furs
 

While I do not own a black leather jacket, this is the stupidest thing you've said since you argued about how everyone knew you were mainly right.

Leather jackets come in many different styles and not all of them look like they belong on some guido who can't get in to Cheetah.

It's tricky, but you be 'illin if you didn't agree that the right combo of black leather jacket, rope chain, Kangol, Lee on the leg and my Addidas on the feet (high top or low) still look cool. Throw in some gazelles and walk this way:

http://thadweb.com/rundmc/pictures/r...-inch-toys.jpg

TM

Vegan poll
 

Fuck, she's not going to become an obsessed stalker, too, is she?

furs
 

Perhaps someone should produce the Thurgreed Eye for the Preppy White Guy?

furs
 

Concur - the fake stuff is getting better, but usually it still doesn't pass even a cursory visual inspection.

And, more importantly, it isn't nearly as warm. Having only turned to fur in recent years as a direct result of my outrage at PETA*, I have to admit that those people offering what I thought was the lame excuse "the synthetic and high-tech insulating coats just aren't as warm" were actually telling God's own truth.

Anyhow, I've never understood fake fur. You get all of the negatives of fur (bulk, nasty looks from people who think you're evil or pretentious) and none of the positives (warmth, softness, the satisfaction of knowing you are preserving the environment by wearing a natural clothing product rather than a chemically-polluting earth destroying manufactured synthetic). What is the point? To the extent one might want some volume next to the face or on the cuffs, there are gazillions of better ways to do it (I lament that coq feathers haven't made more of a comeback, but one could have all sorts of imaginative shearing, quilting, fringe, embroidery, whatever if one wants to avoid animal skins).

BR(more of a sheared beaver fan myself, if you want to talk soft)C

*Note, I always in the large silent majority that believed there is nothing wrong with wearing fur per se, but until PETA pissed me off so much it wasn't worth my trouble to challenge the vocal minority. Since my personal campaign against the rude intrusiveness of telemarketers worked out so well, I have great hopes for the future of this endeavor.

furs
 

I don't think my black leather jacket is guido at all. It's warm as hell (although it can't touch my Mountain Hardware coat)...

furs
 

This is too easy.

furs
 

I will have to agree, though, with the people who object to fur coats in this neck of the woods. There's simply no need, as it doesn't get that cold. The first brisk day of the year, everyone runs to their closet to pull out the furs, and we end up looking ridiculous. I saw a beautiful mink this summer while visiting New Mexico, but there was no way I could justify the purchase given that there are maybe three or four days a year that I could legitimately wear it.

furs
 

I was wondering who'd take the bait first.

Nah, it's just a symptom of my boring repetitiveness.

furs
 

It's soft, but is it downy? I want to touch something downy.

TM

furs
 

The women in the OM's family all have gorgeous full length fur coats. When I was shivering in my cloth coat at Christmas, they were all incredibly comfortable. I don't think I would buy a new fur, but I certainly appreciated why one would wear one in a place that gets cold.

I do have a vintage evening ensemble that belonged to my grandmother with the mink collar and cuffs. I have worn it (it's still fantastic) and people just assume it is fake.

furs
 

Excellent points, all.

I have a friend who is a high-end furrier. She inherited the family business, but will be closing it next year (she's looking to get rid of inventory, for anyone who is interested...).

Her clientele is, well, dying off (of old age -- no PETA-related deaths, as far as I know). People just don't want to drop that kind of scratch on a fur anymore. They'll settle for cheaper from a department store or wherever else you buy furs. She (as you might expect) has an amazing collection of fur coats, that don't look at all look cheesy or "bling bling". One is a sheared mink in emerald green that is stunning. You can't even really tell it's fur from a short distance -- but it is unbelievably soft and so toasty!

I don't have a fur coat (not an animal issue, just an "I feel like an old lady wearing a fur coat" issue), but I do have a shearling coat, and two fur hats. There is no question that they are warmer than their synthetic counterparts.

(A hearty "good on you" to Thrasher's Fan -- I think it was -- who has her beliefs, but doesn't foist them on others. I quickly shook loose a former friend who, once she became a vegan, would take to lecturing me about what my diet should contain. She went on and on when I put butter on some French toast over brunch one fine Sunday -- and that was the last straw. Buh-bye!)

furs
 

Yeah, someone running into the supermarket in jeans and a mink in 70 degree weather is always good for a laugh.

However, there is warmer-weather appropriate stuff if you are determined. Short or hip-length jackets work pretty well in fall-like weather. Anything with a shorter nap can be cut quite sharply, and you would be surprised how a nice fitted shape makes a coat both more modern and lighter looking. (Never been a fan of the "polar bear" look that 90% of fur coats seem to have, except on raccoon coats because that is so amusingly '20s sheik.) Shorter gray persian lamb jackets somehow manage to look less "freezing weather"-ish, even though they also invariably look extremely Russian.

furs
 

Then you want baby seal. Pervert.

furs
 

How does PETA feel about goose down jackets? I can't imagine the geese end up happy after the process. Are we forever relegated to that fiberfill crap if we wish to stay PC?