The Thoughtful Dresser: Fabulous or dreary?

Friday, 25 July 2008

Fabulous or dreary?

It's Dior and costs £3265.

15 comments:

materfamilias said...: I suppose it could be fabulous, depending on the wearer, but the price is so stratospheric for me, that other descriptors become irrelevant. I'll pay eight or nine hundred (dollars!) for a coat, would maybe stretch to 15 if it were wonderful, but at this price I'd be thinking of how many wells could be dug and homes erected and orphanages supplied by my friends who make an annual trek to Vietnam to do such work. Sorry, but . . .; 25 July 2008 at 16:27
Anonymous said...: I agree with above. But it really is a beauty. Actually it was after seeing a Yohji Yamamoto white cotton summer dress in 2005 for £4,000, that I quite happily bought my Omega watch for £1500. Suddenly in comparison to the Yohji cotton dress this coat doesn't seem so bad!... But I agree with materfamilias above ... Oh the agony of recognizing good design when you see it!; 25 July 2008 at 17:03
Anonymous said...: Well, it's weird. It's such an older lady style I think it could only look good on a very young woman. If a woman of a certain age were to wear it, I think she's look - what's the British word? Mumsy? By which I mean old.; 25 July 2008 at 18:40
Anonymous said...: rb, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I drag out my 1980 clothes to wear to work and my students go into raptures, when someone of my own age would see them as old and frumpy. The deconstructed look I have worn for the past 15 years made me feel young and elfin at 40 but now at 47just makes me look and feel middle aged, overweight and passed it - another word for mumsy.

The coat would no doubt look good on a woman with a good figure, but age doesn't necessarily matter in my opinion.; 25 July 2008 at 19:26
Anonymous said...: My problem with this coat is that the fabric does not seem quite substantial enough to be matched with a fox fur collar. Could I see this fabric as a suit - even one with a longish jacket? Yes, but I'd still ditch the fur collar. I realize that there were people making raincoats lined in mink, for heaven sake about 30-40 years ago, but those looked tatty too. If they wanted to go with a fur collar(and who am I to turn down a fur collar - I have one from a coat of my Mum's that I'm going to recycle onto a new coat I am going to make this fall)and they want to go with tweed (or even houndstooth), I'd go for something much heavier.; 25 July 2008 at 20:27
Anonymous said...: I really like the shape, especially the 'skirting'. There aren't that many coats for twirling in - this is one though.
Not sure that grey fur would look good next to my complexion so I'd rather have a cloth collar and add some scarf colour of my own.
If I could afford this coat it probably wouldn't seem expensive. Imagine living on that planet.; 25 July 2008 at 20:46
Elizabeth said...: Fabulous coat.

Dreary price.; 26 July 2008 at 01:25
Anonymous said...: Fabulous, I love it. I bet it makes you look incredibly tall. Would look great with a great red leather bag, great crocodile boots...mmmm...

If you love it, don't feel guilty (as long as you can afford it, which only you can determine).; 26 July 2008 at 01:44
Anonymous said...: Gorgeous design. I'd like to see it in chocolate brown with a suitable colored fur. I have the figure and I'm young enough that it would look fabulous on me in a flattering colour. I can't afford it, and I don't live in a climate which requires fur, but that's all besides the point.; 26 July 2008 at 02:46
Anonymous said...: That fur collar is dreary.

It looks sad & tacked on. Pathetic.

Without it, the coat would be fabulous (in a sharp-tailoring/sludgy-color kinda way). Very cool lines.

I'm not anti-fur, but in this coat I'd rather see more surprising & fresh point of interest (like a red lining?) at the collar.

-- desertwind; 26 July 2008 at 05:44
Anonymous said...: I don't think I would say the fur collar looks dreary per se, but I do agree that it looks tacked on. On the other hand I think the cut is lovely and I agree with arabella about twirling. As for the price ... well I tend to think in terms of what else I could get for the money, and if the answer is "a car" I definitely know I'm looking and not touching.; 26 July 2008 at 07:59
Anonymous said...: I'm interested in how often people want to put grey with red, as shown by the messages on this blog. What I love about grey is that you can put so many shades of it together and they look good. It is one of the few colours that can be used this way. There is something rather classy about a woman dressed completely in grey with bitter chocolate shoes, bag and gloves. That coat would look great like that.

I'm reminded of a quote from Alice Thomas Ellis' book 'The clothes in the wardrobe':

Mother: She should wear red for contrast

Eccentric friend: Oh that's so English! She shall go completely in grey, pale lipstick, a little powder. Then she can slip into Bond Street without looking as if she came from Croydon.; 26 July 2008 at 08:03
Susan B said...: Agree about the collar looking tacked on. I'd never buy/wear real fur these days anyhow. The price seems insane to me, but I suppose for someone who regularly wears Dior it wouldn't be.

Regarding grey, it's my new favorite neutral. You can pair it with just about anything else and it looks fabulous.; 26 July 2008 at 15:05
Anonymous said...: Dreary.

In 70's gradeschool this coat was everywhere, along with the fake fur bonnet with 2 fake fur pompoms on the ends of the ties. Tailoring may be beautifully executed but I can't get past the bad 70's vibe.
Car in Utah; 29 July 2008 at 19:42
Duchesse said...: I'll wear some furs, and leather any time- there, I said it. Would wear this coat but consider roughly half to price to be a brand tax.; 30 July 2008 at 18:45