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the usual links to recommended shops and other places guides from the OP because I suspect they're getting very out of date at this point)

Just popping in to say hello to everyone, things have been very tricky here, but I hope to join in some Parisienne chat to distract me!

Loving the VW chat and agree that curly hair involves learning what type of hair you have. It's a minefield. I also have a sensitive/eczema prone scalp but love bo's recommendation of Christophe Robin's salt scrub.

That DVN fabric sounds amazing. Love how it looks on that dress and also the skirt.

(Waves) at quirky. Hope the tricky situations settle! We can always provide distraction here 😀

I would also be miffed to be in Milan and not stop in the shops. I have been 3 times in the last few months in Dublin and haven’t been able to do much leisure wandering or been able to meet the other fellow mn…

Talking about DVN, I have always really liked this dress / style of print . This one is in a preloved site but the size is 8, which might be too small for me, but I am not fully sure … shall I bother asking the seller the measurements? It bothers me when they don’t give proper info and feels another thing to do (so instead I come and moan here …)

I think you'd fit in that Red, it's lovely 🤩 He has this shape in his collection all the time and it's very roomy. Definitely ask for measurements and worst case scenario you'd just need to stitch a straight line out to the side on both sides and carefully remove the original seam, a bit of steam and you wouldn't be able to see the original stitch line. An alterations place shouldn't charge much for that.

👋 quirky, hope all is well with your DDs. Yes, the Christophe Robin sea salt scrub is annoyingly great which doesn't make much sense to me as there shouldn't be that much difference between shampoos, conditioner should be the defining thing 🤷

I may have to try the Christophe Robin salt scrub with so many people with curly/ezcema prone scalps raving about it!

Another vote for the DVN dress red. It's lovely.

My last Vinted purchase was not a success (but lovely fabric) so it's been cut down into a shirt and may end up being dyed.

@Papyrophile Gallinée scalp and hair mask is also great for sensitive scalps. It really saved mine when I had a bad flare up.

@Redandblue11 I always ask for measurements and fabric composition. It looks lovely.

@botemp we are midst exam revision for dd1, who is a perfectionist and puts great pressure on herself for university. Dd2 has been quite difficult and we are in a barrage of medical appointments to (hopefully) rule things out.

That sounds very difficult @quirkychick - all the very best and I hope we can distract you on here.

I really like that dress too Red but I understand how you feel about having to ask for measurements. It makes shopping such hard work.

Speaking of which I went round our out-of-town shopping mall on Sunday which didn't used to be my favourite place but I actually had a blast. It was the busiest I'd seen it in years and really cheering to see so many people out and about, and all ages too. Maybe the art of shopping isn't quite dead yet.

I didn't buy a thing but had a really good look round and saw and tried on stuff I'd have never considered when looking online. It's one reason why I need real shops - they stop me getting into a rut.

I don't think I'm ever going to find any shoes though.

Thank you @Floisme . I think we're at least moving forward, but slowly. The trying things on for fun, is why I love clothes 😍

My reasonably recent purchase from Vinted, is a grey, Harris Tweed jacket. It's oversized, which makes it a bit more like a peacoat to wear. It's been very toasty in the recent cold weather. Though, I'm in shock at the sudden arrival of spring!

Asking for measurements is annoying red , but it’s also that little extra effort that nets you the bargains 😁 i don’t know DVN but that green splotch long dress is interesting, off to look it up.

DVN = Dries van Noten, time, good to see you again too 👋

Ah that sounds trying, quirky. I hope calmer waters are in sight on the horizon. I think I got you onto that Gallinee mask as well, I must pull mine out as my scalp is feeling a bit in need of tlc. Are you still using that pepper(?) shampoo as well (forgot the name, something French?)?

waving as I dive back in

I have a top from that exact collection. It's 100% silk and I'd bet the dress is too. I find Dries very generous, I'm often a full size down from my true size. As botemp says the cut looks loose and forgiving. I hope you get it!

Funnily enough I've bought very little in the last 4 months, but what I have bought has been Dries.

I'm also quite tempted by the "new" type of ballet flat with the higher vamp. Has anyone tried them yet?

I love the look of the VB x Mango collab but it's giving serious but-where-would-I-wear-it vibes. If the dresses were midi I might have been tempted, but I've no call for full length slinky numbers these days. The crochet polo top is very cute though. https://shop.mango.com/ie/women/sweaters-and-cardigans-sweaters/polo-neck-crochet-sweater_67058651.html?c=02

Good to see you back Elle!

I went to Mango hoping to see some of the VB collab but there wasn't any. I'm not sure whether it had all sold out or whether they'd never had it in the first place - both are possible.

A new take on ballet flats was one of the things I'd been hoping to check out, along with flat Mary Janes. But the shoes were very disappointing and everything I did see was black, which I don't want.

I did see loads of crocheting though - every shop had it along with macrame, broderie, fishnet - basically anything with holes.

👋Elle, hope you've just been busy.

High vamp and my high instep seem pretty incompatible, always hitting at the wrong point. These from Le Monde Béryl in suede have been tempting as they look really comfy. But I think it's another brand that's fairly new, geared towards SM and probably not French (nothing against not French, it's the pretending I take issue with) with a price tag that makes me go 🤔. I have similar issues with the Alaïa ballet flats, love Alaïa but not enough to pay the asking price for some mesh ballerinas that just won't last like other shoes. The studded ones are already being liberally copied as well so I expect to see those everywhere.

There were some very expensive crochet pieces in a The Row show a season or two back. I assumed it would get imitated, sort of a mashup style. Who knew summer 2024 would be the summer of the hole 😲

I have been thinking the crochet is super cute Bo. Now it’s ‘the hole’ 😳
I guess that helps me not think too hard about the crochet top and shorts I got very practical about and didn’t buy my dd. (Lots of white, and yes full of holes, which would have caught on everything, since she’s 2)
i also have a fond spot in my heart for mesh, dating back to a pair of sequined mesh ballerinas I wore everywhere about 20 years ago.

Yes, @botemp you did recommend the Gallinée mask and the Jean Paul Myné Grey Pepper shampoo. I'm still using the Black Poppy one, it lasts ages and I only use it every couple of weeks.

@Papyrophile Malibu Un doo goo is a good clarifying shampoo too, but last time I tried to order it it was £££. Also, Mielle Babassu and Mint Conditioning mask, you only need very little and I have a lot of dry, menopausal hair.

Well I can now confirm that those perfumed clothes sprays are harder to shift than mildew. But after two sprays with white vinegar, followed by a wash with white vinegar and one with bicarbonate of soda the smell is now tolerable, if not entirely gone. I just hope it hasn't shrunk! Another reason for me to steer clear of Vinted. Thanks to everyone for your tips.

Thanks @quirkychick . I will make a note for the next time I have to buy shampoo!

Well done Flo, I do hope it hasn't shrunk after all that.

@Papyrophile I feel your pain (or irritated scalp). I find it hard to find a shampoo that shifts build up from curly hair products and hard water, but doesn't strip my scalp! My favourite product at the moment is Bumble & Bumble Curly Hair Gel-Oil, which manages to hold with no crispy cast, it's just soft.

@Floisme I hate fake, chemical perfumes, once you stop using them yourself, you notice them everywhere. I'll make a note of those tips for when I get something fake-smelly!

Afternoon all <saunters back in nonchalantly like a cat>

Loving the gentle hair care tips all, will make notes and try a few. What is it about bloody peri that makes our hair go weird(er)?

If you haven’t already, throw caution to the wind and get the DVN dress red! Although maybe check with the seller that they won’t spray it half to death with flo’s nemesis-stench.

Broderie anglaise and ballet pumps? Not sure I can handle that much fey daintiness in one outfit, but I like them in theory as building blocks with some sort of oversized chunkiness elsewhere. Or is this my ‘skinny jeans moment’ of unwillingness to adapt to the new?

Ah yes, this is what I popped in to share:

Vogue gallery (ignore the title - ‘vibiest’ 😒)

The year of the hole 😂

Well, I am patiently waiting my DvN dress, as the measurements came back generous for a size 8.

Yesterday I popped briefly in Liberty and saw saw this Le Monde beryl , not only higher vamp but also Mary Jane’s. I prefer the ones without the straps I think. I did not try any, but also look very tempting to me.

I will have a peak at that article over the weekend Shangpie.

Btw @ShangPie , I don’t recall if you wanted/confirmed if you are joining for the Sargeant exhibition. DM me if you interested

I did red but then couldn’t make the date so rudely forgot to rsvp. My bad.

Those high vamp ballerinas look good to me too. I remember other posts being very positive about some in a similar shape from M&S (in silver leather!) and I totally forgot to check them out.

A lot of forgetting going on around these parts recently 😶‍🌫️ (that’s the brain fog emoji)

I've got a couple of round necked cardigans out of storage recently, so I'm clearly ready for a bit of demureness again. But dainty shoes... not sure I'm quite there yet. It didn't help that all the ones I saw in the shops the other day were black so I didn't look too closely. Maybe that was a mistake. I think my main problem is that I don't actually like many shoes but at the same time, I'm bored with what I've got.

Thanks for that article, @ShangPie some great pics!