Sully's a big fan of wearing fur and so should you!
As someone who wants to become a veterinary surgeon and has been a lover of animals since she can remember, this is a conflicting moment for me. The stripey and better quality fur stoles are real mink fur that has been dyed, whereas the one colour or two colour blocking fur stoles are faux and not as outstanding.Even just be looking at the photographs there is a big variation in the texture of the fur used as well as the bright colour. If all this is possible and macroscopic to the eyes, then there must be an even larger difference in real life between the real fur and faux stoles of the Prada 2011 collection.
I'm really envious of all the gorgeous fashion bloggers who get to play and wear these things as well as the models with tonnes of disposable income and people bending over backwards to try to take their street style photographs. Alas this life isn't for me, just eighteen years old and in between my VCE exams. There's still a lot to go, but I can't help using fashion eye candy as inspiration to get me more motivated to study (seems off I know).
I loved the Prada S/S11 collection; it was amazing- modern and fascinating and far different from any other collection of that season. I loved the 1940's soft wave hair on the models, the handbags and striped clutches as well as the baroque sunglasses, the banana shirts and the fat chunky platform brogues. It lent itself well to magazine covers, it was incorporated into so many whether it was the feature or subtly added in as an accessory or shoe. It's fair to say that I was fairly disappointed when I stepped into the boutique (finally had the courage) and there was nothing left of the whimsy and magic of the collection; save for a pale of dull coloured platform brogues after seeing so much colour and frenzy from afar months ago and depriving myself the privilege to see it for myself in person and have a play with their bags. The same goes for Miu Miu 2010, I must learn to have more confidence and become sneakier at taking photographs.
Thanks to the lovely people at the Lenko Boutique in Melbourne's Cathedral Arcade, I was able to discover these furry little hooded creations which combine the best of beanies, mittens and scarves all together in unique Spirit Hoods. They've been around since 2009 and already have a small cult following of cute nerdy girls and furries alike as well as many eBay listings and home made look-a-likes riding on the back of their success. I personally love them for their imagination and unique ingenuity but during Summer there's not much of a great and desperate need for them.
There's a whole heap pf colour and fur pattern combinations and inspiration used to create Spirit Hoods, including Husky dogs, owls, tigers and bears to name a few. My best friend would absolutely adore the Spirit Hood shown above; it looks just like her dogs fur but maybe a little more puffier with more hints of tinged black at the end of the fur hairs. Even if you don't use the pockets to keep your hands warm, I bet you could hold train and bus tickets in there as well as spare change, lipstick and pens too.
My favourite of the Spirit Hoods collection? It has to be this lovely bear variation with rounded ears and dark brown fur which matches my own hair colour. I also like the contrasting red tartan pattern on the alternative side of the scarf and just visible on the inside of the ears. I used to have a teddy bear just like that when I was little so there's a little bit of nostalgia about this hood for me. Flannel is such a comfortable material so why not wear this amazing Spirit Hood with a vintage toggle coat in red tartan too? It would certainly make for a quirky outfit when worn about on the streets.
As I kid I thought tigers were the epitome of coolness and I know I would have favoured this hood over the brown bear hood but I like the rounded ears of the bear a little more- and besides, next year I'll be going to Canada and may as well try and fit in with the local fauna while being a bit on the ridiculous side. It would take someone with guts to really wear something like this with confidence, unless of course you're at a fancy dress costume party and you're trying to be on the conservative side.
Maybe it's just the contrast between realistic but faux fur and patterned material that I like; there's also this sweet wolf Spirit Hood featuring rainbow Navajo fabric on the underside and dusty brown tinted fur. You could probably wear something like this to a market; I know I have my eye on the Finders Keepers market on the 20th and lucky for me I've been saving a little money for such an occasion and this bi-annual market may even showcase some of these Spirit Hoods too! Then again, I think I've found the perfect solution to this animal lust...
