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The Gallery Some misunderstandings about fur 1: Coats only |
Dedicated to
(the)
Lynx(es),
for getting it right of course!
Hello all! I thought I take my
thematic approach one step further and do a series on one theme. This grand
theme is 'Some misunderstandings about fur'. No, this is not going to be another
anti AR defense. If you're interested in that kind of thing, have a browse in
the furrier or organisations links section or send me an E-mail if you're very
desperate.
No, these are misunderstandings that seem to exist even in the trade and the
industry themselves, more or less. Here they are:
1 Fur is just for coats.
2 Fur is just for when it's cold.
3 You should only wear furs in the colour of your hair.
I'll let you know if I think of some more; meanwhile, reader input also welcome as ever. For now, I'll do this section on Mistake nr. 1; and if I get enough feedback, I'll give some attention to nr. 2 and 3 too.
Well, what can I say? If you
wear furs to some big event or to a nice dinner, how long do you actually have
fun of it? Perhaps you wear it in the car, but if it's a long ride, you
shouldn't actually wear it, but drape it over you like a blanket. Which reduces
the time to actually wear to just a few minutes, on your way from the car to the
wardrobe. The people who actually get to enjoy the looks of you in your coat,
are anonymous passers-by, probably not the people you go to see - by the time
you see them and they see you, chances are you'll have separated from your furry
friend at the wardrobe or the coats hooks.
Small wonder it's exactly the people who cater for big occasions - haute couture
houses and up market furriers - who have come up with non-coat fur items. Which
doesn't mean that people who have to settle for a fur from their local furrier
have to stick with the usual coat which is great for shopping or long frosty
walks. A good furrier does custom jobs, and the good thing about the high costs
of the basic material is that it makes the labor costs less of an issue. Which
is not to say that they are zilch of course, but the pictures below might help
you to some ideas.
The trouble with skirts and
dresses is the same as with coats in a car: you might have to sit in them for a
long time, which is bad news for some parts of the skirt. No problems on a
standing party of course, and a clever design might leave the option open to
exchange a worn out part (a part that you have been sitting on for quite a
while) easily.
To be frank, I don't expect to see anyone wearing the Gaultier red fox and
Chantilly lace skirt on the kind of parties I go to (but wouldn't it be nice!).
Still, it would might make an interesting change to a romantic evening on
a fur in front of the fire.
Also see the Favourite Foxes section in this gallery. These are haute couture, but at least the blue dress can be worn everywhere and anywhere.
I wouldn't advice wearing some of these when going to a complicated dinner (`Waiter, there is a soup in my hairs'), notably the crystal fox-trimmed bolero, but for a cocktail party on a drafty patio even that one is great.
Muffs seemed to be ancient
history until recently, but in some collections (for example the German Samantha) they are back. And the latest thing
are furry bags. How about a combination - a fur muff that doubles as a handbag?
Obviously there would be times when a woman wouldn't know what to do with a
muff, so bring out the hinge and hang it over your shoulder. On the other hand,
looking at many Oscar ceremony arrivals, there are even multi-million movie
stars who handle a handbag with all the grace of a cartoon mother in law. I.e.,
they could as well carry a brick on a hinge. How about bringing it into muff
mode and having it carelessly wave about on one hand?
Just an idea, folks; sorry, no pictures yet ...
I suppose everybody has seen those Dior hats by now: serious bits of fur and feather going in all directions, so much so they might as well be called headdresses. And then there is the showstopper below, by a Spanish designer whose name I forgot to include in my database. It isn't a hood, it isn't a hat, what is it? I wonder when a clever hairdresser or a furrier will really start to blur the distinction between a wig, a hat and a Dior-like hairdress. Whether it will be to help you out on a bad hair day or just to rock the party, that's for you to decide.
