Why should you restyle your old fur garment?

Did you know your fur garment could easily be restyled to bring it up to date? Now there is no reason to assign your beloved fur to the back of the closet because it looks out of style. Carole McClellan has many years of experience in restyling fur garments, bringing together fashion-forward consciousness and expert technical ability that can add years of life to your furs.

Fur is probably the only material that, after made into a garment, can be taken apart and entirely restyled. Beyond alterations, it can be sheared to a short plush, changed into a different style or, most commonly, used as a collar and cuffs and lining to a raincoat or coat or cape of cashmere or other luxury fabric.

We will take your old coat and assess its condition. If it is not in good condition, we probably won't recommend you restyle it, because it could literally shred. Although some furriers say they don't recommend restyling a coat if it's any older than 15 years, each garment is assessed on a case-by-case basis. A fur that has been well cared for could be altered well past this 15 year limit. Once we are confident of its condition, we will recommend various restyling options. These include length, basic body type, a choice of fabrics (wool, microfiber, silk wool, gabardine, cashmere, camel hair, mohair and more) and fabric colors. You might have enough fur to line a fabric coat, or just enough for collar and cuffs. You might choose to shear your fur.

The most commonly restyled fur is mink, since mink is the most popular fur purchased new, it is the most durable fur (lasting 50 years or more), and it is lightweight enough to use as a lining. The restyling possibilities for a mink coat in good condition are almost limitless.

A fox jacket can be turned into a collar, cuff and even a handbag, or you can turn it into a trim around a dramatic cashmere cape. They can also make great trims around the collar and down the front of a fabric coat.

Typically sable is not restyled, because sable styles are usually conservative to begin with. Most furriers will not restyle chinchilla, because it is a fragile fur. Sheared beaver coats, though popular new, are too heavy to use as linings of a fabric coat. The option for sheared beaver usually is simply changing it into a different style, such as a pullover sweater or maybe a vest.

Once you've chosen what you want to do with your used fur, we will take your measurements to determine your size as these are made-to-fit garments. From there your fur will be virtually taken apart and reconstructed into the new garment you requested, pairing it with the necessary fabric. If your used fur is a small garment, such as a stole or capelet, and you'd really love a fur-trimmed cashmere coat with fur lining, we can provide you with a new fur lining.

Restyling a used fur into a fur-lined and trimmed fabric coat is not an inexpensive endeavor. Our charge for a remodel starts at around 950.00. Some people feel this is a lot of money to put into a coat that was expensive in the first place. But remember, you are paying for the work required to take a coat apart and put it back together again differently. For the price of a good quality fabric coat you will have a new fur garment that is substantially less expensive than the 6,000 or 7,000 price tag for a new mink purchased from a retailer.

Other types of restyles that don't include adding fur or fabric cost much less. At Carole McClellan Design, you can turn your old stole into cuffs for your pants or boots for under $300 or turn your old jacket into the lining for a jean jacket for between $800 and $900.

RETURN TO FUR RESTYLE

HOME