Whenever my mother (my first style inspiration, as featured here, here and here) and I get together, which, sadly, is only a few times a year, we end up working on some kind of fashion related arts and crafts project. One year we made a pair of red denim gloves that I still wear once in a while in the breast pocket of an overcoat.

Over this past Christmas holiday I had my eye on my late grandmother’s leather and fur coat that was collecting dust in the back of our living room closet.

I said to my mom: “Wouldn’t it be cool if we cut that fur into a scarf?”

That night her and I are at the kitchen table until 2am cutting and sewing almost all of the coat’s fur (meme was a tiny woman) into a double-faced scarf.

The outcome was awesome and very personal to me. Not only did my mother and I hand-make it together, but it’s genuine Canadian beaver (a national symbol of Canada) and, of course, it reminds me of my grandmother.

There are high-end stores that carry fur scarves, but knowing a thing or two about sewing (or someone that does) can save you hundreds, or more, at a local vintage store.

Here, I styled my new favorite scarf four different ways.

 

1. Corporate Luxury

Fur can be tough to pull-off without it looking like too much. It’s a good idea to keep the fur as the only accent on a simple, classic look. And of course, you have to wear it with confidence and own it. Fur is not for the timid.

Because it’s a luxury fabric, it will come off as dressy, elegant and rich. Therefore it’s a perfect match for a dark, sharply tailored suit. A simple ascot loop (like the first part of tying your shoes) with the front end laying flat against the chest is an easy way to tie a rectangular scarf over a suit. It’s simple, clean and keeps the suited look’s age-old symmetry.

As with any bold show of luxury, it’s important keep everything in context – especially in a corporate setting. Some things need to be “earned”. This isn’t for first year analysts, this is bossy.

I was wearing black footwear here – I think it’s the most fitting color for winter weather and I love the sharpness against a dark navy suit.

This would work just as well with chocolate brown – it may even be better to bring the whole look together because of the browns in the scarf.