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

microbius you’re welcome! Have PM-ed you back.

I think we’d use ‘warm’ passively, something along the lines of ‘it warms my heart to know you are… / you have warmed my heart by… thinking of me’. Can’t think of other direct warm / heat-related phrases now, but I’m sure someone will be along with something, especially since we seem to be having a rather linguistic chat this thread.

That chart made me laugh and I put my hand up to 'Oh by the way...' But there are a lot of regional as well as class differences too in how English people talk. Alan Bennett is very astute and funny about it ('Dinner at noon' in particular I think but that's from memory).

What are Margaret Howell playing at huh? I might actually be in London around March-April - whoop whoop it's been ages - but only for a couple of days and I can't delay other arrangements while they fanny about.

I don't know Flo, I think I just asked too early, I did get the impression they just didn't know at this time. I might chance it again in a week or so. My best estimate is it'll be from March 24 or starting the Thursday the week after. I did see the hotel prices have dropped now, I can stay two nights for the price of one when I last checked so maybe leaving it to the very last minute isn't all bad but it'll probably mean taking a plane instead of the Eurostar.

I just rang up the Music Room, and the Margaret Howell sample sale is slated for 29th March - 1st April. The 28th April is currently their set-up day but I was told we need to check the website closer to the time as this may become day 1 of the sale.

Excellent sleuthing mm47, I'll have to check those dates as I was anticipating March 24.

I’ve never been to the sample sale, I tend to buy MH/MHL in charity shops or on Ebay (the saviour of this particular shopaholic during lockdown 😉), I’ve been meaning to go for ages.

Latest treasure was this almost unworn pair of Heschung lace-ups, they’re incredibly comfortable but I’m not sure how to style them, I love brogues and so on but these obviously aren’t as sleek.

Oh ! Would love to do a MH sample sale again as my trousers purchases last time there have been well worth it.
I could potentially do 29 or 31 or even 1st..The 30 I am busy …

I'm not much of a brogues person, mm47 but I suspect the colour is the thing that left them unworn by the previous person, not quite neutral enough to blend in apart from really light colours so I'd go with bright socks like attached. White cropped denim and other bright socks where the colour echos in another accessory/top would work too.

What day did you go last time Red? When I went things were going quickly and that was the first day so I suspect the later you go the less choice. I sound very invested for someone who isn't all that interested in the sale itself 🤦

Thanks Bo for this idea, you’re right about the colour, they felt so amazing on I didn’t think twice before I bought them (very unParisienne!). In the long term I might try and darken them by moisturising them - I love tan and denim as a combination and I think they would be easier to style/wear whereas at the moment I have spent all morning trying to make an outfit that is not reminiscent of Margaret Rutherford… #firstworldproblems

mm47 another option could be to try changing the colour with leather dye. I use Fiebing’s, it’s available online for about £6 in a crazy amount of colours. Very easy to apply and one bottle will be plenty for those shoes and leave some over if you have other leather craft projects, like bags or belts that need perking up.

Not sure if I mentioned this on this thread before - I have definitely posted about it somewhere in S&B so apologies if I’m repeating myself. Also, with the dyed cashmere dress and homemade bedsocks from old cashmere sweater sleeves, I may be coming across as a lot more crafty than the reality!

On the MH sample sale meet-up, I can’t do the later dates as DS is in nursery MTW mornings. Maybe I will have to wait for the Autumn sale instead

Bo I went on one of the later days, not the last one.
You are right the choice wasn’t great for tops or coats but they had plenty of trousers, but it was just as the rules were relaxed after lockdown so not a usual year at all, London was still pretty empty .

Shangpie thanks for the Fiebings dye recommendation I’m not particularly crafty but love refreshing black clothes with dye so a leather colour is a good addition to the toolkit!

On the subject of R&B brogues - and other kinds of brogues: how are they to be maintained? As I understand, when rubber soles wear out, they are not repairable. Which means throwing away a shoe which might be almost intact apart from a worn heel. Is it just that the "chunky" fashion solicits rubber soles and it is incredibly wasteful or am I missing something?

I've used Fiebings dye too, it's surprisingly easy. I'm not sure about the stitching, though, I think it coloured that too but it was a long time ago. A cobbler will do it too, it's not that expensive but obviously more than the price of your shoes plus a bit of dye. The sneakerheads all recommend Angelus dyes, they have a few more exciting colours.

Red, I think it was also by appointment only those first few days so definitely not a usual year. Would also say that when I went size 10 was the smallest size in most cases to further temper expectations.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say with MTW day care, Shangpie, is MTW your preference then? If Red's up for it again, can everyone that wants to come just let her know what day suits best. I've checked on my end and it's carnaval that week so the bottom half the country is off drunk so it should be easy enough to get away. The only thing I seem to be focusing on is that the clock goes forward an hour on the 27th so I'm still trying to figure out how sleep deprived or not I'm going to be taking an early morning flight the day after...

Ah sorry for my lack of Dutch directness clarity bo. I am a 2.5 hour train ride away from London and DS is only in nursery for 3.5 hours, so a day trip isn’t really on the cards right now. Roll on September term and some proper free time!

microbius my brogues and derbies (? I think that’s the term, I mean plain leather lace ups) all have leather soles which I’ve had covered with rubber soles. This makes sense to me because when wet leather soles are phenomenally slippery - with the bonus that it’s far cheaper to replace the stick on rubber sole than it is to replace a leather one.

I don’t think my latest treasure are exactly brogues (the rubber deep toothed soles will be interesting to replace when the time comes, I’ll have to see what my magician of a cobbler can do). As the shoes cost £5 it was worth a punt as they are really comfy and I thought they could look cool in a fugly sort of way, then when I got home and googled it looked like the brand is quite trendy, so I’m hoping this will rub off onto this particular pair … or maybe not … 😉

Red I’m free anytime for MN meet-up for MHL sample sale!

I can probably join any time, if you want to see my face (I get that you all know each other for quite a while and have previously met).

I've never been to MH sample sale and don't know what it's like but if it only has things that haven't sold in the outlet, the upcoming one might not be bursting with stuff.

mm47 do you mean that the ribbed soles of the brogues you got are repairable? I just presumed that when such ribbed soles wear out, one cannot put a new heeltap on it? [i just consulted a dictionary and it told me that the word I am looking for is heeltap. Never heard it in RL and it is probably wrong. Other options are heelcat, heel piece, top-piece or cleat{?}]

@microbius I find that pretty much any sole (including rubber ones) can be replaced, the only exception being moulded rubber ones with an odd shape. But even those can be fixed by attaching a rubber heel or similar to the original sole. I sometimes ask the cobbler to attach a rubber sole to the leather one to make them less slippery.

While I would love to see you all again, it's still a bit difficult for me to make plans until I know about future appointments. Suggest you go about making arrangements to suit all participants and if I can jump on the train on the day, I will!

microbius missmoon good to hear it is possible to reheel/resole rubber soles - I just took a chance.

I’ve never been to a MN reunion but after lurking for ages it would be so nice to put faces to you all (- and to introduce myself). So 🤞🏼it happens - and that there is an autumn meet up for those who can’t come this time.

Hi all.
Sorry to come out of lurkdom with no chat and a plea for some quick advice.

We've had an unexpected death in our close family, well not unexpected but a lot quicker than anticipated and the person was young.

As is custom here the funeral is planned in days and it's an occasion where dressing well is a mark of upmost respect especially the closer you are to the deceased.

I had nothing to wear for a winter season event and had to quickly run out and buy. In our city centre there were no smaller sizes in any of the main shops and I only had a few hours. This was the best I could come up with.
Vanity sizing has gone crazy. This dress is a size 6 and too big but I think it looks OK with the added belt?
Boots I'm kind of stuck with due to my hip, but I have "lighter" knee high ones but I think these funk it up a bit

I just have a niggling feeling I look like I work in a bank in 1991. I could go back out today if this does look crap. Please tell me if it does or what you would change. I can't trust my own opinion atm.

Even zara and mango which do carry smaller sizes here were shit. Zara like a punch bomb exploded and mango everything would have needed tailoring which I don't have time for

Pucci bomb not punch

Sorry to hear that Duvet

Is there any possibility of ordering online as an alternative with express delivery or is that still an issue?

Got to be honest, while it's probably fine and you're overthinking it (understandable under the circumstances) with the blazer it does really look like a thing you threw on over it to make it funeral appropriate and without I'm not sure it hits the close family member severity brief.

I think the blazer issue is with the feature buttons competing with the belt metalware. Maybe a simpler blazer would work better or temporarily remove the buttons and stitch them back on later?

I'm so sorry to hear that Duvet

Ok, without knowing anything about the culture /traditions I think the dress looks better without the jacket. If you wore something like a polo neck underneath (instead of jacket) would that be sufficiently respectful and also warm enough?

For what it's worth - different cultures etc - when I went to a child's funeral the family had requested 'favourite clothes, no black' and it was incredibly mixed: everything from cocktail dresses and formal suits to jeans and a favourite top. What the parents appreciated was people giving it thought and making an effort, regardless of what they actually wore. I'm not sure how that translates - ignore if it's not helpful.