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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2009 21:07:32 GMT
I know that plenty of people are always wondering what Parisians are wearing, as though it had some sort of weird importance to the ways of the world. Can I dress like a Parisian? Will Parisians stare in disdain at my clothes? Where can I get the proper boots? How much does that stuff cost? Frankly, I never look at this stuff, which makes it all the more interesting to take pictures of it. I see a lot of it for the first time. For example, I never pay attention to women's handbags, and after looking at these photos, I realized that they don't have handbags. For some reason they are carrying baggage! Why on earth is that? Do they have 3 changes of clothes and extra shoes in those bags? Are they reading 5 different books? We men wouldn't be caught carrying so much stuff around. Perhaps a lady will read this and provide some sort of explanation. It can also be noted that certain colors are completely missing. Naturally I see black and dark brown. I see maroon and mauve. But certain colors are totally missing. So I guess these photos might be useful if someone was pondering wearing a lime green or fluorescent orange coat to Paris but did not want to stick out in the crowd. I should mention that the first two thirds of these photos were taken near my office in the 8th arrondissement over the last two days. The last section was taken last weekend in a leisure area, which might explain to you the sudden increase in jeans. My final observation is that many people clearly like winter wear, because it hasn't been chilly at all the past couple of weeks and yet most people are dressed as though it is freezing. Go figure... I would also like to point out that, just like for the spring and summer threads, I continue to take these photos at random without any regard to whether the people look properly dressed or photogenic or not. In fact, some of these outfits are abominable. That's just the way Parisians are.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2009 21:14:44 GMT
I like the black leggings with the short skirt, I can see myself wearing that.
As for bags, I hate big bags, the smaller the better.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 24, 2009 21:44:37 GMT
You've done it again, Kerouac! Your so-called fashion threads keep getting better and better. As I scrolled through, I started getting worried about eyeballing the outfits, in case I collided with the other pedestrians. Really great lively feel to the whole thing. My god that's a lot of work -- selecting, cropping, combining, etc. A magnificent job!
Those monster bags for women have been around for a while. They inflict me with major wtfism, part of the reason I'm far from being a style maven.
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Post by imec on Nov 24, 2009 21:48:01 GMT
I like the lady with the Tabby Cat Hat
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Post by fumobici on Nov 24, 2009 22:19:25 GMT
Beautiful people watching stroll. You can do the a similar thing by going into Google Maps Street View and navigating down the big pedestrian downtown streets of many cities if you are curious to see what people are wearing where you are going and don't want to clash- assuming you luck out and the weather when they took their pics is similar to when you plan to visit. You can at least get a sense of what/what not to take.
I was warned that going to Paris or Rome and not standing out as a terrifying example of how not to dress was impossible for someone from across the Atlantic. I'm not that fashion conscious but I wasn't seeing that huge "style gap" i'd been warned about. It all looked pretty similar to what you'd see on the street in any big US/Canadian city to me. I liked the mens suits a little better than the N American ones and the women outfits seemed maybe generally a little more tailored and thought through and the haircuts are better but the difference was hardly startling and the majority of the people on the street you wouldn't even notice in SF or Vancouver or NYC.
My grandmother for years worked in Paris drawing fashions worn by people at stylish parties, shows and restaurants for an American newspaper. I guess Paris will always be a little ahead of the style curve if you have the eye to see it.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 24, 2009 22:34:46 GMT
I hate "Ugg" boots. By Tabby Hat, you mean the strange fur hat the older lady is wearing? That is really overkill in Paris - it isn't Moscow. Indeed a lot of people are dressed for really cold weather.
I have one of those teardop-shaped over-the-shoulder bags in black matte fabric - a tiny bag is of no use to me as I do always have at least a book, a notebook (soon a netbook) etc but some of the bags the women are carrying luck utterly outsize even if they use them to pick up some shopping etc. They are too big but a lot of men don't carry around anything so they get stuck now that shops want us to bring our own bag.
It is obvious that most of these photos were taken in a more chic and wealthy area than your initial sets.
No more skirts above knee-length for me anymore. Opaque tights or leggings a necessity in our climate.
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Post by bjd on Nov 25, 2009 13:29:02 GMT
Black, black, black. The occasional bright colour stands out like a fire engine.
The big bags are there because that is mostly what is sold.
I do wonder what the people wearing fur and down jackets are going to wear when it gets cold. This morning it was13° and sunny and I saw a woman wearing a sheepskin coat!
I am not pleased about the return of leggings. They look awful on most women.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 25, 2009 14:06:56 GMT
bjd, I don't think I'd wear leggings much if I lived in the southwest of France. Why do they look "awful"? This is not the really tacky look of wearing leggings in lieu of trousers, without a skirt. That looks .... well, lower categories of sex workers.
You'd never catch anyone from a place where it really gets cold wearing a sheepskin jacket at 13° and sunny. I remember Italian tourists wearing fur coats in Paris - sort of a flash thing, but ludicrous. When it does get cold and nasty in Paris it is usually damp.
Kerouac, I know the Paris style blog obsession may seem strange. But as for travellers there, nobody wants to look like a plouc.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2009 14:29:11 GMT
However, a lot of people, especially the whirlwind travellers, tend to forget that if they are just going to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Orsay, Versailles, etc., 75% of the people around them are going to be tourists anyway -- so what they think the Parisians are wearing could very well just turn out to be what the Polish, Portuguese and Norwegian tourists are wearing.
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Post by traveler63 on Nov 25, 2009 14:42:29 GMT
Great pictorial K2 and you have hit the proverbial nail on the head regarding the tourists. The reason all the bags, or baggage are all black is it goes with everything. I learned that if you go with dark colors (I wore black jeans most of the time) with jackets, etc. and Mr T63 wore dark pants and dark polo shirts with a jacket no one noticed us much. I have to say we were even stopped a couple of times and asked directions in French and one lady was very embarrassed when I said in poor French, a little French but we are Americans. She looked around to see if anyone had seen her.
As to why we carry big baggage as handbags. Well, you are partly right, sometimes it is books, ipods, extra shoes, etc. If you are going somewhere after work, then it could be extra makeup, or even a change of clothes. And you Parisians, do smoke, so I am sure there are all the accessories that go with that. Here in the U. S., not so many large bags, we can leave a lot of it in our cars since we drive everywhere.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 25, 2009 15:32:20 GMT
Not New Yorkers. Here in Montréal, I always have a bag because I'm either on my bicycle, on foot or taking public transport. I do have Dutch panniers on my bicycle though.
A lot of people are picking up shopping after work, or even before work or at lunchtime if they have a Paris street market near their place of work, as most of the markets close by the early afternoon.
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Post by bjd on Nov 25, 2009 16:04:35 GMT
Lagatta, I tend to find leggings look awful because so many short women with fat legs wear them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 25, 2009 16:53:27 GMT
... one lady was very embarrassed when I said in poor French, a little French but we are Americans. She looked around to see if anyone had seen her. Yeah -- she approached two attractive, friendly-looking people & found out they were the wrong nationality. How dreadful for the poor dear! <-- heavy sarcasm aimed at people who spend too much time worrying about what others think, including obsessing over whether or not their clothes will be approved by complete strangers.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 25, 2009 17:56:14 GMT
Or worrying about whether our short legs look too fat.
bjd will be thinking I resemble Beth Ditto... Legs and bum far too firm from lots of cycling for that, but I'm not a long, lean fashion-model type and never will be. Whether I wear leggings or not.
bixa, I do think most people do care about the "presentation of self". Nobody in any culture wants to be ostracised.
lots of people ask me for directions. Including in Paris. Once a group of girls from Argentina, struggling to speak French (I recognised the accent which sounds like a mixture of Spanish and Italian). And answered in not-great, very Italianate Spanish. We had a big laugh. I couldn't give a rat's arse what nationality people are.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 25, 2009 18:02:25 GMT
Of course we want to be well received and not to give offense or alarm, LaGatta. My comment was aimed at all the people who should simply have a little more self-confidence. If they generally feel their presentation is good, then it should be good enough wherever they go.
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Post by bjd on Nov 25, 2009 19:15:16 GMT
Lagatta -- I had to look up Beth Ditto on the internet. I had no idea who she was. Of course I don't think you look like that -- since you ride a bicycle, I assume you must look much healthier and better.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 25, 2009 19:28:20 GMT
Oh, I do, although I'm almost twice her age. Not dwarfish or obese, but certainly "small and plump" as opposed to "tall and lean". Leggings or not.
Ditto is sort of the polar opposite of Amy Winehouse, though neither young woman looks the picture of health.
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Post by lola on Nov 25, 2009 23:51:56 GMT
Nice, k. I think almost all of them look just fine, and a few of them very fine indeed. I like leggings, and black tights.
Christmas decorations noted.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 26, 2009 4:35:35 GMT
Thank God! I'm not a woman.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 26, 2009 5:48:46 GMT
Eeeek. I just looked up Beth Ditto. She looks like Mimi on the Drew Carey Show!
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Post by lagatta on Nov 26, 2009 11:55:37 GMT
Look up Amy Winehouse if you want a skinny who is just as scary.
I have a friend who is as heavy as Beth Ditto. Keep fearing she is going to keel over. It is really sad. I also had an anorexic friend who looked like Winehouse, but have no idea what has become of her or if she is still alive.
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Post by bjd on Nov 26, 2009 17:05:25 GMT
I may not have heard of Beth Ditto, but I have heard of Amy Winehouse. I don't know if in her case it's anorexia or drugs -- she doesn't look like she'll make it into middle age.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2009 18:03:57 GMT
Eeeek. I just looked up Beth Ditto. She looks like Mimi on the Drew Carey Show! And she has been on so many French music magazine covers lately. Actually, I find the heavily tattooed female band member who plays with her (in more ways than one) even worse.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2009 18:05:16 GMT
Oh, I have decided to do another picture thread out of my window for autumn fashion to compare with the 'nice' part of town. I'll try to get it together before the weekend has ended.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 27, 2009 6:22:36 GMT
Well, I hope everyone revisits this thread once the thrill of seeing how Parisians dress wears off. Besides being such a fun, lively whole, this thread is full of individually wonderful photos which deserve scrutiny. Just a very few as a sample: wonderful frieze of modern youth <-- so elegant! <-- study in forms <-- we see you!
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Post by lagatta on Nov 27, 2009 10:29:35 GMT
Yes, of course I've been noting them. I love this stuff, though I'm no fashion plate.
This is not the only site commenting on the huge bags this year. One site even advises that larger bags make women look smaller and slimmer (personally I'm doubtful, though largish people with those miniature backpack bags that were the style a couple of years ago do look very odd).
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Post by bjd on Nov 27, 2009 10:34:03 GMT
I actually bought a large purse in Berlin last year but only use it if I plan to buy several things downtown. Otherwise it's just not practical and you can't find anything in it. I have used it as "baggage" for long weekends away.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2009 18:24:09 GMT
Thank God! I'm not a woman. ;D ;D Truth is I like showing off my legs (as they are one of my best features), I'm 5' 7'',and prefer to go bare legged whenever possible, they have a natural light brown tan, and are in pretty good shape, (due to all the exercising I do and have always done). The only kind of stockings I do like are the ones shown on the pics above or fish nets.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 27, 2009 18:41:21 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2009 18:44:33 GMT
Shocking innit? ;D
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