The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-18
NODISH FANCY COATS OF FUR.
SABLE, CHINCHTLLA AND ERMINE
FIRST IN FAVOR.
PONY skin in New Beauty Pushed TO tho
Front This season Some q the But-
tons on the same Scale OF Extrava-
ganCe as the Furs Lines Of the Coats.

thing not 10 De taken INTO account save by
the .rry few. 10 whom matters Of dollars
and cents we're Of no consequence. The
average woman would as soon have thought
Of luy.ng a diamond tiara as Of investing
40 A freakish little jacket OF fur, deliberately
trimmed and sure to lose cachet In one
season,
When there was a question Of furs, ONE
thing PRACTICAL and servicesble was bought
a coaf warranted to stay in style for years
AMI. with slight repairs, to be wearable
winter after winter, even after its cut be-
came q triAe behind the times. A sealskin
coat war "A sealskin coat in those days.
Now there is nc telling what it will de-
yelop into if the fashionable furrier has
his way concerning it, and the chances are
that instead Of the proverbial sealskin a
woman will choose some more frivolous
fur for her winter coat. Sealskin is as hand
some. as becoming, as warm "a ever; but
for some unknown reason il has not in re-
cent years been considered chic, and since
its price has scared until il h among the
very expensive furs the modish woman is
likely to pass it by. A thing has in her mind
no excuse for being expensive unless it is
supremely smart.
Sable, chinchilla and ermine are the three
furs which combine those two requisites
of modishness and oostliness in the most
pronounced degrees and as a result they
are the furs most coveted by all women
and most worn by those who can afford
10 buy them; but the finer kinds Of Persian
lamb, broadtail and baby lamb are per-
haps more extensively worn by fashionable
women than are n other furs.
They are not so costly as any one OF the
royal trio; and yet they are altogether too
expensive TO be common or to be mistaken
for cheap furs. To be sure. one may buy
a Persian lamb coat at any price over SIS;
but the difference between the cheap coat
and the expensive one in this fur is so plainly
evident that even the most casual glance
will detect it and the flood Of cheap Brett
schwanz garments has affected the popu-
larity Of the fine broadtail and baby lamb
not a whit.
If one cannot afford the finest Of Brett
schwanz caracul is a good choice and,
indeed, caracul is far more modish this
winter than the ordinary Persian lamb
and rivals the broadtail and baby lamb
in smartness. One may buy the fur in
white, in brown, and in gray; but, of course,
the black caracul is most often chosen and
Is the practical thing for all around wear.
The fad fur Of the season, for one may
always confidently count upon some one
cheap fur being pushed to the front and
having a purely arbitrary vogue, is pony
skin. We nave seen this skin before, but
until this season it has been In evidence
chiefly among the motor garments.
Now the dyers and workers in pelts have
succeeded in giving ponyskin a good black
and in making the skin exceedingly soft and
pliable and the furriers have been quick
TO see the opportunity offered by this i'm
provement.
The firm; smooth skin is excellent for
tailoring urpose and the designers are
turning out very smart little coats Of rather
severely tailored aspect but braided in
smart fashion and following the popular
short coat lines. Sometimes there is a
touch Of embroidered velvet or silk in collar.
cuffs and ~waistcoat, giving a note OF con-
trasting color to the black coat, but on the
whole the most attractive of the ponyskin
coats are those which retain a decided
severity but are chic in line and finish.
1t is in the sable. ermine and chinchilla
short coats and shoulder coats that fantasy
and extravaganza run riot and evidently
the manufacturers are confident that many
women are ready and wiling to pay the
prices FOR such garments, for the shops are
full Of such costly models. especially now
when Horse Show week looms close at
hand.
Sable is always treated with a certain
reserve. There are many women who can
afford to wear sable, but even the most
extravagant and frivolous OF them hest
tate to take liberties with this superb
fur. Probably they ave the taste to
realize that no elaboration which cuts into
the surface Of the fur can really be an i'm
provement; and so. though sable is made
up into all sorts Of coquettish neckpieces.
shoulder wraps. paletots. &c. and is often
associated with handsome laces. it is seldom
trimmed in the sense hat the less regal
furs are trimmed.
Like all long haired furs the sable coat
is OF necessity loose and luxurious. Little
coats Of this fur. reaching little belL
the waistline and hanging quare and
full from the shoulders are liked. though
they do give a bunchy silhouette to the
figure
Sable coats somewhat longer but on much
the same lines are made with superbly en-
brOidered waistcoats. showing only when
the fronts of the coat are thrown back, and
are trimmed only in tails and in handsome
buttons. Apropos Of buttons n may
spend az much as n pleases on buttons
for a fur coat.
Perhaps the most generally used Of smart
buttons for this purpose this season are
those Of cut steel and ndcre (smoked PEARL.
These come in very handsome designs and
bring a good price, but do not, Of course,
compare in beauty or cost with some OF the
beautiful metal and jewel buttons or with
the hand wrought buttons in gold and silver
or in metal and enamel.
For from SIS TO s2S a dozen one may buy
stunning buttons Of dull gold or silver
vet with limitations Of semi-precious stones,
such as ~aquamarine, tourmaline, peridot,
DC, but it is an easy matter to pay five,