A number of years ago, a random box from my mom arrived with this very cool fur collar in it as packing. Trying to find a way to wear it has been a winter occupation of mine ever since.
(If this lab inspires you, vintage coats with these collars are the proverbial dime a dozen at thrift stores these days.)
Another maneuver I tried was to use the fur collar as a scarf. You can kinda see that in this “parka” picture; the trouble was keeping it in place (it was really cozy, though).
The year the collar arrived, fur collars on sweaters were popular. Well, that just won’t work for me. How do I fit my coat over the sweater? (You southern belles might be able to pull off a wintery outerwear look with just a cardigan. It might be more of a challenge for you to find the fur collar at the thrift store, though.)
Well, I can honestly say none of these looks do it for me. But as I have been thinking about this project this week I realized what I think might: a shortish trench in a springy army green color.
Here’s why:
- It’s outerwear.
- I’m ready for that color again.
- And it looks good on me (it’s both warm and soft).
- But I don’t have any green pants for it to clash with.
- The military vibe of the jacket would counter-act the feminine drama of the fur collar.
Any other thoughts? I think I could find such a jacket in my price range (next to nothing $).
It seems to me the problem is the scale of the collar. Especially in pictures 2 & 4 it just looks way to darn big and dark up against the rest of the jacket. If it was about 2/3 to 1/2 of the size I think it would look fine. After all the collar come out to your shoulder seam! When else would you try wearing a collar that wide?
Out of all of them I think picture #1 works the best probably because the contrast between the colors seems the least obvious and because the collar is turned up (which makes the scale problem less obvious) That also might be because it isn’t on anyone.
Rebecca,
I really really REALLY like the fur collar on you. I like it best with the casual looks! I think it looks really cool and funky. I do not think it looks too big at ALL!! Seriously, you should wear it out. I BET you get tons of compliments!!
I agree with Jenn that it looks too wide for you and that you might not usually wear collars with that look. I like the picture with the belted jacket though the necklines fight a bit. I like your idea of contrasting it with an opposite style. OTOH, I wonder if you think of the collar as feminine because your mother sent it and because you see so many ladies coats with that collar because I can easily picture a fur collar with something military, but not American military.
The collar would look ok worn standing up on a parka and you could keep it there by adding a rounded button on the wrong side and an elastic loop. Or maybe it would fit inside the opening of a hood and could be tacked in place – big running stitches. But I think I remember you don’t wear your hoods up? My husband, who used to work in a sporting goods/camping store says everybody likes to buy hooded garments but nobody actually wears the hood up. Except me. I wear all my hoods at one time or another.
(I think) I think of the collar as feminine and glamorous because of the cardigans with the fur added. Not sure. But I am really warming to the military idea. It works with my idiom. Alternatively, I may be able to find a belted tweed jacket which would work.
I love the collar because the color is fabulous on me, and it’s so warm and soft! If nothing else, I will stick try to do something with the black down coat. It’s really nice and warm, for like sledding and stuff, but the black isn’t great on me and the hood is missing.
I like your idea about putting something there to hold it. 🙂
Rebecca, If I were I’d keep thrifting for a retro looking wool coat, too. They look smashing with fur collars.
Ooops. Should have been “if I were you”. I can actually speak and type English if I try really hard ….
i think the fur collar does not look good whichever way you try it. fur is really outdated and looks quite trashy. i think you should forget about it altogether.