The Facts about Faux

Every winter, their is one new staple piece that inevitably makes its way into my closet, much to the exasperation of my husband. I’ve mentioned in other posts ways that I try to beat the cold in New York City and stay stylish, but the all star players of this effort have got to be my faux fur coats. My husband likes to call it an obsession, while I like to use the terms “practical” and “forward thinking” when purchasing one of these beauties. This is one of the very few things that we don’t agree upon.

What I really love about faux fur is the richness and variety that the pieces come in. Whether I’m wanting something that looks like my grandmother wore it decades ago or a piece that is quirky and brightly colored, I can usually find it.

There is always the great fur debate. While I would never judge people that buy real fur pieces, everyone has the right to wear clothing that they love and makes them happy, and I do in fact own a couple of real vintage furs that I have collected over the years. I prefer faux fur; I like knowing where my clothing is coming from, that it is ethically made, and the price point for faux pieces is comparably so much better than real fur. You also don’t have to sacrifice quality for a lower price point. Yes there are cheaply made, bad items out there, but with a simple Google search you can find some really stand-out pieces at, really, any price level.

That is why for this post we have partnered with the world’s industry leader in Faux Fur, Du Monde, to share with us some of their best tips on purchasing your next faux fur item.

A little more history about Du Monde, they are a private label company that works with pretty much every major retailer from Express to Nordstroms. All of their materials are animal friendly, socially compliant, and they actually control their entire design process, from fabric concepts and development to design and construction. In fact, many of their pieces use a synthetic fiber that only comes from Japan and is designed to be super soft and supple giving a lovely richness to the pieces. I have worn another piece of theirs before when I talked about vintage dressing.

So without further ado, here are some tips from the lovely people at Du Monde:

• The texture and weight of the material is important. To test the resilience, press your  hand to the item leaving an indent, then run your hand over it as though you were vacuuming a carpet or smoothing you hair. Any imprints should disappear right away.

• Since the feel is so significant to a quality product be sure it is smooth and silky to the touch. There are many types of synthetic fibers out there, the more expensive ones will give a nicer over all appearance and impression.

• Check the label for fabric contents, better furs will contain a certain amount of modacrylic.

• Check seams, if the hair is caught in the stitching this makes for a lesser quality product. All good faux fur should be sewn on furrier machine with a very small seam.

• Check the drape of the fabric, it should flow and shift with the body. Avoid products that are stiff and immovable.

Hope you enjoyed this post and as always thank you for taking the time to read it. If you have any topics you would like to see covered here at The Everyday Editor please leave them down in the comments below. We also have some exciting news! The lovely people at Du Monde have kindly agree to give away three of their lovely faux fur scarves. All you have to do is follow us on our Instagram account and tag someone else in the comments.

xx

The Everyday Editor

OUTFIT DETAILS

Ombre Coat: Dumonde (HERE). Ombre Sweater: Vintage (Similar HERE). Black denim jeans: Mavi (HERE). Black faux skin bag: RJ Graziano (Similar HERE). Boots: Topshop (Similar HERE).

All Photos by Bain Stevens