well buying second hand last year and 2022 has started in a similar vein, which is slightly troubling as January is usually the very best time thanks to all those new year clearouts. The only thing I've found recently is a wool fairisle cardigan which has a pleasingly handknitted feel.

I've even wandered over to Vinted once or twice but I just don't get a buzz out of it like I do from seeing something for real - it's annoying enough having to buy new stuff online.

Which reminds me, thanks Missmoon for that new Uniqlo U link. There are some reviews up too now which are helpful. I'm losing interest in the overshirt/jackets as they sound too lightweight (basically like they're um.... shirts). But I'm still tracking a men's cotton cardigan and either the baker trousers or the gauchos in natural as I want to replace some cotton off-white trews, although I think I've ordered that 'natural' colour from U before and it turned out to be light beige.

Oh and thanks too 70s for that hand sanitiser tip for mildew smells.

Fuzzy cardigan pic. I'm not certain it's hand knitted but there are no labels and no sign that any ever existed, plus the button holes have that home made feel. It's also outrageously warm - like cardigans used to be.

Thanks, bo. Googled sling bag; will see if I can try one in store somewhere.

Stiffness is interesting. In bags, but also in clothes. I am finding a correlation between stiffness and price; it seems that more sculptural and thus stiff bags, skirts, trousers are at the higher end. I've recently seen some amazing silhouettes that I have never worn before and I think mainly because I normally wouldn't go into shops and try clothes which costs up from £350 an item. I wonder if there is stiffness achieved cheaply and if it holds.

Fluidity, on the other hand, can be replicated; heavy silk and wool with polyester. Of course, it is visible but some approximation is possible. Whereas stiff things I just don't see in cheap clothes at all. Am I wrong?

duvet it's great that you put your obviously excellent eBay / FB skills to use for a great overhaul project. eBay is my weak spot; I don't sell well anymore (the landscape has really changed, I feel) but I fall for the bargains. And even with mistakes, I keep coming back and end up spending tonne of money on imagined things (I imagine how nice something could be whereas in an actual shop I am more likely to be critical and not buy).

Online shopping profoundly shattered my boundaries in money-spending and an actual correlation between an object bought and imagination/expectations of it. On the other hand, I have just got an absolutely gorgeous, very plain, good size and otherwise amazing new Kate Sheridan bag for £50 (costs £295). It just fits so well with my style and I am so happy I didn't have to spend £300. On the other hand, I probably have spent more on failed purchases. It is some kind of Russian roulette, same addiction problems

flo the cardigan has a very nice shape! Will fit well with your MH bottoms - very similar shape to her cardigans.
I am eyeing a cotton woman's cardigan in Uniqlo U, - I think it has quite a nice neckline, and I always miss that easy cardigan to throw over your dress when it is a bit chilly but not cold enough. The trousers do look well!