January 18, 2010
Under cover
The other day someone asked me what to buy a girl for a special occasion, whether it was shoes or a bag. My gut reaction was to tell them they should spend the money on a good coat instead. Because we insist on wearing wonderful shoes and spectacular bags... over a worn-out coat from ages ago, with pilling and that you have to wear twelve layers under because it no longer even keeps you warm. It just can't be.
I'll show you some examples of wonderful coats I've come across around the world.
- In Madrid, a jewel of a coat if there ever was one. By Burberry Prorsum, leather with rhinestone appliqués. She couldn't be more beautiful or have more incredible hair. I'm fascinated by redheads; as a child, I adored Rita Hayworth, and I spent my adolescence dyeing my hair to achieve a result completely opposite to what I dreamed of. Because let's face it, with pain and resignation, but let's just accept it once and for all: while natural red hair is beautiful, dyed red hair is horrible, horrible. No matter how much you pay, it doesn't look good. I'm so sorry.
- In New York, a coat that could well be a dress. Made of frayed cloth with muslin details on the collar and waist. The girl worked in banking but wanted to be a designer, and she had made the coat herself. It comforts me to know that there are more crazy people with a dream out there in the world.
- In Paris, I don't let myself like this coat too much because the furs were real, and I only buy transgenic ones, meaning harmless plush toys or rabbits that died of old age. But you have to admit the lady looked great on her scooter. The exaggerated amount of real furs in Paris is striking, at least in certain neighborhoods, of course. I find it particularly curious that the coats they wear there have nothing to do with the classic table-skirt effect coats worn by our national grand dames. Don't they realize they make them look incredibly fat and old? By the way, you can find a very good collection of vintage fur coats and capes on Nina's blog, here. They all come from a second life, so at least you don't have to carry the guilt of having harmed a bunch of little animals.
One last clarification: a puffer jacket is not a coat; it's a street duvet. If it doesn't look like any of the following, it's time to accept that we're not doing well. We're warm, and that's very valid, but well-dressed, no, we're not, even if you've spent a fortune on it. It's like red hair dye; painful, but it's better to accept it and be aware of its limitations.
Coats from the Moncler Red Line, designed by Giambattista Valli. If only they could apply the haute couture wonders this man creates to the other lower lines, because I don't understand why they charge you €500 for a puffer jacket whose only special feature is that it... shines... a lot.
Thousands of kisses,
The Countess who is dying for the model's headband in the photo
The Countess who is dying for the model's headband in the photo