Bay Area Fashionista: Faux Fur for Fall 2010

Faux Fur for Fall 2010

Faux fur and real fur was all over the runways for Fall 2010. The faux fur was so sophisticated that is was difficult to distinguish between faux and real. There were vests, jackets, coats and shearling outerwear in shades of neutral brown, creams, grey and black. The fur was solid as well as used for trim on the edges of hems, pockets and collars. Faux fur took on many animalistic forms including rabbit, fox, chinchilla and oh-so-luxurious mink.

Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area have a conflicted affair with faux fur. Although real fur has been taboo in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades, faux fur has been received with mixed reviews. Activists in the 1980's and 1990's spray painted windows at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue on Union Square in protest of the department stores sale of real fur. Saks and Neiman's held strong by placing mannequins in the windows displaying real fur coats. Women who were spotted walking down the street wearing real fur coats in Union Square had their $20,000 mink coats pelted with paint balls. In the mid-nineties fur collared sweaters were one of the most popular items of clothing. Fashionistas who chose to wear real or faux fur collared sweaters were met with mixed reviews by friends and strangers alike. Common comments Fashionistas were greeted with were: "I hope that is fake," "I hate fur," "fur sucks," "It's OK if it is fake, not OK if it is real," "who cares, I love fur." This Fall season, with so many fur details on outerwear, it should be interesting to see how Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area react to the fur trend.

Gucci and Diane Von Furstenberg are showing real fox, vest-like details on jackets for Fall. Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs and Nina Ricci have created real mink handbags for their Fall collections. Lanvin and Alberta Ferretti are showing alpaca, mid-length coats for Fall. With all of this real fur, Fashionistas in the Bay Area who are drawn towards the cozy trend, will need to find the faux versions. Thankfully Chanel's ready-to-wear collection showed faux fur galore. The entire show was faux, giving animal lovers and Fashionistas in the Bay Area something to purr about. Chanel did go back to real fur for the Haute Couture shows in early July, showing the fashion world that there is still a strong market for real fur amung Fashionistas.

It should be interesting to see if the faux fur trend takes off in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some animal lovers are opposed to faux fur since it looks like the real thing while others embrace the idea of being able to wear faux fur in order to satisfy an obsession with fashion. Are you brave enough to wear fur here in the Bay Area?