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the usual links to recommended shops and other places guides from the OP because I suspect they're getting very out of date at this point)

Good to hear the Dries dress fits and isn't a mistake.

Speaking of mistakes, I read that as a Sezane x Mormons Collab 😂 not completely unrealistic considering how many Mormon influencers are out there...

I'd like to claim I'm more measured about not buying new lately but there just hasn't been that much that has been enticing so it was no effort on my part. I still owe myself a special birthday present but so far, nothing.

I've decided I need to put a dint in my fabric stash though and made one dress (vaguely the Row inspired via Zara) last week from some deadstock Chloe silk Georgette fabric. Next is a little silk underdress for another dress that I bought secondhand and is supposed to have one but mine didn't come with it. Hopefully I'll manage one or two more before I depart for sunnier climes, weather is definitely unseasonably cold but at least it's sunny.

Lucky you having sun! It's been depressingly grey here. And so cold. Are those gold shoes and socks red? They are very pretty.

My lovely son helped by his lovely (female) friend, bought me the pattern and (Tana Lawn) material to make a smock blouse, for my birthday. It's ages since I last made any clothes but I relish the chance. I have lots of plants to plant this weekend then I'll dig out the shears and pins. It's a very similar pattern to a smock I made about 50 years ago, only that was using curtain material, as I couldn't get anything better.

Today I wore a jacket I bought in 1981!

I think my only new buys so far this year were those Monki T shirts, which have also proved to be my biggest mistake. To be fair, only one of the four developed a hole but I feel like they're all tainted now.

I've bought a few vintage (40s-60s) things that I really like but they all need a bit of attention. (These days, if it's in good condition, I probably can't afford it.) So my sewing at the moment consists mostly of fixing hems, seeking out replacement buttons, even attempting darning. I'm contemplating re-lining a couple of things although I might end up losing my nerve and paying someone.

I think that. before I try and make something from scratch again, I need to get to grips with how to alter patterns or even how to produce my own. That's a bit of a head fuck but it was getting demoralising going to all that trouble only to end up with something that didn't fit properly. And yes bo, that means yet again you're right and I have to start by making a toile. I don't know why I ever bother arguing with you.

I was wondering how you'd got on with that dress Red - glad to hear it's worked out.

Mormons collab 😂I might end up looking like one on those clothes got 🙄

yes they are gold shoes poppy some flats I got in Argentina some time ago and I hardly ever wear.

back to mistakes - honestly I don’t know why I do it …. The sezane stuff will go back.
I don’t tend to do online shopping but the times I do, I probably return them more than 50% of the time.
That dress is completely shapeless in a bad way and very oversized for me. Bo and MM will know - the shirt cut similar to that WNU shirt that we tried was not good on me ( not the boyfriend one which was lovely both on Bo and myself but the other one).
The shirt is nice, but I am thinking is it £97 nice … that WNU shirts in linen were nicer imo for example. The good thing about this sezane are the colours blue and green.

If it helps, Red, I don't consider ordering online and returning it as a mistake. I see it as the equivalent of taking something to the changing room and trying it on, except that now we're expected to pay for it first.

A mistake is when I order something, know it isn't right but think, 'Oh never mind it'll do' because I can't face yet another walk to the courier drop off.

But I'm sorry it's not worked out.

Ah, Flo, the, 'I told you so' is on the tip of my tongue 😝 If you want some toile inspiration I came across a new YouTube channel that makes toiles of historical/vintage dresses. It's more draping focused but I'm still learning a lot from it.

https://youtube.com/@studiohennis?si=wbkHcgQqk-L7oUr2

You're lovely, Red but I'm sorry to say you lack that culty saccharine aura to ever be mistaken for a Mormon.

Ugh yes, that awful WNU shirt, I think it was called the Weekender? Boxy and a weird dropped shoulder, not sure who that's supposed to work for. I have been eyeing some hemp fabric online as a result though.

I only ever see Momomi in TKMaxx but I've always sort of assumed it's in that Forte Forte price range, so a bit overpriced independent boutique sort of thing. The collab with Sezane doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me from that perspective as Sezane isn't bargain basement prices. So is it just a slightly cheaper version of lesser quality? Quick look on Yoox has lots of silk Momoni shirts with pattern for around £100 which seems a better buy 🤷

I popped into the Sezane shop on Marylebone High Street recently and popped straight out again once I saw the dismal quality.

Has anyone who sews come across The Valiant Tailoress? I saw a feature on the woman behind it in this episode of Fruity Knitting:

fruityknitting.com/2024/05/31/episode-144-the-valiant-tailoresse/

She produces a magazine that combines editorial with patterns for knitted crocheted and sewn clothes and the tips she gives on the FK podcast suggest that it will be useful for those if nothing else. I'm not that keen on many of the patterns in the first edition but think the second edition looks better.

I’m with you poppy seed can’t understand the love for Sezane.

Add me to that.

Sezanne have a fantastic marketing department. Anna Murphy in The Times has calmed down a bit but there was a while she couldn't write an article without mentioning Sezanne.

I don't think the clothes are anything special but they peddle that "ooh we're so French and effortlessly stylish" guff so well.

I hate, hate, hate the way the models are styled on the website. All that tousled hair, pouty, just fallen out of bed, can't find my underwear or a hairbrush schtick is so irritating.

And breathe.

I agree. I fear we’re not the intended market but even so, it’s such a hackneyed version of french allure it’s slightly cringey. I’d overlook that if the quality of the clothes was convincing, but mostly I don’t think it is.
Feeling even more disillusioned with fashion since listening to Patrick Grant on Saturday Live. I totally identified with what he said ( basically quality is being relentlessly pushed down to make ever huger profits for a smaller number of players, in fashion and consumer goods generally ). Sorry , not in the spirit of this board but getting harder and harder to ignore.

When Sezane first came on the market I was super sceptical. I very much assumed it was all marketing but I was annoyed to find it was actually good. This was the very early days and I am very much a can't find my underwear or hairbrush person. They had good silk pieces for not much money and I liked the knitwear but as they've got more popular, especially internationally, it really has become this parodied version of itself that I once accused it of being.

It's odd, but not really, very much per Patrick Grant's explanation this does seem to be the inevitable form of doing business so I guess the lesson is, enjoy something while it's good but don't expect it to last. I think people still operate on the idea of finding 'their' brand to stick to and then coming out feeling betrayed. Brand loyalty doesn't seem to be much of a thing that brands actively cultivate themselves anymore. I assume it has to do with digital marketing?

I do find it funny that we occasionally have a new poster coming in thinking we're a thread dedicated to Sezane (like Toast, Hush, etc.) when they hardly ever get a mention.

Thanks for the podcast link Poppy, I'll have a listen.

I agree about the pouty Sezane models. Never seen the clothes in real life.

It's ok bo you are thoroughly entitled to your 'I told you so' moment. It's funny because I love TV programmes like Repair Shop and the ones about the V&A and the National Trust - I watch those amazing people restoring stained glass windows and Mr Freedom shoes and think they've got the best job in the world, and yet the thought of making a toile sends me into an adolescent strop.

Yes Bo, I guess that is the business model these days. I still love agnes b and think the founder is mostly sticking to her principles of fair pay for workers and quality produce. Hence maybe I can barely afford her sale prices these days. Go on, divest me of my illusions.

Hmm, well she's one of the richest self made women of France and seems to give an awful lot of money to charity. So she's either an actual good egg or of the Jeff Bezos school of philanthropy 🤔

My concern with Agnes B. would be that it's always been a youthful (in spirit) brand but it really hasn't connected with a younger audience in decades. I think she's another that's popular in Japan (maybe Korea and Hong Kong as well) and probably makes most of her money there.

You need to get over your toile fear Flo. I actually quite like doing them because i can be rough and quick about it, I can rip, slash to my heart's content as it's nothing to be precious about, unlike the final garment where I'm always worried one mistake will undo the whole thing.

I'm wearing a thirteen year old Agnès B dress today - her clothes last and last IME.

Gander might you justify buying from there on the cost per wear principle?

I would agree re the lack of appeal to younger shoppers, and the vast majority wouldn’t be able to afford Agnes b. I do notice trad sun her London shops usually feels slow and sadly she’s closed down a few U.K. shops. She certainly sells a lot in the far east and I suspect even has particular lines for that market. But I wouldn’t compare her business style to Jeff Bezos’s as she hasn’t snuffed out a load of other business on the way.

@PoppySeedBagelRedux I definitely do justify it. Usually I check out the new season’s collection then wait for the sale. Last year I got a lovely summer dress half price which bought it down to a reasonable ( for me) £80.

I wasn't comparing her business style to Bezos but more Bezos' preening as a self styled philanthropist with his enormous wealth that he's extracted by exploiting his own workers.

I very much doubt that's the Agnes B. way but how exactly she's raked in the cash and remains standing is a bit of a mystery to me. Granted most of the fashion industry is but she seems to have done the impossible (as has Margaret Howell) to be financially successful and stable while remaining independent and somewhat small. I also wonder if it could be replicated by someone starting out now, little to no advertising, just consistently doing the same thing over and over again focusing on consistency over novelty, I suspect not.

I think I was deluded as I hadn’t seen current sezane pieces irl recently and in the spur of the moment I imagined myself in Italy sipping lemoncello spritz …

Agree with Bo (again), the 3 sezane items I have are 5/6 years old (maybe I have only 2 a skirt and a dress) have been great, so I was curious to see if I could find something again that lasts me and I wear. But not this time.

I still love Sezane, but mainly because it’s easy and I’m lazy. I just know that I’ll be able to find a dress, pair of trousers, blouse that I like.

Serendipitously there's an article about Agnès b in today's Times:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f9f19a2c-dc6b-4724-ba1c-bc4944324666?shareToken=b4fcb6dcde11d416c30ac8f5ee5eb1cdd_

Looking at the clothes in the background the picture of her in 1976, they really haven't changed much. My old Agnès b dress got admiring comments yesterday.

Thanks for the article @MmePoppySeedDefage . She seems quite wacky and I imagine hasn’t given media training much of a look in. Would be easy to send up, but it’s probably that self assurance that’s carried her this far.

Breaking news in my inbox, Virginie Viard is leaving Chanel 😲 I suppose this could be the reason Hedi Slimane has been dragging his feet in contract negotiations with Celine 🤔

I do think Sezane has that reliability going for it Volte. I definitely don't think it's all bad but it doesn't quite pull me in like it used to.

Thanks for the link share Poppy, I think what I forgot to mention in my previous assessment of Agnes B's success was how embraced and championed she was by the fashion press. Not quite as powerful these days.

Finished up my underdress last night, not sure what to make next.

I have to admit I do not recognise the name Virginie Viard …

I enjoyed reading that article about Agnes b poppy. But every time I look at the stuff from her in the shops is so uninspiring imo, I just don’t get excited. However I do have one of her poppers cardigans which I love