A new article, a bit of debate and the same old thing.

[Joe]

http://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/main/comments/yea-or-nay-fur-coats/

 

It always strikes me as interesting how there are people who think that "unflattering" and "adding x pounds of bulk to your frame" are synonymous. And that has become a hallmark line to be repeated and repeated by the antis..."fur makes you look fat". Because once those stupid fur-wearers have been desensitized to the word "murder", and the whole "sympathy for the cute, cuddly wittle fwuffy animals" angle has failed...they'll crack if you call them fat.

 

Sure.

 

This may belong in the Pub, but it's fur-related.

 

Enjoy.

 

J.

[JGalanos]

I think the "fur makes you look fat" argument only works if (1) you also look fat wearing only your birthday suit or (2) the coat is ill-fitting. Fur has more volume than any other garment (except maybe down) ... So unless it is tailored to your frame, a fur garment can be unflattering. When I have shopped for furs, the good stores have typically recommended minor nips and tucks to the garments I have considered buying to achieve a more comfortable and flattering fit. In my opinion, on a slim to average frame, a well tailored fur coat or jacket always flatters the wearer.

[frugalfurguy]

Flattered or not is probably in the eye and mind of the prospective flatteree. Now I hardly believe I have JGalanos' sensibility for what a good fit would be. For me just that someone's wearing fur's going to get my notice. And just because of who I am, a lady with a full figure will have some appeal to me if she's wearing fur. Quite probably she wouldn't without the fur.

 

Of course I'm not everybody, and it's probably quite a slim minority that takes things in this way. Aren't we a damnably diverse species of primate???

[White Fox]

Now to add the challenge. I have often seen the "make me look fat" when trying on furs. And almost always it is when I try on men's furs. Very often I have tried on coats for women and they did not make me look that way.

 

It is I think this "One size fits all" complex that they have re men's furs.

 

W

[FurLoverinFL]

Agreed - I've never liked the way men's coats are styled. Now I know there are exceptions. I know a customed tailored fur will look great. But if I'm buying 'off-the rack', I always prefer larger size womens' coats vs. mens. I find that they look soooo much better.

 

FLinFL

[JGalanos]

I remember reading an article re: fur fashion several years ago in which Jerry Sorbara, furrier extraordinaire, was quoted saying that because it has so much "body" a fur coat should be tailored to the owner's physique similar to the way a fine suit would be.

 

WF -- I agree that all too often men's fur coats are shapeless and unflattering. That's one reason half my fur collection consists of custom creations.

[White Fox]

The problem then of course is to know how a new coat worth $5,000 will look on you when you cannot see it before hand. I think that is why so many men land up with a "unisex" design of coat. They do not want to order a new one of something that they cannot see. Even pelt colours can very so much. So, they try on a coat of similar pelts made for a woman. Usually of a unisex design anyhow. And it just looks so much better that they end up buying that and having it altered.

 

W

 

P.S. By the way. When I hear of a unisex design of coat it always reminds me of the old British TV show "Are you being served". The floor boss - bald headed guy - forget his name. Is talking to Mr Humphries. He is trying to remember the name for a coat that will work for either sex. He says "Maybe the word for what I mean is "Bisexual". And of course Mr Humphries answers "No I don't think you mean that Mr ...."

[frugalfurguy]

I could add to what I said, seeing the drift towards discussing men's furs. A man in a fur coat will get my notice but not maintain my attention. Figuring out it's a man in it will crush my interest about as quickly as my determining it was foe [sic] fur.

 

Not intended to offend, just adding to that stuff about who I am and the way I tick.

 

It seems as though the inhibitions would be less for a woman to wear a man's coat than the other way around. I wonder how many times I've seen a picture of a woman in a man's fur coat. I wonder how many times I've flipped on by just thinking it wasn't the picture that clicked with me. It might be a question to ask myself, now that I've thought of it.

 

Maybe despite my protestation of ignorance there is something subconscious discriminating good fits from not-so-good fits. Still, I don't have your connoisseurships' conscious understanding of it.

 

frugalfurguy

[White Fox]

Just adding a quick note...

 

When I speak of a "Woman's coat" I generally mean a "Unisex coat" that can work for either but on the hanger is made to be a woman's coat. Purchase a coat that looks good on you and is like that. Change the buttons. Restyle it if required a little bit. And from that point on it is no longer a woman's coat. It is now a man's coat that looks good on you.

 

W

[lynxette]

Nothing really makes one look fat or thin...it is an illusion created by one's own perceptions. Overweight is overweight no matter what the person is wearing, and this should in no way hinder the choices a person makes one way or the other.