It’s ‘FAUX’ REAL
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| Michael Michael Kors faux leopard pea jacket |
This has been a beautiful summer, and we did not suffer through too many uncomfortable days, but still I cannot wait until the advent of fall. And as luck would have it, the weather as of late has been cooperating. It’s been a true fall preview: almost cool enough to actually get one in the mood to go shopping or at the very least, be inspired to think ahead. FYI, it’s been so crisp and pleasant these days, Starbucks decided to bring back it’s very popular Pumpkin Spice Latte on August 25th, almost one month before fall officially starts on September 23.
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| Mansur Gavriel calf coated bucket bag |
The new fall merchandise has been hitting the stores and the websites with a vengeance as of late and there have been certain categories that have stood out by virtue of their having been literally ubiquitous at every price point and across the board, with almost infinite variations on the theme: leather (there IS life after the moto jacket but it still continues with a vengeance); denim (denim, denim, and more denim); the entire category of athletic, sports inspired footwear; men’s inspired lace up oxfords (I especially love the pointy toed feminized versions as exemplified by Stuart Weitzman’s sharp black and white Leman Oxford, $395 stuartweitzman.com and Attilo Guisti Leombruni’s pointy toed black patent oxfords, $360, nordstrom.com); loafers (my two favorites are the iconic Gucci horsebit loafers, gucci.com, and Prada’s gold metallic kiltie chain loafer, $890, nordstrom.com); ankle boots (the Gucci “Lillian” ankle boot, featuring the company’s iconic horsebit hardware is hands down, the most distinctive, www.gucci.com); bucket bags (I love the modern simplicity of Mansur Gavriel’s coated leather bags, mansurgavriel.com; small structured trunk bags with distinctive hardware (a la Vuitton); mod (as seen at Vuitton, Gucci, Saint Laurent, etc.); oversized bombers and baseball jackets, fabulous coats, furs, fur trims, shearling (too many to mention); AND faux furs, which have quite simply, never looked better, been more believable, or more desirable.
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| DKNY Faux Fur Striped Coat |
In fact, they are so fabulous (young, hip, modern, minimal, cool) these days, and light-years away from those ugly, bulky, tacky versions from yesteryear, even die hard real fur snobs will be tempted. In the same way almost everyone mixes real jewelry with fabulous fakes, real furs and faux furs will be peacefully cohabiting alongside each other in the chicest of closets. And anyway, let’s face it, many real furs look fake and many fake furs look real; it is sometimes hard to tell which is which unless you actually feel them – and maybe not even then!.
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| Short Fur Coat in ecru |
That being said, they will never take the place of the real deal because they are not as luxurious or as warm (and thinking about last winter’s brutal frigid weather, this is worth noting). But on the plus side, (aside from the obvious: their easy on the pocketbook price tags), because they are made from synthetics (acrylic, mod acrylic, polyester) they are not really that warm, so one need not wait until it’s really cold to start wearing them.
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| Peter Hidalgo fake fur |
Among the chicest standouts: Peter Hidalgo’s black fake fur coat with hood and waterproof lining, and his white fake fur cardigan coat, both $1380, (I love that they resemble monkey fur) available at Diana Broussard, dianabroussard.com; Zara’s (zara.com) faux leopard printed coat, $169, nude pink furry coat, $169; yellow fake fur short coat, $129, and ecru fake fur cardigan coat, $129; Asos’s (www.asos.com) white faux fur curly coat, $145.10, natural gray faux fur jacket $125.76, faux leopard reversible short coat, $148.97, multi colored striped faux fur scarf, $67.71, longline brown faux fur vest, $116.08; Michael Michael Kors’s camouflage faux fur coat, and leopard printed faux fur pea jacket, (both $295 and available at netaporter.com); and DKNYs strikingly mod ivory and black horizontally striped short coat with large collar, $495, dkny.com, and faux fur bomber in black and ivory leopard print, $295, bloomingdales.com.
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| Shrimps Mabel Coat and Pablo Clutch Bag |
And last, but not least, is the London based company Shrimps (www.shrimps.co.uk.com), which is entirely devoted to faux fur. It launched last year and is the brainchild of 23 year old designer Hannah Weiland who was inspired by her “obsession with fluffy animals” (her nickname as a child was “shrimp” because she was “small and pink”). Her highly sought after coats, jackets, collars, bags, and accessories (priced from $75 for a keychain to $995 for a coat), have quickly caught the eye of plugged in young fashion editors and fashion followers everywhere. Made from mod acrylic, they are available in a range of colors (both pastels and brights) and more often than not, feature unusual color combinations and graphic, sporty stripes. They are available on her website, as well as Opening Ceremony (openingceremony.us.com) and on Net-A-Porter (netaporter.com).
