Fais faire

Question

I’m having trouble figuring out why it’s je me fais FAIRE de nouvelles sandales. In other similar constructions, il se fait couper les cheveux, FAIRE isn’t necessary yet the meaning is similar in that they both are having something done. What am I missing?

Accepted Answer

Hi Everyone,
You will use 'se faire faire quelque chose' mostly when you are having something done by someone else.
If you just use 'se faire' it means you have done/made something yourself. 
Je me suis fait/e une bonne soupe au potiron hier soir = I made myself a lovely pumpkin soup last night
Je me suis faite une belle robe = I made myself a beautiful dress
You can use 'se faire' + adjective for, to get in some expressions indicating a change -
Il se fait vieux = He is getting old
Il se fait tard = It's getting late  
You will use 'se faire faire' when you have somebody to do/make something for you-
Je me suis *fait faire une belle photo de famille = I had a lovely family photo done 
Il s'est *fait faire un costume sur mesure = He had a made-to-measure suit made
Elles se sont *fait construire une maison à la campagne = They have had a house built in the country
You can also use different infinitive verbs other than faire as in the wasp sting example but I would say -
Je me suis *fait piquer par une guêpe = I have been stung by a wasp 
rather than your example,
'Je me fais piquer par une guêpe' 
which means you have made yourself be stung by a wasp on purpose, which is a bit weird unless you are in a lab doing some tests!
In a similar vein, you would say-
Les voleurs se sont * fait arrêter par la police = The thieves were arrested by the police 
No intention meant, just a passive sense- something was done to you by others.
A little grammatical note here -
*The past participle of faire is invariable when followed by an infinitive even when using the reflexive 'se faire'. 
but an interesting point Liz!

Answer

The pattern is: se faire + infinitive, with the infinitive specifying what it is that is being done. If you are having new sandals made (i.e., faire de nouvelles sandales ), then this phrase is used in place of the infinitive.Je me fais faire de nouvelles sandales. -- I'm having new sandals made.

Answer

Yes its the difference between to do and to make. In this case the reflexive form of faire, se faire, is 'to have something done for one' and 'faire' to make. I wonder about using reflexive se faire as the action. Like being stung.

'Je me fais se faire piquer par une guepe!' = I get myself stung by a wasp!

Answer

Hi Ed, the sentence you cite in the end doesn't work like this in French.Je me fais piquer par une guêpe. -- I get myself stung by a wasp.