Fur Practicalities (posted on 29/07/2011)

Ever wondered why some people cultivate the ultimate chic so without any effort looking as if items were just thrown on with little consideration to meticulous planning or appropriation of current trends? This is easier than it looks as all that is necessary is a willingness to dare, act the part and strut. Inherent chic is not only an ability to look great in just about anything but foremost to portray self-confidence.

The tricky thing is that chic does not combine with practical. 
Take a look at Tom Ford’s fabulous return to fashion showcased in his spring/summer 2011 collection. Luxury and chic options were aplenty. Take the full-length as well as full-sleeved goat fur dress as modelled on red-headed beauty Karen Elson. It is a showcase piece no doubt “rendering living creatures momentarily breathless” according to Marigay McKee, fashion and beauty director of Harrods, but a practical piece it is not. It is questionable if it is able to magically enhance a woman’s curves. Rather it seems to be endowed with the ability to supersize the body into an outrageous animalistic creature of a wild galaxy. Furthermore, one should not forget that fur, feathers and the like will shed with movement.

Here is a slightly more practical option for you, dear reader, willing to venture into the animal trends of today and become a chic bird of the bunch. Try Zara’s autumn/winter feather skirt in a royal blue. Dare, strut and shed a few feathers on the way...