Les Parisiennes des Mamansnet: JesusFlo Superstar in a Back Lit Kaftan (Toyboy Not Included)

[botemp]

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

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Dix-sept

Statement skirt

A real bargain here. Christopher Kane is in serious financial difficulties at the moment.

Natasha that's very lovely from someone who doesn't often do skirts or prints. I have been expanding into prints more recently, though.

I have to disagree wrt that skirt. I love colour, but that specific combination is very harsh to me and looks hard to wear.

has anyone had a peak on the Sézane archive sale going on? Yesterday I was tempted by a couple of tops but they went while I was dithering. I am not sure if they put more stuff, might have a look again.

@Redandblue11 I got this jumpsuit in the Sezane archives sale but could only get it in a size 6 so I suspect it will be too small. Shame as I think it looks nice.

www.sezane.com/en/product/claude-jumpsuit/black

The skirt isn't particularly my thing but I'm very sorry to hear Christopher Kane is in trouble. What's gone wrong for him?

Christopher Kane

This explains what went wrong (but to my mind not terribly well)

I suspect post pandemic quite a few brands will be folding with a bit of a delay. Fashion brands closing down isn't even that unusual in normal times but there doesn't seem to be the usual appetite of investors saving them from insolvency or buying up parts of the brand (for licensing) anymore. Alexa Chung's brand also quietly closed down a few months back.

But going by that skirt, my guess for Christopher Kane's demise is down to not delivering what that demographic is interested in. Where would you even wear that too, maybe a special occasion which for the most part have gone very casual. A heavy 100% polyester skirt (plus polyester lining to match) in a summer palette with limited range at £900 just isn't how people dress anymore, even at 70% I think it's way too much, it doesn't have much premium appeal, it could easily be mistaken for something from Boden or similar, it seems paradoxically commercial but therefore not viable as most designer fashion at the moment is very niche/specific or very flashy (in a I've got money way).

Sézane seems to have boycotted me, I never get their emails anymore. But tbh, I always felt they were a smidge overpriced but they've really pushed it further now on a lot of items with their prices. The jumpsuit looks promising though and a good price, here's hoping it comes up big pharma.

Now you mention it Botemp I don't ever get Sezane emails either. Wonder if their marketing has changed.
I check the website every Wed and Sunday anyway so don't need emails to remind me 😆

I think their tech department has always been a bit crap. I haven't seen a 'Sézane are taking forever to refund me' thread in a while though, so hopefully that aspect has improved? I've never been that bothered about being booted from theirs newsletters as I prefer to shop Sézane in the flesh.

We actually have a Sézane shop in Amsterdam now, officially it's a pop up but it seems to just be sticking around? I hardly ever go there though, I'll try to remember come autumn.

Thanks for the link Natasha, unfortunately my Times login doesn't seem to work any more!

Yeah not exactly a new story for fashion I guess, but it doesn't seem 5 minutes since Kane had Anna Wintour on speed dial and was putting out lines for Top Shop before he'd even graduated (or something).

I can't help with Sezane I'm afraid, I've never really got the appeal. It all seems seems a bit too frilly for my taste and impractically low cut. Maybe I just need to see it in real life.

Sézane has a very specific age demographic, I understand the lack of appeal to some as it's such a prepackaged look but there are nice bits in there. I think the thing they do well is a package a bit of sensuousness into it without it being overt so that gets people coming back.

It doesn't feel very age inclusive though somehow (nothing to do with the sensual aspect necessarily but probably plays a part with cutouts, etc.), speaking of which, bit of a depressing read in the Guardian about that this weekend, here.

I buy quite a lot from Sézane. I suspect that at age 65 I’m not in their demographic but I find their T-shirts excellent quality that wash really well. They are expensive but I have ones that I’ve worn endlessly for at least 3 years. I also like their cotton and their merino knitwear and their shirts ( specifically the Pierro and the Max) and I have a couple of dresses. If you see me in the outfit of the day thread you will often see me in Sézane . I’ve never had any issues with customer
service or refunds or missing items. WhatsApp is the way to get in touch for any problems. I also get the emails! Sometimes I randomly get free postage

I also think you need to really pick through the website, the stuff they push isn’t always what I would want.

I've seen you wearing Sezanne with great style on the WAYWT thread Soovermill, in fact it's partly why I've wondered whether I need to see it in real life to understand it. But then I go on their website and I just can't get past the frills and the pouting!

I have seen you sooverthemill in the waywt thread , you can choose well some Sézane pieces.
I have a dress and a skirt from them and I have worn both quite a lot and quality is still there, although I bought them in person in Paris in their discount shop before the pandemic, I probably would not pay full price. I am still dithering with a couple of tops …

I have my fingers crossed for you pharma, hopefully it fits as it looks great.

I will read the depressing article later on Bo.

OMG - the pouting and the "I'm so French, I just fell out of bed and can't find my knickers, bra or a hairbrush and I'm incapable of buttoning a dress" styling.

Christopher Kane and the little people

Christopher Kane won't be out of work but others will.

These are gorgeous and very wearable. If I hadn't been on a spending spree I could be very tempted.
Christopher Kane yellow dress

Christopher Kane yellow jacket

Christopher Kane pink dress

Aside from the being French bit, that's me most days

You wear it well Sooverthemill, although I feel very slighted now knowing how nicely they treat you.

Maybe I didn't word it right, I don't think it's not for anyone outside their specific demographic but their marketing definitely feels narrow in comparison to say comptoir des cotonniers that always presented itself as multigenerational. Speaking of CdC, I noticed Uniqlo is now selling it in their stores and online I know they've been part of the larger Uniqlo group for quite some time but it was a bit odd to see.

Funny thing about Christopher Kane. I have several things I've bought over the years and loved, but they somehow seem to date faster than some other lines. It's like they're slightly beyond of-the-moment, but not 'out there' enough to transcend the moment, if that makes sense? Those things you linked, @NatashaDancing are lovely, but not things I could see still reaching for in 3 years.

I always think I'm going to like Sezanne because I like it on other people, but then find myself uninspired when I go in. Our local one was a pop up also, @botemp but seems to have become a permanent fixture.

I love that Christopher Kane shirt - the dress too but I can't imagine wearing it. You do wonder if all that early success came a bit too soon for him, before he was equipped to deal with it, and maybe before he had a decent business partner.

Yeah, it's interesting as part of that whole boy wonder just graduated from Central Saint Martins into mega succes phenomenon.

I definitely agree it is stuff that dates quickly, there's something high street about it. I think the other side of the coin is that he's been eclipsed by JW Anderson in this lane, you get more bang for your buck at his label and it's more original so less likely to date or you can get Loewe at a similar price point. And in comparing, despite doing a ridiculous amount of collaborations JW Anderson doesn't ever feel overly commercial (in his own work or colabs, even though it clearly is, commercially, extremely successful and influential).

Sezanne's website seems to have moved on from pretending it's a set for Isabel Adajani in One Deadly Summer and now has Generic Grumpy.

Oddly there are several models Leaning Against Walls. I can't remember the film or the actresses but over 2 decades ago a friend and I saw a truly awful French film where actresses spent a lot of time Leaning Against Walls. This was , we think, supposed to be signifying moments of extreme angst and tension but eventually became laughable.

The clothes are too mainstream for Generic Grumpy. In theory I should like Sezanne but I can't get past the website.

I was half tempted about some of the summer dresses too, but I ended up leaving all the basket when I saw that quickly amounted to £400 ish, and instead i reached for Vinted for a couple of holiday tops and a dress and I had money on my account too … very clever from Vinted, I did not realise they keep the money in your ‘account’ and only send it to you if you explicitly ask them to.
in theory this way I could just rotate a wadrobe without spending a lot …
but it I can see it can become addictive very quickly and then take all the joy out of shopping.

Re older models over the last 9 months or so I've bought from Palava, Eponine, Oska, Batsheva, Klements, Liberty, Cabbages and Roses, Dicks of Edinburgh, Monsoon, Lanx and Baum und Pferdgarten.

Apart from Batsheva who use Batsheva Hay (43) as a model and Oska (see below) none of them have models who look over 30. Eponine has its founder, Jet Shenkman (60ish) on its blog wearing her own designs but not modelling them.

I'm struggling to imagine that any of these brands have a big foothold in the under 30 market.

Are they scared if they show older models it will put off younger buyers? Or is it the other way round - if they use older models will it scare off older buyers - who may well be the actual buyers and the ones with cash? I don't know the answer to this but I'm pondering what my own reaction would be if there were older models or older models were in a majority. The Oska model, Batsheva Hay and Jet Shenkman look great so I think it would make no difference if there were a good mixture of ages. I confess if all or the majority were older, I'm not so sure.

Palava is particularly surprising given they, with justication, make much of their ethical credentials, provenance of materials and makers, small runs, slow fashion etc so not being ageist should be right up their street.

Oska older model

Interestingly I've looked at some high street sites. The only ones with models who might be over 40 are Seasalt and Bombshell.

Does this explain the level of unjustified vitriol on that recent Seasalt thread? Seasalt sells inoffensive, wearable clothes mainly in cotton. They're no worse than many other sellers of inoffensive, wearable high street clothes.

Re Bombshell. I don't like Bombshell. In theory I should but I don't. I think it's because the dresses are facsimiles or pastiches of 1950s dresses whilst the likes of Palava or Samantha Sung (or the Dolce and Gabanna Year of the Rabbit dresses) use 1950s shapes but with patterns and colours that aren't 1950s (or maybe actually I'm shallow enough to be put off by their being modelled by "older" models)