Monday, November 15, 2010

obsession : fur collars

My hair was nothing special today. It curled well, but it was a little messy. My face had been red all day from how cold it is outside. I was wearing nothing fancy, just a usual Rachel outfit of leggings and some form of loose sweater. And I'm tired. But somehow I got more compliments today than I'm pretty sure I've ever gotten in my life. And I've been to a wedding, I went to prom twice, and I've worn a designer dress before.

But something about what I did this morning must have changed the winds of today because right before I headed out the door with all my bags for class, two layers of coats, earmuffs, and some mittens, I threw on this vintage fur collar I had gotten over the summer. It was my first time wearing it and it didn't really go with my outfit at all.

I get to class and just about everyone had to take turns petting me. I got about five compliments on the collar before class had even begun. I could see people looking at it when I walked through the building. On my way to dinner, two flamboyantly gay guys go, "You're looking great!"; a car stops, honks, and gives me a thumbs up; and right before I get to my house someone walks past and goes, "Ooh, pretty jacket!"

The obvious conclusion from today is that fur collars are full of tricks, a la Mean Girls: "I hear her hair is so big because it's full of secrets." Though not gossip secrets this time, but the unlocked keys of femininity that no one really realizes til they wear one.

Fur screams luxury. And today, in a market where no one really has extra cash to spare, fake furs are everywhere so that you and me can afford to look like gold (or go the vintage route and be able to afford a real one probably owned previously by some fabulous woman of the 1920s). My fur came from Talk of the Town, an awesome little vintage shop around the corner from the Cincinnati bridal district. It's mink, with an inner down layer of deep tawny caramel and a rich espresso top fur - and it has that glittering luster that all real furs have. Back in the day, when Hollywood stars were more glamorous than Starbucks-drinking, cellphone-in-the-other-hand, going-through-rehab-and-paying-my-way-out actresses, everyone wore fur - from collars to muffs to full on fox and rabbit coats. Fur also screams femininity. It's hard not to feel confident with fur wrapped around your neck, glowing in the sunlight, telling everyone around you that you're one of those who pays homage to the beauty lost in today's overly-technological world where surgery is how we proclaim where are money goes in terms of how we get our faces done every morning. Instead, you're the type of woman who feels unique and happy in her own skin, shops at thrift stores because it doesn't matter where it came from, and has a "shade" of lipstick (even if you don't wear it - I like to think I've found my signature color, but it's still sitting on my dresser. Baby steps.)

But enough wordage. I've talked enough. The key here is that the next time you feel that all you can do in lieu of getting up in the morning is simply to get up, consider investing in something "fur". You will feel glamorous without even trying. The fur does all the work for you. It makes a coat look like a statement piece rather than just something you wear to keep warm. It takes your sweater up a notch. It can entertain you for hours in class by letting you pet it. You have to try to not look cool in fur.







Plus, it's a runway trend for this fall!

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