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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Previous threads:

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Cinq

Six

Sept

Huit

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Dix

Onze

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Quatorze

Quinze

Seize

Sorry for the whinge. IRL I need to keep cheerful.

Oh Xing, that's no fun at all! You have my complete sympathy, late mil had several falls at the end, as she was adamant she didn't need night care and had taken her panic button off, thinking it was a watch (apparently quite common). I remember only too well the late night phonecalls and ambulances. I hope it gets calmer for you soon.

Thanks quirky. Today DMIL seemed to think she was going home to her house, which was sold to fund her care three years ago. I can't work out how to be kind and cushion the bad news that it won't happen. I am so peeved with DH who can't bear to enter the hospital door to visit her (having been a patient himself) but I feel she needs to be visited as often as possible. A constant presence to reassure her that she's not forgotten and marginalised, if nothing else. It's an awful thing to wish for a person's death, but I know that's what she would prefer. I would have done it by now for my dog.

Xing completely sympathetic to your need to sound off in the ether while keeping up a cheerful appearance IRL. It sounds a pretty awful situation and I hope les Parisiennes offer you some respite! Waving at Quirky to say hello.
bo it’s covid 🦠, just had the results, but am already feeling better than yesterday so keeping fingers crossed that it’s a mild version. Sartorially I did my best after a massive trying on session and the horrific realisation that my clothes had all shrunk …🐷😱🤡 will post some photos once I’m a bit more together. And I for one would love some bosleuthing 🕵️ and a follow up report 🧐!

Hello Quirky! I have been wondering about you . I hope all issues start to sort out and that the tribunal agrees/gives dd2 the therapy she deserves.

oh xing poor your DMIL, and all involved in her care.

mm i hope you are on the up now? Covid is horrid.

I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone??!
ok, let’s make a cheerful post so all here can get distracted for a bit …
I will be back later.

Oh I'm really sorry to hear that Xing. I remember my mum saying she'd had enough. It's hard. What a time you've had.

I hope the tribunal is successful quirky. It's exhausting when you have to fight for everything - wears you down.

So my woes are pretty insignificant compared to all that but I finally gave in to feeling like crap on Monday (I think?) and took to my bed and I've only just got up. All the symptoms said Covid but the tests didn't so who knows - our immunity to everything must be shot to hell after all those lockdowns. Anyway I'm clearly on the mind as I'm thinking about getting dressed again so here are some recent-ish purchases to distract you.

This linen from Merchant and Mills It was extravagant, possibly reckless as I'm not used to sewing with any kind of pattern but I was craving some colour and wanted some fabric I'd enjoy working with to gee me up. It's a bit heavier than their standard but still has a nice drape. The colours are gorgeous.

I treated myself to some wide leg jeans which I absolutely do not need but I love them. They're a slightly darker indigo than the look in that link, high in the waist and then they skim past the arse which I've always liked. (I've never understood this Mumsnet edict that short people 'can't' wear wide legs - the worst jeans shape for little ole 5'3 me has always been skinnies cos there's no way of disguising where my legs start and finish.) And bani I want you to know they're full length, in fact slightly long I'm probably going to look for some platforms next to give me a teeny bit of elevation but I don't want too much.

And I recently grabbed a 1940s suit for £25 which is so bargainous I felt a bit guilty. It was from an antiques shop with just a couple of rails of clothes and I only hope they're a bit more clued up about the rest of their stock. It's very Princess Elizabeth WW2. The jacket is short and fitted so maybe I'm getting over my oversize phase - what a fickle flibbertigibbet I am. I probably won't wear the skirt but astonishingly it fits as well as the jacket - highly unusual as 40s / 50s things tend to have teeny waists. I've finally got round to downloading a new Mumnset app so I should be able to post pics once it's back from the cleaners.

So much to catch up on, hope I don't miss anyone. Quirky good to see you back, had been wondering about you and yours. Hope all goes your way with the tribunal.

Xing, that all sounds like a lot, I hope things settle down soon.

Mm, hope you get well soon, I've started sneezing again so I'm half tempted to say you're better off with Covid over a never ending cold. I don't think there's much to sleuth tbh, the Balenciaga fanbase is mostly tied to some very influential popular figures like Kanye West and A$AP Rocky and I think people are just too scared to be vilified by their rather intense fanbase to say anything bad. Except French curators, apparently, but I guess they get away with it by speaking in French. Vive la résistance !

Those jeans look good Flo, I tried on a similar pair in H&M but they were a little too reminiscent of my teenage years. I think the wide leg and short complaints are from people with proportionally short legs, wide legs work for me by sneaking in a bit of extra height through shoes under the longer hem but if my legs were proportionally short it would be dumpy even with very high heels. Anyhow, MN is weird regardless, I think someone threw out that all 5'5 people can only ever look common the other day

The suit sounds like an intriguing find, will await pics. The linen looks very cosy and I love the name. I need to get sewing too but have been poorly motivated as my sewing space needs some organising and rejigging and I don't feel like doing that...

Thanks all!

Adding my crossed fingers to the support for quirky's tribunal. May you prevail!

Love the linen Flo, and the suit sounds intriguing. New jeans are always good and the longer length is lovely with a bit of a flatform. I've gone back to a couple of pairs of jeans I bought 18 months ago, which tick the same box without dragging on the wet ground.

Ohh ! You have been busy flo ! The colour of the linen is beautiful.
the jeans will be very useful too.
I patiently await to see the suit!

Thank you, everyone. Atm I'm just tackling the paperwork for the tribunal, it's likely to be another 6 months after that <sigh>.

mm47, glad you only had covid mildly. Last week my gp said we might have had it, even though we tested negative, as the tests are inaccurate. Not sure what the point of testing is then. Whatever it was, it was horrible, I can't remember having to have steroids and antibiotics and still having a bad chest. I've been given some mucolytics, which do really seem to be working. I hope you're feeling a bit better, too, bo.

flo, that linen is gorgeous! I can completely see why you bought it.

I have bought a couple of cardigans from Vinted, to replace a few with very thin elbows. One is an emerald green, mohair mix one - luckily enough, it doesn't shed and the other a purple, circular/shawl shape one. I will try to take some photos.

I have been browsing at winter dresses and all feels very uninspiring… is it me or what is going on?
I have a couple of big birthdays that will happen on the weeks leading up to Christmas… I cannot believe I am thinking about that already. One of the do’s is with people I always mix so they have probably seen my whole wardrobe, it needs to be something special as is a private room in a nice restaurant booked.
I don’t want any flowers … I am thinking more understated with an interesting detail or an edge..
feel free to ignore me, but if you see something, send it my way . A good punchy colour good be good, but I would consider more subdued ones too …

I have one of those dinners next week red, I’m determined not to buy anything because it’s mainly frustration that things still don’t fit or look good so will spend half the weekend trying on dresses. I bought some straight jeans in frustration at still being in maternity jeans and they aren’t even an amazing fit either, but i had about 30 minutes and 2 shops.
beautiful linen Flo! Tribunals sound exhausting quirky sending you iron willpower to carry through.
Re anti minimalism I found the word cluttercore this year to describe me, however much I might think wistfully of minimalism. www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210430-cluttercore-the-joy-of-a-maximalist-home
i usually feel like a mushroom in wide legged pants except the right culottes (which are just about ankle length on me). I do have one lovely pleated pair and because they are high waisted they fit, which I pulled out to look like me again and be all adult and go into a work offsite last week. Baby refuses bottle so that won’t be happening again for a little while. (& that dinner next week might end early for me)

How did the pleated fabric top from Saba turn out time?

Red, I agree the shops are full of boring stuff at the moment. I think it's partially because all the key items are my usual staples and that the powers that be have decided we're back to shopping like we were in the credit crisis (which probably is the case for most people).

In terms of special dresses I did like the red one (but possibly a bit much for a restaurant when you're not the birthday girl?) from the Zara X Narcisco Rodriguez Collab, it says out of stock but coming back soon for me. Cos also has a special luxe collection noe (most of it is dull as and I don't quite understand it, it's not that much more expensive or different or special fabrics ) but this dress is quite nice, they paired it with knee length boots but I think for a restaurant it could look special yet not too overdressed over trousers but it might be too cold in a private room. Uterque, now at Massimo usually have special going out wear. Or you could consider renting?

Quirky, I'm fine, I sneezed for a bit and now it seems to have stopped 🤷

Oh nearly forgot, as well as all my staples being peak fashion in the shops, not ironing is all the rage too.

I had forgotten about that red zara x Narciso dress. It is perfect and showing coming soon for me too. So I will keep an eye. It is actually not too much, the birthday girl is someone of Asian origin where more is more and there is no risk of over shadowing her and she will be disappointed if I don’t stand out.
I also like the cos one but I a am not sure how I would wear with trousers… apologies for having to spell it out for me clueless , what sort of trousers would you try with it?
renting crossed my mind, I briefly went into selfridges the other day (I wasn’t thinking of this occasion though) but at the time most of the stuff was either shiny or floral , which I want to avoid.
i will look at uterque too.
merci!

cluttercore 😁that is me too … although I am right now in my sofa looking around my house and thinking.. need to get rid of that and that and that!

Well I was thinking fairly straight dress trousers like attached, except in my mind you'd go full length that covers shoes (with heels) like in pic 3. But since you can go much more exuberant for this celebration no need to tone it down with trousers (where dress becomes a bit more of a nice top and party shoes are hidden from sight). If you click on the little envelope on the Zara site they'll notify you when it's back in stock. Essentiel Antwerp usually gets a fair amount of colourful party stuff in as well.

The pleat top is great bo , I need to try and take a decent photo of it :) i really like that Cos dress- I had a look and it’s not online here. So much for we have a Cos <humphs>. I’d really like someone to revolutionise ironing. I guess they kind of have, spray on dresses don’t need ironing,
but revolutionise it for Joe in the street. There’s no question things look better for being ironed, but it’s just so annoying.

Ah excellent that the pleated top gamble came good.

I meant to comment on that spray dress, wouldn't the process be awful? I imagine it's like being sprayed with cold plaster and just standing there shivering while it dries 🥶 Also, what was up with the weird underwear, it looked useless as actual underwear and was very distracting in the final piece where you see it digging in her zero body fat body

There is a fair bit of no iron innovation out there but it seems to be mostly men buying it. I think it's just because most of it relies on synthetic fibres. Wasn't Samantha Cameron's Cefinn (sp?) whole stick that you could bung it crumpled in a weekend bag and it would still look neat and tidy when worn. It never really took off and I think it was recently announced it's struggling with massive losses, so I expect it'll fold soon enough.

I would also like to see the pleated top times. My ausie friend was also over the moon when you got there Cos but it sounds the choice is not the full one.
And I am very glad to hear that non ironing is acceptable. There is a fine line though in looking like a right mess or being casual about it. I think sometimes I steer into the former …
I like the look of trousers over long top/dresses, looks so elegant. I have never tried it though, I am not sure why.

Haha red that is indeed a fine line between artfully dishevelled and a mess! I certainly stopped ironing (or steaming) clothes as much in lockdown. Social distancing meant people were too far away to notice 😉.

I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself again, as I have broken my toe. Completely ridiculous injury caused by stubbing it on the leg of the bed, a stupid design that sticks out slightly. I have had to resort to wearing my slippers outside (mn no no) but they are in fact felt, birkenstock clogs, so not strictly inside shoes. It feels weird to be wearing them in the street, though.

Oh no quirky poor you and your toe. I sometimes accidentally walk out the house in slippers but none of my slippers are actual slippers either so it's fine but it has always put me off buying proper slippers 🤣

I am still not all that interested in anything new. Thinking about dusting off my motorcycle boots though, they've been in the back of the closet long enough, feels like they could do with a revival. Just trying to think how to wear them that isn't like the last time round when it was mostly skinnies and (leather) leggings territory. I'm thinking maybe tapered or possibly black opaques and a mini skirt.

Also, the Studio Nicholson jumpsuit finally arrived and it's lovely but a bit big, think I'll need to do some alterations to get it too fit but not too much as I want to retain some of the casual vibe of it and not be too fitted. Haven't tried layering anything under it yet though, still too weirdly warm outside.

Birks clogs are a totally acceptable footwear. Good to hear you are doing it in style quirky

Love the idea of motorcycle boots Bo . Incidentally I have also dusted off some old black boots just below the knee, with interesting detail in the cuffs, I got them in Prague probably 2003. I remember at the time when I used to wear them for work with a woollen skirt I used to feel all kick ass , young me 😏

just bought a lovely light grey reiss v neck cashmere jumper , it was tucked away in the mens section. Absolutely perfect condition and a bargain a bit oversized for me but a lovely soft jumper is nice oversized. Chuffed with it.

(jumper was found in a charity shop)

Let us know if the layering works with the jumpsuit Bo. Sounds like a good buy.

Thanks bo and red, lol at doing it in style! Dp was shocked I was wearing my "slippers" outside, but they're the only thing I can manage. The ridiculous width of birks is in my favour!

The grey, cashmere jumper sounds lovely, red. Chunky boots, leggings and a mini skirt is one of my regular outfit formulas, bo.

Ouch quirky hope you recover soon.

I've not spent much time looking at autumn shopping. I wanted some wide leg jeans but I literally bought in the first place I looked - M&S. And I want some flats, probably loafers, with a bit of a platform (ploafers?) but that's all I've got planned for now. I'll have retired by the end of the year so there will be less spare cash and a change of lifestyle - not to mention higher bills - so no big spending for me until I've figured all that out. I might even have a clearout

I do still like those Dior adverts (mentioned them before) with the ankle length skirts and fitted jackets but I can do an approximation of that from what I've got in the cupboard.

I'm not sure how well the no ironing trend will translate on the high street. I think it can look good with decent fabrics - e.g. I've never minded heavy linen creasing - but not so good with a thin cotton and viscose mix.