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:

Un

Deux

Trois

Quatre

Cinq

Six

Sept

Huit

Neuf

Dix

Onze

Douze

Treize

Quatorze

Quinze

Seize

Thank you for your sympathies, duvet. I really hope your treatment takes effect quickly and gets you back into the swing of life. And definitely, making the little embellishments to your style is going to lift your mood. We'll stand alongside and cheer you on!

Elbow patches are good. I am very taken with the trend for visible mending. There was a lady ahead of me in the supermarket checkout queue last week who had sashiko'd an ancient pair of jeans so they looked like patchwork. It was remarkably lovely work.

Poor you duvet, is this all on top of the aftermath of the accident or are you just that unlucky to have to deal with both? Yes, yes, always hold paint swatches for your bedroom to your naked body before painting, very important. Also, wherever you have breakfast (face will do for that, no need to get the body out for that).

Condolences on losing your grandmother on top of everything else, sounds like it's been quite a trying time (I think last time you were on here you were headed to another funeral and had to mad dash into the shops for something to wear).

I'm never brave enough to go short with my hair even though I really should, probably, to get the best out of it but I just hate it, and I hate how it grows out and I hate the in between mid length phase even more. But don't listen to my whining, a good bit off is probably the way forward.

I'll join you for a tinfoil hat moment Flo, I anticipate that there will be some huge scandal at some point about CFS and fibromyalgia which just appears to be the diagnosis for women with symptoms we can't make sense of but want out of our office.

Ah Carla Rockmore, I don't recognise the name but very much the description, she showed up in my YouTube suggestions once (a short/reel sort of thing), the women is too intense for me to endure but she does remind me of those peak yuppie women, only ever in New York, crica late 80s- well into the 90s who were very bolshy, succesful and wore Donna Karen, zaney was the term at the time, I think. I vaguely think Elaine from Seinfeld was modelled after these women but they toned her down.

It was found due to the accident, bloodwork was done then, which meant I had to come off my immunosuppressants for RA to treat something else, which let this other autoimmune condition flare up and expose itself. All very much a long time of feeling like shit before someone put 2+2 and finally got 4. I'm the 3rd person diagnosed with this where I am, and it covers all the random symptoms and disconnected consultants visits where they've said we know you have xyz but can't put our finger on why.....so it's scary but validating atm.
And yes Catherine very much like Katy especially this summer when we went away to our holiday destination (in country) and I languished in bed hearing the rest of the family having fun and wishing they would go away So I could sleep 😳

Definitely agree on the over diagnosis of fibromyalgia, it's used to dismiss women. I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis for 9 years and was really struggling over lockdown. I finally got a Rheumatologist (who id never met)to speak to me and I thought on the phone he was nice. Bear in mind my notes say RA I have scans showing deterioration in all of my joints and I've been on immunosupreassant drugs for 9 years. Imagine my surprise when I was cc'd in on his letter to my GP saying in his opinion I had fibromyalgia.

Flo I'm usually very much in the cut it camp, hair grows (I've always wanted to have a hair salon with it'll grow back on the wall in neon lights) but it's so thin I'm afraid it'll look like wisps of cotton wool.
When I've lost hair before it was all round the sides so I just shaved them and had a female top knot - though I used to curl it in a higher to god closer to heaven look.
Now the hair loss is sort of all over - but the want for change is making me go fuck it cut it!

Yesterday I wore a lovely new charcoal v neck cashmere jumper - the results of DH v washing machine. XL men to my size, it was something I'd wanted for a while so good to get that ticked off the list for free.

The thing I think about men's classics is that they done really ever go out of style crombie coat, wollen jumpers, chinos, cords etc. For example DH has a winter coat from the year we got married and wears it every year- its never looked unstylish or dated. The coat I bought that year is houndstooth, double breasted, knot belt, all ok for now so far....but has a massive swing skirt so it feels dated and I've not worn it in years.

Oh Duvet that sounds hard. Would you consider getting it all cut off and wearing colourful headscarves or a beret until it sorts itself? Or wigs - something iconic and OTT that'll make you smile when you see yourself e.g. a beehive or a quiff or a Farrah Fawcett Majors?

Oh Duvet, sorry to hear you have been having such a rubbish time. You were missed here. I did wonder what happened to you, at least is good to know that they know what it is and it can start to get better and also good to know that you are happy to come and chat to us.

and hurray for your new cashmere jumper. Sounds fab.

I follow this nearly new cashmere account on Insta and apparently news to me but you might tell me you knew it all along the way to wash it is delicate machine wash at 30, But with fast spin! Not slow spin like I have been doing as the slow spin doesn’t get rid of water and that is what shrinks it? I thought that fast spin would ruin but they asset is not the case?!

How's your hair looking today duvet?

Getting back to @TheGander 's question about sites with men's like brands, I was reminded today that Manufactum also sells clothes and they pretty much fit the description of getting the best possible version of things. I mainly shop their homeware stuff (if you ever need the perfect tomato knife and such things) which is of the same philosophy (love their shops too). The clothing section isn't huge but potentially some of the brands will have more on offer on their own site. I did check they still have a UK site (didn't check the vat/import status but I'm relying on their anally retentive orderly Deutsche Gründlichkeit to have that sorted).

I wore my new orange Stella McCartney jumper (from Vinted) and everyone kept wanting to talk to me about football 😱 it'll have to wait till after the world cup to have another outing with it, or when we're knocked out (with a grace period for licking wounds and all that) as I just can't feign interest...

I've never washed cashmere in the machine, interesting, it never absorbs a lot of water when I do it by hand but I guess it's more prone to absorb more when it's doing a machine cycle as it's in there longer.

He also tumble dried it!!!😱
Ah well, slots into a gap in my wardrobe and is now pretty dense so very warm.

I now have a blunt cut bob, bleached and toned slightly more golden/peachy in the back to disguise the scalp shine and then blends to a more ashy front as that's what I suit best as a blonde. I had to promise promise pinky swear that if it all fell out with dyeing I wouldn't complain.
And I wouldn't have, I'd have gone for one of flos wigs.

I actually bought a wig on black Friday, its a pretty good for being synthetic one (though i don't know how i feel about human hair morally either) which I had been eyeing for a while, and then it went from £65 to £11. It looks quite good but it's really hot to wear. But it will be an option if I keep losing hair at this rate. I'm hoping though now I can start medication that will help my hair will do a bit better.

Bo not too much longer left of football surely ( she says with no idea) but theres nothing worse than not being able to wear something new asap.
It sounds beautiful, i love orange anything- please put up a pic, once you can wear it again without being quizzed on the offside rule🙄

I'm a bit late as it's now freezing here, but got all my winter clothes out of storage today, so will try and organise my wardrobe (find all the santa presents I've shoved in there to hide) and put up the Christmas tree over the next week.
Ughhhhh I'm so sick of being do slow

I linked the orange jumper previously, here it is again, I'm really bad at taking pictures of outfits lately. Probably because I only remember to do it in the shops but I've been dressing very incompatibly with the shops with temps low at home, the full blast of the shop heating is just unpleasant when you're all layered up so I'm in and out super quick if I go at all.

I think football is due to be over soon 🤷 I believe we're up against Argentina, Monday, I think, and we'll probably lose against them now that everyone's hopeful and thinks we're in with a shot.

Your hair sounds fab, hope the dye didn't damage it too much. K18 might be of interest for you too with all the bleaching? Anecdotally it's really reduced the amount of hair I lose in the shower after a wash where I usually lose a lot, but it's not designed for any of that so it may just be a fluke. High dosage vitamin D is good for hair health/growth but check with your doctor.

Argentina v Netherlands is tomorrow Friday. I am not overly hopeful…
That is amusing that people tried to talk football when you wore it Bo.

I'd ask why you're not overly hopeful (for whom, my jumper 😱) but then I'd be talking football again 🤦 It's just a talking point now, anyone in orange = football supporter. It's just so weird that it's on in winter.

Ah yes I remember it now Bo I have a DvF v neck with the same sort of sleeve and I really think it adds something interesting.

I'm on all sorts of vitamins and injection cocktails. Also hoping to get another unit of blood soon as my blood count is v low and it will perk me up quickly compared to iron tablets.

Is K19 a vitamin or treatment, I've not heard if it before.

Ohhhhh a bit of thread football rivalry tomorrow night....are there even WAGS anymore for some outfit commentary (prob none of it good but still)

I was in a hotel full of Dutch WAGs last time I was in London. This says more about me than them, I've encountered them before, but every time I'm surprised that they're genuinely really nice and friendly where I expect them to vapid and shallow. Still won't get me excited about football though, those women are saints in my book, they're nice and can feign interest in football...

K18 is a hair treatment, a leave in mask/conditioner. You wash hair with a clarifying shampoo (ideally), then towel dry and apply the K18 and leave it alone for four minutes, don't rinse it out or anything and then you can style as usual.

It's a bit like Olaplex but that tends to repair surface damage on the hair shaft where K18 goes into deeper levels for repair (as I understand it anyhow). It's super expensive but you need very little of it, with your hair length and density you might not even need a full pump. You use it exclusively for six washes then as a maintenance once or twice a month.

All beauty tends to have it at a good price and usually have some additional discount code going, I can check my inbox for one if you like. Assuming the shipping situation to N. Ireland has figured itself out by now. There's also a mini tube trial size, you might get the six washes out of that but it's more difficult to dose, think there's also a half size bottle but I think All beauty only sells the full size.

I like football But I don't bring it here, oh no.

Anyway I'm afraid I will miss your match bo as it's my last ever work Christmas do tonight. Strange feeling. My first was lunch in a department store restaurant - we got an extra half hour and then had to go back to the office. That's the work-shy 70s for you.
So once again I'm dithering about those velvet flares that aren't as kind to my thighs as I'd remembered. I was saved having to make a decision last year as it got cancelled. I've got to do it haven't I? Lurex on top obviously.

Velvet and lurex. Go Flo, glam unto retirement... Yes, you have too!

Yes, the power of this thread compels you. Velvet flares and lurex it shall be <gavel>

Didn't we decide last year that you'd be sitting down so no one would see your thighs, and Bo had some great Bo way of explaining how noone sees your thighs at the angle you do so they are probably kinder than you think.

Go out with a bang and a nod to your 70s beginnings.

Bo thank you for the K19 info, I will try it especially as it doesn't sound too much of a faff.

Yes thighs seem to live rent free in minds when the judgemental bastards really should be paying. The world's moved on as well, all my years of hating my proportionally larger thighs seem moot now that they're a hot commodity. I'm still not used to it, spare a little thought for skinny thighs out there now...

Yes, I love K18 for it's ease of use, it kind of feels odd getting out of the shower before conditioning hair but it makes everything go so much faster.

Sorry, meant to attach current All Beauty discount codes.

What great memories you have, yes you're right, you all persuaded me last year but then Omicron came along and the do got cancelled. So now's my last chance, although I don't expect to be sitting down all night as I assume there's dancing involved. But by that stage everyone's either had a few drinks or gone home and the lighting will be shit so what can possibly go wrong.

I'm glad the haircut went well 70sDuvet

And sorry, Redandblue I forgot it's your match tonight too!

oh no worries Flo! You have more important things in your mind like to get ready for a party!

(I love football… well … world cups, the rest I am content knowing it exists. I will be watching it)

I will think of you in your velvet flares and lurex top. It has to be done.

my work Christmas do was going to happen next week, but the state of the country and economy and all that bollocks means it is cancelled as there will be no trains and 80% of us live outside London.
they will try to do something in January, which is fine … But, not really as I really wanted to go to a party next week. I enjoy these last few weeks before Christmas when you meet again with people and all is happy and fun🎄

I miss you all!

Absolutely kicking myself that I didn't get in here and recommend a visit to Conditori La Glace for Catherine in Cph. It's super dear but lovely cakes and a very civilised seating system. Re: cozy lighting I remember my Russian teacher years and years ago saying that this was one difference between Scandinavia and Russia- they'd appreciate a stark 100 W lightbulb and not think it unpleasant because light is nice, basically. 😂Glad you had a nice trip anyway, C!

I liked the look of Peter Do but won't bother looking really because am priced out and am too tired and grumpy to look at things that are just too aspirational.

As a Scandinavian I refuse to be lectured about messy halls in winter. Perhaps if the architects were doing their jobs and calculating how much space is actually needed in a home in this country for winter clothes we wouldn't get in such a state. 😉🤓

Justasec I loved hearing about your Paris haircut! Sounds great! Also a great story really, well done on conveying how you have a friend on the internet who ... etc in broken French! "mais c'est quoi ca? C'est n'importe quoi". absolutely terrifying!

Cardamom buns are GREAT. We buy cardamom seeds (not pods) and grind in a pepper grinder. Genuinely, if someone wants just a packet of seeds I could probably post it to you.

In Sweden we eat maltese rice pudding (Ris à la Malta, also French and sophisitcated) at Christmas: Rice porridge with loads of cream folded through and bits of orange. It's quite nice, but not part of my family traditions.

Micro: "There is a price point at which quality can't be improved any more and the difference is just inflated price reflecting brand identity rather than tailoring or design, quality of the cloth, etc." yes absolutely! but luxury isn't about quality, it's about dissolving pearls in vinegar to consume the most expensive drink ever

From reading golden age detective stories I can inform you that "pre-war" all quality was good, and "post-war" all quality was disappointing. That's WW1 mind.

Other than that I am so annoyed with how many options there seem to be for men who are looking for long-lasting quality compared to for us. It's the fit too, granted, we don't want long-lasting things that look like we've stepped out of an 80s mag whereas some menswear does seem genuinely classic. I'm in such a slump, so tired and stressed, and have been absolutely DYING for some retail therapy and there is nothing to buy! Partly because I gained all the weight and nothing fits, haha, I'm sized out of so much. I bought a dress from COS the other week, that's all. And that was very oversized, not sure about it at all.

Maybe we need to go back to big skirts and so on, I'm sure things were easier to adjust back then for changing bodies. Never anything squeezing the lower belly back then!

Duvet, so sorry about your health troubles. I hope you feel better soon, even if it won't be the same. Incidentally my new hairdresser recommended me to use a non-permanent hair colour in what sounds like your hair to disguise the grey a bit, even though my hair is darker. Bla bla bla I somehow felt we'll be hair twins, I too have a shortish bob 😁

Loving how Stella McCartney is NL football 😂

Well Flo, did your entire workplace cry out in horror at the sight of your thighs?

Pretend I'm really mad at Red 🤷 I'm team France now (I've been informed they have the best uniforms), although I really want to be team Morocco as I love an underdog but if they actually win they'll probably burn half the city down (lots of riots and kerfuffles over here among young boys with Moroccan heritage after each victory).

Does your hallway feel seen Bani 🧐 (You know, I kid, and only accuse an entire region of being semi hoarders just to check you're really a proper Scandi and not the long game 100w bulb loving Russian bot with mysterious periods of absence). I do agree storage needs are something grossly miscalculated by most architects, but on the other hand no matter how much storage you design it will get filled up and still be deemed inadequate...

It's a shame travel guides are no longer a thing anymore, between us we have quite the selection of little black books. I'm noting down Conditori La Glace for my next visit, if only for the weird name (the Austrians use Konditorei for good cake eating places but with that spelling it looks Italian, and then we just added fancy French ice cream on top, but surely you'd want Italian ice cream?)

Offers of spices to a Dutch person, beware Bani, beware, we've already got one war going in Europe no need for another we Dutch do like a spice monopoly...

(Incidentally I once considered buying a super duper expensive specialist cardamom grinder and then decided bashing with the bottom of a heavy pan does the job too. Is it not too fine with a pepper grinder, my favourite bit of a cardamom bun is the larger chunks of cardamom on top?)

I had a thoroughly good time bo - much better than I did on my first Christmas do, but in all honesty, I've chosen better outfits. It wasn't the thigh issue, more that they looked decidedly saggy by the end of the night (which was probably why I didn't wear them more often after I first bought them only I'd forgotten). It's fine, nobody died and I was probably the only one who even noticed.

I'd love some thick but swishy, wideleg (not flared) velvet trousers but I'm not prepared to splash out cos I wouldn't get my money's worth, and decent second hand finds are rare because no-one gets rid of them till they either fall out of fashion or start to sag. I've got a couple of velvet coats and jackets that are decades old and going strong but they're in a sturdier fabric - for trousers you need a bit of fluidity and before you know it, the drape has turned to droop.

But it didn't spoil my night!

Lovely to see you bani, come back soon!