By Jeneanne Collins
We all have bunches of items that we have purchased and collected over the years. We purchase items and then they collect dust or we may never wear them or we may save for a special occasion or the holidays. During 2019, I’ve been purging, sorting and sifting through so many pieces of my life. I decided to truly be rebellious in other areas and step out of my comfort zone. The holidays have been a great place to experiment with my personal style and try new things and have little fun.
This week, I pulled out a few furs and fur accessories. The items included a custom mink, two faux furs (waist & full length) and a few hand – made vintage pieces. I wore a faux fully lined chinchilla in 39 degrees and I felt empowered, flirty and festive. I purchased this coat at least, 15 years ago and it still had the tags on from a JC Penny Warehouse www.jcpenny.com in Virginia. I’m tall and it has long sleeves, roomy and is cut for plus size women. It felt great and cost about $100.00. I’ve decided to stop letting trends or what people think dictate my personal style or me. It was good to just go out in a statement piece that I now love and has become one of my winter solstice fashion items.
The other coats and accessories can be worn to a holiday soiree, to shop or just be a part of your holiday street style.
The mouton fur shawl is a vintage piece made by my great -grandmother. It was made in the 70’s. You can find shawls and era pieces at estate sales or auction houses. This is a great item to wear to a ball or a holiday cotillion.
The Black Faux mink is waist length and was purchased at Target. I wore it to a few work-related holiday parties. It is a size X and is fully lined and full bodied. I love the feel of the stretch of the jacket and that I can dress it up or wear it with casual attire
The mink coat is a ¾ length coat. It an www.Autumnhaze.com purchased at an estate sale. I’ve worn it once in NYC trying to be cute maybe 30 lbs ago…It was warm in -13 weather.
The Blue Wool Coat (Bromley Vintage) with the fur accessories and the fur scarf made by my great-grandmother. The storage of the furs and the climate make a difference for all of the items. www.manoswartz.com and www.markkaufman.com are great places for storage information about furs.
Please pick a fur, a coat or let a one pick you. Try something new for the holidays, develop your own street look with items that fit you for the Christmas season, The new year and beyond.