Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: Always Have a Ball Gown at the Ready in Celebration of Your Enemy's Demise

[botemp]

Lovers of Parisian style and fashion with a conscious mindset and lots of chatter in between.

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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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It's like good evocative art, it grabs you deep and doesn't let go. There was something so raw and visceral about McQueen's work but it could also be almost ephemeral. There was a runway show with spray painting robots and it was like poetry in motion. It was also the time of good and bad runway shows (or rather than bad, ones that fell flat and failed to resonate) and he had both, he took risks and sometimes they didn't pay off at all. There was much more of an all or nothing spirit about it at the time as opposed to the content dump it is these days. On top of that, he was also technically brilliant so he had the rare talent to translate the chaos of creation into something impeccable.

There's been a few documentaries but depending on who you ask (everyone who was only vaguely in his orbit all now claim to have been his closest and dearest friend) are good/bad representations of a very complex person (I enjoyed them anyhow). There's also the Isabella Blow factor and how much she influenced/was the true genius behind it all.

Martin Margiela is another interesting one, very much an enigma and probably most associated with the anti fashion movement than any other and he actually just decided to leave it all behind holding up two fingers to the industry shrouding it all in even more mystery. The current House of Margiela, yeah it's a bit of tough one. I have complex feelings about John Galliano at the helm of it (another tortured genius but not quite tortured enough to overlook the anti-Semitic incident). While it's still interesting creatively it does feel a bit, to quote Flo (about Doc Martins), about as alternative as Disney, it's skating very close to being a parody of itself with how seriously it takes itself and how even more serious its fanbase take it. Like we've seen in other aspects of social media/celebrity fan bases are adding a weird dimension to it, audience capture, etc.

Absolutely brilliant how you capture Galliano and McQueen.

I had forgotten about that famous Flo’s quote , LOL.
(Plenty of ideas there for a title of the next thread? )

In my more mundane fashion dilemmas I have found a gap on my shoe collection. I realised that I need sensible shoes for work for the time between chunky sandals and ankle boots. Today is a bit drizzly so trench came out but it saw the shoes I have and they look so … dated and boring … I think something with a chunky flat sole will do.
My second dilemma is that I was going to wear a white silk blouse and found out it has ‘yellowed’ , I have not worn it for a year probably but I am pretty sure it was dry cleaned … (I also realise I do not know the names of different types of silk) so it is a matte, soft, not very see through but just a tiny (I wear it with a singlet normally). Googling around I saw a solution with vinegar to clean it… I might try that . But I recall many threads ago discussing here how to clean silk.

I suppose we're about as alternative as Disneyland Paris

Yes, vinegar is usually worth a shot, I have a more hardcore thing bookmarked somewhere if that doesn't work but you have to be prepared to say goodbye to your item, wear mask, goggles, and gloves in a ventilated area type of hardcore solution.

Shoes, I'm useless on actual shoes shoes. Weejuns maybe? I hear they're comfy, and I like the look of the mule version but those probably are quite limited by weather, especially UK weather. We've got a bit of an Indian summer going on here a lot of rain last night though, but days are sunny and relatively warm, 27 degrees predicted for next week and still 25 the week after

In other news Zara has a Collab with Narcisco Rodriguez out today, archive pieces with very strong Carolyn Besette-Kenedy 90s minimalism vibes (she wore quite a bit of his clothes). Bit pricey, I like the red dress but not convinced it would get much wear (especially if the heating is going to be set to low everywhere, as minimal Aircon has already demonstrated to me this summer), maybe the jumper with the built in bra, I'll see if it shows up in store. I do love this era in fashion and it wasn't ever very mainstream but my body shape isn't the most compatible with it. (The shoes can get in the bin though, they feel really off).

Also of interest, FT piece on material innovation in fashion, it's almost as if they're lurking...

Joyeuse rentree a tous! First summer holidays complete, now able to return to quietly faffing about on MN

Nothing really to say, just popping by to let flo know that Barnados eBay have a fair number of RL Junior blazers listed, just in case the mannish-but-smaller-jacket itch still needs scratching

Oh, somehow missed your posts this morning red and bo

That fabric innovations article is very interesting, even if I can’t quite get on board with the whole vegan leather thing. I suspect it will take a few years but will eventually go the way of fur?

On the lurking press, it was so detailed that I suspect it was written or at least sketched out before it came up in our thread. However, MN is definitely a great hunting ground for journos - full disclosure: my DH is one and sometimes finds ideas and sources here (not here-here but the wider site)

I can't even remember saying that

ShangPie good to see you back and thank you! I've been quietly amassing boys/XS men's suit jackets - the latest being an Agnes B hommes/garcons - each of them almost spot on in their own way. I dread to think how much I've spent even at charity shop prices but, on the plus side, I'm getting better at shortening tailored sleeves. The inside pockets remain a joy. In short, the itch is not yet successfully scratched (but then itches never are I guess). I'll definitely take a look.

That article's really interesting, thanks for the link. Human beings are such a weird species aren't we - so clever and at the same time, so stupid. I've read the Financial Times a couple of times recently and been impressed enough to think about switching, although I'd miss Hadley Freeman's interviews.

Can't help but feel slighted by MrShangpie . Yes, the FT piece definitely has way too much work in it to just be lifted from a (not very original) comment on here.

I've been similarly impressed with the FT lately (their Ukraine coverage is really good as well, lot of dat/in depth articles alongside the day to day news coverage) and had been toying with getting the digital+weekend paper combo until I saw the price, probably down to being in NL, it's probably cheaper to just buy the weekend edition and continue to bypass the paywall.

I'm not convinced leather will go away entirely, unlike fur which unless you live in Vladivostok is purely decorational, leather has an added functionality that vegan leather just doesn't. Longevity, temperature control and how it ages being top of the list for me and vegan leathers seem to mostly focus on how close it resembles leather not how it functions. So I class it with denim, jeans just aren't jeans without it and I feel the same about leather accessories/garments but maybe that just makes me officially an old fogey.

I don't actually mind article ideas being lifted from here so long as it's not the lazy reporting on a thread (which is likely made up anyhow).

The Weekend FT is an exceptional newspaper but the subscriber pricing seems to assume that the employer is paying. I can read three free articles a month from the days when they initially offered a digital-only introductory offer that I took up. I already spend too much on newspaper subs!

But no new clothes here although DS has just received a Uniqlo U corduroy "trucker" jacket. It screams 1970s American indie film aficionado worn with faded 501s and a T-shirt. He calls it classic. It is extremely warm though, so will undoubtedly be useful if we have a cold winter and keep the heating down low.

I am doing a dash report and yesterday we had a great meet up with mm and micro. we went to the V&A to the African fashion exhibition.
I thought it was very well curated. It focused from the 1960s onwards, the start had political, access to education, finding their voice type messages and later on references to sexual identity and equality from a gender perspective.
The clothes themselves were beautiful, I cannot report on every technique (micro might be better than me), but I really liked the technique they use with raffia and cotton were raffia is pulled through the cotton thread and looks/feel velvety. Other favourite were the small selection of indigo fabrics and their prints.
A selection of photos here. First one some of the indigo fabrics, second a detail on an stunning dress, third the raffia woven technique on a dress and jacket.

These pieces are from Moses Turahirwa from Rwanda , he has influences from ceremonial dressing, I love the work with pleats. And he also gets inspiration from an art form called Imigongo that used geometry. The yellow dress I decided is mine 😀
The last really vibrant one is from Doreen Mashika, a contemporary designer from Zanzibar who works with local traders.

Running out of detail here (need to cross check the photos with the info) but a few more examples of contemporary designers.

After the exhibition , and lunch we made time for a stroll on the charity shops at top end of kings road. We all got something, I have a very colourful skirt and top from jaeger (proper old school jaeger when they had great thick cotton), it actually has a nod to African fashion , the skirt is gathered at the waist and just long cotton. I need to get the top to a tailor and do something as it is too big, but it can work (thanks mm) with a few tweaks.

I have to agree on the FT, I occasionally can read a couple of articles and they are well worth it.

Yes, the get together was great and the show was very interesting. Apart from some very fabulous clothes of the order of make/design I have never seen up close before, it was fascinating to see the relation between dyeing techniques and traditional designs of prints to politics and also how they were used/changed in fashion design. My favourite was bogolanfini, a technique for dyeing with fermented mud. There is such a rise of interest in fermentation and its powers, and I've read quite a bit on it, but never came across its use in cloth treatment. Some images attached

These two were probably my favourite. The outfit, shoes and hat; and the middle dress in the second picture. The photo doesn't depict the voluptuousness or fabric and flattens everything, also one can't see all the details. The middle dress of the second pic -Dakar- I think is a masterpiece

Never get rid of good clothes. I looked at the ST Style magazine this morning and went to find the jacket... and I must have charity-shopped it. It would have been perfect for a few autumn weeks right now, but no, it has gone.

Lovely V&A pictures, red and microbius. West African textiles, weaving and dyeing techniques are fascinating. I loved Ghana's kente cloths, especially those woven in non standard colours. If I have a chance I might try for a day out in London this autumn. This month is unlikely as I already have a full calendar, but maybe sometime in October.

We had a great time and I would thoroughly recommend this exhibition (African fashion @ V&A). Firstly to my great joy it was pretty quiet so we could really see everything properly. The exhibits were stunning and i absolutely loved the many different prints and textures, let alone the styles of the clothes themselves. It really does beg the question why has it taken so long for these to be appreciated outside Africa and the African diaspora? I remember the girls at school wearing African prints with polo necks and jeans underneath to try and counter the cold. Tbh I didn’t appreciate it at the time (1970s-1980s), I was too wrapped up in the looks associated with punk and disco and sloane rangerdom! I’m grateful for London’s multiculturalism and to have been more exposed to so many different ethnic styles of dress that I can start to appreciate their beauty. I feel as if I’m at last waking up to a whole new (to me) aesthetic.

I also really really loved the graphic exhibits.

looking through my photos I’ve just decided I’m going to have to go back to the V&A and have another look - that’s how much I loved this exhibition.

Agree Xing. I have had too many regrets giving away clothes…

BTW- Where is everyone? Other than the ones we went to the African exhibition and Xing … what happened to the rest?!
are you all queuing in St Giles or here in Westminster?

Hi red, I came on to say that I didn't forget about going to American vintage, it's just I hadn't managed to get there yet. I'm also looking for a autumn/winter coat. Massimo Dutti had something I really liked but not in black. I want black! Arket had interesting coats/jackets too.

Your V&A photos are really fabulous. What a great exhibition.

It has been quiet lately, red. Did bo say she was on holiday?
And flo has been AWOL from S&B generally... so she may have taken a break for a retirement holiday. Others are possibly lining the streets of London to mourn HM, and dodging into the V&A. She speculates (groundlessly).

I am off to visit the family near Oxford with XingDog for a few days, so am tossing up fashion options between trips to Bicester, the charity shop delights of Chipping Camden or the useful shopping centre in Oxford that combines Cos, Arket, Uniqlo and (for my ma) JLP. Any purchases more exciting than the essential foray to M&S to perk up my shabby knicker drawer will be disclosed in full, here if not IRL!

Hmmm... I didn't mean to strike through all of that!

No, I just returned from a long holiday, well just, more like a bit ago. I've just been avoiding MN since QE2's death since it's a bit mental on here and I also have little to report.

I’ve been caught up following the LGBA Mermaids charity tribunal over in Feminism. The arguments have been fascinating to watch and try to understand, but the whole trans rights can of worms is not something I am confident enough to discuss here.

MrPie was in Scotland reporting on QE2 for a good few days so I was solo parenting - so much respect for single parents! Sorry bo but he only briefly wrote about the luxury industry and has thankfully for him before he had to upgrade his wardrobe been moved to a wider retail beat. Any hot tips about Carrefour, IKEA or Zara gratefully shared 😁

The exhibition looks like a fascinating day out, great to see the pics and commentary micro, mm and red

Autumn is definitely on the march here, so I need to store my summer gear and unpack the warmer stuff for the months ahead. I also have several boxes of clothes that I need to list on Vinted but am really lacking the motivation to take the pics and get it done. Why don’t we have the seasonal equivalent of spring cleaning for autumn?

Yes, the weather has turned here too (I was very suspicious of the 27 degrees forecast) and I think I will be doing a lot of packing away this weekend. It's still not very cold but no longer sunny so it definitely feels different.

I think we don't really celebrate harvests anymore which used to tie in with the onset of autumn and sort of celebrating all things cozy. We should bring that back, I'm also vaguely recalling something of a 'sweep' around this time of year, possibly a German thing, probably a German thing tbh anything cleaning related is their absolute jam, about getting your house in order and larders filled for winter.

I do actually have a lead on Zara for MrShangpie, not really, I was just struck by pictures of their new office (I think it's an extension even) and was rather horrified for the staff having to work there. They let some anal architect decide everything and they clearly only care about horizontal lines and symmetry where the functioning of the staff is a sorry afterthought.I don't know how perceptible it is to non professionels but it's really poorly designed on an interior level and I really feel for the people who have to work there, human scale is absolutely lost in it. Link here for anyone interested in this minimal torture chamber office. (Maybe it was just staged like this for pictures but even still, it's more than desk placement that's absolutely off here).

Speaking of minimalism, there was an article in the Guardian I enjoyed, even if it did feel three years or more too late, but the sheer joy of the term 'supermarket spirituality' made up for it, Minimalism is for the high minded. I really like things, lots of them, rummaged in boot sales and charity shops.

<Goes off to nosey in feminism tribunal threads>

hapy tribunal reading, there are a few threads. Poor founders, what they’ve had to go through. I need to go back and look at pics but the ft article is amazing. I can’t look at pleats now without wondering how you do pleats so clothes change size… ft is a great paper, it is one of the two that I regularly wish for a subscription to, but are a bit pricey for a personal subscription. It has brilliant analyses of global banking issues, I miss it 😢