Les Parisiennes des Mamanset: On the Advent of Newness

[botemp]

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

Previous thread

(I've removed the usual links to recommended shops and other places guides from the OP because I suspect they're getting very out of date at this point)

Wonderful woman. Her style isn't for everyone but not having the "I can't wear this because [insert spurious reason] is for everyone.

I'm afraid not as stoical about death as I used to be. When I was young, I used to think, 'Who wants to live to 100.' Now I think, '100, is that all! '

Anyway my new specs will, I like to think, be a teeny, tiny bit Apfel-lite. I'm getting the green. I'd stuck to cats eye frames for far longer than I'd intended so I'm happy to have broken away at last.

https://www.etniabarcelona.com/gb/en/optical/martin-o-gr

Nice green Flo! Same sort of shape as my specs too.

Very thrilled that Iris Apfel was so widely renowned and justly celebrated. I thought she was inspirational. Old broads with attitude rock.

I’ve been a longtime lurker on this thread but never posted. Thank you @Floisme for the Biba tip - I’ll definitely be trying to get to that.

And for those who mentioned Iris Apfel she was an inspiration. I loved her look, her ethic, actually everything about her. So sad that she’s gone, but what an age and what a life!

flo I like your specs, and even more for being in green.

red of course I can be lured away from mud and dog hair, have you got any dates in mind?

Catching up, ah Iris, sad news, she made the world a brighter place.

Like the specs, Flo.

Thoughts on McQueen under the new designer. I was underwhelmed but as it's a debut collection I won't dismiss it entirely on design grounds. But. I was aghast at the quality of the clothes that went down the runway, the construction and impeccable strength of the brand was just absent. Perhaps they went off with Sarah Burton?

Interesting article on BBC business on the profitability of secondhand fashion.

(Is the 'By posting on Mumsnet you are agreeing to follow our Talk guidelines. Please be respectful.' thingy new or have I been overlooking it the whole time 😱)

I think the Talk Guidelines thing must be new - I don’t recall seeing it before this week.

Great glasses, @Floisme. Wonderful colour - and I immediately imagined a tweed jacket …

Bo, I am very interested in how/in what you are able to see that the quality/construction at McQueen weakened. Could you - if you can be bothered - give an example maybe? I've tried watching the whole show; am trying to imagine what you are referring to

You're welcome @NeedWineNow - and please keep posting!

Thank you all for the specs approval, I should be picking them up at the end of the week and they always look different once they've fitted the lenses so fingers crossed I've got it right.

I've not really followed the fashion shows this time around as I've been getting more interested in fashion/costume history instead. But I did like the metallic raincoats with capes in the Chloe show and it was also good to hear Nico sing again, even though they butchered it quite brutally, so thanks again for the link Red.

And thanks for the second hand clothing article bo. After my outburst last time, I'll have a soothing espresso before I read it.

This one shouldn't be too aggravating Flo, at most, a bit dispiriting about business strategies.

Sorry, missed the opportunity previously to welcome NeedWineNow 👋

Micro, on the runway (video) it was very much how things sat and moved on the models' bodies. At some point I wondered if it was intentional and riffing on fashion's idea of 'bad' taste (people who just don't seem to get it right for whatever reason not new money kind of 'bad' taste) but it lacked a knowing reveal that we're in on the joke together. I've just had to pretty much write it off as taking some of the house codes of McQueen, asking an AI generator to Loewe-fy it with a sprinkling of Demna's Balenciaga and Daniel Lee's Bottega on top and then just clicked print or something...

Anyhow in pics, these two were probably the most obvious examples that looked like some sad remnants on the sale rack that you stupidly bought because the price was so low (and no returns). Compare that to those that it referenced (or share the same reference) and you see the impeccable McQueen tailoring that's rooted in that Saville Row tradition.

To not be a total negative Nancy, I liked the sound design, but I'm assuming we're likely the same vintage and it's a nostalgic coming of age soundtrack...

Bo, thank you - the AI explanation is spot on. I am having so much grief at the moment with the students' attempts at cheating with AI (across the board, in essays, projects, visual work, planning, emails, everything) and it does exactly feel like you describe: some structures loaded in, filtered through another style-transfer, and an output with weirdly weighted parameters presented as a genuine creation.

Thanks for the welcome Flo and Botemp !

Hello from me, too, NeedWine.

I see what you mean about the fit of those clothes, compared with the past.

A friend of mine bought herself a jacket by Alexander McQueen just before he sadly died. She loves it but it's a little snug, and rather than take it to the agency she offered it to me to buy, so I've tried it on. Sadly it is also too snug on me (😟), but I've had the chance to admire the beauty of the construction and workmanship and it is beautiful - it's fine cotton, with lots of panels so it fits like a (tight, in my case) glove.

I'll try it at my local dress agency to see if they will offer more than her's - she's in Scotland where there are fewer opportunities to wear a cotton jacket than in the SE.

If it's a special piece you might try and see if Resee has an interest in it Poppy. They tend to look for collectors pieces although they take normal pieces too and seem to have a lot of very small sizes (I think a lot were gifted to models/editors) so at the very least they have an audience for small sizes.

Micro, is it really cheating if it's likely going to be a very embedded part of life soon anyhow? I remember when using spelling and grammar checkers was considered cheating. Straight up lifting from ChatGTP is obviously undisputable but isn't it more a case of how you use it as a tool and those students are just really bad at wielding it?

That was an interesting article on the second hand clothing business, thanks bo. It put into words a lot of the feelings I've had about the industry but hadn't thought through or articulated very well.

I admit I'm surprised to hear even Vinted is running at such a big loss but really - and yes this is anecdote not data - I don't think I've ever met a second hand dealer who made a good living. Admittedly I'm thinking mostly of old school vintage dealers who were 'clothes heads' first and business people second, but I think something similar might well apply to the newer faces on the block who get into it for idealistic, environmental reasons. It's fundamentally a highly labour intensive process and I'm not sure how you can ever get round that.

And basically it's a business model that relies on people doing the very thing they most disapprove of which is buying new clothes and then getting rid before they're worn out. I'm not sure how you can ever square that circle.

You're quick Certain, my initial impressions, they seem to have positively altered the balance of super expensive pieces vs. just expensive pieces so it doesn't feel so jaw dropping insane priced anymore. But it's all a bit plain, I did spend a bit of time contemplating the t-shirt dress but then sense prevailed, high necks in spring summer is just weird.

Definitely the Row vibes but like more basic somehow, the t-shirt dress even had me thinking they had my Ginzas underneath. Doesn't really feel cool enough to be Rick Owens, well his signature stuff anyhow. The bean bag is cute but that feels more By Far to me and not anything like a 3K handbag. I assume it's all well made but overall, meh.

Also, it's very sunny out here today and this all feels very a/w. What's the point of this whole DTC model if you don't utilise the quick turnaround aspect of it. Or is this just a quick desperation drop to tie in with the fashion weeks and get a bit of PR going?

Yeah, I was a bit surprised that even Vinted is running at a loss.

I kinda like the bmx trousers from PP.
I also noticed those oversized tailored jackets , seems oversized at the shoulders but more tailored at the waist … initially I thought… what is the difference with a men’s jacket just oversized? Then I saw the silhouette altered at the waist. I noticed them, not necessarily thought:‘I liked them’

Phoebe won’t play on my ancient phone, so will have to wait till I’m near my laptop.

Visiting my mother and there’s a woman on Australian Masterchef (so much buzzier than the soporific UK version) with similar cool green spectacles, and an undercut. (Something I long for but have not enough hair.) Made me wonder how your hair is cut, @Floisme. (Merely rhetorical wondering!)

It's short and cut into loads of layers @CrkdLttrCrkdLttr which makes it go curly. I've tried many times to change it but, as soon as it gets longer, the weight drags all the curl out and it turns frizzy and needs far more work and attention than I'm prepared to give it. So I've always come back to this.

No undercut, although I did have one once when it was a lot shorter. but I got bored with it looking exactly the same every day. At least with this style, I never quite know how it's going to look when I get out of bed.

I'm picking up my new specs today so I'll be able to see how they look without needing a selfie. No pressure!

Yes, I assumed Vinted was making some money as they also have external advertising on the platform. Must say it's a bit dispiriting that the Jeff Bezos model of run at a loss while shafting your staff and small businesses along the way with VC backing until you've eliminated absolutely all meaningful competitors and then raise prices to finally make lots of profit is the norm now. And in that vein, I just saw that Matches is being closed down. I thought the constant promotions since the takeover were just to slim it down a bit but I guess it was more than that.

Flo with an undercut, must say I'm seeing you in a whole new light now...

Btw, I was looking at the H&M studio collection that's dropping soon, it looks very much like Phoebe Philo, to the point I'm wondering if H&M have a spy at PP, even one of the new bags is very similar (too lazy to link as you lot will probably need the UK link).

https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/life/culture/inside-h-m/studio-ss-2024.html

One for Team GB

It launches on 12 March BTW.

It was a long time ago bo, before Mumsnet, in fact probably before the internet.

I've had the email about Phoebe Philo but haven't got around to looking yet. That in itself says something as last time I was drumming my fingers all day waiting for it to land, even though I had neither the means nor the intent to buy. Maybe I'll go straight to H&M Studio instead.

Yes, I'd assumed it would either be merged into Flannels (and ruined) or otherwise changed beyond recognition as it was cut up in bits and pieces as that seems to be the Ashley way. Just hadn't anticipated it folding within months of purchase. Must admit I'm a bit worried about Yoox/NAP as they were trying to sell that to Farfetch before the valuation of that company completely collapsed.

I wasn't too sad about the loss of Matches initially (beyond the Raey aspect) as I don't shop there all that much post Brexit but I've just realised I'll never make it to one of their amazing sample sales now. I've just always assumed it would coincide with a London visit at some point...

I think I read somewhere that Raey was the only bit of Matches that made a profit.

I'll kick myself if Raey does go under as my dress agency has it sometimes but I'd been holding out for The Perfect Piece which will probably now triple in price.