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the usual links to recommended shops and other places guides from the OP because I suspect they're getting very out of date at this point)

I like how casually you just mentioned ‘just finished the underdress…’ Bo
while the rest of us me could only dream of that, well I don’t think I even dream of doing that.

Thanks for all the links everyone. I was just about to post that I didn't understand all the fuss about Agnes b either, but then I remembered how I was pretty underwhelmed the first time I came across some Margaret Howell trousers and only bought them because they were a good price and I was curious. I can imagine it's the same with Agnes and that you have to wear her stuff all day a few times before you begin to appreciate it.

The other thing I've remembered is that I've got a Agnes b Hommes suit jacket in a navy blue pinstripe that I keep meaning to get altered (cos I'm not foolish or arrogant enough to think I could do a decent job myself) and how it's so well made it looks pretty good even now, when it's too big. So I guess I do get it.

Poor Virginie, I'm assuming this isn't of her choosing but I've not kept up with Chanel shenanigans - what's happened?

I wouldn't be so impressed, Red, I'm not that much of a virtuoso nor is it that hard to sew a dress.

Virginie Viard was a bit of an unknown name to most, but she worked under Karl Lagerfeld and took over after his death, as it's been fairly without much change she's not really made much of an impression since.

Most self appointed fashion critics didn't seem to like her as she seems to mostly focus on what sells. I'm mixed on this, even under KL in his later years the brand was very much making what its customer base wanted (he'd add in some trolling that poked fun at that audience while they seemed to be oblivious to it), Chanel just isn't a brand of groundbreaking creativity to me and I'm not sure it should be but that makes it a bit of an odd brand as it moves through time.

I'm not sure about whether she's leaving voluntarily or not, I checked her age and thought she had years left before a pension but then I remembered it's France so it probably is not far of average retirement age 🤷 It's an odd situation though as the creative director of Chanel is sort of seen as the highest possible position amongst fashion designers but creatively it's quite constrictive so it's an odd job to want.

Poor Virginie, I'm assuming this isn't of her choosing

She’s been there a long, long time.

Have to admit I’m finding it impossible to dredge up even a smidgen of excitement about Chanel doings - so maybe a new person might make it feel relevant to me? (Not holding my breath!)

Has she @CrkdLttrCrkdLttr ? Honestly it only feels like a couple of years since Karl died

She worked at Chanel (under KL) for ages, so altogether a really long time.

But just to remind us time is going fast, Rupert Murdoch married again the other day. I swear he married (and divorced) Jerry Hall just the other day...

Inexplicably KL already seems a part of deep history to me - maybe because I found him a somewhat oppressive presence in the fashion world. Never really ‘got’ him - and there was so much adulation and dependency swirling around everything he did.

The only people I’d be interested in seeing taking over Chanel are women already running their own more or less successful brands, which I wouldn’t want to see abandoned or weakened by huge commitments elsewhere.

I've seen people speculate Sarah Burton might be heading to Chanel but that just seems so unlikely to me. But I can also sort of see it, close relationship with a royal as instant customer would be an absolute boon for the brand considering their customer base. Stylistically it does sort of fit her without the McQueen dark elements. It just seems too far fetched for me because it would be exceptionally dull but that's kind of Chanel to me anyhow but I'm willing to be proved wrong.

Considering the bad optics lately of older female designers having been put out to pasture and not hired elsewhere (Clare Waight Keller getting a Uniqlo Collab doesn't count) in favour of bringing in male designers in fashion houses that have always been very woman oriented, surely there's got to be some consideration of sex in their choice so I get where the SB speculation comes from. Most likely frontrunners are male though and most female designers successful enough with their own brand are sensibly not that eager to abandon that (I hope, as Crkd does, anyhow).

Just imagine Cecilie Bahnsen!

Or the Chopova Lowena duo!

(Or Martine Rose?)

OMG - they’ll give it to Grace Wales Bonner. She is a Titan of power and influence … 🔮

I'd be legitimately shocked if they went with someone that creative. Even though I'm not particularly interested in Chanel the choice of designer is somehow riveting 🤷

Thom Browne would be interesting, he's flirted with Chanel heritage often enough and an expansion into menswear would make a lot of business sense and they can then excuse away hiring a man.

Chanel is beyond me although I did love many of the clothes in the exhibition.

I do like Agnes b though - I have 11 garments by her, and I love them all. I've had others over the years. The quality is still as good as it ever was, and they are classics but not boring IMHO - they all have a little something extra - the oldest is a bright pink tweed pencil skirt from 2005: the youngest is some ⅞ jeans I bought a month ago. They suit someone who is short and straight up and down, and who wants things that aren't in fashion and will last, so me, really. Anyone much over 5'6" (I am 5'4) might find things a bit short.

I adored Agnes b in the late 80s / early 90s when I lived wholly or partly in London. Bought a fair bit for myself - in particular a bright green mini skirt worn to a summer party at my first proper job - and for my sibling, who treasured the t shirts for years. After that time it fell off my radar - maybe it just didn’t suit my perception of my new self? On the rare occasions I’ve dropped into a store more recently, in England or France, I can see that some of the clothes are interesting, but I just can’t recapture any desire to wear them again. Maybe I’ll recover that carefree cool in my eighties, and look as good as Ms b herself does!

My figure has changed so much in these past years that it seems to me my legs are shorter.

Or maybe it is the way they cut trousers that has changed!

Tin foil hat time, Virgine Viard's exit seems to have been announced just ahead of the Karl Lagerfeld's biopic (TV series technically, but bioseries sounds weird) that's launched today 🤔

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/jun/07/becoming-karl-lagerfeld-review-an-absolute-feast-for-the-eyes

Ah, I'm not sure if I ever knew Virginie had worked with Karl. Or maybe I'd forgotten. I must admit that once the original designer has gone, the label tends to turn into just another corporate brand and I lose interest. One or two exceptions to that of course, including Karl himself, and Phoebe Philo when she was at Celine. (Was it Celine - see I've already forgotten!) But I couldn't tell you without googling who's heading up Dior at the moment, or YSL or McQueen or Burberry or Gucci

Ladies - I am going to Marseille in a few weeks and wonder if any of you have any suggestions as to where I can shop till I drop!

Any neighbourhood suggestions for food and accommodation gratefully accepted too!

Not on the coast but absolutely unmissable, with a hotel I’m determined to stay in next time I’m in Marseille.

Cité Radieuse

Are you going to Aix for the festival, @yesmen? (The friends I stayed with a couple of years ago lived just steps away from an Agnes b store.)

We stayed in the Intercontinental Hotel (reward program redemption). Not sure If I'd recommend it, everything as you'd expect from an Intercontinental in terms of service and comfort but it felt large and business like beyond the historical façade. I'd probably seek out a cute boutique hotel instead near the old port.

For shopping, the Noailles neighbourhood has lots of small independents that have been there forever, soap shops, raffia basket goods, and other artisan style shops (generations old and a few new and exciting ones). The Old Port and Le Panier is where most tourists head, not a bad thing as Marseille isn't that touristic but do be mindful of your safety, not much of a concern during the day but it definitely feels different at night. Vauban is where all the Parisian transplants have moved into with lots of good food spots, coffe shops, and independent shops, etc. definitely feels more Parisian than Marseille as a result.

My beloved De Toujours is also based there but I think when I last checked they no longer had a store front.

If you haven't watched it yet, I definitely recommend watching Transatlantic on Netflix that's set in Marseille.

Thank you @botemp and @CrkdLttrCrkdLttr

I am not planning on a visit to Axe which is a big pity but we don’t have time.

It will be a quick trip with dd so glad of the heads up re night time vs day time Bo.

You gave me brilliant advise for a trip to Paris with a different dd a few years ago. I got an amazing haircut - that might jog your memory. I was going to replicate that but then remembered the Olympics! 🙂

Ah of course, is the hair still holding up well?

If this other DD is of similar age you might also want to check out the malls (yes, malls, they really do feel American in a way but then strangely French) near the Cruise terminal. Les Terrasses du Port and Les Docks Village. Also a good refuge if it's super hot out.

Edited to add: and I would rec the Intercontinental with a teen. They'd love the pool and spa areas and the general anonymity of such a large property. The rooms are a good size so you're not right on top of each other as you tend to be in France's more charming hotel properties.

Excellent - thank you.
The hair was great for an awfully long time!

Good Lord I'd totally missed that Francoise Hardy had died, when did that happen? Sorry Francoise

It was announced yesterday, cancer of the throat, must have been horrible for her as a singer. There was a nice overview of her style in the Guardian although a bit low on the later in life pictures when she was still an absolute inspiration.

oh, I missed that too.
that overview is nice but yes I would have liked to see more photos of her later in life.

She would have looked good in a bin bag. Re later life, I remember reading an interview with her where she raged about the effects of ageing and what it did to her body. Maybe she wasn’t keen in embracing the changes and being photographed.